SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City man has been charged with arson and other counts after police say he locked his live-in girlfriend in their home before trying to set it on fire. Television station KTIV reports that the woman called 911 on Wednesday afternoon to report that her boyfriend had threatened to kill her and had started a fire in the home. Officers say they found a burned paper bag on the living room floor.

In addition to arson, 39-year-old Karl Lyons has been charged with false imprisonment, domestic abuse assault, criminal mischief and public intoxication. He’s being held in the Woodbury County Jail on $25,000 bond and could not be reached for comment.

Officials with the State Library of Iowa have announced that the Atlantic Public Library has met the conditions for State accreditation, as outlined in “In Service to Iowa: Public Library Standards 6th Edition.” Accredited libraries receive a higher rate of compensation through the State Library’s Enrich Iowa Program. They also receive a Certificate of Accreditation signed by Governor Terry Branstad and other dignitaries. The accreditation is valid through June 30th, 2920.

Of Iowa’s 544 public libraries, 349 – including the Atlantic Public Library – are accredited. State Librarian Michael Scott said “The Director and Board of Trustees of the Atlantic Public Library and the City of Atlantic, are to be commended for this achievement and their commitment to excellence in public library services for their community.”

For more information on the State Library’s accreditation program, go to www.statelibraryofiowa.org.

A jury in Page County has found a Clarinda woman guilty on felony charges of 2nd Degree Arson and 2nd Degree Burglary. 33-year old Brandy Lee Allison faces up to 10-years in prison and fines of up to $10,000 when she’s sentenced Oct. 19th.

The charges were the result of an investigation into a fire at 214 W. Logan Street, in May. Authorities determined carpeting in the home’s kitchen was intentionally set on fire. The blaze caused $5,000 damage. No one was injured. The home’s owner managed to extinguish the flames. Clarinda Fire fighters helped to ventilate the home.

Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack will be campaigning in southwest Iowa tomorrow (Friday), on behalf of Democrat Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Clinton’s campaign says the U-S Ag Secretary will be in Council Bluffs for a Volunteer Appreciation event beginning at 10:15-a.m. Friday, at the Council Bluffs “Iowa Together” office (217 S. Main St.), and at the restored Depot in Creston (116 W. Adams St.), for a “Rural America Infrastructure” event, beginning at 3:30-p.m.

U-S Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack

During his visits, Vilsack will focus on Clinton’s plans to strengthen the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) and investments in rural infrastructure. Go Mrs. Clinton’s campaign site (hillaryclinton.com) to register for either event.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Motorists enjoying the first signs of fall are advised to maintain the speed limit.  From September 23-25, the Iowa State Patrol will join participating law enforcement from Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas and Oklahoma in a Regional Speed Enforcement Campaign. Officers will be on the lookout for those who are traveling above the speed limit on all roadways.

The Patrol’s Colonel Michael VanBerkum says “The main goal of the Iowa State Patrol is to help ensure that all who travel on Iowa’s roadways arrive to their destination, and arrive there safely. The campaign is aimed to modify unsafe driver behavior through concerted enforcement efforts.”

Sgt. Nate Ludwig with the Iowa State Patrol says “Speeding is a serious problem on Iowa roadways and has contributed to multiple traffic crashes, especially those that resulted in deaths. Too many of our fellow citizens are impacted by drivers who drive too fast for the road conditions or exceed the speed limit. In order to get drivers to slow down and reduce the number of crashes and fatalities, we plan to intensify enforcement of posted speed limits in Iowa.”

The Iowa State Patrol will be working with county and local law enforcement this weekend across the state, with primary efforts on Interstate 35 and Highway 30.

Pat Hoye, Chief of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, said “There has been a significant increase in Iowa fatalities, currently Iowa  has seen an increase of 18% from this time last year.” Nationwide, 27% of crash fatalities in 2015 were related to a driver exceeding the speed limit or driving too fast for conditions. Fully 86 percent of all speeding-related traffic fatalities occurred on local roads — where the posted speed limits were 55 miles per hour or under.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a crash on a road with a speed limit of 65 mph or greater is more than twice as likely to result in a fatality than a crash on a road with a speed limit of 45 or 50 mph and nearly five times as likely as a crash on a road with a speed limit of 40 mph or below.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Nine men who were convicted of sex crimes, served their prison sentences and are now indefinitely confined to an Iowa mental health unit have filed a federal lawsuit against the state, claiming its civil commitment program is unconstitutional. They say the program fails to offer adequate counseling and other services that would rehabilitate them enough for release.

The lawsuit, filed in September 2012 in federal court in Cedar Rapids, highlights the difficult balance between keeping dangerous sexual predators off the streets and not violating their constitutional rights. More than 5,000 people are believed to be held in sexually violent predator programs in 20 states and the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Judges in Minnesota and Missouri found programs similar to Iowa’s unconstitutional in the past year and ordered changes.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say apartment residents are being evacuated from two complexes in northern Iowa’s Mason City. The city said in a news release Thursday that an emergency shelter had been set up at the Salvation Army building on the west side of town.

The National Weather Service says more than 2 1/2 inches of rain has fallen in the past 12 hours at Mason City and more is expected to run off already saturated ground. The Winnebago River sits 2 feet over flood stage of 10 feet and is expected to crest at 14.2 feet early Friday morning, depending on rainfall upstream and in the area.

City authorities also asked residents in low-lying areas to plan their evacuations and to move their vehicles to higher ground.

Kate Kohorst is the new mayor of Harlan. Officials swore Kohorst into the post on Tuesday. She replaces Gene Gettys, who left office to become the new city administrator. A Harlan native, Kate grew up on a farm outside of Harlan and graduated from Harlan Community High School. Kohorst says she’s ready to work with Gettys and the City Council as well as the citizens of Harlan to continue moving the town forward.

Twice each year, with the arrival of spring and fall, Iowa motorists need to be particularly careful when driving at sunrise and sunset. Gail Weinholzer with Triple-A-Iowa, notes today (Thursday) is the day of the autumnal equinox and the sun could be blinding during the morning and afternoon commutes for the next few weeks. “The days are getting shorter, the darkness is getting longer,” Weinholzer says. “It can definitely affect people as they drive, especially to and from work.”

There are no statistics kept in Iowa as to how many crashes occur related to drivers affected by the sun’s blazing light, right in our line of sight. Fall officially arrived at 9:21 this morning.

Sun glare

“The glare of dawn and dusk can be difficult for some drivers to adjust to and it’s important that they do that,” Weinholzer says. “Because the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer, it can also have an impact on making us feel more drowsy and we should be aware of that as well.”

While the autumnal equinox marks the first day of fall in Iowa and all across the northern hemisphere, on the other half of the world south of the equator, this is the first day of spring.

(Radio Iowa)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – It’s a soggy start to fall for several Midwestern states, where heavy rain has flooded homes, closed major highways and stranded motorists.  In Minnesota, where as much as 8 to 10 inches of rain fell in the Twin Cities area Wednesday night, the Department of Transportation fired up its snowplows to move standing water off major thoroughfares. About 75 miles to the south, several homes were evacuated in Waseca where nearly 14 inches of rain fell over two days.

In western Wisconsin, a portion of Highway 35 was closed because of a number of mudslides. Several school districts canceled classes Thursday because of travel difficulties. In Iowa, the National Weather Service says at least three tornadoes knocked down trees and destroyed a couple of sheds in Floyd and Butler counties.