A grass/field fire northeast of Exira Sunday afternoon burned 150 acres, but no one was injured. Exira Fire Chief Mike Bintner told KJAN News the blaze was reported just before 1-p.m., and crews remained on the scene for about 3 ½ hours. Mutual aide was received from the Brayton, Audubon, Coon Rapids, Kimballton and Guthrie Center Fire Departments. No structures were damaged by the fire.

The fire began just north of a residence off of 250^th Street and quickly spread to just north 240^th Street, where the blaze was brought under control. Bintner says the fire began with a rekindled burn that was initiated on Saturday. He says the resident was burning garbage in a burn pit north of their home Saturday. Sunday’s winds whipped some of the remaining hot items out of the pit and spread them to the nearby field.

Weather conditions today are expected to be dry and very windy. Bintner said anyone planning to burn should take the weather into consideration, and take the necessary precautions regardless of the weather. That includes call the fire station and your local county dispatch center to inform them about any controlled burns He says there is no burn ban yet in Audubon County, but it is being considered. In the meantime, property owners need to be responsible and no start any fires when the weather is dry and windy.

Bintner was grateful for the help his department received from the area firefighters, and said everyone really worked well together. He was also very appreciative of the area farmers, who used their disc implements to help prevent the spread of the fire.

(8-a.m. News)

The ban that prevents utilities from turning off services to those behind on their bills ends Tuesday (April 1st). The ban only covers those who are signed up for the state’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Iowa Utilities Board spokesman, Rob Hillesland, says those not in LIHEAP may also be behind on their bills and the best thing to do is to work out a payment agreement. “It’s vital that customers who feel they cannot pay their energy bills contact their local utility for help in avoiding potential service disconnection,” Hillesland says.

The record cold this winter has pushed heating bills up for everyone and led to a record amount of unpaid bills. Hillesland says regulators and the utility companies are trying to help Iowans deal with the bigger bills. “The board has met with representatives of many of the utilities recently and they’re doing extra things this year to try to reach out to customers and communicate that they need to enter into payment arrangements — or find means to try to avoid service disconnections,” Hillesland says.

He says the utility companies across the state would rather work something out than pull the plug. “Disconnection is always the last resort for representatives of utilities,” he says. But, Hillesland says you have to do your part and try to work something out. “One of the large energy utilities serving Iowa reported that it had done an internal study of its customers that had been disconnected recently. And it indicated that a majority of those customers had left options on the table that could have avoided disconnections,” Hillesland explains.

The state can help if you feel you can’t come to an agreement with your utility. “If there’s unresolved issues with their utility, they can call the Iowa Utilities Board customer service staff. There’s a toll free number 1-877-565-4450,” Hillesland says. “The Iowa Utilities Board does have rules that govern when disconnections can occur.”

He says they also have rules governing the payment agreements between customers and utilities. The board report showed that there were just over 243-thousand households in Iowa who had a past-due balance on their utility accounts at the end of February. Those households owed a record of just over 46-million dollars.

(Radio Iowa)

SAC CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Florida man suspected killing a northwest Iowa man in 2009 has been returned to face a murder charge. Authorities say 54-year-old John Green arrived Friday night and is being held without bond in Sac County Jail. He’s scheduled for a hearing next Monday. It’s unclear whether he has a lawyer. He was arrested Tuesday at a dog track in Orange Park, Fla.

Green is accused of killing 58-year-old Mark Koster, of Sac City. Police say Green briefly lived with Koster in 2009. Relatives say they last saw Koster that year. Koster was reported missing in 2010. His skeletal remains were found buried in the basement of his Sac city home in 2012.