DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Amtrak ridership dropped nearly 16 percent over the past 12 months in Iowa, and officials blame most of the decline on Missouri River flooding. Officials say nearly 58,000 passengers got on and off Amtrak trains at six Iowa stations for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. That’s 10,000 fewer passengers than the previous fiscal year. Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari says that more than 90 Iowa-bound Amtrak trains were canceled this year, primarily because of flooding in western Iowa.

Amtrak’s California Zephyr stops in Burlington, Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa, Osceola and Creston. The Southwest Chief stops in Fort Madison. The trains run between Chicago and the West Coast. Amtrak reported a record 30.2 million passengers nationally for the past 12 months.

Leaders of Iowa’s rural telecommunication companies are sounding off about a plan that would shift money away from a federal fund that benefits broadband service. The Federal Communications Commission wants to move more than 15-billion dollars away from the Universal Service Fund, a small surcharge that helps subsidize phone service to high-cost rural areas. Chuck Deisbeck, CEO of Western Iowa Networks — based in Breda, says the plan would deal a blow to rural economic development.

Deisbeck says, “The FCC needs to understand that if they don’t move forward with some of the rules that we have asked for, they’re going to fail to advance broadband in rural America, they’re going to fail to promote jobs, and that’s going to have a huge economic impact on the entire country.” If the FCC votes this week to move the money from the Universal Service Fund, or USF, Deisbeck says phone and internet rates in Iowa will continue to rise.

He says studies show the benchmark rates will significantly jump $30-50 per month. Diesbeck says doing away with the money from the USF will mean the rural phone companies will have trouble maintaining and upgrading their current networks. Deisbeck says many people in the rural U-S depend on broadband services and shifting money away from the fund would have a great impact.

“What’s really scary is when the FCC thinks of Des Moines and Ames and Iowa City as rural,” he says. “That’s not what we consider rural. If they think those areas are rural, then what do they think about the real rural areas in Iowa?” He says farming operations and telecommuters are two of the biggest users of broadband in rural America, and the FCC doesn’t understand what rural Iowa is like. Tom Conry is the general manager of the Farmers Mutual Cooperative Telephone Company of Harlan. Conry says a national wireless broadband plan, like the FCC is proposing, would heavily rely on infrastructure serviced by rural telephone companies.

Conry says the FCC believes wireless broadband is the end-all solution, but cell towers and wireless connection points wouldn’t have a broadband connection if it wasn’t for the fiber provided and serviced by the rural companies. Deisbeck and Conry are encouraging people to go to the website “thegreatdisconnect.org” and contact their local legislator by clicking on the “Take Action” button.

(Radio Iowa)

A Russian immigrant to the U-S who lives in Washington State and works as a truck driver, is grateful to be alive after he was pulled from the cab of the burning semi he’d been driving, which crashed on the west side of Council Bluffs, Sunday morning. Pavel Plevako somehow lost control of the semi on Interstate 29 at around 9:15-a.m., between Avenue G and the 35th Street exit.

Bob and Pat Tallant, of Omaha, told the Omaha World-Herald the couple was traveling to a friend’s house when they saw the semi pull onto the interstate, miss the traffic lane and run into a bridge. The impact tore the cab away from the trailer, causing the cab to land on the driver’s side. The couple said they pulled over to help, along with another driver who was behind them.

As Plevako was trapped in the rig, the trailer caught fire, and the flames began to spread to the cab.  Using a large crowbar, Tallant, and the other, unidentified motorist pried open the passenger side door of the cab,while a third, unidentified person reached-in to pull the driver out. Two young women, one of whom was reportedly a medical student, also stopped to help and treat Plevako, who suffered only minor injuries.

The tractor and trailer were soon fully engulfed in flames, which erupted due to ruptured fuel tanks and were spread by burning crates of produce being hauled in the trailer.  The burning diesal fuel created large, black clouds of smoke, according to witnesses. The accident remains under investigation.

Plevako told reporters in broken English, that he was very grateful to those who stopped and helped him.