Two people died and another was injured during two separate crashes Tuesday night in eastern Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 17-year old male died in a rollover accident in southeast Iowa’s Marion County. The Patrol says the teen was driving a 2000 Chevy S-10 pickup too fast on a 90% ice and snow packed road south of Pleasantville at around 7:50-p.m., when the vehicle went out of control and rolled into a ditch before landing on its top. The driver, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected and died at the scene. His name was not immediately released.

The second accident happened in Marshall County, when a 1998 Chevy K-1500 pickup driven by 21-year old Kyle Borota, of Garwin, went out of control on a gravel road and entered a farm field before rolling over. Borota was ejected from the truck as it rolled. He was not wearing a seat belt. His passenger, 18-year old Cole Purdy, of Marshalltown, was injured and transported to Unity Point by ambulance. Purdy was also not wearing a seat belt.

An electric space heater is “highly suspected” as the cause of a house fire Tuesday night, in Atlantic. Firefighters were called to 1308 Birch at around 7:44-p.m. Fire Chief Mark McNees told KJAN when they arrived, flames were shooting out of a window. Crews got a quick knock-down from the outside before entry was made into the rental home. For a time, it was unclear whether the persons who lived there – Dean Barber and his adult son – were home or not, but McNees said they learned the two were on the way to eastern Iowa where they planned to have Thanksgiving with Barber’s daughter. The pair were planning on returning to Atlantic sometime today.

Ric Hanson/photos

McNees said one of two electric space heaters is the likely cause of the blaze, which caused substantial damage to the inside of the home. The State Fire Marshal’s Office will be contacted to get a second opinion on which of the devices are to blame. One of the heaters, McNees said, was near a couch. The contents of the home were a substantial loss, but McNees said Barber has rental insurance. The Red Cross will be contacted today to offer assistance as needed.

Crews were on the scene until about 10-p.m. Atlantic Fire and Rescue was assisted at the scene by Atlantic Police, Medivac Ambulance, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies, Atlantic Municipal Utilities, ce and the Cass County Emergency Management Agency.

(Radio Iowa) – Today (Wednesday) is expected to be one of the busiest travel days of the year and many savvy Iowa air travelers are spending a little extra for a big convenience. Kevin Foley, executive director of the Des Moines Airport Authority, says T-S-A Pre-Check allows for expedited security screenings, which is a big plus as the regular line for X-rays and screenings may be many hundreds of people long. “You don’t have to take your shoes off, you don’t have to take your coat off, you don’t have to worry about taking your laptop out of the bag,” Foley says. “You don’t have to take hardly anything out of your bags so the throughput is much greater and even though the lines are growing a little bit, they still have a set goal of no more than a five minute wait in that Pre-Check line.”

The cost of T-S-A Pre-Check is 85-dollars for a five-year pass. “People often ask me, ‘I only fly once a year, is Pre-Check worth it?’,” Foley says. “If you fly once a year and Precheck ends up costing you $15 a year, that’s $7.50 when you go out from Des Moines and $7.50 when you come back and it’s worth every penny.”

To sign up for T-S-A Pre-Check, you’ll need to fill out a form, make an appointment to be fingerprinted and have a background check run. If approved, you’ll be issued a K-T-N or Known Traveler Number which you can use when booking a flight. If you’re planning on air travel to other countries, Foley has another suggestion.
“Global Entry is the Customs and Border Protection side of things,” Foley says, “but it includes Pre-Check as well and it gets you through Customs if you’re going internationally, kind of in the similar process as Pre-Check.”

Global entry costs $250 and also lasts five years. Learn more about both programs at tsa-dot-gov.

Red Oak Police, Tuesday evening, arrested 51-year old Mark Ray Maley, of Red Oak. Maley was taken into custody at around 6-p.m. in the 200 block of E. Corning Street, on a charge of Public Intoxication. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

Deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office today (Wednesday), arrested 55-year old Scott Timothy Brown, of Grant. He was taken into custody at around 2:30-a.m. following a traffic stop, and brought to the Montgomery County Jail. Brown was wanted on a Pottawattamie County Bench warrant for Failure to Appear in court, on an original charge of Driving While Revoked. His bond was set at $10,000.

(Radio Iowa) — Projects to rehabilitate old buildings in six Iowa cities were awarded a combined $23 million in state tax credits Tuesday. Brooke Miller is a spokesperson for the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), which helps administer the State Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program. “It’s designed to promote the retention of unique, character-defining buildings and building features that contribute to the community and the neighborhood overall,” Miller said.

There were 14 applicants requesting $62 million in tax credits, but just seven projects were selected for the $23 million made available for this round of funding. The tax credits were approved for two projects in Sioux City, along with other projects in Jefferson, Council Bluffs, Fairfield, Waterloo, and Des Moines.

In Council Bluffs, Pace Harvester II, LLC, received more than $3.6-million in the form of tax credits to turn the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company building into an educational/museum.

