Shelby County Sheriff Neil Gross today (Thursday), has implemented a Tow Ban, and advised residents travel is not recommended unless necessary.  Roads out in the county are 100% ice covered making travel dangerous. A tow ban means if your vehicle becomes stuck in a ditch, it cannot be towed until the weather improves.

Tow bans are also in-place for Pottawattamie, Mills and Fremont Counties.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Cold storm bands with howling winds are coursing across Nebraska into Iowa, slowing the light traffic to a crawl in some locations. Schools and businesses in both states announced closures or delayed openings on Wednesday before Thursday’s storm had even crossed into Nebraska. The National Weather Service reports a wind gust of 52 mph hit the south-central Nebraska city of Hastings and says an estimated snowfall of 4 inches had already fallen by Wednesday night in Thedford, NE.

The storm’s eastern edge has reached Des Moines in central Iowa. Station KCCI reports that ice is accumulating on roadways in suburban Waukee. A winter storm warning issued for an area west of Des Moines says forecasters expect up to 5 inches of snow over a glaze of ice.

The State Board of Health approved the rules for the manufacture and sale of medical marijuana during its meeting Wednesday. The director for the medical marijuana program, Randy Mayer (Mayor), says the rules approved by the board had a few changes based on feedback from the company that has been licensed to make the product.”They were very specific about some things that could make their operations a little easier and a little bit cheaper,” Mayer “So we did accept a lot of their comments and make some changes about how they operate and what their security looks like and things like that to make it a little easier and less expensive for them.” Mayer says with the rules now in place, they can move to the next step. “The next big project that we will be working on is licensing the five — up to five dispensaries — that would be selling the products to the patients and their primary caregivers across the state,” Mayer says.

MedPharm Iowa was the only company to complete the licensing process to grow marijuana and manufacture cannabis oil here after nine companies had expressed interest. Mayer expects there to be interest in the dispensary licenses, even though it is going to take some work to get the business going. “We only have about 250 patients and primary caregivers registered right now, it’s going to take a number of years to build that patient base,” Mayer says. “So there are some fees associated with running dispensary and somebody’s going to have to have substantial collateral I think to get a dispensary running while waiting for the patient base to get built up to where I think it is going to start being profitable for them.”

The director of the Health Department says the manufacturer of medical marijuana is going to have to pay around 200-thousand dollars in fees. Mayer says dispensaries will also have to put up a lot of money for their license. He says they estimate the fees to be in the range of 120-thousand dollars or so per year.

The companies will be required to pay a 75-hundred dollar application fee, and pay a 10-thousand dollar bond for each background investigation of the company owners. The state will pay the company a refund if the background investigation costs less. They will also have to pay a 200 dollar deposit on background check fees for each employee of the company. Mayer says they will release the application for dispensaries in the last week of January and he says this may be the only time a company has a chance to receive a license. “We anticipate that unless someone is issued a license and they return it to us — or for some reason they fail to follow the rules — we won’t refuse to renew a license for one of those licensees,” according to Mayer. ” So, I think that people understand that you need to get the license up front when we are offering it at this point.”

The manufacturing company by law is supposed to have the product ready for sale by December 1st 2018.  “That’s probably the earliest that we will have product available for people to start purchasing. I know a lot of people are waiting for that date, so I think that that’s an important message to get out,” Mayer says. A state representative who is a pharmacists says there are some estimates that it will cost the state one million dollars to implement the medical marijuana plan.

(Radio Iowa)

Runoff into the Missouri River basin may be slightly higher than normal this year, according to a new projection. Nicole Shorney, a hydraulic engineer with the U-S Army Corps of Engineers in Omaha, says there’s no cause for concern. The Corps says the reservoir system will be going into the runoff season at the base of the annual flood control zone, so more than 16-million acre feet of flood control capacity will be available. A new projection from the Corps of Engineers shows runoff into the Missouri River basin may be above normal this year, but not by much. Joel Knofczynski (noff-CHIN-ski), a Corps engineer, says releases into the waterway have been unchanged for weeks.

The Corps estimates runoff will be at 105-percent of average. There’s no concern, at this point, for any significant flooding. The Corps of Engineers is predicting runoff into the Missouri River basin this year will be at 105-percent of average, so just slightly elevated. Joel Knofczynski, a Corps engineer, says they have plenty of flood storage available and there’s no cause for concern.

River runoff usually begins in March and peaks in June.

(Radio Iowa)

In this first month of the year, Iowans may need to be more vigilant to keep from getting ripped off by scam phone callers, identity thieves and even by fast-talking health club managers. Dan Hendrickson, a spokesman for the Better Business Bureau, says it’s not too late to make a resolution to ensure your credit is safe. “We think it’s important that people check their credit report for free at Annual Credit Report-dot-com,” Hendrickson says. “That’s a really basic step people can take just to make sure their financial history is portrayed accurately and they can also look for things that don’t really add up or questionable notations in their credit file.”

By checking your credit report, Iowans can spot signs of identity theft early. It may also be helpful to register your phone on the “Do Not Call” registry to avoid a host of questionable sales pitches and pleas for charitable donations, but it isn’t a perfect system. “This will not cut out all the calls you don’t want,” Hendrickson says. “Basically the good organizations and good companies will follow that list closely. The ones that are more questionable or outright scammers will not.”  You can register your phone at Do Not Call-dot-gov. If you resolved to get fit in the new year, he suggests you get a check-up before you sign up for a health club membership. “We recommend people get a physical first, especially if you’ve been inactive for quite a while,” Hendrickson says. “It’s a good idea to get that baseline, find out what your health status is and work with your physician to set realistic health goals.”

There are other elements to consider before joining a gym to make sure it’s the right place for you. “We recommend researching the fitness club’s background, visit BBB-dot-org,” he says. “Check out if how they’ve handled complaints in the past if they’ve had complaints, and you also want to look at customer reviews.”  If the club is offering introductory deals, be clear on the terms and know exactly when any trial pay periods may be over.

(Radio Iowa)

Sheriff’s Deputies in Montgomery County, Wednesday night, arrested 33-year old Matthew Scott Lighty, of Clarinda, for Driving While Suspended, with 27 withdrawals in effect, and 46-year old Kelly Ross Shulths, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Both were taken into custody following a traffic stop at around 7-p.m., south of Red Oak. Lighty was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on bond. Shulths was released from the scene on a citation.