Weekend Winter Storm Continues
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A winter storm making its way across the country is dumping heavy snow on western and north-central Nebraska and steady rains over eastern Nebraska into Iowa. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for parts of Nebraska, with up to a foot of snow possible in the northwest part of the state. State highway officials say
roads in the Nebraska Panhandle were mostly covered with heavy snow by mid-morning Saturday. In eastern Nebraska, including the state’s largest city of Omaha, and parts of western Iowa, the weather service issued flood watches for low-lying areas.
South Dakota Closes Interstate Highways Due To Storm
(Sioux Falls) — The winter storm this weekend has wreaked havoc with travelers in the Dakotas trying to return home from Christmas.
The South Dakota Departments of Transportation and Public Safety closed Interstate 29 from Watertown to the North Dakota border, both north and southbound, effective at 3:30pm Sunday.
I-29 was already closed from the Dakota’s border to Canada earlier and Interstate 94 in North Dakota is closed from Fargo to Bismarck.
I-90 remains closed between Exit 67 east of Rapid City to Mitchell for eastbound traffic and from Mitchell to Wall for westbound traffic.
The closed portions of I-29 and I-90 will remain closed overnight into Monday.
Travelers can get the most up-to-date information on closures from calling 5-1-1 or visiting https://www.safetravelusa.com/sd/
Northwest Iowa Roads Are Partially Covered With Snow, Ice, And Slush
(Le Mars) — As for the road conditions around northwest Iowa, Iowa D-O-T snow plows have been out scattering sand and salt on some of the roadways.
Many of the highways of northwest Iowa are partially covered with snow.
Highway 3, Highway 75, Highway 60, Highway 10, Highway 20 and 140 are all partially covered with snow, ice, and slush. The Iowa Department of Transportation cautions motorists to be careful, especially on bridges.
Sioux City Man Pleads Not Guilty To Vehicular Homicide Following Accident
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City man has pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide while driving recklessly in the June death of a bicyclist. The Sioux City Journal reports that 37-year-old Edy Guevara entered the plea Friday in Woodbury County District Court. He also pleaded not guilty to operating while intoxicated. Authorities say Guevara had alcohol and marijuana in his system when the vehicle he was driving hit 64-year-old Charles Fluharty on June 13 in Sioux City. Police say Guevara later told officers he was texting on his phone when he hit Fluharty, who died a week after the crash.
Nebraska Man Pulled From Pond Following Accident
POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY, Iowa (AP) – The body of a missing Nebraska man was pulled from an icy Iowa pond on Saturday. Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker said the body of 39-year-old George McNamara was pulled from the water after a search Saturday. He had been reported missing from Bellevue,
Nebraska, since Dec. 22. Officials said a car crash was reported Dec. 22 near the Mormon Bridge. Deputies found a vehicle but no driver that day.
Authorities found McNamara’s body on Saturday after a dive team searched a pond near the crash site. An autopsy is planned.
Nordstrom Employee Caught Stealing Merchandise
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Another Nordstrom employee has been accused of stealing from the company fulfillment center in Cedar Rapids. Linn County court records say 18-year-old Abraham Tarley is charged with theft. His attorney didn’t immediately return a call Monday from The Associated Press.
The Gazette reports thatáTarley tried to sell some of the $7,000 worth of items on Facebook. Investigators say in a criminal complaint that he admitted to the thefts and returned some of the goods. Tarley was at least the fourth Nordstrom employee charged in a little more than a year with thefts from the center.
Colleges, Universities, And Trade Schools See Enrollment Decline
(Des Moines) — There’s been a significant decline in the number of students enrolled in Iowa colleges and universities, COMMUNITY colleges and trade schools. In the fall of 2011, there were more than 363-thousand students enrolled at an Iowa institution — seeking a degree or training beyond high
school. By the fall of 2018, that had dropped by 38 percent — to 225-thousand students. Jay Pennington of the Iowa Department of Education says that high point in 2011 was after the Great Recession.
Total enrollment in Iowa’s 15 area community colleges has declined over the decade, too. An upward trend in Iowa’s high education is the number of Iowa high school students who are taking community college classes.
Last fall, more than 37-thousand Iowa high school students were taking college classes, too. The number of students in the UNITED STATES enrolled in college THIS FALL dipped
below 18 million for the first time this decade.
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Klobuchar Completes 99-County Iowa Campaign Tour
HUMBOLDT, Iowa (AP) – Democratic presidential hopeful Amy Klobuchar says the tour she completed of all 99 Iowa counties is a sign she will go everywhere and represent everyone. It’s also central to her strategy for the lead-off presidential caucuses. Klobuchar is hoping to capitalize on caucus rules that can reward candidates who leave Democratic-heavy areas to meet
smaller groups of voters in less populated counties. The stakes are high as Klobuchar tries to catch the top candidates, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. The caucuses are Feb. 3.
Buttigieg Calls Biden’s Vote On Iraq War Was “Worst Foreign Policy Decision”
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (AP) – Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is calling former Vice President Joe Biden’s vote to authorize the Iraq War part of the nation’s “worst foreign policy decision” of Buttigieg’s lifetime. The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was responding to a question about how his foreign policy experience measures up to others’ in the Democratic race, specifically Biden. Buttigieg says the vote is an example
of why years in Washington is not always the same thing as judgment. Buttigieg made the remarks Sunday while taping the program “Iowa Press” on Iowa Public Television.
