SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A center for abused children in Sioux City is raising $2 million for an expansion project. The Sioux City Journal reports the project will roughly triple the size of the Mercy Child Advocacy Center to 9,000 square feet. The project will create a stand-alone facility and add two more interview rooms and another examination room.

Plus, it will make the facility more secure and give it a separate entrance. Currently families enter the center through the endoscopy unit at the hospital. The facility serves 40 counties in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota and has seen over 15,000 children since it opened in 1989.

Firefighters from Atlantic responded to a report of smoke in the restroom at the Atlantic City Park Shelterhouse/restroom facility, Sunday afternoon. A person in the men’s restroom saw and smelled smoke a little after 2:30-p.m. Firefighters arrived on the scene and saw no visible flames, but a metal trash receptacle in the women’s restroom showed evidence a fire had started there, and that someone used water to try and put it out. The smoke wafted into the adjacent, men’s restroom.

Ric Hanson/photo

Atlantic Police Lt. Dave Erickson said they would inspect the trash can to try and determine if the fire was intentionally set, or the result of a carelessly discarded cigarette. Crews were on the scene for about 25 minutes.

Damage to the shelter appeared to have been limited to the trash can.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The number of drunken driving deaths on Iowa roads has been increasing over the past few years, but the number of driver’s license revocations is down. The Des Moines Register reports there were 123 drunken driving deaths last year. That’s up from 110 the year before and 114 in 2012.

Last year, 13,938 driver’s licenses were revoked for drunken driving in the state. That number has been steadily declining. In 2014, 14,515 licenses were revoked and in 2012, 17,708 licenses were taken.

Officials with the state Transportation Department and law enforcement say the decline is a result of having fewer officers on the road because of budget cuts and fewer arrests. Also, more people may be getting rides home after drinking.

RED OAK, Iowa (AP) — Sen. Charles Grassley will join a national group in southwest Iowa this coming week, to talk about taxpayer preferences. The National Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent organization within the Internal Revenue Service, announced it will hold a public forum at 8:30 a.m. Thursday in Red Oak. Those who attend will get the chance to discuss how the IRS can better help them comply with their tax obligations. The forum will be held in the Montgomery County YMCA.

Nina Olson, the national taxpayer advocate, will join Grassley and a panel of small business representatives for the fifth forum in a series held in communities across the country. The forums were created to better understand and reflect taxpayer preferences in a plan that outlines how the IRS will operate in the future.

Two teens were cited Saturday afternoon for reckless driving in Red Oak, after the vehicles they were driving allegedly tore up the mud at the west Coolbaugh Street boat ramp. Red Oak Police say an officer on routine patrol at around 4:45-p.m. came across a 1985 Ford van stuck up to its bumpers in the parking area of the boat ramp. He also saw a Dodge truck in the same area.

17-year old Michael Wade Hamilton, of Stanton, was cited after police determined he had driven the van onto the City-owned property without permission, tearing up the property when he drove into the mud. 16-year old Dawson Wade Culver, of Red Oak, was cited for driving the truck, which he admitted he had driven through the mud, but denied having become stuck in it.

Both teens were given a citation and then released to a parent.

A man from Pottawattamie County died and two others were injured during a head-on crash Saturday evening in Mills County, east of Hastings. The Iowa State Patrol reports the driver of a 1995 Chevy Suburban, 53-year old Ismail Mulondo, of Council Bluffs, died in the crash with a 2011 Ford F-350 driven by  22-year old Anthony Clark, of Glenwood.

Officials say the accident happened at around 5:40-p.m., as Mulondo was traveling east on Highway 34, just east of 370th Street. His suburban crossed the centerline of the road for reasons unknown, and entered the westbound lane, directly into the path of the pickup truck.

The patrol says Clark, who was traveling west on Highway 34, swerved into the eastbound lane in an attempt to avoid a collision, but Mulondo then swerved back into the same lane. The vehicles collided, causing injuries to the passengers, 24-year old May Mulondo, of Council Bluffs, and 19-year old Madison Huff, of Red Oak. The Patrol did not indicate in their report if the women were wearing seat belts.

May Mulondo was transported by Malvern Rescue to Creighton University Medical Center. Huff was taken by Glenwood Rescue to the UNMC in Omaha. Anthony Clark was not listed as injured. Ismail Mulondo, who was wearing his seat belt, died at the scene. The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Mills County Sheriff’s Office.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 2:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Women who were breast-feeding at the Iowa Capitol as part of a campaign say they were asked to cover themselves despite a law that allows them to nurse in public. The Des Moines Register reports that the women were part of the Nationwide Nurse-In, an event designed to draw attention to each state’s breast-feeding laws.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — City officials in Burlington are concerned about the city’s trees following a wave of plant diseases and unusually wet weather in recent years that has loosened the soil’s grip on root systems. The Hawk Eye in Burlington reports that many of the trees have no natural immunity to the diseases.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Three new specialty food stores have opened in the Des Moines area since last fall, joining an already competitive grocery market and a string of established grocers in Iowa that sell ethnic, gourmet and health-conscious food. The Des Moines Register reports that shoppers are demanding healthier and diet-sensitive food options, prompting national specialty grocery stores to seek out metro areas such as Des Moines.

LE MARS, Iowa (AP) — A western Iowa man faces operating while intoxicated charges after authorities say he crashed into a house in Le Mars. The Sioux City Journal reports that 22-year-old Travor Koontz of Remsen is accused of driving his car into a home around 1:40 a.m. Friday. Le Mars Police Officer John Kaskie says Koontz had been driving south when he lost control of his Chevy Impala and veered eastward into the home.

LE MARS, Iowa (AP) – A western Iowa man faces operating while intoxicated charges after authorities say he crashed into a house in Le Mars. The Sioux City Journal reports 22-year-old Travor Koontz of Remsen is accused of driving his car into a home around 1:40 a.m. Friday.

Le Mars Police Officer John Kaskie says Koontz had been driving south when he lost control of his Chevy Impala and veered eastward into the home. The vehicle breached the concrete in the basement wall and broke a water line inside the house, but no one was injured. Koontz was treated at the scene. He was charged with second-offense operating while intoxicated, failure to maintain control and failure to provide insurance.

An attempted traffic stop Friday night in Council Bluffs led to a chase, a crash, and eventual arrest. Council Bluffs Police say 42-year old Jason Thacker, of Council Bluffs faces a charge of Driving While Intoxicated/2nd offense, and other charges, after he was found hiding in a grassy area just north of where the vehicle he was driving collided with another vehicle near the Veterans Memorial Highway and N. 24th Street.

Jason Thacker

The incident began at around 8:30-p.m., Friday. Authorities say officers on routine patrol in the area of Richland Ave and Veterans Memorial Highway (VMH) observed a white Camaro traveling west on VMH at a high rate of speed. A traffic stop was attempted at 19th Street, but the driver of the Camaro (later identified as Thacker) fled from the area, continuing westbound. No attempt was made to pursue the Camaro and the officer shut off his emergency equipment.

The Camaro ran a red light as it sped into the intersection of South 24th Street and VMH, colliding with another vehicle that was making a left turn, north onto 24th Street, from eastbound VMH. The driver of the other vehicle, 31-year old Justina Nolte, of Council Bluffs,was not injured, and refused treatment at the scene.

Officers arrived shortly after the accident and found Thacker left the scene leaving his passenger, 45-year old Keri Flores, of Omaha NE, in the vehicle. Officers located Thacker a short time later. Neither he, nor Flores, were injured.

As officers investigated the incident they found Thacker to be intoxicated. Field Sobriety Tests were administered that confirmed their suspicions.

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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