Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:45 a.m. CST

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Northwest Iowa authorities say they arrested a Colorado man with 77 pounds (35 kilograms) of marijuana in his vehicle. Court records say Darrel Wait, of Thornton, Colorado, is charged with two counts of possession of a controlled drug and with other crimes. His attorney didn’t immediately return a call Thursday from The Associated Press.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A city official says Mason City’s fire chief has quit his post. Interim City Administrator Kevin Jacobson confirmed Wednesday that Chief Al Dyer Jr.’s resignation letter had been submitted to the city. Jacobson and Mayor Eric Bookmeyer declined to say why Dyer had stepped down. Dyer had been put on administrative leave Nov. 2 for reasons that have not been disclosed either. He’s declined to comment.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A northwest Iowa man has pleaded guilty to illegally manufacturing anabolic steroids. Prosecutors say 23-year-old James Nhan, of Orange City, entered the plea Monday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City. Experts say anabolic steroids are considered controlled substances that are related to testosterone and promote the growth of skeletal muscle and the development of male sexual characteristics. Nhan’s sentencing date has not yet been set.

KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa judge has awarded a default judgment to parents and former students who sued a southeast Iowa boarding school, alleging that it used isolation boxes and allowed sexual harassment and abuse. Lee County documents say the owner of Midwest Academy, Ben Trane, and the other entities never responded to the lawsuit filed against them in March 2016. The judge granted the complainants’ judgment motion last week.

(Radio Iowa) — A study finds Iowa’s kids are becoming just as sedentary and chunky as their parents. The report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation finds almost 30-percent of Iowa children between the ages of 10 and 17 are overweight or obese. It follows a recent report that found 32-percent of Iowa adults in that category. Foundation program officer Jasmine Hall-Ratliff says we continue preach about the virtues of diet and exercise. “But in a lot of neighborhoods and communities, that’s difficult to do because there aren’t grocery stores available or the schools don’t have good policies for physical activity while kids are in school,” Hall-Ratliff says, “or workplaces have not implemented policies and practices that encourage their employees to be physically active during the work day.”

The report also found almost 15-percent of young Iowa children, between the ages of two and four years, were overweight or obese. Iowa simply isn’t doing all it can, according to the report, to promote a healthy lifestyle in schools — or pre-schools. “There are policy recommendations that early childcare centers have a definition for good, vigorous physical activities for their young kids, 30 to 60 minutes a day being really active, running around, jumping around, that sort of thing,” Hall-Ratliff says, “but Iowa does not have that kind of policy in place.”

There’s no “silver bullet” solution to bringing the obesity numbers down, she says, and that’s unfortunate. Parents are a tremendous influence on their children in many ways, so given the number of obese Iowa adults, she says it’s little surprise so many children are shaping up the same way. “It’s what’s being served and sold in schools, what kind of physical activity policies are in place in schools,” Hall-Ratliff says. “It’s also the practice of eating healthfully and being physically active and there have often been recommendations that parents and kids be active together, walk outside together, so that the parents can model healthy behavior.”

The obesity report for young children ranks Iowa 21st in the nation, a slight drop, while the rankings for middle and high schoolers place Iowa 30th, a slight rise. As for adults, Iowa ranks as the 13th most obese state, a rate that’s holding steady. See the full report at: http://www.healthyamericans.org/

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Northwest Iowa authorities say they arrested a Colorado man with 77 pounds of marijuana in his vehicle. Court records say 34-year-old Darrel Wait, of Thornton, Colorado, is charged with two counts of possession of a controlled drug and with other crimes.

Authorities say a Woodbury County sheriff’s deputy made a traffic stop on Wait’s vehicle Sunday. A police drug dog taken to the scene alerted officers to the likelihood that drugs were in the vehicle. Police say a subsequent search uncovered the pot.

(Updated) — A woman from Pottawattamie County was struck and killed during an SUV versus pedestrian accident Thursday morning, in Shelby County. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim as 50-year old Patsy Ann Maria Nuzum, of Avoca. The Iowa State Patrol reports Nuzum was struck by a 2005 Chevy Trail Blazer, as she was walking south in the northbound lane of Highway 59, about one-quarter of a mile north of 700th Street. The accident happened at around 5:52-a.m., as the SUV, driven by 20-year old Kourtnie Birgenheier, of Harlan, was passing a pickup truck pulling a trailer, as both vehicles were traveling south on Highway 59. Nuzum came to rest in the east ditch after she was struck. She died at the scene.

