The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Jim Field. **There was no 7:05-a.m. NEWS PODCAST due a technical issue** (the program aired, it just wasn’t recorded for the podcast)
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The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Jim Field. **There was no 7:05-a.m. NEWS PODCAST due a technical issue** (the program aired, it just wasn’t recorded for the podcast)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (7.0MB)
Subscribe: RSS
BARNUM, Iowa (AP) — A malfunctioning switching mechanism apparently caused six tankers filled with ethanol to derail in northern Iowa. The Fort Dodge Messenger reports the tankers were hauling the fuel from Valero Renewables-Fort Dodge on Tuesday night when they derailed. Lt. Tom Ubben, of the Fort Dodge Fire Department, says the cars were backing up when the switching mechanism caused them to leave the tracks. The tracks, located in the small community of Barnum, are owned by the Canadian National Railway.
Railway spokesman Patrick Waldron says no one was injured and no ethanol spilled. Ubben says crews from Waterloo and Omaha, Nebraska, were called to the derailment Tuesday night and were using heavy machinery to move the cars off the rail line and transfer the ethanol to other containers.
A traffic stop at around 2:40-a.m. today (Wednesday), resulted in the arrest on a man on drug and other charges. Creston Police say 21-year old Tyrell James Stucker, was taken into custody near Adams Street and the Spillway Road, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of Marijuana, and for Driving While Suspended. Stucker was later released from the Union County Jail on a $1,600 bond.
Two people, a man and a woman, were arrested this morning, following the pursuit of a stolen pickup in Council Bluffs. Authorities say Officers in Council Bluffs began their pursuit at around 12:43-a.m., after the driver of a stolen 2003 Dodge pickup refused to pull-over in the area of S. 16th and 9th Avenue. The pickup fled south on S. 16th St to 16th Ave where it headed east to Harry Langdon Blvd. By that time, the pickup had struck at least one set of Stop Sticks which deflated the front tires on the vehicle.
Kimberly Golden
Adam Wilfong
The vehicle turned south on Harry Langdon and headed south to Highway 92. Upon reaching the highway, the pickup had been driving on its front rims and became disabled at the intersection. The driver opened the door and immediately got out of the vehicle. Officers gave commands to the driver to follow however, he refused to comply. After failing to comply with numerous commands to surrender and follow officers’ orders, a Taser was deployed to incapacitate the suspect. Upon him becoming incapacitated and falling to the ground, officers were able to get him detained and handcuffed. The driver was identified as 31-year old Adam Wilfong, of Council Bluffs.
Officers found Wilfong had an open pocketknife (blade exposed) in his hand while officers had been ordering him to comply with commands to surrender. He dropped the knife on the ground prior to being taken into custody. Wilfong was transported to the hospital for evaluation and then to Pottawattamie County Corrections. The passenger, 27-year old Kimberly Golden, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Disobedience to a Police Officer after failing to comply with lawful orders given by police during the incident. She was transported to Pottawattamie County Corrections. The vehicle had been reported stolen out of Omaha on November 9, 2017.
Bird lovers are in for a treat this winter as Iowa is seeing a huge increase in snowy owl sightings across the state. The birds are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty act and generally live in the frigid climates found in the Arctic. Carroll County Naturalist, Matt Wetrich, says the creatures usually appear in Iowa during the colder months, just not in such large numbers. “Through an entire winter we might see a handful of snowy owls in Iowa, that’s an average winter, 10 or less, maybe even five,” Wetrich says. “In the last month we have had at least 40 individual birds across the state.”
He says the increase, while exciting, is not that uncommon. The primary food source for snowy owls is lemmings. These small rodents see massive population spikes about once every five to 10 years, and that increase in food is reflected in snowy owl populations. Wetrich says the new birds when they migrate south, and they end up traveling farther than usual. He says the new owls get bumped out of the winter hunting grounds and they get pushed south. Wetrich says they are ending up in Iowa and other states in the U-S.
Snowy owls are almost entirely white and quite popular among birdwatchers. Wetrich says it is okay to appreciate their beauty — but says give them some distance. “If you are close enough where the owl is turning looking at you, you are close enough, and that means back away,” Wetrich explains. “You don’t want to approach them and cause them to fly — because what happen is then they are burning very valuable calories. And you are contributing to them struggling to find food.”
Wetrich is collecting data on sighting across the state for the Iowa Ornithologists’ Union to use for research on these population eruptions. He asks anybody who sees a snowy owl report the sighting to the Swan Lake Conservation Center by phone at 712-792-4614 or through the Carroll County Conservation Facebook page.
(Radio Iowa)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines plans to increase the number of hours it charges for downtown street parking. The Des Moines Register reports that the City Council voted Monday for new parking meter hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Current meter hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. In exchange, parking will be cheaper in the city’s seven garages. The city also will work with private lot owners to allow free parking on nights and weekends.
