(Radio Iowa) The state has had a program to help low-income Iowans pay their heating bills for 40 years and is now adding one to help with water bills. Christine Taylor oversees both programs — and says they’ve received 10 million dollars in federal funds for the water side.

Taylor says they can also help those behind on the water bills catch up.

She says you can sign up for the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program at your area community action agency.

Taylor says thousands of Iowans could be impacted.

Taylor says the water bill issues are not new for many.

She says the program will pay the water companies and they do not send the money directly to the users.

MINBURN—A boil advisory for the Dallas County city of Minburn and some residents of Woodward has been lifted after test results showed tap water is safe to drink.

DNR and Xenia Rural Water issued the precautionary advisory Saturday following a water main break and pressure loss that drained the Minburn water tower.

After completing repairs and flushing, Xenia sent water samples for laboratory testing to determine if bacteria had entered the water system.

(Radio Iowa) The Iowa Department of Public Health’s website shows influenza activity in the state has been low, but it’s starting to increase. Public health and hospital officials are urging Iowans to get flu shots. Nola Aigner-Davis of the Polk County Public Health Department says Iowa’s medical system is under stress due to the pandemic.

Aigner Davis says the rise in the Covid patient count in Iowa hospitals comes as Iowans who waited to seek care for a serious illness are now hospitalized, too.

The flu shot is available to anyone who is six months or older. According to Iowa Department of Public Health data for August, 16 schools reported at least 10 percent of students were absent due to the flu.

(Radio Iowa) Farmers in Iowa and across the Midwest are keeping a lookout for an exotic bug that was found in Kansas earlier this month. The spotted lanternfly has bright red hind wings with black spots. Robin Pruisner, with the Iowa Department of Agriculture, says the insect could harm nursery stock and woody plants like trees, shrubs and raspberries.

The state ag department says it beefed up public outreach since the Kansas find. Iowa State University entomologist Donald Lewis says this pest and its “piercing-sucking mouthparts” feed on sap, which will weaken lots of fruit and woody trees.

Kansas and federal officials are investigating after one of the bugs was found in a 4-H project. Native to Asia, the spotted lanternfly was first seen in Pennsylvania in 2014 and is a skilled hitchhiker. The Iowa and Nebraska ag departments have both received reports of possible sightings of the insect, but so far they’ve all been false alarms.

The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office released details on a two-vehicle accident on Saturday. At 11:50 a.m. deputies responded to an accident at the intersection of Willow Avenue and 210th Street in Guthrie County.

After investigation it was determined that a 2016 Nissan Frontier pickup driven by 55-year-old Leroy Edward Wagner of Waukee was traveling northbound on Willow Avenue while a 2011 Ford F150 pickup driven by 50-year-old Shawn Allen Baker was traveling eastbound on 210th Street. Wagner failed to yield to Baker at the intersection and the F150 collided with the driver’s side front wheel area of the Frontier. The Frontier ended up in the south ditch along 210th Street to the east of Willow Avenue. No injuries were reported.

Wagner was cited for Failure to Obey a Yield Sign.

The Creston Police Department reports two arrests early Monday.

At 1:40 a.m. Officers arrested 36-year-old William Rondal House of Creston at 304 N Vine Street for Domestic Abuse Assault- 1st Offense. House was released from the Union County Jail on a promise to appear for a later court date.

At 7:30 a.m. 45-year-old Denise Florence Jones of Creston was cited and released from the Law Enforcement Center on a Summons to Appear for the charge of Failure to Abate Nuisance Property.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop in Red Oak at around 12:25-a.m. today (Sunday), resulted in an arrest. Red Oak Police reports 49-year-old Floyd Raymond Henry, II, of Red Oak, was taken into custody near the intersection of Miller Avenue and Valley Street, for Driving While Revoked, a serious misdemeanor. Henry was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

(West Liberty, Iowa) – One person is dead following a collision between a car and a semi tractor trailer Saturday night, in southeast Iowa. The collision occurred in Muscatine County, near the town of West Liberty, just before 10-p.m. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2006 Honda Accord driven by a 30-year-old was traveling south on Highway 70 near 270th Street, when the vehicle crossed over into coming traffic.

The car was struck by a northbound 2012 Kenworth semi, also driven by a person who was said to be 30-years old. No names were released. Both vehicles ended up in the east ditch.

The accident remained under investigation. The Muscatine County Sheriff’s Office, Conesville Fire/EMS & West Liberty EMS assisted the Patrol at the scene.

The 4th Annual Mollie Tibbetts Memorial Run will take place Sunday, September 26th and begins at the BGM school in Brooklyn, Iowa, at 8:30 a.m. Laura Calderwood, Tibbetts’ mother, announced in August that she will donate half of the proceeds from her daughter’s memorial run toward the reward fund for missing Montezuma 11-year-old Xavior Harrelson who disappeared May 27th. Calderwood said she knows the deep pain of missing a child.

Organizers will be collecting free-will donations. Half of this year’s donations will be sent to the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital in Mollie’s honor and the other half will be donated to the Xavior Harrelson Reward Fund, established by the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office. Mollie Tibbetts Memorial apparel will be available until October 8th to help continue to raise funds. You can purchase through Mollie’s Movement by Clicking Here.

Brandie Flathers has organized Mollie’s Memorial Run for three years, raising almost $18,000 for the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. “Giving back to others has always been a thing that others have always said Mollie was great at,” Flathers said.

Volunteers and authorities have been searching for Xavior since his disappearance on May 27th and continue to request information about his whereabouts. The Finding Xavior Harrelson & Mollie’s Movement are raising awareness about Xavior’s disappearance, through social media and by mailing and posting flyers across Iowa and the nation.

Anyone with information on the disappearance of Xavior Harrelson should call 911 or the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office at 641-623-5679.

Donation to the Xavior Harrelson Reward Fund can be mailed to:
Montezuma State Bank
101 South 4th Street
Montezuma, Iowa 50171