The communities benefiting from the program plan to turn potential eye sores into hotels, museums, office and residential space. For more details: https://t.e2ma.net/click/uf38qb/yikj6g/uvjkfo

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:15 a.m. CST

PLEASANTVILLE, Iowa — A 17-year old male died in a rollover accident Tuesday night, in southeast Iowa’s Marion County. The Iowa State Patrol reports the teen was driving a pickup too fast on a 90% ice and snow packed road south of Pleasantville at around 7:50-p.m., when the vehicle went out of control and rolled into a ditch before landing on its top. The driver, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected and died at the scene. His name was not immediately released.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A longtime Roman Catholic priest in Iowa has been removed from the ministry a year after a girl complained that he improperly touched her. The Diocese of Sioux City says a fourth-grader alleged that the Rev. Brian Danner rubbed the top of her leg while taking her confession at a church in Humboldt. The diocese lawyer says Danner’s actions were inappropriate but didn’t constitute sexual abuse. No charges have been filed.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A state audit says the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has been mismanaging a multimillion-dollar fund set up to help oversee Iowa livestock farms and their manure. The audit report issued Tuesday said the agency improperly transferred money from a state fund meant to finance oversight of livestock farms.

NORTHWOOD, Iowa (AP) — Officials say some of the nearly 170 Samoyed dogs seized from an overcrowded puppy mill in northern Iowa are being placed with shelters and rescue groups elsewhere in the Midwest. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals announced Tuesday that dogs have been sent to Iowa shelters in Mason City and Waterloo; to a Wichita, Kansas, shelter and to one in Omaha, Nebraska. The rest will stay at an undisclosed shelter where experts can complete assessments for the investigation.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is replacing her legal counsel days after winning a four-year term in office. Reynolds’ press secretary Brenna Smith confirms that attorney Colin Smith has left the office as of Nov. 14. Smith says that Windsor Heights attorney Michael Boal will replace Smith beginning Nov. 28.

Firefighters in Atlantic were called to the scene of a residential structure fire Tuesday night. The call about a house on fire in the 1300 block of Birch Street (1308 Birch), came in at around 7:44-p.m. For a time, it was unclear whether the persons who lived there – a man and his adult son – were home or not. Crews later learned the two were not home when the fire broke out.

Crews were on the scene until about 10-p.m. There was no immediate word on where the fire started or a cause.  Atlantic Fire and Rescue was assisted at the scene by Atlantic Police, Medivac Ambulance, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office and Cass County Emergency Management Agency.

Ric Hanson/photos

The Atlantic City Council, Tuesday evening, recognized the Atlantic High School Girls Swim Team. Six members of the team attending the meeting posed for pictures by the media. Five others live out of town and were unable to attend. Mayor Dave Jones spoke about the commitment the girls have to training for their events, under the guidance of their Coach, Dean Junker. That includes practicing at around 5:30-a.m. and again later in the evening. They swim a total of five-miles per day.

AHS Swim Team: From left to right – Erin Barrick; Ava Bruckner; Bryer Rose; Annamrie Lowary; Cambry Miller; and Dazia Sorensen. Missing are: McKenna Ewoldt, of Harlan; Kate Landhuis & Paige Daly, of Clarinda; Clare Christensen & Aleah Hermansen, of Audubon. (Ric Hanson/photo – w/thanks to Barb Barrick)

The team also lifts weights to keep up their strength and stamina. Dean Junker has coached the team for 13-years. For the fifth-year in a row, the Atlantic Girls Swim Team made it to the State Competition this year, and finished strong, ranking 12th out of 40 teams.

In other business, the Council approved the Fiscal Year 2018 Urban Renewal Report. And, in his report, City Administrator John Lund said the Rental Inspection report had been completed and will be submitted to members of the Community Protection Committee (CPC) to review, and determine if and/or how they wish to proceed.

Lund said also, 16 final business owner applications for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) related to downtown facade improvements had been turned-in. He said the architects will be in town next week to conduct initial photography and taking down initial schematic drawings. Lund said “They won’t be ready to discuss details with the property owners just yet. Right now they’re just trying to draft stuff so they can be in compliance with the CDBG requirements.

He said also the property rollback figures for next fiscal year have gone up, which gives the city “A little breathing room” in the budget.” Roll-back is a term that applies to the property tax rate as it changes year over year, in relation to property values. In Iowa, more than 20 years ago, residential property values were rising quickly. To help cushion the impact of high inflation, the Legislature passed an assessment limitation law called rollback. Increases in assessed values for residential and agricultural property are subject to this assessment limitation formula.

Sheriff’s officials in Cass County have released the name of the truck driver whose vehicle, equipped with a crane, rolled onto its side into a ditch Tuesday morning, south of Wiota. Authorities say 50-year old Wesley Nicholas, of Essex, was driving a 2017 Peterbilt truck with a crane attached, when the vehicle slipped onto the shoulder of Cass County Road N-28 (690^th Street), at around 9:45-a.m. Nicholas had reportedly been adjusting the cab’s heater control knobs as wasn’t paying attention to the road, when the accident happened just south of Lansing Road.

Cumberland, Massena and Wiota Fire and Rescue responded to the scene, along with Medivac Ambulance, the Cass County Emergency Management Agency, and Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies. Cumberland Fire Chief Sean South told KJAN News Nicholas had to be extricated from the cab by crews using the Jaws of Life (a mechanical extraction tool).  Nicholas was conscious and breathing, and talking with rescuers before he was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital by Medivac.

Both lanes of N-28 were blocked for a time. Damage to the truck and crane, which was owned by Bruce Supplies of Red Oak,was estimated at $500,000. Authorities cited Nicholas Failure to Maintain Control.