DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) —Strong thunderstorms are possible early this morning and continuing on into this Mother’s Day afternoon, with areas of concern along the Iowa/Minnesota state line and in western Iowa. The main threat appears to be heavy rain across western Iowa, but there is the possibility of isolated tornadoes from extreme eastern Nebraska into southwest Iowa this afternoon.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say it’s surprising no one was killed in a  chain-reaction accident on Interstate 80 in eastern Iowa that sent 32 people to  hospitals, Friday. The Iowa State Patrol says an earlier accident halted traffic on the interstate near Williamsburg. At about 3 p.m., a semi driven by a Portland, Oregon man who didn’t see that traffic had stopped crashed into the line of cars. It caused chain reaction involving four other vehicles, including a tour bus carrying 26 employees from a Cedar Rapids commercial real estate company. The semi burst into flames upon impact and spread diesel fuel across the interstate, catching other vehicles on fire. University Hospitals in Iowa City say 12 people were treated. Others were taken to hospitals in Iowa City and Marengo.

FOREST CITY, Iowa (AP) — The oldest building in Winnebago County has new owners, a historical society dedicated to preserving it and making it available for special events. The Winnebago County Historical Society now owns the 140-year-old Trinity Lutheran Church in Forest City. Local historians say it’s the oldest building in the county. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports church members have dwindled in numbers and the few remaining decided to put it in the hands of the historical society. The group says the building is in good structural shape and changed little since it was built. The society has agreed to preserve the church’s features although some renovation is planned. They’ll make the church available for weddings, funerals and special events.

Two females were injured in a 4-wheeler accident at 4:45pm Saturday in Montgomery County.  The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office responded to the accident which occurred in the woods North of the 1600 block of 270th Street.

Two juvenile females were riding a 1998 Yamaha 350 Bear Tracker 4-wheeler when it slid in the mud and struck a tree.  The driver was taken by Lifenet to the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the passenger was taken to the Montgomery County Hospital by private vehicle.  Their conditions are unknown at this time and neither rider was wearing a helmet.

Red Oak Rescue and Red Oak Police assisted at the scene and an investigation in ongoing.

The Red Oak Police Department reports an arrest of a Red Oak Woman for Public Intoxication on Saturday.  At 5:45pm officers arrested 50-year-old Rebecca Jean Gulick of Red Oak in the 200 Block of North Second Street.  Gulick was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $300 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Updated National Weather Service forecasts for Iowa and Nebraska indicate rain for Iowa with possibly strong storms developing on Sunday and a blast of a winter-like snowstorm for Western Nebraska.

w/ Chris Parks

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Senator Joni Ernst says she’s looking for a compromise that would still allow the National Security Agency to collect raw data on phone calls, but place some limits on the practice to protect Americans’ privacy rights.  “I think there is a middle ground, but I have not seen that language yet,” Ernst says. “I would rather err on the side of caution to make sure that we are protecting our citizens.”

A federal court this week ruled the bulk collection of phone records was unconstitutional. The issue is among those soon to be addressed when Senators consider a bill to reauthorize the so-called Patriot Act that was passed after 9/11, giving the federal government broad powers for terrorism investigations.

“I do support the Patriot Act, but we do have to take a good look at it,” Ernst says. “Are there ways we probably could improve upon it? I think there probably are.” Ernst says the National Security Agency is NOT listening in on everyone’s phone conversations or reading texts, but rather collecting the raw data of which numbers are calling what numbers and how long the calls last. That information can later be used in terror investigations to build a circle of contacts an alleged terrorist may have made before being identified as a suspect.

Ernst made her comments Friday during an appearance on the “Iowa Press” program which will be rebroadcast Sunday at noon on Iowa Public Television.

(Radio Iowa)

Gov. Terry E. Branstad, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa Student Loan
leaders, Friday, recognized 20 Iowa high school seniors who each won a $1,500 college scholarship through participation in the Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge: Senior Scholarship, administered by Iowa Student Loan. The high school seniors from across the state were recognized in a special award ceremony at the John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center. Among the winners of Iowa Student Loan’s 2015 Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge – Senior Scholarship, was Hannah Grizzle, who attends the Guthrie Center High School.

This was the second year Iowa Student Loan offered the Iowa Financial Know-How
Challenge: Senior Scholarship, which provided Iowa high school seniors the chance to
win $1,500 for college while learning important financial literacy skills.

Between December 2014 and February 2015, registered high school seniors were asked to complete two online financial literacy tutorials which Iowa Student Loan developed to help students understand the consequences of college borrowing and discover how to maximize their return on college investment, or ROCI. In addition, scholarship contenders were required to take an online financial literacy assessment test. The 20 winners were those who scored highest on the assessment or, in the case of a tie for top scores, received the highest scores on an independently judged essay.

The Council Bluffs Police Department issued an update Friday night on the ongoing investigation into the shooting of a Council Bluffs child.  The incident being investigated occurred on Thursday, May 7th at 5:03pm when a 911 call came in for a 4-year old that was having breathing problems. Officers responded to 19th Street and West Broadway in Council Bluffs and discovered 4 year old Q-Marion Jones had suffered a gunshot wound to the back of the neck. Jones initially was being treated at Nebraska Medical Center but the update Friday was that he has been transferred to Children’s Hospital in Omaha and is in extremely critical condition.

After investigation and a search warrant being executed the shooting was determined to take place at 1222 North 31st St in Council Bluffs inside the residence.  Another child was in the home during the incident and had access to a semi-automatic pistol.  That child was 8-years-old and was taken into protective custody and will remain in the care of the Department of Human Services as the investigation continues.

The weapon has not been recovered.  Anyone with information regarding this shooting is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 712-328-7867.

The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest of 30-year-old Andrew Thomas Copeland Falk of Red Oak at 6:15pm Friday.  Falk was charged with Child Endangerment, an Aggravated Misdemeanor, and Assault, a Serious Misdemeanor. Falk was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $2,000 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa agriculture officials say bird flu will claim an additional 4 million Iowa egg-laying chickens on two more farms in a county already hit by the disease. Officials are waiting for preliminary tests on two farms in Wright County to be confirmed. The county earlier reported a farm with 2.8 million chickens affected. Iowa’s chicken loss is approaching 25 million, more than 40 percent of the state’s egg-laying flock.

Officials on Friday also announced detection of the virus on five more turkey farms, including one with 42,000 birds. That brings the state to 44 cases in 12 counties. Minnesota and Wisconsin, two other states hit hard with the disease, reported no new bird flu cases Friday. The virus has spread to well over 30 million birds in 13 states.