A deer ran into the side of an SUV Friday afternoon, causing substantial damage and injuries to the driver of the vehicle. The Iowa State Patrol says 65-year old Jack Allen Garrett, of Groton, CT, was traveling south on Interstate 29 at around 3:25-p.m., when a deer ran onto the road and hit the left front side of the 2015 Subaru Forester.

The impact caused damage to the left front, hood, windshield, interior, as well as the driver’s side front and rear doors. The extent of Garrett’s injuries were not disclosed in the report.

The Patrol was aided at the scene by deputies with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, and Crescent Rescue.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office released details Friday about an accident that happened Thursday evening near Corning.  At 5:15pm Thursday a 911 call was taken at Adams County Dispatch about a van vs semi accident with one person being ejected from the vehicle.

From the Adams County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page

Deputies arriving on scene determined that a van driven by Liberty Armstrong of Corning was sitting at the stop sign at the intersection of Highway 148 and Highway 34 facing south.  A semi tractor trailer driven by Raymond Slama of Wyoming was traveling westbound on Highway 34 when Armstrong attempted to cross the highway failing to see the approaching semi.  The two vehicles collided spinning the van 180 degrees and Armstrong was ejected from the van.  Armstrong was then taken by helicopter to Des Moines and treated for what were determined to be minor injuries.  Slama was uninjured in the accident.

Both vehicles were towed from the scene.  The Adams County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Adams County Fire and Rescue and the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office.  The Office wants to thank all of the witnesses that stayed at the scene and assisted the injured and gave their statements.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities are investigating a state organization that trains and certifies Iowa firefighters due to allegations involving the certification process. The Department of Public Safety on Friday announced the investigation of the Fire Service Training Bureau, located at Iowa State University in Ames. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s inquiry will examine the scoring and certification process for those who took classes from the bureau.

Authorities also say Randal Novak, who had served as bureau chief since 2001, was placed on paid administrative leave on April 25 and retired June 2. John McPhee, the certification and accreditation coordinator was placed on paid administrative leave April 25. He has worked for the bureau since 1998. Kyle Gorsh, a state fire marshal special agent, will serve as interim bureau chief.

The announcement came one day after The Associated Press made inquiries on the matter. Novak said Thursday his retirement had nothing to do with any problems in the bureau.

The Republican-led House has narrowly rejected a proposal to ban so-called “DREAMERS” from enlisting in the military. President Obama issued an executive order deferring all deportations for young adults who were brought into the country illegally when they were children. Republican Congressman Steve King argues those young people do not belong in the military.

“They broke the law to come into America, then they lied to get into the military and then they took an oath to support and defend the constitution of the United States,” King said during remarks on the House floor. “So I’d say: Which of those three times were they really honorable?'” King and other Republicans accuse the president of trying to get “backdoor amnesty” for these so-called “DREAMERS” who enlist in the military.

“I think there’s something missing from this debate,” King says. “It’s an assumption that if we have someone in the military, that somehow they’re legal. The president can’t legalize people that unlawfully present in America…He just asserts that executively and we have to go to court, then, to reverse it and get the courts to change that.”

The ban King supported lost by one vote in the U.S. House. Critics of the ban say the military needs the “best and brightest” and those who have known no other home than America should be able to serve. Two years ago the U.S. military began enlisting undocumented immigrants with special medical or language skills. If they wind up serving in a combat zone, they are granted U.S. citizenship.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that the D-N-R can’t be sued for a boating accident on Storm Lake. The accident happened on Memorial Day weekend in 2010 as Jamie Laass of South Sioux City, Nebraska and her four kids were riding in a speedboat driven by her boyfriend Harry Foote. Foote was doing around 30-miles-an-hour in the boat when it hit a submerged dredge pipe and flipped over. Laass’ 10-year-old son David died in the accident.

Laass filed a lawsuit against the D-N-R. The D-N-R lawsuit was dismissed by the district court based on several issues including what’s called the public duty doctrine. It says the government has the duty to inform the public at large about safety issues, but is not liable to individuals.

The Iowa Supreme Court upheld that district court ruling. Court records say a lawsuit against the city, county and lake improvement association in the case was settled for one-point-two million dollars.

(Radio Iowa)

After Sunday’s mass shootings in Orlando, Florida, many Iowans are being inspired to contribute to various funds to bring relief and awareness, but they also need to beware. Jim Hegarty, head of the Better Business Bureau in Omaha-Council Bluffs, is warning Iowans to stay watchful for con artists.

