One person was killed and another injured when a car and a motorcycle collided Saturday evening, in Taylor County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 53-year old man from Cookeville, TN died and a 19-year old from Clarinda was injured during the crash, which occurred at the intersection of Highway 2 and Main Street, in New Market. The accident happened at around 7:35-p.m.

Officials say a 2001 Pontiac Grand Am was traveling east on Highway 2 at the same time a 1981 Honda motorcycle was traveling west. When the car made a left hand turn in front of the cycle, the motorcycle crashed into the side of the vehicle. The operator of the cycle was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the car was transported to the Clarinda Regional Hospital. Names were being withheld pending notification of relatives.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Republican Senator Ted Cruz is continuing his call for cutting off funding for President Barack Obama’s health care law, telling conservative Christians in Iowa that congressional lawmakers can’t be counted on to do it. The Texas Republican drew a standing ovation yesterday at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, with his denouncement of what he and other Republicans call “Obamacare”.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa House Democrats have elected Representative Mark Smith as their new leader. The Marshalltown man was elected to serve as leader during a meeting in Des Moines yesterday. He is serving his 7th term in office. The Democrats are currently the minority party in the state House of Representatives.

CHARLES CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Messiah Food Pantry is Charles City is bare. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that dozens of people and families have been turned away this week from the food bank run by the Jordan River church. Debra Lincoln, the church’s pastor, says the pantry ran out of food last week. She says the next delivery from the Northeast Iowa Food Bank in Waterloo won’t arrive until Friday.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A 35-year-old has been charged with first-degree theft, accused of robbing a paraplegic man of $60. The Quad-City Times reports that Crystal Greer was arrested Friday. Police say Greer was also arrested on one aggravated misdemeanor count of prostitution after offering to perform a sex act for money with an undercover police officer Wednesday night.

*Updated with driver information and accident details*

Westbound traffic on Interstate 80 in Cass County was impeded this (Saturday) morning and early afternoon by a tractor-trailer rollover accident at the 68-mile marker (Between Anita and Wiota). The accident happened at around 11:20-a.m. The Iowa State Patrol says 47-year old Piotr Brzozowski of Carol Stream, IL was traveling westbound on I-80 when he became distracted while driving. The 2007 Volvo semi he was driving went off the road into the north ditch.

When Brzozowski overcorrected, he caused the semi to flip onto it’s right side. The rig slid on its side and came to rest blocking both lanes of westbound traffic. The road was blocked for roughly two hours. Brzozowski was wearing his seatbelt but was transported to Cass County Memorial Hospital by Medevac for unspecified injuries. He was cited for failure to maintain control.

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson…

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Greenfield Republican Rep. Clel Baudler says he’s proud to be named among the “Worst State Legislators of 2013” by a group working to legalize marijuana use.  Baudler laughed Friday when The Des Moines Register told him he had made a list of eight legislators that the Marijuana Policy Project considers among the nation’s worst.

In announcing the list, the group referred to comments Baudler made in opposing a medical marijuana bill in the Iowa Legislature. Baudler argued that passing the bill would be “one or two or three of the stupidest bills that’s ever been passed” by the Legislature.

The bill failed. Baudler says he accepts the designation “with pride.”

Police in Red Oak report the arrest Friday night of a man on an assault charge. 22-year old James Leroy Christensen, Jr., was arrested at around 8-p.m. on a charge of Simple Domestic Assault. He was taken into custody in the 200 block of 1st Avenue in Red Oak and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where Christensen was being held without bond.

The drought is worsening again in Iowa as heavy rains are causing devastation just to the south. Parts of Missouri got ten inches of rain overnight (Thursday into Friday), bringing flash-flooding, evacuations and at least two deaths. Meteorologist Kurt Kotenberg, at the National Weather Service, says there’s a powerful front between bone-dry Iowa and water-logged Missouri. “It’s brought in a lot of dry, cool air here to the state of Iowa whereas down to the south, there’s been an area of low pressure swinging through and it’s not quite reaching us,” Kotenberg says. “The low pressure and dry air is pushing that low to our south, serving as a shield, preventing that moisture and energy from reaching the state up here.”