The accident remains under investigation by the Iowa State Patrol, who were assisted by Deputies with the Shelby County Sheriff’ Office, Harlan Police and Harlan Fire Department.

Turkeys aren’t the only birds of interest this Thanksgiving. A farm in western Iowa may be the solution to a peacock problem in southern Florida. Miami area residents are frustrated by the wild birds making noise, leaving droppings, scratching cars and gobbling landscaping. Some resort to killing the birds and raiding nests to break eggs. Dennis Fett, who runs a peacock farm near Minden, says he’d gladly take any and all of the problem peacocks ruffling feathers in Florida.

“We’ve offered our services. If they will take them, then we’ll be off and running,” Fett says. “I will adopt all of the baby peachicks that they have and put them on our farm here. If there’s too many, then we’ll find places that will adopt them off our website, peafowl.com.” The adult peafowl can be adopted, too, and shipped anywhere in the U-S economically, he says. Much like roosters, the colorful peacocks often crow — loudly — at sunrise, which can rub some folks the wrong way.

“Sometimes people had peacocks in the early days and then with urban sprawl, it causes problems and they encroach on humans’ backyards,” Fett says. “They cause problems with their noise and their excrement and that sort of thing. For some reason, some people really hate them and some people really love them.” Peacocks can make excellent pets but Fett says they’re not for most city-dwellers.

“We always recommend against doing that if you don’t have a place like we do in the country or a place where the neighbors are not close,” Fett says. “Number one, the noise will be a problem. Number two, they wander and they like to eat things in your garden and that could be a problem if your neighbor has a prize tomato plant ready to be eaten.” The Fett farm is now home to about 85 mature peacocks but he had more than 200 a few years back, prior to a damaging tornado that cut through the region. He’d like to build his peafowl population back up with the Florida birds.

“Oh my gosh, we have room for many more,” Fett says. “We would take everything they have. If someone wants to endow the project, we would even build new special holding places for these birds until they’re adopted out.” Fett considers himself an expert on peafowl and he’s consulted on populations in New York, Hawaii and even at the late Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. He’s written books on peafowl, composed songs and videos about them, and runs the Peacock Information Center at www.peafowl.com.

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Karla James in Omaha)

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The E-P-A will NOT make a major change to federal rules for WHERE most ethanol is to be blended into gasoline. The oil industry had been pushing the Trump Administration to lift the “obligation” that refineries blend ethanol into gasoline. The responsibility would then shift to fuel distributors. Under current rules, U.S. refineries must blend a portion of corn-based ethanol into gasoline. Refineries that do not have that capacity are forced to buy credits from refiners that do blend ethanol into gasoline.

The E-P-A announced Wednesday it will not change those rules. Iowa politicians like Senators Grassley and Ernst as well as Governor Reynolds praised the president for keeping his campaign pledge to protect the ethanol industry. Critics say if the oil industry had gotten its way, markets for corn, ethanol and gasoline would have been disrupted and ethanol production would have decreased.

(Radio Iowa)

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

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Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds will be making the rounds in western and southwest Iowa next Wednesday and Thursday, as part of her “Building a Better Iowa: Economy,” focused-tour of businesses. Her schedule includes the following locations:

Wednesday, Nov, 29th:

Discussion with Audubon Business owners at the Audubon Chamber of Commerce, in Audubon – beginning at 1:30-p.m.

A visit to Carrier Coffee Comapany in Onawam at 4-p.m.

A visit to “Remember Yesterday” at 4:45-p.m. – in Mapleton.

Thursday, Nov. 30th:

Sullivan Supply, Dunlap – 8-a.m.

Tour of Smitty Bee Honey, in Defiance – 9:30-a.m.

Tour the Whitney Inn, in Atlantic – 11:30-a.m.

Tour Red Oak Fabrication – 1:30-p.m.

Visit Carver’s Ridge, in Corning – 3:45-p.m.

Officials with the Shenandoah Police Department reported on their social media page Wednesday night, that an in-depth criminal investigation led to the arrest Wednesday, of 28-year old  Samantha Danielle Hull, whose place of residence was not listed. Hull was charged with False Reporting to a Public Safety Entity – a serious misdemeanor. She was able to post $1,000 bond and was given an initial appearance date in Page County Court.