w/ Kate Olson
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NELIGH, Neb. (AP) – A northeast Nebraska man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend from western Iowa, and her new husband, has waived his preliminary hearing. Sioux City, Iowa television station KTIV reports 33-year-old Matthew Hinrichsen was in Antelope County, NE., Court on Tuesday, where he waived the hearing and faced the families of those killed. Hinrichsen has been charged with arson and two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 25-year old Victoria Lee and her husband, 30-year-old Alex Vargas, of Missouri Valley.
Investigators found the bodies of the newlywed couple in a burned-out mobile home, near Ewing. Authorities say the couple were shot before the mobile home was set on fire. Hinrichsen’s arraignment has been set for Jan. 30. Court documents say Hinrichsen had been having problems recently with Lee, who was his ex-girlfriend.
Many cell phone users in Iowa received a rude awakening early this (Wednesday) morning. The first official Wireless Emergency Alert was issued in our area, warning residents about a Blizzard Warning….that goes into effect at 6-p.m. Customers of Verizon Wireless may have heard three short blasts at around 4-a.m., representing the Emergency Alert System. Some customers of U-S Cellular in the area report they received neither the alert tones nor text message informing them about the alert.
You may recall we told you back in June, that officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced the agency was providing additional tools for federal, state, local officials and others, to alert and warn the public about severe weather.
The Commercial Mobile Alert System, or CMAS, is being used to deliver Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) to wireless carriers for distribution to the public. That means your cell phone will receive messages on its screen, similar to a text message, showing the type and time of the alert, along with what type of action will be taken. The alerts will NOT take the place of locations where CODE RED alert systems are in-place, as those systems also handle a wide variety of local emergency situations.
The message will be no more than 90 characters, and will have a unique tone and vibration, indicating a WEA has been received. If an alert is received by your cell phone, you are advised to follow the instructions and seek additional information from local radio, television, NOAA Weather Radio and other official sources for emergency information.
The alerts will be broadcast by cell towers. Any cell phone within range of those specific towers will immediately pick up the signal, provided they are capable of receiving the alerts. The availability of WEA alerts is dependent on the network status of the wireless carriers and handset availability, since not all cell phones receive WEA’s. Check with your cellular carrier to see if WEA alerts are available in your area.
FEMA says as with all new cellular services, it will take time for upgrades in infrastructure, coverage and handset technology, to allow WEA alerts to reach all cellular customers.
Hawkeye 10:
Western Iowa:
Rolling Hills:
Others:
Postponed:
The Atlantic City Council will hold its last regularly scheduled meeting of the year tonight (Wednesday). During their session at City Hall, which begins at 5:30-p.m., the Council will hear a report from Nishna Valley YMCA Director Dan Haynes, and they’ll hold discussion with regard to the tax abatement/tax rebate programs.
City Administrator Doug Harris says Mayor Dave Jones asked for the matter to be on the agenda, so that the Council can come together and give the Community Development Committee some direction, as the Committee reviews the subject and prepares its recommendations for the Council. Jones has said there are many good things going on in Atlantic, and he’s interested in finding ways of encouraging property owners to improve their properties and revitalize neighborhoods. In addition, officials with CADCO (the Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation)m have stated that Tax Abatements are an additional incentive tool they would like to see the City offer.
In other business, the Atlantic City Council will act on approving the appointment of Mike Waters to the Library Board. His appointment would, if approved, fill the unexpired term of Luther Gillett, through July 1st, 2014. Prior to adjournment, the Council will enter into a closed session for the annual evaluation of City Administrator Doug Harris.
Fire has struck a cruel blow to the southwest Iowa man who was trying to make Christmas merrier. Firefighters from Villisca Monday responded to a fire at a two-story Nodaway residence serving as a storage facility and workshop for Vince Else, who has collected, restored and provided toys for distribution to children for decades.
Corning Fire Chief Donnie Willet served as investigating officer for the fire, which was located next to Else’s residence. Willet says the structure was engulfed in flames by the time firefighters arrived at 12:30 a.m. Eventually, fire officials decided it was not safe to continue battling the fire and allowed it to burn itself out. Willet says the house is a total loss. Fortunately, Willet says not all of the toys Else collected were destroyed.
Many of the toys to be distributed this Christmas were taken to the Nodaway Community Center before the fire. However, Willet says the fire has struck a severe blow to Else’s efforts in the future.
