SERGEANT BLUFF, Iowa (AP) — Officials say reconstruction work on a secondary runway will affect Sioux Gateway Airport flight plans for some American Airlines passengers who’ve already booked trips.

The airport will be shut down for portions of seven days in August and two days in September. The shutdowns will require some passengers to fly out of different airports or change their flight dates.

Airport director Mike Collette says he doesn’t know how many passengers will be affected. The airline will contact the passengers to advise them of the cancellations and provide them with options.

The airport will be closed for commercial and general aviation traffic from 8 a.m. Aug. 15 through 8 p.m. Aug. 18; from 8 a.m. Aug. 23 through 8 p.m., Aug. 25; and from 8 a.m. Sept. 14 through 8 p.m. Sept. 15.

The airport sits just west of Sergeant Bluff in Woodbury County.

(Radio Iowa) — Runway construction and repairs at Sioux Gateway Airport is already affecting Sioux City’s 185th Air National Guard refueling wing. Colonel Mark Muckey, the base commander, says they have had to move their giant refueling planes to another base. “What we did a couple of weeks ago in preparation for this, we essentially relocated the majority of our operations to Topeka, Kansas,” he says.

Until the longest runway is available for the unit’s refueling planes, The 185th also has been using Omaha’s Offutt Air Force Base for some operations. Muckey says maintenance crews have moved parts to the other locations, plus the air crews have relocated. “Certainly the team here is ready to tackle this,” Muckey says. Even though the massive planes have been moved, personnel at the 185th are preparing for an upcoming mission overseas — to Guam.

“That deployment is leaving out of Lincoln, Nebraska, so we’re going to get the tails up there in the next couple of days and then this weekend, we’ll actually get everybody ready here, put them on a bus down to Lincoln and then we’ll launch out of there to go to Guam, ” Muckey says. “That’s about 80 folks out of the 185th, headed over there for a couple of months.”

Colonel Muckey took over as the 185th’s commander a few weeks ago and he says shifting planes and getting airmen ready for deployment are just part of the job. “It’s something different every day,” Muckey says. The Sioux Gateway Airport will close temporarily during three time periods in August and September.

The first planned closure will begin Thursday, August 15th at 8:00am and run through Sunday, August 18th, at 8:00pm. Sioux Gateway Airport will also close the following weekend from Friday, August 23rd through Sunday, August 25th. The final closure will run from Saturday and Sunday, September 14th and 15th. The F-A-A is financing 90 percent of the runway improvements.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office says a 15-year-old male was arrested at around 6:42-p.m. Thursday, on a Class-B Felony charge of Sexual Abuse in the 2nd Degree. The unidentified teen was arrested after Adams County Deputies were contacted about the possible sexual assault of a minor.

The suspect teen was transported to the Central Iowa Detention Center, in Eldora.

A traffic stop at around 5:07-p.m., Thursday on Highway 34 east of Stanton, resulted in the arrest of a Montgomery County man. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says 38-year old Alan Joe Turpen, of Villisca, was speeding 100 mph in a 55 zone when he was pulled over. Turpen was arrested for OWI/2nd offense and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where his bond was set at $2,000.

The Cass County Democratic Party will hold its 8th Annual School Supply Drive for students attending Cass County schools. It will be held from July 15th through August 15th. Party Chair Sherry Toelle says “Anyone who has purchased school supplies lately knows how much they cost. And, if you have several students in school, it is even more dramatic an expenditure.”

Toelle says “That is why we are announcing our 8th Annual School Supplies Drive, which is strictly a non-partisan event. It is important for a child to have new school supplies when school starts so that their self worth is not damaged by a lack of new supplies. Not every family can afford to buy all the supplies on the schools’ recommended list. That is where this drive comes in.”

She says “We are asking the community to donate school supplies, including non-traditional items such as facial tissues, disinfecting wipes, pint and quart sized plastic bags, and copy paper to name a few.” School supplies will be distributed to the three school districts in Cass County before school starts.

Drop-off sites are available across the county:

• Anita: City Clerk’s Office; Library; Main Street Market; Rusty Razor; Rolling Hills Bank
• Atlantic: Fareway; private home at 10 E. 13th St.; YMCA; Rolling Hills Bank
• Cumberland: Telephone Company; Library; City Hall; Houghton State Bank
• Griswold: Rolling Hills Bank; Library; City Hall; Telephone Company, Houghton State Bank
• Lewis: Library
• Massena: Library; FNBank; Economy Food Mart

You can also drop off donations at the Cass County Democratic Party’s Fair Booth or their AtlanticFest Booth.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge will let a jury decide a lawsuit against Grinnell College that challenges the way the Iowa school handles sexual misconduct complaints. The lawsuit was filed in March 2017 by a male student identified only as John Doe, who was expelled in 2016 after he was accused of sexual misconduct.

Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger concluded in a ruling filed Tuesday that he has adequately shown that gender bias could have been a motivating factor in his dismissal and he may not have received a fair and impartial review of his appeal.

The student had sex with a female student. She said she willingly participated in the sex and didn’t initially pursue a complaint but the college launched an investigation and later sought her participation.

Doe, who lives in the state of Washington, is seeking emotional and psychological damages, damage to reputation, past and future economic losses, loss of educational and athletic opportunities and loss of future career prospects.

He also wants a court order preventing Grinnell from violating federal laws prohibiting sex discrimination when it considers future sexual misconduct complaints. A trial is set for Sept. 18.

Grinnell College spokeswoman Debra Lukehart says the judge’s decision only means there will be a trial and there was no finding the college violated the law. She says the college looks forward to sharing its “robust processes that uphold the rights of all of our students at trial.”

FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) — Iowa prison officials say inmates assaulted three staff members on duty at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison. The Iowa Corrections Department says in a news release that the assault occurred Thursday morning. Officials say a preliminary investigation shows two inmates assaulted another inmate with several sharpened objects.

Correctional officers responded, and three suffered minor injuries in the course of subduing the attacking inmates. Officials say it did not appear that the officers were cut by the attackers. Two of the officers were taken to a local hospital. The third was seen by institution medical personnel and returned to work.

The inmate attack also was taken to a hospital. Officials say his wounds appear not to be life-threatening. Visits to the prison have been suspended until further notice.