Iowa
Iowa DOT trains for winter driving before it arrives
STORM LAKE, Iowa (KCAU) — Every year, just before winter, Iowa DOT snowplow drivers are put to the test in a simulation to freshen up their skills.
The Iowa DOT contracts with L3Harris Technologies, a company that operates a variety of simulations, to get drivers behind the wheel of a snowplow without being on the road.
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“The seat that the operator sits in is very realistic in the fact that if you are drifting over to the edge of the road and hitting rumble strips, your seat is going to shake,” Craig Bargfrede with the Iowa DOT said. “The controls in the simulator are very, very similar to what you will actually see in the cab of one of our trucks.”
Over the course of two hours, drivers are put through a variety of simulations pf scenarios they could encounter this winter.
“Large areas where high volume traffic, where you have cars all around the truck to rural roads that, you know, you only have two lane type roads… they’ll throw in fatigue scenarios,” Bargfrede said.
Once the person finishes their simulation, the instructor informs them how they did and what they need to improve on.
“Every operator that comes through there is given a score, obviously, but those that may end up on the lower end of the spectrum are just operators that when we provide this feedback to the garage supervisors that maybe trigger some remedial training and the actual truck itself and go through some additional training,” Bargfrede said.
DOT officials say this training has worked wonders over the years, ensuring their drivers are prepared for what’s to come.
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“The gist of this is to get our folks back into the winter mindset,” Bargfrede said. “We do some refreshers on winter driving skills all in a very confined, controlled environment, where, you know, mistakes can be made and learned from and it’s better to do it in that simulator than out on the actual roadway.”
Bargfrede also wanted to remind people to give plows space once snow arrives to help prevent any accidents.
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TAMA COUNTY, Iowa — A pair of power outages left more than 700 people without power in Tama County Friday afternoon.
Alliant Energy says the larger outage, just north of Garwin, was caused by a semi-truck striking one of their power poles. That outages impacted 690 customers as of 5 p.m. Friday.
The smaller outage impacted roughly 36 people in Tama. The outage was caused by equipment needing repairs.
Alliant says crews are on site and working to fix both outages.
SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa (KTIV) – The Iowa Great Lakes community is remembering Leo “Butch” Parks, a longtime lakes-area businessman and founder of Parks Marina.
He died Tuesday, Jan. 6, at the age of 81.
Parks established the marina on East Lake Okoboji in 1983, growing it from a small fishing boat operation into a business with marinas, sales, service, rentals, storage, and popular destinations like the Barefoot Bar.
Parks and his wife, Debbie, also owned Okoboji Boat Works for 23 years.
Funeral services are set for Friday, Jan. 16, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Spirit Lake. It will be followed by a celebration of life at Snapper’s restaurant in Okoboji that evening.
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Copyright 2026 KTIV. All rights reserved.
Iowa
Iowa woman accused of pandering for prostitution and harassment after incidents at Casey’s and a daycare
AURELIA, Iowa (KTIV) – A Northwest Iowa woman is facing charges of harassment and pandering for prostitution after two incidents took place in December 2025.
Forty-seven-year-old Kristal Miller of Odebolt was taken into custody on an arrest warrant and faces three charges: one count of pandering for prostitution and two counts of first-degree harassment, according to court documents.
The charges stem from two separate incidents that took place on Thursday, Dec. 18. 2025.
According to court documents, at 6:15 a.m., Miller reportedly went to the Casey’s General Store, located at 100 Pearl St. in Aurelia. Documents state Miller approached an employee and customers, requesting money from them.
Authorities state Miller claimed she was wanted by the FBI and told people, if anyone called the police, “she would kill them.”
During this encounter, she also allegedly asked an employee to remove the string from her hooded sweatshirt. Documents state when the employee refused this request, she threatened to strangle them.
That same day at 7 a.m., Miller reportedly approached a female employee outside an Aurelia daycare and asked them for money.
Court documents stated Miller suggested the unnamed employee leave her boyfriend. Miller reportedly told the employee, if she did, then she and Miller would both be paid.
Authorities say when she was told no by the employee, Miller became upset and started yelling at them.
Miller also allegedly threatened to “steal her car” and ”take her away to her guys to start a new life.”
She was booked into the Cherokee County Jail on a cash-only bond of $5,000. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled in Cherokee for Friday, Jan. 9, at 10 a.m.
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Copyright 2026 KTIV. All rights reserved.
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