Police in Red Oak arrested a man on a 5th Degree Theft charge, Sunday night. 47-year old Robby Dale Lukehart, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 8-p.m. in the 300 block of 1st Avenue. Lukehart was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $300 bond.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump says agriculture is a “vital component” of the U.S. economy and he’s promising to protect the ethanol production mandate and reign in federal farm regulations. “Family farms are the backbone of this country, remember that,” Trump said Saturday. “And I know what’s happening to you.” Trump used part of his speech at Senator Joni Ernst’s event this weekend to speak directly to farmers.

“We’re going to make America grow again. Grow — that begins with supporting our family farms right here in Iowa. Do we have any farmers in the room? Stand up! Beautiful,” Trump said, as the crowd erupted in applause and cheers. Trump is singling out the Waters of the U.S. rule, calling it “a disaster” that must be eliminated. “We are going to end the EPA intrusion into your family homes and your family farms for no reason,” Trump said. “What they’re doing to you is a disgrace and we’re going to get rid of a lot of those regulations that don’t mean anything except cost you a lot of money and a lot of the time and in many cases you lose your farms over the regulations.”

And Trump is accusing President Obama of “lying” about his support of the Renewable Fuels Standard. “You can trust Hillary Clinton far less,” Trump said. “…Hillary Clinton wants to shut down family farms just like she wants to shut down the miners and the steel workers…She will do this not only through radical regulation, but also by raising taxes on family farms.”

Clinton has proposed raising the federal estate tax and people would have to pay if they inherit from any married couple whose estate is worth more than seven million dollars. According to Bloomberg Politics, Clinton’s estate-tax proposals would affect four out of every thousand estates in the country. A Clinton spokesman also says a year ago Clinton offered “a comprehensive plan” to “build a more vibrant rural America” and “Donald Trump will only work to build an economy that works for people like himself.”

On August 26th of last year, Clinton called for “strengthening” the Renewable Fuels Standard and reducing federal regulations on community banks that serve farmers and rural customers. She also promised to “change the formula” for key federal farm programs so “family operations” get crop insurance subsidies, but “big businesses” don’t.

(Radio Iowa)

The group “Progress Iowa” held its second annual “Corn Feed” fundraiser in Des Moines Sunday afternoon and Iowa Democrats at the top of the 2016 General Election ticket spoke to the crowd of about two-hundred. Dave Loebsack of Iowa City — the only Democrat in the state’s congressional election — says there’s a lot on the line this year. “What happens at the top of the ticket has some effect on the rest of us down ballot, so it is absolutely imperative that we get Hillary Clinton elected president of the United States. I know you’re all going to help us do that,” Loebsack said, to applause.

Monica Vernon, Kim Weaver and Jim Mowrer — the three other Democratic congressional candidates in Iowa — also spoke. Patty Judge, the Democrat who is challenging Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, says Grassley is part of “an orchestrated” G-O-P plan to “try to give Barack Obama a black eye every day.” “Everybody said to me when I got into this: ‘Have you absolutely lost your mind?…Don’t you know that can’t beat Chuck Grassley? Chuck Grassley wins elections by 30 or 40 points,” Judge said.

People in the crowd started to clap and one woman yelled “Fired up and ready to go,” Judge continued: “I’m telling you, we are in single digits right now here in August. We can do this.” Former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley was the event’s keynote speaker. O’Malley began with a barb aimed at Terry Branstad, Iowa’s Republican governor, but he spent most of time talking about the race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

“It’s time to put this racist bully in his place and put a tough woman in her place: the White House,” O’Malley said at the end of his remarks to the crowd. Iowa is among the few truly “toss up” states in the General Election, with recent polls showing the presidential race close here. “Early voting” in Iowa starts in a month.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — New data show there’s an increase in the number of former Iowa inmates returning to prison, and corrections officials are still figuring out why. The Iowa Department of Corrections measures recidivism as the percent of offenders released from prison or work release who return to corrections within three years. For the budget year that ended in June, just over 1,600 offenders were in that category for a rate of 34.2 percent. That’s up from 31.9 percent the previous year.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa City officials and a local Realtor still hope to fill a city-owned, 173-acre industrial park that has been vacant for the last seven years. The 420th Street Industrial Park was certified as “shovel ready” in 2012.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Nearly two months after a suspect in a Dubuque killing was ordered to have a psychiatric evaluation he was finally transferred to a state facility earlier this month. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports the delay in Helmon Betwell’s case is fairly typical for Iowa defendants waiting for an evaluation at a state facility in Coralville.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Fort Dodge woman surprised to learn she was pregnant three hours before giving birth. The Des Moines Register reports that the mom didn’t experience any typical symptoms of pregnancy before she gave birth, so the arrival of her fourth child was a surprise Friday.

(Update to earlier report) The Iowa State Patrol says two people were injured in a single-vehicle crash Sunday afternoon on Interstate 80 east of Walnut. Officials say the driver of a 2007 Toyota Camry, 34-year old Osam Adam Mohamed Juma, of Philadephia, PA, and his passenger, 23-year old Ali Khamis, of Fort Morgan, CO., who were not wearing their seat belts, were transported by Walnut Rescue to the Cass County Hospital.

The pair were injured when the car they were in went out of control at around 4:17-p.m. as it was westbound and crossed the median before crossing the eastbound lanes at the 46.6-mile marker. The car overturned onto its top and came to rest in the south ditch. The accident remains under investigation.

Photo submitted to KJAN

The ISP was assisted at the scene by deputies with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, Walnut Fire and Rescue, and personnel with Iowa Dept. of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Enforcement (MVE).

