AN EXPLOSION AT THE SIOUX CITY LANDFILL SENT TWO PEOPLE TO THE HOSPITAL THURSDAY AFTERNOON. FIRE RESCUE UNITS WERE DISPATCHED TO THE LANDFILL AFTER AN EXPLOSION AND FIRE TOOK PLACE IN A BUILDING THERE AROUND 12:10PM. AUTHORITIES AT THE SCENE SAID THE INJURIES TO THE VICTIMS WERE NOT LIFE THREATENING AND THE FIRE WAS QUICKLY CONTAINED. INVESTIGATORS WERE STILL AT THE SCENE THIS AFTERNOON AND THE CAUSE OF THE BLAST HAD NOT BEEN DETERMINED.
Former U.S. Representative and Senator John Culver, a Democrat who represented Iowa in Congress during the Vietnam War era, has died at age 86. Culver’s death was confirmed by longtime friend Jim Larew, who said Culver died late Wednesday at his home near Washington after a long illness. Culver was a Cedar Rapids lawyer and former aide to Sen. Ted Kennedy when he was elected to the House in 1964. After a decade in the House, he was elected to an open Senate seat in 1974. He served one term before losing to Sen. Chuck Grassley in the 1980 election. Culver is the father of former Iowa Governor Chet Culver, who served from 2007 to 2011. After leaving public service, Culver practiced law and was involved with the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
Federal operations in Iowa are scaling back services as a partial government shutdown continues. Those federal workers who are considered essential are still on the job, including law enforcement. National Monuments and wildlife refuges only have minimal staffing, but are open to visitors and hunters. Chuck Traxler is a regional director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
He says those federal facilities in Iowa have not been vacated:
National Weather Service offices in Iowa will keep forecasting, but social media updates are limited.
A MILD DECEMBER WILL SOON GIVE WAY TO COLDER WINTER TEMPERATURES AND MANY RESIDENTS WILL LIKELY BE USING SPACE HEATERS TO HELP KEEP THEIR HOME WARM. JOE RODRIQUEZ OF SIOUX CITY FIRE RESCUE SAYS THEIR ARE PRECAUTIONS TO TAKE WITH HOW YOU USE THOSE HOME HEATING DEVICES:
RODRIQUEZ SAYS TODAY’S MODERN SPACE HEATERS ARE MUCH SAFER THAN OLDER MODELS, BUT STILL MUST BE USED PROPERLY:
HE SAYS THOSE PEOPLE WITH GAS FURNACES AND FIREPLACES ALSO HAVE TO BE AWARE OF THE THREAT OF CARBON MONOXIDE IN THEIR HOME:
THERE ARE COMBINATION SMOKE ALARM AND CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS AND RODRIQUEZ REMINDS EVERYONE TO TEST THEM MONTHLY AND MAKE SURE THE BATTERIES ARE GOOD.
HE SAYS FAMILIES SHOULD ALSO HAVE AN ESCAPE PLAN AND DESIGNATED OUTDOOR MEETING PLACE IN CASE A FIRE WOULD TAKE PLACE IN THEIR HOME.
