The Iowa Department of Transportation reports a public information meeting will be held Thursday, April 26th, to discuss three proposed bridge replacements on Iowa 141 in Guthrie County. The public is invited to attend the meeting anytime between 5 and 6:30 p.m. at the Coon Rapids City Hall, Council Chambers, 123 S. Third Ave., in Coon Rapids. 

Officials say one of the bridges is located over the Middle Raccoon River, 0.4 mile east of the Carroll County line and near the east city limits of Coon Rapids. The second bridge is over Willow Creek, 1.6 miles west of Bayard. The third bridge is over a tributary of Mosquito Creek, 1.2 miles west of Guthrie County Road P-18. 

During construction of the Middle Raccoon River bridge, traffic would be detoured using Carroll County Road N-44 (Velvet Avenue) starting at the junction of Iowa 141 and continuing north into Coon Rapids. The detour would continue through Coon Rapids on West Street to Elm Street, and then to Sumpter Avenue (becomes Carroll County Road E-63). East of Coon Rapids, the detour would continue two miles on Carroll County Road E-63 and then turn south on Carroll/Greene County Road N-58 to the junction of Iowa 141. For the Willow Creek bridge project, traffic would be detoured using Guthrie/Carroll/Greene County Road N-58, Greene County Road E-63 and Iowa 25. Traffic would be maintained during construction over the tributary of Mosquito Creek.

The public information meeting will be conducted in an open forum format. Iowa DOT staff will be present to informally discuss the proposed improvements, but no formal presentation will be made. For general information regarding the proposed improvements or public meeting, contact Tony Gustafson, assistant district engineer, Iowa DOT District 1 Office, 1020 S. Fourth St., Ames, Iowa  50010, telephone 515-239-1635 or 800-899-0623, email tony.gustafson@dot.iowa.gov. Visit the Iowa DOT’s project-related public involvement event website at www.iowadot.gov/pim for information about scheduled public meetings and hearings, and opportunities to offer input to the Iowa DOT during the development of certain projects.

Authorities in Mills County said Thursday, a Malvern man was arrested Wednesday night on drug charges. The Mills County Sheriff’s Office says 51-year old Daniel Keith Vanderpool II was taken into custody at around 9:30 pm, on a felony charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver/Methamphetamine and a drug tax stamp violation, along with charges of possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of stolen property, and for being a felon in possession of ammunition.

Vanderpool’s initial appearance in court took place Thursday, after which his bond was reduced from $62,300 to $22,000. He remains in the Mills County Jail with a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 23rd.

 An unannounced visit by three K-9 teams at the Red Oak High School Thursday resulted in a temporary lock down of the school, but no illegal substances were found. The teams searched the school building and parking lot. According to Red Oak Superintendent Terry Schmidt, there was no advance notice to parents or students the searches would be conducted. It wasn’t until the K-9 teams showed up that notices were sent to parents about the lockdown, to ease any fears they may have had by their children texting them about the lockdown.