A rollover accident on Interstate 80 Sunday afternoon sent at least two people to the hospital in Atlantic. According to authorities, a passenger car was traveling west on I-80 at about the 47-mile marker, when it crossed the median and flipped into the eastbound ditch. The right lane of I-80 eastbound was closed for a time while emergency crews and law enforcement were on the scene. The accident happened at around 4:35-p.m.

Photo submitted to KJAN

The accident was under investigation by the Iowa State Patrol. No names have been released, and additional details are currently not available.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Nearly two months after a suspect in a Dubuque killing was ordered to have a psychiatric evaluation he was transferred to the facility earlier this month. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports the delay in Helmon Betwell’s case is fairly typical for Iowa defendants waiting for an evaluation at a state facility in Coralville. The Iowa Medical and Classification Center has 18 beds to serve the entire state, and there is always a waiting list.

Fred Scaletta with the state Corrections Department says the current waiting list has 11 people on it, and that is shorter than normal. In June, a judge decided Betwell wasn’t competent to stand trial for the sexual assault and death of 66-year-old Nancy Krapfl. He will be evaluated and treated at the Coralville facility.

A crowd of more than 18-hundred gathered in the Iowa State Fair’s livestock pavilion Saturday to hear from many of the Iowa Republicans who are on the 2016 General Election ticket in November, with presidential nominee Donald Trump serving as the event’s closer. “Together, we’re going to win this state in November and we are going to win the White House for the American people,” Trump said, to cheers. The event was Senator Joni Ernst’s second annual Roast and Ride fundraiser.

“Folks, I can’t emphasize this enough,” Ernst said, “but we must come together and work to get out the vote for the entire Republican ticket.” Iowa’s three Republican congressmen and the Republican candidate for congress in Iowa’s second congressional district spoke, as did Senator Chuck Grassley. Grassley told the crowd he is “not hearing enough” at his town meetings about the Supreme Court.

“Because this is not an election just about the next four years for the president of the United States,” Grassley said. “This is an election for the direction of the Supreme Court for the next 40 years.” Grassley got a standing ovation from the crowd when he talked about keeping “a finger in the dike” to block President Obama’s nominee, so the next president can fill the vacancy on the court.

“There’s apt to be two or three more vacancies on the Supreme Court,” Grassley said, “so let’s take advantage seriously, so we’ve got a Supreme Court that is going to protect our constitution.” Trump pledged to protect Americans by pursuing the “consistent” application of the nation’s immigration laws. “On day one, I’m going to begin swiftly removing criminal illegal elements from this country,” Trump said, to cheers. Trump invited the family of Sarah Root on stage.

Root is the 21-year-old college graduate from Council Bluffs who was killed in Omaha in January by a drunk driver who was in the country illegally. Michelle Root was greeted with supportive applause. “Thirty weeks ago we were watching our daughter walk across the stage to get her bachlors in criminal investigations, not to know that 15 hours later she would be killed by an illegal alien,” she said. “…Everything we do, all the fight we’re doing is to save the next person from having to go through what we’re going through.” Root thanked Trump for his stand on the issue and concluded her remarks with two words: “Go Trump.”

The crowd cheered and many started chanting: “Go Trump.” Sarah’s family, including her father Scott, were among the motorcyclists who joined Senator Ernst Saturday morning for the fundraiser for a non-profit group that helps disabled veterans. “Trump’s been the only one who’s been there for my family, along with all the other Republicans, so you help the people who are helping you,” Root said. “He wants to close that border up.”

Ernst, Grassley and the two Republican Senators from Nebraska are co-sponsoring a bill in congress that would require federal agents to take someone into custody if they are charged with a serious crime and have entered the country illegally. More than 400 motorcyclists participated in the 42-mile ride through the countryside outside of metropolitan Des Moines. Motorcyclist Jay Naeve of Gilmore City voted for Trump in the Iowa Caucuses. Naeve jumped on board with Trump early in the campaign.

“Just as soon as he said: ‘Build the wall and bring back jobs,'” Naeve says. “That’s what we need.” Virginia Stone of Waukee says Trump is “attracting a lot of dissatisfied” Americans who haven’t voted before. “I think there’s a great current of people that aren’t actually coming out and saying they’re for Trump because they get tired of being called racists and Nazis, like Hillary’s doing right now,” Stone says. “I think it’s going to be a surprise on Election Day. I think he’s going to do a lot better than all the polls are showing.”

The chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party issued a statement criticizing Governor Branstad, Ernst, Grassley and the three Republican congressmen from Iowa who “choose to stand with Trump and continue to condone his divisive rhetoric.”

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – New data show there’s an increase in the number of former Iowa inmates returning to prison, and corrections officials are still figuring out why. The Iowa Department of Corrections measures recidivism as the percent of offenders released from prison or work release who return to corrections within three years. For the budget year that ended in June, just over 1,600 offenders were in that category for a rate of 34.2 percent. That’s up from 31.9 percent the previous year, when just over 1,500 inmates returned.

Lettie Prell, research director for the department, says her office is reviewing the possible causes and plans to release a report this fall. Department officials have tracked the recidivism rate for decades. They say a low rate helps inmates and keeps the public safe.

Police in Red Oak, late Saturday night, arrested Nicholas Allen Philby, of Red Oak, for Public Intoxication. Philby was taken into custody at around 11:55-p.m. in the 700 block of N. Broadway Street. He was brought to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and held on a $300 cash bond.