(Radio Iowa) — We’re less than two weeks away from Election Day and Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is reminding voters they’ll need identification when heading to the polls for city and school board elections on November 5th. Pate says last year’s soft rollout of the Voter I-D program was successful. “Voters got it. We had a record voter turnout and so going into this cycle, we just want to make sure the I’s are dotted and the T’s are crossed and that people get the gist of it,” Pate says. “Bring your driver’s license or you can get your free Voter ID card from your county auditor.”

Other forms of I-D that will be accepted include: a U-S passport, a military or veteran’s I-D, and a Tribal I-D card. Pate says 94-percent of the Iowans who are registered to vote have a driver’s license they can use as at the polls. If you don’t have a driver’s license and you haven’t received a voter I-D card, Pate says one call should fix you up. “If they’re already registered, it’s real simple,” he says. “They just need to call the county auditor and they’ll take care of it for them.” Voter I-D laws have been a political issue for years, but Pate argues it brings integrity to our state’s elections. “You don’t put a new lock on the house after the burglar steals something from your home, so when it comes to Voter ID, it’s a natural protection,” Pate says. “I’m very proud to be able to tell people in Iowa, we’ve got your back covered when it comes to the integrity of our elections.”

A Polk County judge recently upheld a majority of the state’s Voter I-D law, stating that the requirement for voters to show identification at the polls does not violate the state’s constitution. “The judge came down with his ruling and he indicated that Voter ID was the law of the land,” Pate says. “Out of 35 pages, he had five sentences removed, so I think that’s pretty clear and so we are ready to operate on that.” For more information, visit: http://voterreadyiowa.org.

(Radio Iowa) — Heavy winds and rain have help knock down more leaves and they are starting to create a ground cover in many yards. D-N-R air quality specialist Christine Paulson says there are still some areas of Iowa where you can burn leaves — but she says that’s not the best option. “The downside is that there are air pollutants that can come off burning leaves. A lot of people think of leaves as something really natural and organic,” according to Paulson, “but they do have compounds in them that when they are burned can be harmful. Carbon monoxide fine particles.” She says some people like the smell of burning leaves — but she says it can be a health risk.

“That can really impact folks who already have some breathing issues. Folks with asthma, respiratory problems, a lot of times the elderly are more susceptible — and children as well — since childrens’ lungs are still developing,” she says. Paulson says leaves provide a lot of benefits when not burned. She says one good use is composting them. “The leaves are a great addition because they provide carbon and that needs to be added if you put green material, food scraps like nitrogen. It needs both of those to have a good compost pile,” Paulson says. “Another option is to just mow them into the lawn if you’ve got a mulching mower. But even just a regular lawn mower can work as well.”

She says there are a lot of different types of mulching systems now available. “If you don’t have a lot of space, a lot of people like to use the containers. The turning containers and things like that, that can heat it up and keep it moist,” she explains. Those with more space can just put the leaves in a long pile and keep turning them as they break down. You may be worried that the mowed up leaves will do damage to your lawn. Paulson says you can spread the leaves out a bit before mowing them if you have a large amount — and after they are chopped up they will break down even more.

“It’s really good for the lawn. It’s a natural form of fertilizer for the lawn so it can help so you don’t have to apply as much chemicals on them. It will help keep the lawn green –because it helps keep moisture in there — so it doesn’t dry out as much,” Paulson says. Many communities provide some sort of bag or container pick up for your leaves and yard waste. Paulson says some allow you to rake the leaves to the curb and they come by and suck them up with a suction truck. Communities often have free drop off of leaves and other yard waste that you can take advantage of to clean up your leaves.

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Department of Public Safety today (Thursday), said 35-year-old Richard Samuel Grylls, of Oskaloosa, was arrested without incident, Wednesday at his home. Grylls was charged with one count of Assault (a Class C Felony) and one count of Child Endangerment Causing Injury (a Class D Felony) against a non-relative infant.

