A revised version of the new voter registration forms are now available from the Secretary of State’s office. The Iowa A-C-L-U had raised concerns about the layout of the questions on the forms. Chance McElhaney, a spokesman for the Secretary of State, says they made changes so the voter eligibility question is the first thing on the new form. “There are three easy questions that we move to the very top, ‘ are you a citizen of the United States, will you be 18 before election day, and if you’ve been convicted of a felony, have your rights been restored?’ If you answer no to any of those questions you’re not eligible to vote,” McElhaney says.

He says it should make it harder to accidentally register to vote if you’re not eligible. “Nobody wants anyone to commit a felony mistakenly. How the previous form was set up, you got to those qualifications at the very end right when you were about to sign , and we want to make sure that right up front should I be filling out this form or not,” McElhaney says.

McElhaney says county auditors, the voter registration commission, and the secretary of state collaborated on the new form. The new version of the form has passed muster with the A-C-L-U.

(Radio Iowa)

A man was struck by a truck in a construction zone near Anita this (Friday) morning. According to reports, emergency crews were called to a construction site west of Anita on Highway 6, just after 9-a.m.

The man was said to be conscious and breathing. No other details are available at this time.

(Update at 9:57-a.m.: No injuries. Property damage accident only)

Rescue crews from Atlantic and Marne have been called to an accident this (Friday) morning on Interstate 80. The accident involving two motorcycles happened at around 9:50-a.m. on I-80 westbound, about a mile west of the Marne exit. Marne and Atlantic Fire and Rescue and Medivac Ambulance were called to the scene. No other details are currently available.

The Walnut City Council, Thursday evening, received a petition from citizens opposed to the possible installation of additional stop signs along Antique City Drive. City Clerk Terri Abel said there was a petition with 108 signatures of people who are opposed to the proposal. She said also,  Iowa DOT representative Red Allen, from Atlantic, explained why stop signs should not be used for speed enforcement. The Council then decided to have a speed study conducted on Highway 83 and Antique City Drive, to come up with recommendations for possible stop sign placement. But for now, no action was taken on the addition of any such signs within the City limits.

In other business, the Walnut City Council discussed matters pertaining to signage. One of the issues they’re having is with regard to the billboard along Interstate 80. Abel says the Iowa DOT has planted bushes which have overgrown to the point where they are blocking the sign informing visitors to the State about Iowa’s Antique City. She says since the DOT isn’t too keen on taking care of the overgrowth, the City will have to try and come up with a solution.

One of the options being considered, she says, is raising the sign above the bush level, because it’s difficult to get signage along the interstate in the first place, much less going through the process to move the sign to a better location. City leaders also talked about repairing both “Welcome” signs near the City, and the possible addition of a Welcome sign on the south side of Walnut, but no action was taken.

And, the City has announced three Council seats and the Mayor’s position will be on the ballot for the November 5^th elections. By announcing the open seats, it’s hoped residents will show an interest in running for City government.

(9-a.m. News)

w/ Ric Hanson

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(Updated/corrected info.)

Flames consumed a garage Thursday night, in Atlantic. The Atlantic Fire Department was called to the scene of the fire near 403 Birch Street, just before midnight. When crews arrived, the structure was fully engulfed in flames.  Fire Chief Mark McNees said they would be looking into a cause this morning. Additional details are currently not available.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The U.S. Department of Labor has fined Hy-Vee, Fareway and other grocery stores in Iowa and Nebraska nearly $130,000 for violating child labor laws.   The Des Moines Register reports that the Labor Department announced the fines Thursday. NONE of the stores in question are located in the KJAN listening area.

The department says the violations included allowing workers under 18 to perform hazardous jobs that are prohibited. That included loading or operating power-driven paper balers, meat slicers, bakery machines and motor vehicles. No underage workers were injured. The Labor Department report says Hy-Vee was assessed $68,200 for 27 violations at seven stores, while Fareway was assessed nearly $20,000 for 13 violations at eight stores. The violations would have happened since October 2011.

Representatives of Hy-Vee and Fareway say the stores are committed to maintaining a safe environment for young workers.  Scott Allen, spokesman for the U-S Department of Labor, singled out 20 Iowa stores for violations, including Hy-Vee stores in: Boone, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Urbandale, Waterloo and West Des Moines, and Fareway stores in: Ames, Clive, New Hampton, Norwalk, Ottumwa, Toledo and Webster City. Others include B-and-B Grocery in Des Moines, Big G Foods in Marengo, Buy Rite Foods in Lake Park, Bender’s Foods in Denver, Fiesta Foods in Hawarden, Truncks Country Foods in Reinbeck, and McNally’s Foods in Grinnell.

Gasoline prices in Iowa rose an average of 15-cents a gallon during July and one industry analyst says it’s a toss-up for what may happen to pump prices in August. Gail Weinholzer, spokeswoman for Triple-A-Iowa, says an increase in demand usually means a spike in prices and August is a busy month for travel.  “There are a lot of people doing their last-minute summer vacations, packing up the kids and the dogs and heading out to national parks,” Weinholzer says. “Demand is usually quite high in August which doesn’t cause us any problems, so long as there are no refinery issues or hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico that cause any disruption.”

Weinholzer says the weather in the Southern U-S can be a big factor in gas price fluctuations in the Midwest and nationwide. “We’ve seen how destructive hurricanes can be in the Gulf of Mexico, affecting oil rigs and refineries,” Weinholzer says. “We want to keep one eye on the Gulf as we travel this last part of the summer in August to make sure there aren’t any constricted supplies due to any late-summer hurricanes.”

Last summer, gasoline prices in Iowa were about 12-cents a gallon cheaper than now. As to where the prices will go in the month ahead, Weinholzer says it’s hard to predict. “It is very difficult because it’s so much determined by the weather,” Weinholzer says. “We saw with Hurricane Katrina and the devastation it had eight years ago so it’s very important the oil refineries, rigs and platforms in the Gulf not be disrupted during this heavy demand season.”

The  current average for a gallon of unleaded gas in Iowa is three-59. That’s four cents below the national average.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (AP) — Police say a 29-year-old man has died after falling from a water tower in Mount Vernon. Police say Winfred Davis of Clinton died when he fell just before 2 p.m. yesterday. He was working on the eastern Iowa town’s water tower on First Street. Davis was employed by Arndt Enterprises Incorporated of DeWitte. The company handles industrial coatings of water towers.

BLAKESBURG, Iowa (AP) — Police say three teenagers have been charged with placing explosives in the Blakesburg Public Library’s book drop. The Ottumwa Courier reports police charged one 17-year-old and two 16-year-olds with reckless use of fire or explosives. The charge is a serious misdemeanor. Chief Deputy Don Phillips says police filed the charges after getting a citizen tip about the explosion, which was reported on July 24th.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa tax preparer has been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to filing a fraudulent tax return earlier this year. The U.S. attorney’s office says U.S. District Court Judge Linda Reade yesterday sentenced 52-year-old Keith Rath of Shellsburg to 21 months in prison.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Agriculture says the emerald ash borer has been found in a tree in the southeast Iowa city of Fairfield, making it the third spot where the destructive beetle has been found in the state. The Agriculture Department announced yesterday the bug was found in a residential tree in the Jefferson County city.