Hegarty says, “Offshore scammers are already setting up fictitious sites, they’re sending bogus emails and often, when we see a tragedy like this, we’ll see click-bait used to download malware into people’s systems.” He says steer clear of online videos that claim to have new information on the shootings and if you do want to give money, stick with organizations you’ve dealt with before.

“Make your contributions to well-known, established charities,” he says, “and it would be best if you initiate the gift yourself, call the charity.” The Better Business Bureau maintains a website that’s devoted to helping people sort out legitimate charitable organizations from those that are questionable.

“Give-dot-org provides people with charitable accountability information on charities that operate all over the country,” Hegarty says. “Look at the charity. Check out their review and make sure they’re meeting the charitable accountability standards you’d want them to meet before supporting them.” He says to be very careful as a host of “Go Fund Me” efforts are showing up on social media in the past week and they aren’t likely all reputable.

(Radio Iowa)

The Union County Sheriff’s Office says a man from Murray reported Thursday morning, that sometime over the past few weeks, 18 cows and 19 calves have come up missing from his farm in Union County. Larry Schultes said the estimated value of his missing cattle is $37,000.

Cedar Rapids native and NASCAR driver Joey Gase made a pit stop in Ankeny Thursday at the D-O-T Driver’s License station to encourage Iowans to sign up to be an organ donor. Gase got a quick education in organ donation as an 18-year-old when his mother Mary died suddenly of a brain aneurysm in 2011 and he found out she wanted to donate her organs.

“I didn’t really know anything much at all about organ donation besides when you go to the D-M-V it’s just a quick yes or no question. And I feel like that’s how it is for a lot of people,” Gase says. “And at that time I honestly didn’t know if I was an organ donor and had to take out my license and see. And I was.” Gase says the toughest part was when doctors didn’t come out and tell him that his mom was going to get better. But he says the family takes comfort in the way the donation of her organs has helped others.

“We know now that she is very happy I am sure right now that she was able to help 66 people,” Gase says. He has a picture of his mother on the front of his car along with another picture of organ donor, Jessica Peine and the logo for the Iowa Organ Donor Network. Gase says his experience with his mom prompted him to continue supporting the organ donation cause.

“I learned how important it was and how many misconceptions there are out there and how many people are on the wait list, and I wanted to help all of that,” Gase explains. “One of the biggest misconceptions is — if I am an organ donor, the doctor is not going to do everything they can to save me — and I learned first-hand with my mom’s experience that’s not the case.” He says you should get the facts and make your choice about whether you would like to mark your driver’s license to be an organ donor.

“I really encourage everyone to donatelife.net and look up all the facts. Where a lot of people hear about donation is through movies and T-V shows and stuff like that, and that is where a lot of the misconceptions come from unfortunately,” Gase says. D-O-T Motor Vehicle Services Division director Mark Lowe says they are focusing on doing a better job of explaining how motorists can sign up to donate organs.

“We needed to make sure that our staff knew that was an important function of their job and when people come to the station they knew that they were not just being asked if they are an organ donor, but if they wanted to be one. As we’ve tracked that, we are continuing to see increases throughout the state,” Lowe says. The information about being an organ donor may be one of the last worries of people who are waiting in line to get a driver’s license or take a test.

“And that’s why one of the things we’ve coached our staff about is actually slow and make sure they understand the question and they have a chance to say yes to this,” Lowe explains. “And at the same time we want to make sure that the customers know that this is a decision that they can make, and it is easy to do just by saying yes.” He says a little more than half of drivers agree to mark their license indicating they want to donate their organs.

He says there are about two-point-one million licensed drivers and somewhere between 55 and 60 percent are organ donors. “Which really puts Iowa very well place nationally — but we just think we can do better every year,” Lowe says. Gase had his car at the event and people were encouraged to put their handprints in paint on the car and write a message in support of organ donation. He is set to run in the NASCAR XFINITY Series American Ethanol E-15 250 at the Iowa Speedway in Newton Sunday.

(Radio Iowa)

BOYDEN, Iowa (AP) – A former city clerk in northwest Iowa is accused of stealing from the city. Online court records say 53-year-old Beth Sipma is charged with theft in Sioux County. Authorities say more than $36,000 in improper and unsupported disbursements was discovered during a state audit requested by the city of Boyden. The report said nearly $31,000 of the total included payroll and reimbursement payments made to Sipma. Other disbursements included city credit card payments for more than $1,300 in airline tickets.

The audit said the city’s bank noted in April 2015 that Sipma received more than one electronic paycheck during several months. Sipma resigned after being asked about the payments, which she described as payroll advances.

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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