Richard S. Grylls

The charges against him were the result of an investigation conducted by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s Major Crime Unit and the Oskaloosa Police Department. The investigation started October 16th, after a 10-month old was brought to the Mahaska County Hospital with multiple injuries. The infant is expected to make a full recovery. Grylls is currently in the Mahaska County Jail without bond.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) — A city official says Marshalltown is moving ahead with plans to build a replacement hangar and terminal at the city airport. Public works director Justin Nickel told the Times-Republican that the Marshalltown Municipal Airport project is expected to cost $2.6 million and be finished by next summer. He says the Federal Aviation Administration will provide $600,000 for the hangar and the Iowa Transportation Department will hand over $470,000 for the terminal and site preparation. The city will pay for the remainder.

Nickel says construction of the replacement terminal is less certain but also says he’d “bet that both are happening.” The larger hangar will help the airport house corporate jets from businesses such as JBS, Lennox and Emerson Process Management. Nickel says the current hangar’s door isn’t tall enough so jets can be parked inside overnight.

A traffic stop on a speeding vehicle Wednesday evening in Adams County, resulted in the arrest of a man from Union County. Sheriff’s officials say Corry Johnston, of Thayer, initially refused to pull over for a deputy who had activated his emergency lights. Johnston turned north onto Mulberry Avenue and then east onto 220^th Street before his vehicle finally stopped at the intersection of Mulberry and 220^th Streets. Johnston was arrested for Driving While Revoked, and cited for speeding.

A Mississippi River ferry service connecting northeast Iowa with southwest Wisconsin has closed for the season. The Pride of Cassville Car Ferry service posted Tuesday on its Facebook page that it was closing because of the continued high water. The Telegraph Herald reports that the ferry usually ends the service in late October. The ferry runs from Cassville, Wisconsin, to a landing east of Millville, Iowa.

It was a short season for the ferry. It didn’t open until June 28, about two months past its normal opening in early May, and the high water frequently interrupted service. Heavier than normal snowmelt in the late winter and frequent and heavy rains through the spring led to flooding that approached record levels in several towns along the Mississippi.

A U-S Marshall in Omaha told television station KETV that a fugitive from Council Bluffs, 29-year old Jamie Kennedy, surrendered to authorities Wednesday night, at an apartment near 100th and and Crown Point plazas. Kennedy was taken into custody after 8 p.m. following an hour-long standoff. Officials say tips led investigators to Kennedy’s location at the apartment complex. Additional information was not immediately available.

Fugitive Jamie Kennedy

Kennedy, who used a vehicle to ram a Council Bluffs Police Officer’s vehicle during his initial apprehension attempt late Tuesday morning, abandoned his vehicle in Omaha and was not seen until late Wednesday afternoon. But he once again eluded officers and agents until he eventually surrendered peacefully.

(Radio Iowa) — The use of electronic cigarettes and “vaping” products are unsafe at any age, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and Iowa’s governor is exploring her policy options to respond to the problem. Governor Kim Reynolds and her top staff will meet today (Thursday) to review ideas — including an outright ban on e-cigarettes and vaping cartridges.

“I think something like eight states have banned, several by executive order,” Reynolds says. “We talked a lot about educating the public.” The board of health in the state of Washington banned the sale of flavored vaping products last week. Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New York and Rhode Island have all approved some form of an electronic cigarette ban. Some of those are being challenged in court. Reynolds told reporters she’s not afraid to use her executive authority to establish a ban in Iowa.

“But we’ll take a look at it and see if that makes the most sense and see if that makes the most sense there are other things we can do in the interim before we move to that step,” Reynolds said, “and maybe it’s a multi-stepped process, see if some of the things they’re recommending works in the short term and if we’re not seeing the results that we think we should, maybe that’s something we can look to in the future.”

A recent federal survey found 28 percent of high schoolers admitted to regularly using e-cigarettes. There have been 41 vaping-related illnesses reported in Iowa. Reynolds says 34 of those patients had used a vaping cartridge that contained T-H-C, which is an illegal drug.

Police in Council Bluffs responded to the reported robbery of a Domino’s Pizza store at 2004 W. Broadway, early this (Thursday) morning. The call came in at around 12:12-a.m. Authorities say one employee told them as he was returning from taking out the trash, two black males wearing ski masks approached him.

One of the suspects pointed a handgun at the employee, and they entered the business. Once inside the suspects took an undetermined amount of cash and left the business in an unknown direction. Anyone with information is asked to contact Council Bluffs Police Criminal Investigation Division at 712-328-4728 or Crime Stoppers 712-328-7867(STOP)