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RICHARD ALAN JONES, 80, of Harlan (Mass of Christian Burial 8/27/21)

Obituaries

August 21st, 2021 by Ric Hanson

RICHARD ALAN JONES, 80, of HARLAN, died Thursday August 19, 2021 at Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan. A Mass of Christian Burial for RICHARD JONES will be held 11-a.m. Friday, August 27, 2021 at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Harlan. Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Harlan has the arrangements.
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Visitation will be held on Thursday, August 26, 2021 at Pauley Jones Funeral Home in Harlan from 9:00 am-2:00 pm and at St. Michael’s Catholic Church from 3:00 pm-8:00 pm with a Rosary at 7:00 pm.

Burial will be in the Harlan Cemetery

Richard Alan Jones is survived by:

Wife: Christine Jones, of Harlan

Daughters: Deb (Rowly) Burton, of Irwin; Dede(Craig) Kroger, of Harlan; Beth (Scott) Andersen, of Ankeny; and Teresa Tech, of Omaha.

Sons: Michael (Anna) Jones, of Harlan; Mark (Kathy) Tech, of Council Bluffs; and Randy (Mary) Tech, of Council Bluffs;

Sister: Marilyn (Joe) Leggio, of Council Bluffs

23 grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren and his daughter-in-law: Betts Jones of Harlan

Montgomery County Sheriff’s Report

News

August 21st, 2021 by Ric Hanson

August 20, 2021 at 11;45am Sheriff’s received a report of a 2 vehicle accident on Hwy 34 at the west side of the Nishnabotna river bridge construction site at the signal light. A 2020 Ford panel van driven by Jimmie Henry Kalkas of Red Oak was stopped at the red light when a 2008 Mack box truck driven by Jerry William Wagaman of Emerson, Ia failed to stop before hitting the rear of the Ford van. Damage to the Mack truck was listed at $6000 and $6500 damage to the Ford van. There were no injuries and the sheriff is investigating the accident.

On August 20, 2021, Montgomery County Sheriff’s made 3 arrests:

Tiffany Lea Palmer, 48, of Red Oak was arrested on a Red Oak police warrant for Harassment 3rd Degree
Bond was set at $300

Floyd Raymond Henry II, 49, of Red Oak was arrested on a Red Oak police warrant for Driving While Revoked
Bond was set at $1000

Adam James Tesmer, 45, of Red Oak was arrested on a charge of Driving While Barred
Bond was set at $1000

Reynolds Will Fight Federal Attempt to Overturn Iowa’s ban on school mask mandates

News

August 21st, 2021 by Ric Hanson

Governor Kim Reynolds says she’ll go to court if the Biden Administration tries to overturn the law she signed that has banned mask mandates in Iowa schools. Biden has asked the U.S. Education Secretary to determine if the mask bans in six states, including Iowa, violate federal law.

“I think it’s incredible that he’s coming after me when we led the country in getting our kids back to school and doing it safety and responsibly,” Reynolds says. Reynolds ordered schools closed at the beginning of the pandemic in March of 2020, but she ordered schools to offer in-person classes last fall. In February, Reynolds signed a law requiring all schools to have classes in person. In May, Reynolds signed a law forbidding schools from requiring students and staff to wear face coverings.

“It went through the legislature,” Reynolds says. “We have elected officials representing Iowans all across this state that voted on that bill and I signed into law and so we’re doing what we need to do.” Reynolds says the ban on mask mandates in schools promotes the social and emotional wellbeing of children

“Come walk the fairgrounds with me for just a day and I want you to see the number of moms and dads and teachers and children (who) literally have tears in their eyes — Tears! — when they come up to me and say: ‘Thank you. Thank you for getting my kids back in school. Thank you for not masking them up,'” Reynold says. Reynolds says N-95 masks have been shown to prevent the spread of Covid, but she is expressing doubts that cloth or paper masks are effective.

“Where’s the data the CDC is using to justify the mask mandate?” Reynolds asks. The Centers for Disease Control is recommending that everyone in schools wear face coverings as the Delta variant of Covid is far more contagious and most students have not been vaccinated. Reynolds says Biden needs to stop dictating to states and the governor says she’s not concerned about losing federal funds if there is a dispute with the Biden Administration over this policy.

