An electrical problem associated with an engine block heater is thought to have been the cause of a fire in Atlantic this morning at 801 Olive Street, that pretty much totaled a pickup truck. The call came in just after 10-a.m. Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees said a diesel pickup was plugged in for nearly an hour after it had been used earlier this morning, when it caught fire. The flames heavily damaged the engine compartment. The Chief considered the vehicle a total loss. McNees said the 1995 Chevy 2500 was parked inside of a carport. He said after the truck’s owner was notified by a passing motorist about the flames, he used two fire extinguishers to try and put the flames out, but was unsuccessful.  Atlantic Firefighters were on the scene for about a half an-hour. No injuries were reported.

The city of Council Bluffs is sitting in a very unique position, according to Mayor Tom Hanafan.  Mayor Hanafan says, “We live in the largest metropolitan area in the state of Iowa and the largest metropolitan area in the state of Nebraska.” While Omaha continues to draw conventions, Hanafan says the same thing is happening in Council Bluffs. He says the reason some groups choose Council Bluffs instead of Omaha is because they are strictly Iowa-based, like the State Bowling Tournament. 

 “It’s 15 weeks,” the mayor says, “and that brings people from all over the state of Iowa that will come to our community and you wouldn’t have that in Omaha.” A long-term expansion of the Council Bluffs freeway system is in the works. Hanafan says the upgrade is needed as the current interstate system was drawn up many years ago and can’t handle the significant upturn in traffic.  “The design of our interstate system is for about 60-thousand cars a day on I-80 and 29,” Hanafan says. “The new build-out is for 145-thousand cars.” Hanafan says the roadways are now taking about 100-thousand cars a day. He says they will need 175-thousand dollars per year for six years to complete the project. Hanafan is starting his second-quarter century as mayor of Council Bluffs.

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Authorities have released the name of a Nebraska man who was fatally injured in a fall at a Council Bluffs casino.  He was identified as 62-year-old Robert McIntyre, of Omaha, Neb.  Council Bluffs officials say McIntyre was going from the second floor to the third floor of the Ameristar Casino-Hotel casino on an escalator Friday evening. He stumbled and fell over a railing, dropping 20 to 25 feet to the first floor.  Authorities say McIntyre was taken to an Omaha hospital, where he died.