WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say two people have died in a West Des Moines collision caused by a wrong-way driver. The collision occurred just before 2 a.m. Sunday on Interstate 35. Authorities say a car headed south in one of the northbound lanes collided with an oncoming vehicle.

Both drivers were killed. Police identified the driver of the southbound car as 49-year-old Monte Johnson, of Hartford. The driver of the northbound car was identified as 32-year-old Nripin Chinni, of West Des Moines. His passenger, 27-year-old Durga Papina, was taken to a hospital.

A Nebraska man was arrested on a drug charge following a traffic stop at around 2:30-a.m. today (Monday), in Montgomery County. The Sheriff’s Office reports 21-year old Rasheed Faheem Barze, of Lincoln, NE., was arrested at the intersection of Highways 34 and 71, on a charge of Possession of Marijuana with the Intent to Deliver. Barze was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $5,000 bond. Sheriff’s Deputies were assisted by the Adams County Sheriff’s Office and Montgomery County K9 Unit, in conducting the arrest..

A passenger in an SUV was injured during a collision Sunday evening in Red Oak. Red Oak Police say 11-year old Kiley Jolene Steinman, of Red Oak, complained of back pain, was transported to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital by private vehicle. Authorities say the collision happened at around 6:10-p.m., at the intersection of Highways 34 and 48, when a 2001 Chevy pickup driven by 16-year old Lukas Daniel Moore, of Emerson, struck the rear passenger door on a 2007 Hyundai Tucson, driven by 37-year old Mindy Lynn Riibe, of Red Oak.

The accident occurred when Moore’s foot slipped off the brake as he was approaching the intersection from Highway 34, and Riibe was traveling north on Highway 48 with the right of way. Moore was cited for Failure to Obey a Stop Sign or Yield the Right of Way.

Republican Senator Joni Ernst says she’s talked directly with the head of the federal agency reviewing Iowa’s “stopgap” plan to shore up the state’s individual insurance market.”We should know the administration’s decision, somewhere between the 20th and the 30th,” Ernst said. “I have been on calls with Seema Verma. I just talked to her last week. We’ll continue to push just how important this is to Iowa.”

Verma heads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That’s the federal agency that must grant a waiver for the state’s plan to help 72-thousand Iowans buy individual insurance policies for 2018. “We may get all the measures approved, maybe not all of them,” Ernst said. “But one way or another, we expect that we’ll see a difference for Iowans.”

The state’s insurance commissioner is asking for permission to redirect federal subsidies to ensure younger, healthier people buy insurance — and send more of ObamaCare subsidies to two insurance companies to cover the costs of care for older, sicker individuals. If the waiver is granted, Medica and Wellmark have said they’ll sell individual policies to Iowans.

Without the waiver, an estimated 20-thousand Iowans will be unable to afford to buy health insurance next year. Ernst says she’s still hoping a bipartisan effort in the U.S. Senate can come up with a wide-ranging health care reform measure.”We have to correct the deficiencies out there,” We find a way forward. It’s going to have to be bipartisan at this point.”

G-O-P efforts to repeal and replace ObamaCare have failed to get the support of enough Republicans in the Senate to pass. Ernst made her comments Saturday after a townhall meeting in the northwest Iowa community of Brunsville. About 50 people attended the event and Ernst answered questions about a variety of topics, including health care, immigration policy and legalizing gun suppressors.

(Radio Iowa)

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

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is sending a federal hate crimes lawyer to Iowa to help prosecute a man charged with killing a transgender teenager last year. The unusual decision by Attorney General Jeff Sessions comes even as he takes other steps to erode the rights of transgender people broadly. The case involves Jorge Sanders-Galvez, who is charged with killing 16-year-old Kedarie Johnson in Burlington, Iowa.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A Waterloo city council candidate is acknowledging that he was arrested Friday for public intoxication. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that Chris Shimp apologized for his action and took responsibility in a statement issued Saturday. University of Northern Iowa media relations confirmed that a person by the name of Chris Shimp was arrested Friday for public intoxication, but an arrest report wasn’t immediately available.

TAMA, Iowa (AP) — The Meskwaki Nation in Iowa is expanding its business interests from its casino and bingo hall into tobacco products and e-cigarettes. The Des Moines Register reports that tribal leaders are looking to diversity their revenue so the tribe is less reliant on casino profits. Meskwaki Inc. will soon open a 30,000-square-foot factor and warehouse just off Highway 30, within walking distance of both the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel and the Meskwaki Travel Plaza.

WAVERLY, Iowa (AP) — After years of discussions about the future of a long-closed bridge in Waverly, the city’s mayor has vetoed spending approved by the City Council and pushed action off until after elections this fall. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports Mayor Charles Infelt announced Thursday he would veto a resolution approved by the council that continued funding in preparation for bids to convert the one-lane bridge to pedestrian use. Infelt has supported a two-lane vehicular bridge at the site.

Police in Atlantic, Sunday afternoon, identified a man who was struck by a car while crossing the street Saturday evening. Authorities said 33-year old John Wegner, of Atlantic, was crossing 7th Street (or, Highway 6) at the intersection with Poplar Street, when he was struck by a southbound Mazda 6 driven by Jon McEntaffer, of Atlantic.

The accident happened at around 7:10-p.m., as Wegner was walking southbound across 7th Street, and McEntaffer was turning left from southbound Poplar onto eastbound 7th Street. Earlier authorities told KJAN News Wegner’s injuries were not believed to be life threatening. He was transported by Medivac Ambulance to the Cass County Memorial Hospital for treatment.

McEntaffer was cited for Failure to Yield to a Pedestrian Within an Intersection.