SAC CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in northwest Iowa say a human skull found earlier this year at the Raccoon River in southern Sac County is that of a Native American man who died hundreds of years ago. The skull was found July 11th on a sandbar in the river, and was initially thought to be that of an adult white man.

But Sac County Sheriff Ken McClure says in a statement that a forensic anthropologist has determined the skull is that of a 40- to 50-year-old man of American Indian ancestry who likely died “more than a few hundred years ago.” McClure says the skull will be returned to the Iowa State Medical Examiner.

Officials with Cass County Conservation report the Nishna Valley Trails group is hosting a Kids Bike Ride August 13th, 2016 beginning at 10:30-a.m. Check-in and start of the ride both take place in the west parking lot of the Schildberg Recreation Area, in Atlantic.

There are three age groups, with each ride length according to age. The event is FREE, and all ages welcome. The ride is co-sponsored by Atlantic Parks and Recreation, Cass County Conservation, Howard’s, Fareway, and West Side Diner, in Atlantic.

If you have any questions, call Cass County Interpretive Naturalist Lora Kanning, at 712-769-2372. After the ride, you check out Atlanticfest going on in the downtown area!

(DES MOINES) – The Iowa Finance Authority Board of Directors recently approved more than $2.3 million in homeless assistance grants to assist 32 agencies with homelessness prevention and assistance initiatives during the 2017 calendar year. Among them, in western Iowa, is: Heartland Family Services; The Crisis Intervention and Advocacy Center; area Family Crisis Centers; and Micah House.

The funding is made available through the federal Emergency Solutions Grant program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and by the Iowa Finance Authority in Iowa. The purpose of the Emergency Solutions Grant program is to help Iowans and their families quickly regain stability in permanent housing after experiencing a housing crisis or homelessness and to the help persons experiencing homelessness to quickly move back into stable long-term housing.

Types of assistance can include emergency shelter, street outreach, homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing. Examples of eligible initiatives include funds for shelter operations and essential services, short-term rental or utility assistance, case management and housing relocation and stabilization services.

The following is a breakdown of the Providers, areas served and amount of assistance awarded:

• Heartland Family Service – serving Pottawattamie County; Homelessness Prevention & Rapid Rehousing: $80,000.
• Crisis Intervention & Advocacy Center = serving Adair, Adams, Audubon, Cass, Dallas, Fremont, Guthrie, Harrison, Madison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Shelby, Taylor, Union and Decatur Counties; Rapid Rehousing: $72,000.
• Family Crisis Centers – serving 17 counties (Including Sac, Crawford and Carroll); Shelter & Rapid Rehousing: $105,000.
• Micah House – serving Adair, Cass, Crawford, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, Page, Pott. & Shelby Counties; Shelter: $49,000.

A motorcycle accident early Friday morning near Onawa, claimed one life and resulted in injuries to another person. The Iowa State Patrol says 54-year old Daniel Smith and 23-year old Dejanee Smith, both of Circleville, Kanas, were riding a 2006 Harley Davidson motorcycle driven by Daniel Smith, as it was heading northbound on Interstate 29.

At around 4-a.m., the cycle’s rear tire blew out near the Onawa exit. The motorcycle went out of control and slid into the east ditch. Neither of the Smiths were wearing a helmet. Dejanee Smith died at Burgess Memorial Hospital in Onawa. Daniel Smith was transported to air ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Sioux City. A report on his condition was not immediately available.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is returning to Iowa, and this time he’ll be accompanied by his running mate. Trump will speak with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence at a 3 p.m. Friday rally at the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines. The event is Trump’s second visit to Iowa in eight days. He held events last week in Davenport and Cedar Rapids. It will be Pence’s first visit to Iowa since Republicans nominated him as vice president.

The Iowa stops are evidence that Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton see the state as competitive. Republicans hold most statewide offices in Iowa, but the state has favored the Democratic presidential candidate in four of the last five elections.

Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green reports three, recent arrests. On Thursday, 50-year old Richard Lewis, of Atlantic, was arrested for Violation of a No Contact Order. And, 28-year old Ryan Juhl, of Atlantic, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. Also, on July 27th, 27-year old Cameron Misner, of Atlantic, was arrested for Public Intoxication. All three men were booked into the Cass County Jail.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Oakland was arrested Thursday night for OWI/1st Offense, and Driving While Barred. Authorities say just after 10-p.m., a deputy on patrol in Oakland saw an SUV traveling toward him on Highway 59. The deputy recognized the vehicle as one known to be driven by a man whose driver’s license was revoked. A short while later, he saw the driver, 53-year old Christopher Scott Donaldson, of Oakland, walking toward his home. An investigation revealed Donaldson had asked a passenger in the vehicle to drive after the deputy initially lost sight of the SUV as he was turning around to make a traffic stop.

Once located, Donaldson admitted he had been driving the vehicle. He was arrested for Driving While Barred, and was charged with OWI at the Pott. County Jail, after he refused chemical testing. The deputy who arrested him believed Donaldson to be under the influence of a substance other than alcohol. Donaldson admitted to the deputy that he is a Meth user.

A Pott. County Sheriff’s Deputy also arrested 23-year old Marcus Allen Holstein, of Council Bluffs, Thursday evening for Domestic Abuse Assault/2nd offense. His arrest followed a search for Holstein, who while handcuffed, had earlier escaped other deputies. He was found hiding behind a fence and trash can. Holstein was brought to the Pott. County Jail and found to have a warrant for Failure to Appear on a Domestic Assault charge. Because the man claimed he had ingested Meth, Holstein was transported to a hospital in Council Bluffs for treatment, before being returned to the jail.

Police in Glenwood have arrested a man on a Mills County warrant. 29-year old Jeffrey Neppl, of Glenwood, was arrested Thursday on the warrant charging him with two counts of Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drugs. His bond was set at $2,000.

Deputies in Union County arrested a Madison County man on an OWI charge Thursday afternoon. 31-year old Joshua John Weeks, of Macksburg, was arrested at around 2-p.m., at the intersection of highway 34 and 169, near Afton.  Weeks was charged with OWI 3rd offense, and driving while revoked.  He as being held in the Union County Jail on $5,000 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Citizens are set to voice their opinions to state lawmakers on whether a weapons ban at the Iowa State Fair should be lifted. The Des Moines Register reports that a special review is scheduled for Friday to discuss the matter. The Iowa Code prevents people from bringing weapons of any kind onto the fairgrounds without permission from the fair’s board of directors.

The chairman of the committee that will consider the matter, state Rep. Dawn Pettengill, says the issue was brought up after a citizen requested that the committee consider it. Committee members will also hear from the State Fair Board. The committee is limited in the action that it can take. It cannot require the State Fair Board to lift the ban, or impose its own restrictions on the agency.