The News at 8:17-a.m., from Ric Hanson.
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The News at 8:17-a.m., from Ric Hanson.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.3MB)
Subscribe: RSS
MAX MILLER, 77, of Scottsdale, AZ. (& formerly of Fontanelle), died Dec. 13, 2020m, at his home in Scottsdale. A Celebration of Life for MAX MILLER will be held 11-a.m. Saturday, April 17th, at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Fontanelle. Steen Funeral Home in Fontanelle has the arrangements.
Online condolences may be left at www.steenfunerals.com.
Emergency crews have recovered a vehicle submerged in Carter Lake. Inside, authorities found the body of a woman. She was identified by police as 22-year-old Nyahon Thuok. According to Omaha television station KETV, Omaha Police Lt. Allen Straub said his officers were patrolling the area when they learned there was a car submerged in the water. Straub said they noticed the car’s headlights and taillights were on. Officers called the Omaha Fire Department, who pulled the car out of the water. That’s when crews learned there was a woman inside the vehicle.
No other details are currently available.
A traffic stop Tuesday evening in Creston resulted in the arrest of a woman from Madison County. The Creston Police Department reports 38-year-old Jennifer McKeever, of Winterset, was arrested on two Union County warrants for Driving While Barred. She faces additional charges that include: Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense; Possession of Paraphernalia, and Driving while Barred. McKeever was being held for Union County in the Adams County Jail, on $5,600 bond.
And, a man residing in the 500 block of S. Cherry Street in Creston, reported Tuesday that sometime between 6-p.m. Monday and 11-a.m. Tuesday, someone stole 11 potted plants from his property. The loss was estimated at $300.
The 7:06-a.m. News from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson
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(Radio Iowa) – The environmental group American Rivers lists two waterways that either border Iowa or flow through the state on its annual list of the nation’s ten most endangered rivers. Olivia Dorothy, director of the group’s Upper Mississippi River Basin, says the 2019 flooding on the Lower Missouri River brought massive levee breaches. It’s concerning, she says, because the river is too constricted and there’s not enough room for water that comes downriver during floods. “We need to take strategic action to set back levees,” Dorothy says, “to give the river a little bit more room to flood so that we know the water is going to basically go into areas of the flood plain where people and critical infrastructure aren’t located.”
This is the second year in a row the Lower Missouri River has made the group’s most-endangered list. “We are again calling on Congress and the states along the Lower Missouri River to work together to set up a framework to prioritize areas where levees can be set back and where we can do critical habitat restoration which is much needed for a lot of species, including the pallid sturgeon,” she says. That fish is threatened, she says, in part due to a lack of access to quality habitat. The Raccoon River is on this year’s most-endangered list for the first time. Its three forks run for 226 miles across western and central Iowa.
Dorothy says the Raccoon is most threatened by pollution due to agricultural runoff, which she attributes to “industrial agriculture.” “In the Raccoon watershed, we have a lot of confined feeding operations, we have a lot of confined factory farms,” Dorothy says. “They spread manure in excess across the watershed on farms for fertilizer. A lot of times, that fertilizer is running off and getting into our drinking water.” It’s forced cities like Des Moines to install expensive nitrate removal equipment, while she says it’s continuing to threaten the drinking water in rural areas, especially for people who use wells. Dorothy says nitrogen is particularly toxic to children, infants and pregnant women.
“We are calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to step in in Iowa and step up their enforcement actions,” she says, “and really start regulating these factory farms that we know are being installed in excess throughout the state of Iowa but especially in the Raccoon watershed.” The full report is online at AmericanRivers.org. Dorothy encourages Iowans to log on and learn more, and find links so they can contact federal agencies and officials to demand action to protect our rivers — and people.
The CAM School Board, Monday, voted to approve both the 2021-2022 Budget and 2021-2022 School Calendar. Their action followed two public hearings held just prior the regular meeting. According to CAM School District Superintendent Paul Croghan, the 2021-22 School Calendar is similar to the current calendar. With the first day of school on August 23rd (2021) and the last day of school May 25th (2022). Still up in the air, is a decision on virtual snow days. That will be adjusted after the Iowa legislature makes a determination on that issue. Senate File 467 passed out the Senate on March 26th. It would’ve allowed schools to use five virtual snow days starting next school year. The bill, however, failed to make it out of the House. Once Governor Reynolds’ Proclamation ends, there will be no online learning.
The CAM Board of Education also approved the fiscal year 2021-2022 budget. Croghan says the tax rate is similar to last year, with the tax levy $10.5101 per $1,000 assessed valuation, compared to $10.50 currently.
The CAM School Board, Monday, also:
Police in Red Oak report the arrest at around 7:35-p.m. Tuesday, of 23-year-old Page Pettis, of Red Oak. Pettis was taken into custody in the 1300 block of N. Broadway Street, for Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense. He was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail.