The 8-a.m. Newscast w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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SERGEANT BLUFF, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say flames from a northwest Iowa yard waste fire spread to a barn after the man tending the fire went inside for supper. Firefighters were sent to the Sergeant Bluff property a little before 7 p.m. Thursday. Crews from eight departments kept the blaze from igniting gasoline and other fuels inside the barn and spreading to a large propane tank nearby. Woodbury County Sheriff’s Sgt. David Benson says the firefighters’ teamwork also kept the blaze from reaching two nearby homes.

Boats, classic cars and tools inside the barn were damaged. No injuries have been reported. Benson says the man tending the fire didn’t need a permit to burn the yard waste and won’t be cited. But Benson says the man made a mistake by going inside to eat supper.

The 7:07-a.m. report w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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The Sweet Joy Shoppe in Atlantic recently hosted the Atlantic Area Ambassadors in welcoming Tara Brosam of Simply Skin to their location. Sweet Joy Shoppe has slowly expanded over the years, partnering with local talent.

Nestled away in the back of Sweet Joy Shoppe you will find Tara Brosam of Simply Skin, a licensed esthetician. Tara is available by appointment only and happy to work around the client’s schedule.

A grass and brush fire near Renner Drive in the Twin City area of the Bluffs was declared under control Thursday. However, the Omaha World-Herald says drifting smoke from the still smoldering blaze in the Veterans Memorial Bridge area left a burning odor over downtown Omaha early today (Friday).

Authorities said the fire began Wednesday in the West End between the levy and the Missouri River. The Council Bluffs Fire Department contained the fire Thursday and was allowing it to burn out.

A water tower fashioned to look like a Swedish coffee pot is no longer perched above the town of Stanton. The Daily NonPareil reports the water tank was cut from its moorings early Thursday afternoon, and lowered to the ground. It will be preserved as a piece of town history on the grounds of the Cultural Center, operated by the Stanton Historical Society.

The water tower, which had supplied water to the town since 1914, had been a visible symbol for decades. The structure once looked like others that were perched above prairie towns like Stanton. But in 1970, the town’s centennial, locals started a campaign to repaint the water tower and add a metal handle and spout to make it look like a Swedish coffee pot.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A new monthly survey report says April results suggest that slow economic growth remains ahead for nine Midwestern and Plains states. The survey report issued Friday says the overall Mid-America Business Conditions Index rose to 52.7 from 51.4 in March.  Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says rising economic expectations from nonenergy firms, resulting from lower energy prices, “more than offset economic pessimism stemming from weakness in firms directly tied to energy.”

The survey results from supply managers are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests economic growth, while a score below that suggests decline. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

Three longtime employees of the Iowa State Patrol have been placed on leave over concerns with the state’s new contract for handguns. The state patrol employees are Major Todd Misel, Major Michael Winter and Lieutenant Richard Pierce.

Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Roxann Ryan

In an email to employees, Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Roxann Ryan said the agency is reviewing the process that led the state last year to contract with Smith & Wesson to supply handguns to officers.

Few other details are known, but two retired DCI Special Agents are leading the investigation. Ryan also announced that the patrol’s leader, Colonel David Garrison, is being reassigned to his previous position as a lieutenant. Ryan said the move is not related to the gun investigation and Garrison requested the reassignment. Ryan has named Michael Van Berkum as the new chief of the Iowa State Patrol.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Agriculture officials say five more farms likely have been affected by the deadly H5N2 bird flu virus, including an egg-laying operation with 5.5 million chickens. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey says more than 15 million of Iowa’s 60 million egg-laying chickens are now affected with the news of it spreading to another farm in Buena Vista County. Thursday’s numbers include two turkey farms in the same county with an unknown number of birds, an egg-laying farm in Sioux County with 84,000 chickens and an unknown number of chickens on a Clay County egg farm.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines Water Works has tapped into reserve storage wells as nitrate levels in the rivers used for source water exceed federal regulations. The Register reports the public utility on Thursday began drawing from an aquifer storage well in Clive, one of two 300-million-gallon reserves under Water Works’ control.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — One person is dead and two others have been taken to the hospital following a head-on collision in Cedar Rapids. Authorities say two vehicles were involved in the wreck Wednesday. Police say the driver of one of the vehicles, 53-year-old Jonathan Dale of Mount Vernon was pronounced dead at the scene. The collision is under investigation.

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — The Washington Redskins have taken Iowa offensive lineman Brandon Scherff with the 5th pick of the NFL draft. Scherff, listed at 6-foot-5 and about 320 pounds, is from Denison, Iowa.

A bill before the U.S. Senate would require any potential nuclear agreement with Iran to be reviewed by Congress. Iowa Senator Joni Ernst calls it a “crucial” measure to ensure preservation of the country’s interests and security. “This enables the American people to have a voice in that process,” Ernst told reporters in a conference call today (Thursday). “Congress must have more oversight of this process and the opportunity for thoughtful consideration to ensure that we have been very clear about our demands and the framework of any final agreement.”

The bill would give Congress a 30-day review period if and when a final nuclear accord with Iran is struck. Ernst believes Congress should be allowed to vote to approve or reject any such accord. “Iran’s more than a quarter century long effort to obtain a nuclear weapon will not subside overnight and it is a faulty assumption that Tehran is on the side of the rule of law,” Ernst said.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved the bill earlier this month and President Obama pledged his support — but promised a veto if there are amendments added that are unrelated to Iran’s atomic program. Ernst and others who are trying to push the bill through the Senate have been fending off proposed amendments by a few Republicans, including several running for president in 2016.

(Radio Iowa)