(Mike Peterson/Radio Iowa – Shenandoah)
Snow plow drivers will be busy over the next couple days with the first major winter storm of the season bearing down on Iowa. Annette Dunn is Winter Operations Manager with the Iowa Department of Transportation. “We have about 900 trucks available and although I don’t think we’ll need them for this winter storm, we do also have snow blowers,” Dunn said. “All of our salt sheds are full at this point statewide and we are ready to go.”
The forecast calls for heavy snow at times and near-blizzard condition across much of the state today into tomorrow. Dunn is advising motorists not to “crowd the plow” and simply slow down when they see any of the DOT’s bright orange vehicles. “Especially with this storm that we have coming, there’s probably going to be some visibility issues and there’s not a snow plow in the world that can help us with visibility issues,” Dunn said. “And you may approach a snow plow very quickly since they’ll be going only about 25 to 40 miles an hour.”
Snow plow operators didn’t log many hours last year thanks to one of the mildest winters in the state’s history. Dunn says DOT workers have still been busy. “We’re are actually out there dealing with frost and trying to prevent frost, so we are using material and staff time,” Dunn said. “The nice weather has allowed us to shift our resources over to some of the maintenance we need to do on roadway system.”
Dunn is reminding motorists, if they must travel in foul weather, to keep the gas tank nearly full, pack an emergency survival kit and carry a fully charged cell phone. Items in the winter survival kit in your vehicle should include booster cables, candles and matches, a flashlight with fresh batteries, extra blankets and warm clothes, nonperishable food items, a can for melting water, and a snow shovel. Motorists can check winter road conditions in Iowa at www.511ia.org or by calling 5-1-1.
(Radio Iowa)
Here’s the latest (podcast) forecast for Atlantic, and the KJAN listening area, from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson….
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405 AM CST WED DEC 19 2012
…BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO NOON CST THURSDAY…
TODAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF RAIN EARLY IN THE AFTERNOON. SNOW LIKELY LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. SNOW ACCUMULATION AROUND 1 INCH. HIGH IN THE UPPER 30S. NORTHEAST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 70 PERCENT.
TONIGHT…SNOW. AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW AFTER MIDNIGHT. WINDY. SNOW MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES EARLY IN THE MORNING. SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 8 TO 9 INCHES. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION 9 TO 10 INCHES. LOW IN THE LOWER 20S. NORTHEAST WIND 15 TO 25 MPH SHIFTING TO THE NORTH 25 TO 30 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT. GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH. CHANCE OF SNOW NEAR 100 PERCENT.
THURSDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW THROUGH MID MORNING. AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW IN THE MORNING. WINDY…COLDER. HIGH IN THE MID 20S. TEMPERATURE STEADY OR SLOWLY FALLING IN THE AFTERNOON. NORTHWEST WIND 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 40 MPH.
THURSDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. BREEZY…COLDER. LOW ZERO TO 5 ABOVE. NORTHWEST WIND 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH DECREASING TO 5 TO 10 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT.
FRIDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 20S. NORTHWEST WIND NEAR 5 MPH SHIFTING TO THE SOUTHWEST IN THE AFTERNOON.
FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOW 10 TO 15. HIGH AROUND 30.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A major snow storm traveling through the Midwest is expected to create whiteout conditions in parts of Nebraska and Iowa. The National Weather Service says snow will begin Wednesday morning in western Nebraska before spreading eastward into Iowa. Parts of southeast Nebraska could get between 4 and 8 inches of snow between the afternoon and night. The storm will affect most of Iowa, with snowfall expected from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday afternoon. Between 6 and 12 inches of snow is expected in an area stretching from west central to northeast Iowa. Sustained winds in Iowa are predicted to reach between 25 to 30 mph with gusts reaching up to 45 mph. Sustained winds in Nebraska could reach between 20 and 30 mph with gusts of up to 40 mph.
A Blizzard Warning will be in effect for Cass, Adair, Adams, Audubon, Guthrie, Carroll, Madison, Taylor, Union and Ringgold Counties from 6-p.m. Wednesday (Today) until Noon on Thursday. A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect from 3-p.m. today until 6-a.m. Thursday, for Monona, Harrison, Shelby, Pottawattamie, Mills, Montgomery, Fremont and Page Counties.