While areas of southern Missouri have seen 15-inches of rain in the past two days, parts of Iowa haven’t seen more than an inch of rain in weeks, and there’s little hope in the forecast — for either state’s misery.
“We should be dry Saturday, Sunday, maybe a little bit of a chance (of rain) as we head into Monday, but otherwise, it’s looking dry up here,” Kotenberg says. “Down to the south, Missouri will probably be getting more rain this afternoon into Saturday, so unfortunately, it does not look like they are out of the woods quite yet.” A report released this week shows the drought situation worsening in Iowa.

“A good majority of the state is at least abnormally dry,” Kotenberg says. “Basically the only part that’s above average or near average is the far northeastern portions of Iowa. Interestingly enough, Des Moines is now almost one inch below normal on the year, while the Waterloo area is about ten inches above normal for 2013 on precipitation.” A week ago, only 0.02% of Iowa was in drought. Now, about 16% of the state is seeing drought conditions, mostly in the west and southwest.

(Radio Iowa)

A massive facility that will attract gun enthusiasts in northwest Iowa is scheduled to open next summer. Officials broke ground on the five-million dollar project this week just across the Missouri River from Iowa in South Sioux City, Nebraska. The business is called Calibra8 (pronounced calibrate) and president Jason Rainboth says it’ll be the first of its kind in the region. “We’re going to have a 24 lane indoor gun range. We’ll also have an 8-lane archery range indoors, which will have a second tier shot, which is something you never see in an archery range,” Rainboth said. “We’re also going to have a full service pro shop and armory. We’ll sell guns, ammunition, and all the accessories that go along with that, but we’ll also be renting guns.”

The 90,000 square foot facility will also house a 24 hour gym and cross-fit training center, as well as banquet halls and meeting rooms. Rainboth believes the area will eventually host regional and national competitions. “For both the archery and the shooting ranges, we are looking to host IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association) events…all the shooting circuits that are out there, we would like to be able to host those on a regional or national level,” Rainboth said. The company will also serve as a firearms training facility for local law enforcement and military personnel, as well as the public. That’s something Dakota County (Nebraska) Sheriff Chris Kleinberg says is an area need.

“Especially in the last year, the handgun purchase permits have been crazy. People want firearms, but the lack of training – with such – is a little nerve-racking to law enforcement,” Kleinberg said. “This facility will actually help with that, which is a good thing. I think every citizen should be armed.” Calibra8 will initially employ around 40 people, but Rainboth said they may eventually need 100 workers.

(Radio Iowa)

After Iowa farmland values hit a record high late in 2012, a new report from the U-S Department of Agriculture shows farmland values nationwide took another big jump this year. The U-S-D-A’s chief economist Joe Glauber says there was an especially big jump in cropland prices on the agency’s new report versus last year. “Farm real estate value this year was estimated to be $2900 an acre as compared to $2650 an acre, that’s up 9.4%,” Glauber says. “If you look at just cropland, the average per acre is $4000, up from $3540, that’s up 13%.” Iowa’s average farmland values last year were more than double that figure. Glauber says the highest prices for farmland in the latest report are in the Corn Belt where the average acre is worth 64-hundred dollars, also up 13-percent. He says there is a ceiling, somewhere.

“Certainly, the idea that we’ll continue to see 10% increases per year, I think, is unlikely,” Glauber says. Farmland values have risen 50-percent in the last four years and Glauber says the reasons include low interest rates and good, strong income prospects. As for 2014, Glauber says the values may not go up quite as rapidly. “People are looking for income levels to moderate a bit after the strong growth we’ve seen and the fact that we may see slightly higher interest rates,” he says. “Both of those would have negative effects at least on the growth rates of land values. I’m not saying that land values necessarily would decline, but the 10% growth that we’ve seen, certainly that’s unlikely to continue.” The annual survey released by Iowa State University last December showed a record average cost of Iowa farmland at $8,296 an acre. The I-S-U survey showed farmland values increased almost 24-percent over the previous year.

(Radio Iowa)