A Ringgold County man was transported to a hospital following a single-vehicle accident Saturday night, in Taylor County. The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office reports 54-year old Anthony Sickels, of Mt. Ayr, was traveling south on Highway 25 at around 10:30-p.m., when his 1994 Jeep Wrangler left the road for unknown reasons, near the intersection with 190th Street.

Sickels suffered minor/possible injuries, and was transported to the Ringgold County Hospital in Mt. Ayr by Taylor County EMS. The accident remains under investigation by the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office. The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office was assisted on scene by Taylor County EMS and Clearfield First Responders.

One of the stars of the original T-V series “Star Trek” is in Iowa this weekend, reflecting on a long, prosperous life which she says has been one bold adventure after another. Nichelle Nichols, who played Lieutenant Uhura, a bridge officer on the Starship Enterprise, is considered by many as not just an iconic actress, but as a heroine in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. “I’m honored to be thought of that way,” Nichols says, “but it was just my life. That’s the way I was.”

Nichols planned to leave the show after the first season, but had a chance meeting with a fan, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, who convinced her to stay on as she was such an incredible role model in the multiracial cast. Nichols, who’s black, and white actor William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk, shared what’s celebrated as the first interracial kiss on American television in 1968. In later years, Nichols helped NASA recruit women and minorities to join the astronaut corps. She’s credited with bringing aboard Sally Ride, who became the first American woman in space, as well as Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space. Nichols says her first love is musical theater and she toured the country in the 1990s singing in a one-woman tribute to female jazz and blues singers. “I sing, I’m a dancer, I’m a ballerina, I talk too much, I’m an actor,” Nichols says, laughing. “I’m all of those things. I’m in all of those areas that are fascinating to me.”

The 85-year-old Nichols is still involved in the television industry. Lately, she’s been crafting a potential new show to be called “Noah’s Room,” about an white astronaut who looks back on his experiences, including the black family who adopted him and, in her words, saved his life. “I’m still working on it and I’m developing it and as I work on it, things pop up out of it, it’s real fun,” Nichols says. “If I’m involved in the producing of it or the directing of it, I’ll be really very happy.” Speaking with Radio Iowa at the Wizard World Comic Con in Des Moines, Nichols says it’s energizing to see so many fans lining up to see her, to get an autograph or a selfie with her, even more than 50 years after Star Trek debuted. It’s an incredibly loyal fan base, “just wonderful,” she says. “You would be shocked at the many people that are Star Trekkers and know more about Trekdom than I do,” she says.

The original T-V show continues to spawn spin-offs and movies, but also lives on in reruns and is still finding new, adoring viewers. In the autograph line Saturday was a young girl of around eight, clad in boots and a red skirt with a triangular gold emblem on the black lapel, a miniature version of the uniform Nichols wore as Uhura decades ago.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law this week state tax cuts of $2.8 billion over six years, touting the benefits for the middle class. Most changes in personal income tax rates go into effect in tax year 2019, including lower rates for all income brackets. The tax savings would show up as reduced withholdings from paychecks in 2019 and larger refund checks issued in spring 2020. Additional tax cuts are planned in future years.

Here’s a closer look at Reynold’s statement during a bill signing event in Hiawatha on Wednesday, and the more complex reality behind it:

REYNOLDS SAID “Next year, virtually every Iowan will see their taxes go down.”
THE FACTS: The governor’s statement is mostly true, although there are wrinkles that make the situation a little more complex than the governor suggests. All nine of Iowa’s income brackets will have lower tax rates under the new law. There are about 1.4 million Iowa residents who file state income tax returns. Of these, just over three-fourths would pay less in taxes under the new law, according to an analysis by the state Department of Revenue. Roughly another 18 percent of Iowa resident taxpayers, or about 265,000, earn less than $20,000 annually and either make too little income to owe taxes or receive enough tax credits to cover them. They won’t receive a tax cut under the new law but it doesn’t matter because they don’t pay state income taxes.

That leaves about 3.5 percent of Iowa resident taxpayers, or about 50,000, who would actually owe more taxes next year. That’s not an insignificant number but still small compared with the number or those who will benefit.

Red Oak Police report a Cass County man was arrested at around 1-a.m. today (Sunday). 35-year old Kyle Christopher Archibald, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI/2nd offense, near the intersection of Highway 34 and G Avenue. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail, and held on a $2,000 cash bond for the aggravated misdemeanor charge.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:00 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa teen has been given a suspended prison sentence and probation for torching a famed covered bridge in Madison County, Iowa, that featured on the cover of the novel “The Bridges of Madison County.” Television station KCCI reports that 18-year-old Alexander Hoff was sentenced Friday, getting five years’ probation and a suspended 10-year prison sentence. He had pleaded guilty in March to second-degree arson and first-degree criminal mischief.

BERTRAM, Iowa (AP) — Officials in eastern Iowa say a man has died after crashing his bicycle. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office says the crash happened around 9 p.m. Friday in Bertram. The department says in a news release that the man was riding down a steep hill when he fell off the bike. He was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) — Amtrak trains will still stop in Fort Madison, but passengers will no longer be able to buy tickets at the depot counter as the carrier moves toward digital-only sales. The Hawk Eye reports that 18 of the railway’s stations are becoming digital-only this year. Passengers are encouraged to purchase tickets online, through a mobile app or by calling Amtrak. Passengers can also pay in cash on the train, but will be charged higher prices and be subject to availability.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Waterloo man has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend. Federal prosecutors in Iowa say 25-year-old Adam Charles Butler was sentenced Thursday after he pleaded guilty in November to willfully making threats to kill or injure another by means of an explosive. At Butler’s sentencing, prosecutors referenced text messages Butler sent to his ex-girlfriend threatening to blow up her car and apartment while she and their young child were at home.

Officials with SIRWA (The Southern Iowa Rural Water Association) said Saturday, that “All SIRWA customers served by the 12-Mile Treatment Plant are under a “Drinking Water Warning.” Previously, a Boil Water Advisory had been issued. SIRWA General Manager and Creston Water Works Treatment Plant Manager Dan McIntosh said in a Press Release, “The treatment plant is back up to full production capacity so [they] now have capacity, but lack in water quality.” That’s because their primary treatment method is not working as it should, according McIntosh.

He said also, “We are working with our supplier to get the replacement parts necessary to correct the treatment issue, delivered as fast as possible.” It’s hoped a better time frame for the parts to be delivered and installed, should be known by the first of the week. McIntosh apologized for the inconvenience the situation has caused their customers, and added persons should stay tuned to local media, and check out the SIRWA website at www.sirwa.org, for the latest updates.