The Iowa State Patrol reports two people were injured during an accident Tuesday afternoon in Pottawattamie County. Authorities say 23-year old Dalton Jones and 38-year old Jordan Sollazo, both of Council Bluffs, were transported by Crescent Rescue to Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs. Both were wearing their seat belts.

The accident happened at around 4:30-p.m. on Old Lincoln Highway, north of Council Bluffs.  Officials say a 2012 Honda Pilot driven by Sollazo was nearly stopped heading northbound and intending to turn west into a private drive, when the Honda was struck from behind by a northbound 1997 Saturn, driven by 23-year old Tammi Pickett, of Council Bluffs.

The State Patrol was assisted at the scene by deputies with the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office and Crescent Rescue.

The Cass County Auditor’s Office, Tuesday, released a statement with regard to concerns some may have over “Election rigging.” The statement said “Iowa’s county auditors, Republican, Democratic, and Independent, are proud of their reputation for fair and honest elections. They follow the many provisions of Iowa election law that:
• ensure full bipartisan involvement in the testing of voting equipment and the operation of polling places.
• secure voting systems against cyber threats and ballot tampering.
• protect the right of all eligible citizens to vote.”

The Auditor’s Office says “If you have questions or concerns about any aspect of voting in Iowa, contact your county auditor via http://www.iowaauditors.org/.” Monday afternoon, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate (The Commissioner of Elections), said he and Iowa’s 99 county auditors take the “integrity” of voting seriously and Pate said “It is not helpful” to have Donald Trump tweeting that there is “large scale voter fraud” happening in America.

Earlier in the day, Monday, Governor Branstad said he has confidence in Iowa’s election system, but Branstad warned there may be some cheating, plus Branstad says people believe the election is “rigged” because of the way the national media is covering the candidates. Pate responded by saying “We have the checks and balances. We work on a bipartisan basis and our office as well as the county offices are open to anyone who sees any potential problem to make sure the integrity is maintained.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa crime lab analyst fired after posting a rant against black people on Facebook has to pay back $3,800 in unemployment benefits. An administrative law judge has ruled that former Division of Criminal Investigation criminalist Amy Pollpeter was fired for work-related misconduct and therefore was ineligible to collect unemployment insurance.

The Department of Public Safety fired Pollpeter in July after she blasted the Black Lives Matter movement and African-Americans on her publicly-accessible Facebook page. In a post prompted by the killings of police officers in Dallas, Pollpeter wrote that she no longer felt safe around black people. She said that African-Americans have brought hatred upon themselves by “rioting, looting stores, and shooting cops” and by demanding “special rights.”

State officials said the post demonstrated bias and violated department policies.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities arrested 26 men and 15 women in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa as part of an annual nationwide operation targeting human trafficking. The Omaha World-Herald reports the FBI led a task force of law enforcement agencies in the three-day operation that ended on Sunday.

Police in Omaha, Lincoln, La Vista, Council Bluffs, Iowa and Glenwood, Iowa, all took part in the operation locally. The names of the people arrested were not immediately available Tuesday. The FBI says 82 sexually exploited children were recovered nationwide and 239 people were arrested in the operation.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports a Nebraska man was arrested this (Tuesday) morning at the Pottawattamie County Jail, on a warrant for Failure to Appear in court on two counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance. Bond for 26-year old Dale John Kraft, Jr, of Omaha, was set at $2,000.

Officials with the Iowa DNR said Tuesday a Denison man suffered a self inflicted gunshot wound to his thigh from a pistol he was carrying in his waistband shortly after he began walking to the field to hunt deer with his muzzleloader.  The injury occurred around 5 p.m. Monday,, in southern Crawford County. 54-year old Daniel Gehling was taken to Denison hospital and then flown by helicopter to Omaha medical center for surgery. He is currently in stable condition.

Gehling was heading to the field with his wife Carolyn. He adjusted the gun in his waistband when it discharged. Carolyn called for help and then applied pressure on the wound until rescue personnel arrived.

It is common for hunters who have a permit to carry, to carry a pistol with them while hunting. It is illegal to have a pistol in possession while archery hunting.

Iowa’s pheasant hunting tradition will begin another chapter on October 29, when nearly 60,000 hunters will pursue ringnecks during the season opening weekend in fields across the state. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources annual August roadside survey predicts Iowa pheasant hunters can expect to have good hunting this fall, and likely more company in the field. The optimistic mood is a natural outcome of five consecutive years of higher population surveys and hunter harvests.

The survey found an average of 21 pheasants per 30 mile route statewide, with higher counts coming from counties crossing the state diagonally from northwest to southeast. The statewide average in 2015 was 24 pheasants per route.

“At this point, it appears much of our corn and beans will be out of the fields by the opener, which will concentrate birds to grass areas and make hunters happy. If we have good weather, I think we could see a bump in hunter numbers and birds harvested,” said Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife biologist for the Iowa DNR.

Bogenschutz said he has noticed more birds near field edges and along the roads as the crops have been coming out. “I’ve been seeing some birds around on my way in to the office and have been getting a few phone calls from around the state from people also seeing birds,” he said. ““The birds are here, we need hunters to return.”

Iowa’s pheasant population could sustain a harvest of 500,000 roosters, but it will not reach that level until there are 90,000 hunters afield. In 2015, some 55,000 hunters harvested 270,000 Iowa roosters. Hunters can read the August roadside survey, review hunting regulations, buy a license and find a place to hunt online at www.iowadnr.gov/hunting .

The Natural Resource Commission for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources approved two Resource Enhancement and Protection Public Private Cost-share grant requests from the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation at its October meeting. The projects were awarded more than $510,000.

Public private grants are used for land acquisition with 75 percent of the acquisition costs come from REAP and the remaining 25 percent coming from private contributions.

REAP Private Public Grants:

Fremont County, Botna Bottoms Acquisition, $135,750 – The project will combine two EWP/WRP properties into one 179-acre tract bordering the East Nishnabotna River. Botna Bottoms contains quality wildlife habitat, including: grassland, riparian woodland, wet prairie, sedge meadow and wetland. Funds received for this project will transfer the property to the IDNR – Nishnabotna Wildlife Unit. Major benefits of this acquisition include public hunting, wildlife and plant habitat and improved water quality.

Fremont County, Biscuitroot Bluff, $378,972 – The goal of this project is to protect and restore property in Fremont County along the Loess Hills Scenic Byway that contains rare Loess Hills remnant prairie and oak woodlands. Funds received for this project would be used for acquisition of 173.2 acres. Future use includes wildlife and native plant habitat, public hunting and scenic views.

The Exira-EHK School Board Monday evening, discussed refinancing of the sales tax bond. Superintendent Trevor Miller said the board wants to move forward with looking at the myriad of options available to them. (click on the audio bar to listen)

Miller said also the Board will hold a work session in November or early December to go over the budget situation.

Miller said he intends to offer a better explanation to the board and public about the finances, what’s available and where the funds come from.

And, they approved a contract with Christine Wahlert, who will serve as School Nurse.