SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A northwest Iowa man arrested after explosives were found on his property has been given 10 years in prison. The Sioux City Journal reports that 33-year-old Brett Sauser, of Anthon, was sentenced Thursday. He’d pleaded guilty to an explosives permit violation and to possession of a controlled substance. Prosecutors dropped four more explosives counts in exchange for Sauser’s pleas.

Sauser was arrested Jan. 9, 2017, after explosives and bomb-making items were found on his property after a fire that damaged his garage.

A crash in southern Iowa’s Clarke County, Thursday morning, claimed the life of a teenager from Osceola. The Iowa State Patrol reports the crash happened on Highway 34 at around 8:10-a.m., Thursday. Authorities say a1989 Chevy pickup driven by 21-year old Austin Thomas West, of Osceola, was traveling west on Highway 34 and stopped to yield to oncoming traffic, before turning into a residential driveway. When he stopped, a 2001 Chevy Lumina driven by 15-year old Madison Makenna Cook, of Osceola, struck the back of the pickup. Her car was then hit broadside by a 2011 International semi, driven by 36-year old Thaddaeus P. Frey, of Hooper, NE.  Frey and West were not injured in the crash.

Madison Cook, who was wearing her seatbelt, was pronounced deceased at the Clarke County Hospital.

The driver of a vehicle that crashed early this (Friday) morning in Council Bluffs was arrested following an investigation, for OWI. Bluffs Police say officers were dispatched to a singe-vehicle, rollover accident, at around 2:21-a.m.  They found that the vehicle had hit a parked vehicle before rolling over, and that the parked vehicle struck a parked vehicle in front of it. The driver of the vehicle, 20-year old Benjamin Beer, of Council Bluffs, was standing next to his overturned car. Beer suffered minor injuries as a result of the accident. Council Bluffs Fire Department arrived to treat his injuries. Beer refused treatment however, and was taken to the Pottawattamie County Jail, where he was charged with Operation (Of a vehicle) While Intoxicated.

A ban on nearly all abortions in Iowa after the sixth week of a pregnancy has cleared a House committee with the support of a dozen Republicans. However, at least two of those Republicans made it clear they want changes in the bill if or when it’s debated by the full House. Representative Rob Taylor of West Des Moines was among those voting “yes” “I believe that we all respect life in this room, but there’s a disparity between how we treat life inside the womb and how we treat life outside the womb,” Taylor said. “…As this bill stands today…it needs a lot of refinement, but that’s why I’m voting for this bill today.”

All the Democrats on the committee, including Representative Timi Brown-Powers of Waterloo, voted against the bill. “I’m a mother of one who had eight miscarriages. I would never choose an abortion for me,” Brown-Powers said in an emotional statement. “But I cannot choose for any of you what you would do because, quite frankly, it is none of my business.” The bill is a merger of two proposals — the ban on abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected along with a ban on the sale or donation of fetal tissue from a miscarriage or abortion. Representative Marti Anderson, a Democrat from Des Moines, suggests the bill’s abortion ban “intentionally goes too far.” “The motivation is clear: to create a vehicle to legally challenge Roe v Wade,” Anderson said.

Representative Sandy Salmon, a Republican from Janesville, is among those arguing the ruling that legalized abortion should be overturned. “Unfortunately a number of things that are legal are also destructive and this is among the worst,” Salmon said. Representative Mary Mascher, a Democrat from Iowa City, says similar laws in other states have already been ruled unconstitutional in federal courts. “Iowans are watching…They are listening,” Mascher said. “Iowans will not forget and they will vote.”

Representative Shannon Lundgren, a Republican from Peosta, says supporters of the bill are fulfilling a campaign promise to seek abortion restrictions. “The one important reason why we’re here today — there is another life at stake,” Lundgren said. “All lives matter. Absolutely all lives matter.”  Iowa’s current law bans abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy.