Meter rates will range from 25 cents an hour on the edges of downtown to $1.75 an hour at the best spots. By the end of January, prices for the city’s seven parking garages will be reduced to $1 an hour with a $10 daily maximum.
Today: P/Cldy to Cldy w/flurries possible. High around 36. NW @ 15-25.
Tonight: P/Cldy w/diminishing winds. Low 14.
Tomorrow: Mo. Sunny. High 30. NW @ 10-15.
Friday/Saturday: P/Cldy to Cldy. High both days around 35.
Wednesday’s High in Atlantic was 39. Our 24-hour Low (at 7-a.m.) will be 23 (it was 28 degrees at 5:30-a.m.) Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 32 and the low was 15. The Record High in Atlantic on this date was 69 in 1939. The Record Low for this date was -12 in 2005.
Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports two men and a woman were arrested following an investigation into a burglary on Nov. 28th, in Farragut. 31-year old Marcus Washington, of Clarinda, 36-year old Alfred Mutchler, and 29-year old Mindy Irvin, both of Shenandoah, were taken into custody. Washington and Mutchler are being charged with Burglary in the 3rd Degree. Irvin was charged with Conspiracy. They were being held in the Fremont County Jail on $5,000 cash bonds, only. Additional arrests are expected as the investigation continues.
Mindy Irvin
Alfred Mutchler
Marcus Washington
Aistrope said the investigation began on Nov. 28th, after his department received a call about a burglary in the 4000 block of Manti Road, in Farragut. Several interviews were conducted during the ensuing investigation. The interviews led authorities to Shenandoah. Deputies, assisted by Shenandoah Police, followed-up on the leads, and as a result, recovered most of the items reported as stolen. Sheriff’s Deputies in Montgomery and Page Counties are also assisting in the ongoing investigation.
Iowa Congressman Steve King will face a Republican challenger in the June primary. Cyndi Hanson kicked off her bid to unseat King on Tuesday with a stop in Mason City. The Mapleton native, who now lives in Sioux City, says she’s frustrated with the “division and gridlock” taking place in Washington, D.C. “I’m solution focused and collaborative in the way that I work, so seeing what’s happening is a great deal of frustration for me,” Hanson said. “I think the only way we can change the current situation is to change the players we have involved.”
Hanson is the executive director of Northeast Community College’s extended campus operation in South Sioux City. Hanson said she’s heard from a lot of people who say King’s “divisive rhetoric” isn’t good for Iowans. “As I’m an Iowan and I talk with a lot of other people from our district, I think very often we are not about dividing people and separating and being divisive, but a lot more about pulling people together and recognizing the strengths in people,” Hanson said. “So yes, that is certainly a piece of it, I think it no longer represents Iowa.”
King is seeking a ninth term in Congress to represent Iowa’s Fourth District, which cover 39 counties. Hanson was also appointed two years ago by then Governor Branstad to the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service. Four others have announced they are seeking the Democratic nomination in the Fourth District race; Webster City transit bus driver Paul Dahl, Spencer city councilwoman Leann Jacobsen, former professional baseball player J. D. Scholten of Sioux City, and Ames pediatrician John Paschen.
(Radio Iowa)
U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Republican Chairman Pat Roberts, of Kansas, and Ranking Democrat Member Debbie Stabenow, of Michigan, Tuesday, said they were “Pleased to announce that the nomination of Glen R. Smith to be a member of the Farm Credit Administration Board was approved by the U.S. Senate.” Smith, who is from Atlantic, was the subject of a Senate Ag Committee hearing on Nov. 9th, at which time he was favorably reported out of Committee with a bipartisan vote.
In a statement, Roberts and Stabenow said “Once again, we’re pleased to report full Senate confirmation of another qualified nominee. As an active farmer and agribusiness professional, Mr. Smith has the skillset and background needed to serve rural America in this role. As with all previous nominees, the Senate Agriculture Committee worked in a bipartisan fashion to get Mr. Smith to work at the Farm Credit Administration.”
Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst, from Red Oak, introduced Mr. Smith ahead of his testimony before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry last month. In a statement released from Ernst after the most recent Senate vote, Ernst, who is a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, said: “I’m so pleased to see Iowa’s own Glen Smith confirmed today by the Senate to serve as a member of the Farm Credit Administration Board. Glen has an impressive resume as a small business owner and farmer. He has worked for decades to enhance and promote our agricultural economy in Iowa, and I have no doubt he will do the same for our country in his new role.”
In 1982, Smith founded Smith Land Service, a company specializing in farmland appraisal and farmland brokerage services working in 30 of Iowa’s 99 counties. He also owns and serves as President of Smith Generation Farm’s Inc. a family farm operation that encompasses around 2,000 acres in the southwest Iowa.
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