Members of the Griswold and Lenox Community School Districts’ Boards of Education will meet in a special, joint session Monday evening. The purpose of the meeting is to explore whether the districts have a mutual interest in sharing the duties of a Superintendent. The meeting takes place at 7-p.m. in the Lenox Public Library at 600 S. Locust Street, in Lenox. The session will be informational only. No action is expected at this time.

Earlier this week, a proposed three-way sharing arrangement between the South Page, Sidney and Griswold School Districts, was shelved, because the Sidney School Board failed to take action on the matter.

Two people were injured and transported to the Clarinda Regional Healthcare Center, following a collision (this) Thursday morning, about two miles west of Clarinda. The Page County Sheriff’s Office says the accident happened at the intersection of O Avenue and Highway 2, at around 6:55-a.m.  The drivers of the vehicles, 26-year old Andrew Thomas Skinner, of Denver, IA, and 38-year old Tylicia Vaun Bradley, of Fairfax, MO., were hurt. The extent of their injuries was not immediately known.

Officials say Skinner was southbound on O Avenue operating in a 1998 Oldsmobile, while Bradley was eastbound on Highway 2, in a 2009 Mitsubishi SUV. Skinner failed to failed to pay attention to the stop ahead sign, rumble strips, or the stop sign and went into the intersection without stopping. Bradley didn’t see Skinner until Skinner was in the intersection. Her SUV hit Skinner’s car on the passenger side doors. Both vehicles spun-out, went through a fence in the southeast corner of the intersection and came to rest in a pasture owned by Brent Pulliam.

Clarinda Ambulance and the Clarinda Fire Department assisted at the scene. Both vehicles are considered totaled. Damage to the fence is estimated at $1,500. Charges are pending at this time.

Officials with the City of Council Bluffs said Thursday (today), that the five members of the Council Bluffs City Council are unified in their decision to build a new Council Bluffs Police Department.

Voters are going to the polls in a special election May 3rd to cast a ballot regarding the $20 million bond needed to fund a new police building. The entire City Council is asking residents to vote in favor of the bond.

The Council says it recognizes the need, as the police force has outgrown the current 40 year old building. The police department they agree, has run out of room to operate efficiently and effectively.

A press conference about their unified support for the project will be held Monday afternoon.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A survey of rural bankers in 10 Western and Plains states suggests the region remains stifled by relatively low agriculture and energy commodity prices. An April report released Thursday says the Rural Mainstreet Index fell to 38.2 from March’s 40.2. It had risen the past two months. Survey officials say any score below 50 on any of the survey’s indexes suggests that factor will decline.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the monthly survey, and he says that, compared to a year ago, prices for farm products are down 16 percent and energy products are down 8 percent. Nonetheless, the confidence index rose to 34.8 from 30.1 in March.

Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

(DES MOINES) – Today, Governor Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds have unveiled a new website for the State of Iowa enabling citizens, visitors, and businesses greater access to information and services.  Iowa’s new Web portal, available at www.iowa.gov, features a streamlined interface which can be accessed across multiple device platforms and web browsers, optimized search results with associated agency and service information, statistical information and graphs for quick interpretation of data, and dynamic content with social media feeds from Twitter and Facebook.

“The recent redesign of www.iowa.gov makes it easier than ever for Iowans to utilize multiple government services,” said Governor Branstad. “We use technology to transform how government communicates so citizens and businesses can access information anytime, anywhere.”

Lt. Gov. Reyolds added, “Our Administration has been committed to government transparency from the very beginning.  The new upgrade this website is another step in improving transparency in state government.”

www.iowa.gov is built on the Drupal platform, delivering the security, accessibility, and functionality key to eGovernment success. It was developed in cooperation with several key state agencies, focused on providing a streamlined interface for visitors using desktop computers or mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. In addition to the accessibility features, the dynamic content, presented in a quick and compliant-coded manner, ensures that the website is fully accessible to the broadest range of Web browsers.

The State’s Official Website is designed and maintained by Iowa Interactive at no cost to taxpayers through a public-private partnership with Iowa Interactive, LLC and the Iowa Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO).

A woman from Adair County complained of pain and possible injuries following a rollover accident Wednesday morning, in Union County. Sheriff’s officials say 55-year old Karmyn Watson, of Greenfield, was traveling north on Cherry Street (Union County Road P-33) at around 5-a.m., when she lost control of her 2004 Mazda MZ3, near Creston. The car entered the east ditch and rolled over, coming to rest on its wheels. Damage from the crash amounted to $9,000. No citations were issued.

We should be done with snow until fall now and Iowans are digging full-swing into their spring gardening and landscaping projects. Yindra Dixon, a master gardener with the U-S-D-A, says there are around 20 key invasive insects all Iowans should know on sight, bugs that could do serious damage to everything we’re planting. Dixon says if you spot one of them, let the experts know.

“Don’t worry about it being an infestation,” Dixon says. “If you see one bug, that’s enough to report. You can go directly to HungryPests.com, you can search by state or by pest, you can see the pest and what they look like at different growth stages and what types of symptoms they may exhibit on the affected plants.” Dixon works in the U-S-D-A’s APHIS division, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. She says it’s important if Iowans see a potentially-harmful insect, that they report it.

“There are definitely a lot of things at risk when we let these hungry pests just roam around the world,” Dixon says. “They spread without resistance, they damage our crops, plants and trees and they cause a serious threat to our economy and even to public health.” One of the biggest threats in Iowa is the emerald ash borer, which kills ash trees. It’s confirmed in at least 30 Iowa counties and millions of dollars are being spent to try and prevent its spread. There are several other pests on the agency’s most-wanted list.

“One of the most serious is the Asian longhorned beetle,” Dixon says. “It affects hardwoods and maple trees. It has a perfectly round, three-quarter inch exit hole and sometimes can be mistaken for someone shooting at a tree. The most important thing is, if you see these holes, you contact someone right away.” While butterflies like monarchs are valued creatures for the pollination process, several breeds of moths are considered serious pests, including the Asian and European gypsy moths.

“The way that we can stop the spread the best with the gypsy moth is by looking for gypsy moth egg masses,” Dixon says. “The egg masses tend to stick to walls, fences, outdoor furniture, grills, campers. We can scrape off those egg masses and drop them into soapy water in order to kill the eggs.” An agency report finds invasive species of insects can spread quickly and cost the nation 120-billion dollars a year. Learn all about the most invasive pests and the U-S-D-A website www.hungrypests.com.

(Radio Iowa)

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Police in Creston arrested a man Wednesday night on a Union County warrant for Probation Violation. 40-year old Jamie Scott Vandel, of Creston, was taken into custody at around 9:50-p.m. Wednesday and was being held without bond in the Union County Jail.