“Nine billion dollars in total has come into the state to deal with Covid and we’re over a year into this. You know, I mean that’s unconscionable…We’ve got to pay that back at some point, so not only my grandchildren but probably their children,” Reynolds says. The governor says Biden should focus on other things, like the airlift out of Afghanistan and closing down the southern border. Zach Wahls of Coralville, the Iowa Senate’s Democratic leader, says the governor should be focused on the unabated spread of Covid.

“Republican mistakes are why parents across Iowa are now facing extremely difficult decisions about sending their kids back to unsafe schools,” Wahls says. Wahls says banning mask mandates in schools is putting school staff, children and their parents at extreme risk.

“Forcing unvaccinated children back to school isn’t a plan,” Wahls says. “Continuing to ignore Covid isn’t a plan. Hoping that the Delta variant just goes away isn’t a plan.” Democratic leaders in the legislature are calling Reynolds to accept 95 million dollars in federal funding she rejected in the spring that could be used to conduct regular Covid testing in Iowa schools. Erin Dahl of Waukee is the mother of two young children who organized a sit-in on the Iowa Capitol lawn last week. Her husband is a public school teacher with a serious heart condition.

“It’s very scary to me to have him in a classroom with so many children at once with no masks on,” she says. Dahl is hoping Iowa’s ban on school mask mandates can be declared a violation of the civil rights of people with disabilities.

Skyscan Forecast for Saturday August 21, 2021

Weather

August 21st, 2021 by Ric Hanson

TODAY: Mostly sunny skies  NW @ 10-15  High 81

TONIGHT: Clear with light and variable winds  Low 54

SUNDAY: Partly cloudy with some scattered showers and thunderstorms late in the day  SE @ 10  High 86

MONDAY: Some scattered showers and thunderstorms early, then becoming partly cloudy.  High 90

TUESDAY:  Partly cloudy  High 92

Rainfall overnight: 0.25″

Potential Boat Ramp Hazards Due to Low Water Levels

News

August 21st, 2021 by Ric Hanson

Low water levels brought on by the ongoing drought are starting cause problems for some boaters on the Iowa Great Lakes. Captain Greg Harson is a supervisor in the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Bureau.

“When the water goes down, boat ramps are not made for the length of (boat) trailers that we are currently having these days,” Harson says, “and when people put their boats on the trailer, they power their boat on and that prop wash will blow out a hole behind the cement of the boat ramp.” Harson says boaters need to be aware their trailers can fall into that hole. If that happens, Harson has some advice for avoiding major damage.

“(If the) trailer’s loaded and you try to pull that boat trailer back out, that axle has a better than fair chance of coming off the trailer or wrecking your tires or rims or any of those combinations,” he says, “so I would get the weight off of your trailer and either have somebody lift up the trailer and pull the trailer out or at least get it back up on the ramp in some way before you put the boat back onto that trailer.” Similar problems are being reported at other lakes and rivers around the state where water levels are below normal levels. Officials say there’s been a statewide increase in boat registrations during the pandemic.

Iowa’s Drought Conditions Widen and Become More Severe

News

August 21st, 2021 by Ric Hanson

Forecasters say heavy showers are likely this (Friday) afternoon and evening for western and central Iowa, but it would take many more rains to make a dent in the long-running — and worsening — drought. State climatologist Justin Glisan says the new drought maps released late this week show drought conditions widening and getting more severe, especially across Iowa’s northern half.
“We’ve had drought expand across the state, especially the D-3 category, which is extreme drought,” Glisan says. “Looking at the previous maps, this is the largest extent that we’ve seen across northern Iowa since the early part of April in 2013.” The new climate outlook was issued for the region on Thursday and Glisan says it holds no obvious signs for what’s to come in the long-term.
“We have an equal chance of above, below or near-average temperature and precipitation behavior in the month of September,” Glisan says. “Then looking at meteorological fall — September, October, November — we do see elevated chances of warmer temperatures but again no clear signal for the precipitation side.” Fall will arrive in about a month, September 22nd, and Glisan says it’s a toss-up as to what the season ahead may hold.
“We do have a pretty good chance of moving back into a La Nina phase of the El Nino southern oscillation which impacts the jetstream over the United States,” Glisan says. “If we look at analog years in which La Nina has returned to the state, we don’t get a clear signal on precipitation behavior.” The map shows at least parts of 22 Iowa counties are now in extreme drought, which covers more than ten percent of the state, up from around seven-percent last week. Fifty-five percent of the state is now in some level of drought, while almost 79-percent of Iowa ranges from abnormally dry to extreme drought. Only a few counties in southwest Iowa and most of the southern two tiers of counties are untouched by the dry weather.

