The players may have changed, but the game plan has not. That’s the word out of Guthrie County, with regard to the “Eclipse” Wind Energy Project. The Guthrie Center Times reports a transfer of deed last August between Clipper Windpower out of Ventura, California, and Mid-American Energy, means Mid-American has purchased the rights to the project, which calls for the construction of 60 wind turbines in southwestern Guthrie County.

Plans for the $206.5-million “Eclipse” Project began in 2006, but Clipper Windpower experienced financial setbacks, and, according to Guthrie County Assessor Rusty Pearson, the company had problems securing affordable transmission lines. The project experienced delays in getting underway, to the point where construction, which was to have begun in early 2010, was expected to start late this year.

Officials with Mid-American Energy told Pearson they intend to move ahead with the project, now that they assumed responsibility for it, and look to have construction bids awarded by late this Fall. The company has an incentive to finish the project sooner, rather than later: if it’s not done by the end of 2012, they stand to lose a large government grant.

Iowa currently has more than 2,500 wind turbines creating over 4,000 megawatts of electricity. Projects that are underway are expected to boost that energy output to 5,000 megawatts by the end of 2012. In December 2010, MidAmerican Energy announced a 593.4-megawatt expansion. That includes 193, 2.3-megawatt turbines, which are currently being erected in east- and southeastern- Cass, northeastern Adams, and southwest Adair counties as part of the “Rolling Hills Wind Project,” which is expected to be finished by the end of the year. Other turbines in the company’s expansion project are being built in Marshall and Calhoun Counties. When complete, approximately 26 percent of MidAmerican Energy’s total generation capacity will come from wind.

Sheriff’s officials in Audubon County report one person was arrested on drug charges early this (Friday) morning. 31-year old Spencer Reigh Lile, of Kimballton, was taken into custody at around 1-a.m., following a traffic stop in Hamlin. Lile was being held in the Audubon County Jail on $1,000 bond.

And, 31-year old Paul Timothy Wonser, of Kimballton, was arrested Thursday night on a charge of domestic abuse assault. His arrest followed an investigation into an incident which allegedly occurred at his residence in Kimballton. Wonser was being held in the Audubon County Jail.

A judge in Guthrie County sentenced a Carroll County man to five-years in prison Monday, for his role in a methamphetamine manufacturing operation. According to the Guthrie Center Times, this past July, a jury found 40-year old Tony Richard Meyers, of Coon Rapids, guilty on a charge of Possession of lithium with the intent to use it in the manufacture of meth, but he was found not guilty on a related charge of conspiracy to manufacture meth. Judge Randy Hefner noted in his decision, that this will be Meyers’ second prison sentence for a drug-related crime.

In a separate jury trial held this past Spring, co-defendant, 21-year old Tylor Meyers, also of Coon Rapids, was found guilty on both possession and conspiracy charges. He received a suspended sentence and ordered to live in a residential correctional facility as part of the terms of his probation.

The charges were the result of an incident which occurred in January, 2010, where a man hiking on shoe shoes at the Whiterock Conservancy near Coon Rapids, stumbled across the Meyers’, who appeared to be in the process of manufacturing meth.

Rescue personnel were called to the scene of a minor personal injury accident this morning, at the entrance to the Atlantic High School. According to dispatch reports, a passenger in a vehicle suffered a bump to their head when they hit the windshield.

The accident happened at around 7:45-a.m. No other details are currently available.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety Thursday afternoon, released more information about Tuesday’s car crash that killed a State Trooper near Indianola. The information includes two 911 calls placed shortly after the crash at 4:40 p.m. One caller stated, “I just saw a cop go in the ditch and he went in it pretty fast.” Trooper Mark Toney died in the crash as his squad car rolled into a field and burst into flames. The 43-year-old Toney had just started his shift at 4:00 p.m. Witnesses said the car’s emergency lights were flashing when it left the highway, but investigators say there was no communication between State Radio and Trooper Toney indicating his actions just prior to or during the crash. The in-car camera retrieved from Toney’s vehicle did not contain audio or video pertaining to the crash. An autopsy was conducted Wednesday but results are still pending. A press release states the official cause of the crash is still undetermined. It marks the first death of an Iowa State Trooper in the line of duty in 21 years. Toney’s funeral is scheduled for Saturday in Ankeny.