A man on a motorcycle who attempted to elude law enforcement Monday afternoon in western Iowa, crashed and was transported to a hospital. The Iowa State Patrol reports 22-year-old Matthew Valverde, of Omaha, was operating a 2003 Yamaha YZF6R, when he failed to negotiate a curve just north of County Road G-14 on L-20, in Pottawattamie County.

The cycle went off the road and into the west ditch before coming to rest. The accident happened at around 4:48-p.m. The Patrol says Valverde was transported by Missouri Valley Rescue to Bergan Mercy Hospital in Omaha. The Patrol was assisted by the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, Missouri Valley Police and Mo. Valley Rescue.

(Radio Iowa) Lawmakers in the state of Nevada have passed a bill they hope puts a Nevada PRIMARY ahead of Iowa’s Caucuses in 2024. If Nevada’s governor signs the bill into law, it sets up a political fight. Iowa’s Caucuses have been the nation’s first test for presidential candidates for decades. New Hampshire law requires that state to host the nation’s first primary. Any change in the positioning of presidential primaries and caucuses requires approval from the two major political parties.

Iowa Democrats AND Republicans have fended off challenges from Michigan, Louisiana and Florida. Presidents Bush, Obama and Trump have favored keeping the primary and caucus system they traversed to get to the White House in place for their re-election campaigns. But delayed results from Iowa’s 2020 Caucuses and complaints about a lack of diversity in Iowa and New Hampshire have fueled a debate among Democrats about re-ordering events in the party’s presidential nominating process.

Some Iowa Democrats have argued the Caucuses are a distraction and the party would be better off if the Caucuses are cancelled. Iowa Republican Party leaders say the G-O-P has no plans to abandon the Caucuses. A handful of Republicans who are considering a run for the White House in 2024 have already made trips to Iowa this year or have announced appearances here this summer.

(Radio Iowa) As the rate of Covid vaccinations in Iowa slows, Hy-Vee is now offering ten-dollar gift cards to every individual who completes their Covid vaccination at a Hy-Vee Pharmacy. To qualify for the Hy-Vee gift card, a person must get the single shot of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine or a second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines from Hy-Vee. The incentive ends November 11th.

Governor Kim Reynolds has set a goal of getting 75 percent of Iowans vaccinated against Covid by the end of June. Iowa did not reach her goal of getting 65 percent of Iowans vaccinated by the end of May.

The state’s coronavirus website shows just under half of eligible Iowans have gotten at least one shot. About 44 percent of eligible Iowans are fully vaccinated.

Rescue crews and law enforcement responded Monday evening to an accident on I-80 westbound between mile-markers 49 & 50. Dispatch reports said the collision involved a semi and an SUV. Both vehicles were located in the north ditch, following the crash, which was reported at around 5:43-p.m.

Marne Fire and Rescue and Walnut Rescue were dispatched to the scene. Reports indicated at least one person was transported by LifeNet helicopter to the UNMC in Omaha. Additional details were not immediately available late Monday evening.

(Radio Iowa) – Northwest Iowa authorities are investigating a shooting that left one person dead and another wounded outside a rural residence near Luton today (Monday). Woodbury County Sheriff Chad Sheehan says first responders were dispatched to the scene at about 1:30 p.m. A wounded female was taken to a hospital and a man at the scene was dead. Sheehan says authorities got a description of a suspect and a vehicle.

“A vehicle matching the description was stopped down in Sloan,” the sheriff says, “and we believe that we have a suspect in custody, but this is very preliminary in the investigation.” The names of the victims have not been released.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office, Monday, reported three arrests occurred between May 14th and May 24th. Authorities say at around 8:25-p.m. on the 24th, Deputies arrested 24-year-old Trey Mills, of Kent, on a warrant for Failure to Appear (in Court).

On or about 11:15-p.m. May 22nd, Adams County Deputies arrested 30-year-old Carlos Gutierrez, of Creston, on a Probation Violation warrant. His cash-only bond was set at $1,000.

And, or or about May 14th, Deputies in Adams County arrested 37-year-old Kimberly Bloom, of Corning, on warrants for Failure to Appear.

Police in Shenandoah said Monday, a local man was arrested Sunday evening, on a drug charge. Authorities say 18-year-old Isaiah Scott Carpenter, of Shenandoah, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense – Marijuana. His arrest took place after the Shenandoah Police Department’s K9 Unit conducted a traffic stop on a suspicious vehicle in Waubonsie Park in Shenandoah.

Carpenter was transported to the Page County Jail, where he was being held on $1,000 bond.

(Updated 5:30-p.m.) Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports, that at around 10:24-p.m., Sunday, the Adair County Communications Center received a cellular 911 call requesting an ambulance to a wind turbine tower site located southeast of Stuart, with regard to a patient who had suffered apparent, unknown injuries. Stuart Fire and Rescue Units were paged to respond.

MidAmerican Energy officials say one of its workers got stuck in a blade of a wind turbine. It happened at the Arbor Hill Wind Farm, southeast of Stuart. After extricating the patient from the scene, the patient was transported by ground ambulance to a Des Moines area hospital, where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries, and released.

All work at the site is on hold, while MidAmerican conducts its investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – A judge has ordered a change in location for the 1st degree murder trial of a Fort Dodge man accused of killing his estranged wife. Forty-four-year-old Justin Christopher Hurdel will now stand trial in Boone County. A Webster County judge ordered the change of venue due to local media coverage and a failure to select a jury in Webster County.

Hurdel is accused of killing his estranged wife in August of last year, police say he then led them on a man hunt for 17 hours. During that span Hurdel suffered a self inflicted gun shot wound to the face. The trial of Justin Christopher Hurdel is set to begin in Boone County June 22nd.