Afghan Living In Iowa Falls Gets Good News About Asylum Case

News

August 21st, 2021 by Ric Hanson

An Iowa Falls man who was an interpreter for the U.S. military in Afghanistan is one step closer to being granted political asylum. Zalmay Niazy (ZALL-may nee-AH-zee) says his lawyer called yesterday (Thursday) with news that accusations he’d supported a terrorist organization as a child will be dropped. Niazy says it’s hard to be happy for himself, though, when people in Afghanistan are struggling. He’s ready to go back and again serve as an interpreter for U.S. forces.

“Please give me a chance to go and be with them and prove to them that we will not leave anybody behind because that is a slap on our face,” he says. “…It is very frustrating.” Niazy’s (nee-AH-zee’s) asylum hearing is scheduled for October 4th in Omaha.

DARLENE JEAN JONES, 91, of Atlantic (& formerly of Griswold)

Obituaries

August 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

DARLENE JEAN JONES, 91, of Atlantic (& formerly of Griswold), died Oct. 13, 2020, at the Heritage House, in Atlantic. A memorial service for DARLENE JONES will be held 2-p.m. Saturday, August 21st, at Zion Lutheran Church in Atlantic. Rieken Duhn Funeral Home in Griswold is assisting the family.

Visitation with the family will take place, at the church, from 1:00 PM, until the time of the service, Saturday.

DARLENE JEAN JONES is survived by:

Her daughters – Shirley Kaestner of Elkhorn, NE (& husband Joseph Manierski); Kim Lund Wyberg (& husband Kurt) of Blaine, MN.

Her sons – Frank (Conie) Jones, ) of Cumberland, and Michael (Ann) Jones, of Griswold.

Her sister – Jane (Lynn) Hansen, of Anita

11 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, her sister-in-law Maria Jones of Madrid, Spain and many nieces, nephews, cousins and loved ones.

The family wants to express their gratitude to the Heritage House staff and Hospice Caregivers of St. Croix.

3 transported to Cass Health following a collision, Friday afternoon

News

August 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) A total of three people were transported to Cass Health in Atlantic, Friday, following a collision that occurred at around 2:25-p.m. at S.W. 7th and W. 14th Streets. According to reports, the accident happened as a northeast bound Ford Expedition was slowing to turn into the EOC (Educational Opportunity Center). The vehicle was struck from behind by a Jeep.

The driver of the Jeep was transported to the hospital by Cass EMS to be checked for possible/unknown injuries. The driver and a passenger in the Expedition were taken by private vehicle to the hospital, also to be checked out.

Photo Courtesy Cass County EMA Coordinator Mike Kennon

Atlantic Police Department were assisted at the scene by Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies, Atlantic Fire Department, Cass EMS, and the Iowa State Patrol.

Potential boat ramp hazards due to low water levels

News

August 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Low water levels brought on by the ongoing drought are starting cause problems for some boaters on the Iowa Great Lakes. Captain Greg Harson is a supervisor in the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Bureau. “When the water goes down, boat ramps are not made for the length of (boat) trailers that we are currently having these days,” Harson says, “and when people put their boats on the trailer, they power their boat on and that prop wash will blow out a hole behind the cement of the boat ramp.”

Harson says boaters need to be aware their trailers can fall into that hole. If that happens, Harson has some advice for avoiding major damage. “(If the) trailer’s loaded and you try to pull that boat trailer back out, that axle has a better than fair chance of coming off the trailer or wrecking your tires or rims or any of those combinations,” he says, “so I would get the weight off of your trailer and either have somebody lift up the trailer and pull the trailer out or at least get it back up on the ramp in some way before you put the boat back onto that trailer.”

Similar problems are being reported at other lakes and rivers around the state where water levels are below normal levels. Officials say there’s been a statewide increase in boat registrations during the pandemic.