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

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The area’s top news at 7:05-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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(Update 8:32-a.m. Aftershock felt just before 8-a.m. 9.3 miles NW of Pawnee, OK, 3.6 magnitude, about 1.1 miles deep)

CHICAGO (AP) – An earthquake has rattled a swath of the Great Plains, from Iowa and Nebraska to as far south as northern Texas. The temblor shockwave was felt in Atlantic, Brayton, Des Moines and Omaha at around 7:05-a.m.. KJAN received several phone calls from residents saying their lights were swaying and they felt a rumble. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake happened at 7:02-a.m., and measured 5.6 on the Richter Scale and was centered about 8.5-miles northwest of Pawnee, Oklahoma. It occurred at a depth of about 4-miles, or very shallow by most standards. It also tweeted that aftershocks may occur. (One aftershock felt just before 8-a.m. 9.3 miles NW of Pawnee, OK, 3.6 magnitude, about 1.1 miles deep)

The light blue dot on the map is the epicenter of the initial quake that happened at 7:02-a.m. CDT 9/3/16

Sean Weide in Omaha, Nebraska, said he’d never been in an earthquake before and thought he was getting dizzy. Weide said he and one of his daughters “heard the building start creaking” and said it “was surreal.” People in Kansas City, Missouri; Fayetteville, Arkansas; and Norman, Oklahoma, all reported feeling the earthquake. Dallas TV station WFAA tweeted that it felt the quake, too.

Red Oak Police early this (Saturday) morning, arrested a man for Driving While Revoked and on an OWI/2nd offense, charge. 47-year old Jeffrey Scott Blackburn, of Red Oak, was arrested following a traffic stop at the intersection of N. 1st and W. Hammond Streets, in Red Oak. Blackburn was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 cash bond.

Police in Red Oak arrested an employee of the Fareway Store in Red Oak, Friday afternoon. 30-year old Sara Sue Batten, of Red Oak, allegedly stole money from the store. She was arrested on a felony 2nd Degree Theft charge, and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where her bond was set at $5,000.

An incident in Villisca late Friday night resulted in the arrest on a man on a trio of charges. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says 57-year old Kirk Allen Black, of Villisca, was arrested at around 10:30-p.m. following an incident in the 400 block of E. 5th Street, in Villisca. Black was charged with Assault on a Peace Officer, Disorderly Conduct, and Interference with Official Acts. He was booked into the Montgomery County Jail and held on $1,000 bond.

More than 80 percent of the state’s corn and soybean fields were rated in “good” or “excellent” condition at the start of this week and one weather experts says the 2016 growing season “has turned out pretty well” for Iowa farmers. State Climatologist Harry Hillaker says crop development is about a week to a week-and-a-half ahead of normal. “Things for the most part got planted on a timely basis, with exceptions in far western Iowa that had a pretty mid-April and early May, but otherwise in much of the state things got planted on time. It’s been a relatively warm growing season, so things that did get planted on time have been progressing along very well.”

Yield prospects are “looking quite good” for most of the state, according to Hillaker. “A few places still a bit on the dry side, but nothing really super dry at this point,” Hillaker says. “Certainly northwest Iowa could use some rain, although it’s getting late enough in the growing season that it may still, perhaps, help out the soybean, but probably too late to have any benefit for the corn crop in that part of the state.”

A small area stretching from Onawa to just northwest of Sac City got NO rainfall at all last week, while nearly nine inches fell near Decorah. About nine-tenths of an inch is the normal amount of rainfall in Iowa for the final week of August.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe says it has found several sites of “significant cultural and historic value” along the path of a proposed oil pipeline. The tribe is challenging the Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant permits for Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners’ $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline. Tribal preservation officer Tim Mentz says researches found cairns, burials and other sites of historic significance to the Standing Rock Sioux and other tribes.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has upheld the first-degree murder conviction of an Iowa man for killing a northeast Nebraska woman. Raymond Gonzales Jr., of Sioux City, Iowa, was convicted in 2014 and sentenced to life for shooting 28-year-old Bonnie Baker 16 times in her South Sioux City home on Dec. 15, 2013. On Friday, the state’s high court rejected arguments by Gonzales of prosecutorial misconduct and that jurors should have been instructed that they could find him guilty of manslaughter.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Environmental Council says Iowa has set a new state record for the number of beach advisories issued because of toxic algae dangers. The council says 37 beach advisories have been issued this year because of a toxin produced by blue-green algae blooms in water. That surpasses last year’s previous record of 34 warnings.

BLUE GRASS, Iowa (AP) — Sheriff’s officials have identified a construction work killed when the driver of a speeding car apparently lost control in a work zone near the southeast Iowa city of Blue Grass. The Scott County Sheriff’s Office says 62-year-old Willie Holley, of Rock Island, Illinois, was killed in the Thursday crash. Officials say a deputy spotted the speeding car on Highway 61, but that it entered a work zone before she could pull it over.

In an update to our earlier reports, the Iowa State Patrol Friday identified the victims of a crash near Massena that sent three people to the hospital. Officials say 33-year old Daniel Edwards, of Red Oak, 32-year old Christopher Andersen, of Cumberland, and Edwards’ passenger, 34-year old Alisha Mills Lagle, of Creston, were hurt in a collision between a 2003 Cadillac Deville and a 2004 Chevy Silverado pickup. The accident happened at around 2:40-p.m. at the intersection of 730th and Quincy Road.

The Patrol says the Cadillac, driven by Edwards, was traveling east on Quincy Road near 730th, when Edwards failed to stop at the controlled intersection.

Photo courtesy Cass County EMA Coordinator Mike Kennon

His car was hit on the driver’s side passenger door by the southbound pickup, driven by Andersen. The car then entered the southeast ditch and rolled onto its top. The pickup spin around and also entered the southeast ditch and came to rest upright.

All three victims were transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital by Medivac and Massena Rescue. Cass County Sheriff Darby McLaren told KJAN News earlier, that Edwards was flown from CCMH to Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha. He was reportedly suffering from a broken leg, head and shoulder lacerations. Edwards was the only person who was not wearing a seat belt. Injuries to the other individuals were not believed to be life threatening.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Environmental Council says Iowa has set a new state record for the number of beach advisories issued because of toxic algae dangers. The council says 37 beach advisories have been issued this year because of a toxin produced by blue-green algae blooms in water. That surpasses last year’s previous record of 34 warnings.

Skin exposed to the toxin can develop rashes and blisters. Someone who drinks water containing the toxin is at risk for headaches, nausea and muscular pain. Animals have died from drinking algae-tainted water. Since 2006, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has issued 185 beach warnings for high levels of the toxin.

Blue-green algae blooms are often fed by agriculture fertilizers, livestock waste and other pollutants. It is exacerbated by hot temperatures.