Firefighters from Massena responded early this (Wednesday) morning, to a report of a possible residential fire at 202 Pine Street. The call from a woman who said her fire alarm was going off and who smelled smoke, came in at around 1:15-a.m.  A Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy who was in the area and was first on the scene, said he could smell smoke in the home, but wasn’t able to observe any flames.

After about an hour on the scene, authorities were able to determine a motor on an appliance had burned-up, causing the smoky smell. There were no injuries and no damage was reported. All fire units were back in-station by 2:20-a.m.

Eleven counties in northern Iowa are now under burn bans that prohibit any open burning. Howard County Emergency Management Director, Darrell Knecht requested the ban after seeing conditions worsen. “Just very, very dry conditions. The standing crops are dry, the grass is getting dry and drying down, and of course with the wind, everybody’s burning leaves this time of year and we’re hoping to get ahead of it a little bit,” Knecht says. He also saw issues in other counties.

IA counties (in red) w/a ban on open burning as of 10/13/15.

“Around us there have been a few fires where combines have caught fire, so again, we just wanted to get a little ahead of it,” Knecht says. Knecht says people don’t always pay attention to the conditions when they burn. “I think always their intentions are usually good, sometimes they want to get stuff done before they think a little bit,” he explains. He says with the burn ban in place it sends a message to not take any chances. Knecht says Howard and some of the surrounding counties have not had the rain needed to make conditions safer.

He says it would take a pretty good rain to make a significant difference. A fire in eastern Iowa destroyed around two-thousand acres of crops and two firefighters had to be treated for smoke inhalation. Knecht says even a small fire can get out of hand quickly. “Especially if there is some wind blowing, it’s gone in no time,” Knecht says. The other counties joining Howard under a burn ban are: Hankcock, Winnebago, Worth, Mitchell, Chickasaw, Fayette, Wright, Franklin, Bremer, and Buchanan.

Currently no counties in southwest or western Iowa have implemented a ban on open burning, but area fire chiefs and emergency managers are asking the public to be very cautious, especially on dry and windy days.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal prosecutor says two top aides to Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign were involved in a “cover-up” when they tried to hide payments to a state lawmaker. Justice Department attorney Jonathan Kravis says email records and testimony will show Jesse Benton and Dimitri Kesari concealed payments to former Iowa Senator Kent Sorenson. Paul is expected to testify during the nearly two-week trial.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A panel of state budget experts is lowering Iowa revenue projections for the current fiscal year. The Revenue Estimating Conference met Tuesday to project state revenue. The group predicts the state will take in about $7.05 billion for the fiscal year that began July 1st. That’s less than the $7.18 billion they estimated earlier this year.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state agency will delay the implementation of a proposed tax break expansion. The Department of Revenue agreed to a request from lawmakers in the administrative rules review committee on Tuesday that the tax change date would be moved from January to July. The Department of Revenue plans to change a law exempting certain items used during manufacturing to broaden the exemption.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State University is proposing a three-year, $1,500 tuition surcharge that would affect thousands of international students. Board of Regents documents show the school wants to add an extra $500 annually for three years to the nonresident rates international students already pay. Regents will consider the proposal next week.