(Radio Iowa)

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 58-year old Thomas Oscar Anderson, of Red Oak, was arrested a little after 6:20-p.m. Thursday, on two separate warrants, both of which were for Violation of a No Contact Order. Anderson was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $600 cash only bond.

A new report ranks all 99 of Iowa’s counties for their health, based on criteria like access to good doctors, education and affordable housing. Katie Wehr, senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, says a host of key factors like -where- we live play a definite role in how well we live and for how long.

“Those include not only health behaviors, like what you might consider healthy eating or smoking or even clinical care,” Wehr says, “but it’s also looking at social and economic differences in our communities, aspects like child poverty or high school graduation rates or employment.”

The new rankings list Iowa’s five healthiest counties as: Grundy, Sioux, Cedar, Dallas and Winneshiek, while the five counties in the poorest health are: Monona, Appanoose, Decatur, Audubon and Lee. (Cass County is ranked 82nd; Guthrie County 77th; Shelby County 53rd; Harrison County 64th; Pott. County 90th; Audubon County 96th; Adair County 84th, Adams County 80th; Union County 89th; Montgomery County 88th; and Mills County, 63rd in overall Health Outcomes)

“What’s most important is that no matter where counties are ranked, it’s about recognizing there are areas for improvement and that the county ranking is a starting point, not an ending point,” Wehr says. “County residents and their leaders can take a look at the data, identify where they’re doing well and where they can continue to improve in their journey to better health for all people.”

She says the local-level information makes it clear good health is influenced by many factors beyond medical care including housing, education and jobs. “You can compare counties, so if there are peer counties you’d like to compare yourself to both within your state and in other states, you can take a look at that and see how you’re doing and take a deeper dive into not just the rank but those different elements that go into the rank, those different measures that help to contribute.”

The new report says poverty limits opportunity and increases the chance of poor health. Children in poverty are less likely to have access to well-resourced and quality schools, and have fewer chances to be prepared for living wage jobs. The report reveals that in Iowa, 15-percent of children live in poverty, compared to the national rate of 20-percent. Learn more at www.countyhealthrankings.org.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A newspaper reports an Iowa Statehouse lobbyist has resigned from her job days after a video was released that showed her kissing a state senator. Iowa League of Cities Executive Director Alan Kemp on Thursday confirmed the resignation of Lindsey McCune to the Des Moines Register, but he declined to give more information. The League promotes policy in the Statehouse on behalf of cities.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has called a special election to fill the Senate seat left vacant by former lawmaker Bill Dix. Reynolds announced Thursday an election will be held April 10 for Senate District 25. It’s comprised of Grundy and Hardin counties, and portions of Butler and Story counties. Dix served as Senate majority leader until Monday, when he resigned from office after a video showed him kissing a Statehouse lobbyist.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Firefighters say two children have died in a Waterloo house fire. The fire was reported a little after 4 a.m. Thursday. The Courier reports that 9-year-old Amari Burkett and 6-year-old Ava Everman were removed from the home and pronounced dead at a local hospital. A woman also pulled from the house was taken to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. A third child, a girl, was able to escape by crawling through her bedroom window.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A group of Iowa soybean farmers will travel to China this week in hopes of smoothing over any rift in the trade relationship caused by the Trump administration’s announced tariffs on steel and aluminum. Iowa Soybean Association President Bill Shipley says now isn’t the time for the U.S. to retreat as a trusted source of soybeans because U.S. commodity prices are sliding and other countries are ramping up production.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A newspaper reports an Iowa Statehouse lobbyist has resigned from her job days after a video was released that showed her kissing a state senator. Iowa League of Cities Executive Director Alan Kemp on Thursday confirmed the resignation of Lindsey McCune to the Des Moines Register , but he declined to give more information. The League promotes policy in the Statehouse on behalf of cities.

The website Iowa Starting Line published video Monday morning that showed McCune kissing former Sen. Bill Dix at a Des Moines bar. The married Republican resigned from office hours later. He served as the Senate majority leader.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Thursday that a special election will be held April 10 to fill Dix’s district seat.