DES MOINES, Iowa – As Iowa slowly inches closer to summer, it’s becoming a common site on roadways across the state – vehicles hauling yard and garden waste or large, bulky items to area landfills – and drivers are being urged to secure their loads.
Leslie Irlbeck, program and outreach manager with the Metro Waste Authority in Des Moines, says making sure that loads are secure helps keep roadways clean and more importantly, helps keep drivers safe from the dangers of debris.

“According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, there are about 25,000 crashes that are caused each year and there are 80 to 90 deaths (in North America),” she points out. “And these are preventable if we all just take that extra step and make sure that things are safe.”

Irlbeck notes that many landfills in Iowa have strict policies for arriving with a secure load and those drivers who don’t can be charged a service fee of between $10 and $100, depending on the size of the vehicle.  Irlbeck says it really doesn’t take much for a loose item being hauled to fall or go flying, so if the load cannot be fully enclosed within a vehicle or trailer, it should be secured – either by tying it down or covering it with a tarp.

“And that’s especially important for smaller items – like maybe some recyclables, or some yard waste material as well,” she explains. “But even larger things need to be secured down, and that can be done with bungee cords or tie-downs, or twine. Things like sofas or large chairs are even at risk at flying out of the back of a truck.

(Iowa News Service)

An initial autopsy was conducted Saturday on the body of a Council Bluffs child who died at an apartment complex, last Friday. Bluffs Police Sgt. Chad Meyers says the results of the autopsy on 18-month old Jayden Suriano have not yet been released to authorities, and until that’s done, an investigation into the child’s death will continue. Foul play however, is not suspected.

Meyers says Jayden was playing with his 3-year-old brother when he fell off a ladder. The child’s father was home at the time. Emergency responders took the boy to a local hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead. The accident happened around 10:30 a.m. Friday, at the Featherstone Apartments.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa farmers efforts to control the spread of nitrates in recent years appears to be helping but research shows that levels of the fertilizer byproduct have soared in the state’s major rivers. The Des Moines Register reports that nitrate levels have more than tripled since the 1950s to more than 7 milligrams per liter in 2010. Researcher Keith Schilling with the University of Iowa says the upward trend in nitrate levels is unmistakable.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Hillary Clinton is taking her newly announced presidential campaign into the heart of small town Iowa this week. Clinton will tour a community college in Monticello on Tuesday and visit a produce distribution company in Norwalk on Wednesday. That’s according to a schedule provided by her campaign Sunday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Two Iowa State University football players were arrested in separate incidents after Saturday’s spring game. The Des Moines Register reports 20-year-old Jack Rhoads, who is the son of coach Paul Rhoads, was one of the two players arrested. The other player was 23-year-old Terry Ayeni. Neither player was in custody as of Sunday morning.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Two Iowa men who were wounded by gunfire are now facing charges because they police say they tried to mislead investigators. The Quad-City Times reports the two men went to the hospital late Friday for treatment of their wounds, which are not life-threatening. The men were both arrested on suspicion of filing false police reports.

(removes reference to Griswold School Board mtg. – that’s 4/20/15)

Two area school district Board’s of Education will hold their regular, monthly meetings Monday evening. The Exira-Elk Horn Kimballton School Board will meet at 6:00-p.m. in the Family and Consumer Science Room at the High School in Elk Horn. During the meeting, the Board will hold a Public Hearing on the 2015-16 School Budget, followed later in the meeting by action on approving the budget. Other action items include approving the resignations of Kara Wilson/4th grade teacher, and Connie Wyatt/Head Volleyball Coach, and the approval of continued discussions with Audubon, with regard to the sharing of Wrestling.

And, the Atlantic Board of Education will meet in the High School Media Center, at 7:30-p.m. During their session, the Board will act on approving: A recommendation for 2014-15 Snow Days make-up; 2015-16 Lunch prices, bread and milk bids; Ratifying the Certified Employees 2015-16 Tentative Agreement, and the Termination of a Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) teacher contract, along with an HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) recommendation.