Police in Clarinda say they’re investigating a theft and an incident of vandalism. Chief Keith Brothers says on Tuesday, September 4^th, a woman reported that a clutch purse had been stolen from her vehicle while it was parked at her residence in the 200 block of west Logan Street. The theft occurred sometime between 10:0 0 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. The purse was later located at the Alco Discount Center in Clarinda. The woman said $30.00 cash had been taken from the purse.

And, on Thursday, September 6^th, a woman in Clarinda reported that her 1971 Ford Mustang had been vandalized while the vehicle was parked at her residence located in the 500 block of south 13^th Street. The paint on the vehicle had been damaged with a sharp object, the driver’s side exterior rear-view mirror had been pulled off, the tires punctured and the gas cap broken. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $2,000.00. Both incidents remain under investigation.

The Walnut City Council, Thursday evening, passed a Resolution of Support for the Continuation of Education in Walnut. City Clerk Terry Abell told KJAN News the Council received a report about the economic impact on the community, if it should lose its school, which has faced declining enrollment, and the possibility of consolidation with another district. She said a group of concerned citizens said City leaders need to be aware of the potential impact that such a move could have. On a related note, Terry says a spaghetti supper will be held one-week from this Saturday in Walnut, along with discussion about the future of the school district. She says the free spaghetti supper will be held in the old high school gym beginning at 5:30-p.m. Sept, 15^th, followed by an informational meeting at 6-p.m.

In other business, the Walnut City Council, Thursday, heard a presentation from brothers Shea Campbell and Taylor Campbell, with regard to their proposed Eagle Scout City Park beautification projects. She says Shea wants to paint the buildings at the Walnut Park, while Taylor wants to have the scouts scrape and paint about 60 fire hydrants.

The Walnut City Council also passed an ordinance that will allow the use of golf carts on City streets, and they approved the appointment of Tim Branan, Lois Brix, Lesley Krummel, Betty Roberts, and Denise Sandbothe, to the Community Development Committee.

(9-a.m. News)

w/ Ric Hanson

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ST. LOUIS (AP) – The worst drought in the United States in decades may already have done its damage to the nation’s corn crop now being harvested. But growers say their soybeans may turn out far better. Near Coulterville in southwestern Illinois, Dean Campbell concedes that Tropical Storm Isaac’s remnants “blessed us with some water.” But that won’t save his 900-acre corn crop that’s averaging just about one-tenth of his normal yield with harvesting less than halfway done.  But he says he expects “a reasonable crop” from his still-maturing 1,100 acres of soybeans.

Near Corning, Iowa, Ray Gaesser got nothing from Isaac for his 3,000 acres of corn, which he foresees producing about 60 to 70 percent of normal. But he believes his soybeans could yield some 90 percent of what he’s typically get.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County say a Nebraska man was arrested late Thursday night. 33-year old Kelly Robert Brink, of Nehawaka, NE, was taken into custody at around 10:45-p.m., on a charge of OWI/1st offense. Brink was booked into the Montgomery County Jail and held on full bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

A rural Stuart man was found guilty late last month, of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon. According to online-court documents, and a report cited in the Guthrie Center Times, it took a jury just under two-hours to reach their verdict on August 24th, following the four-day trial for 48-year old Martin Edward Mock.  Mock reportedly approached and then unjustifiably pointed a loaded semiautomatic handgun at Nick Paardekooper of Redfield, in December, 2010.

Paar-dekooper and a group he was with were engaged in a “group hunt” for whitetail deer in a location where they had received permission to hunt. Mock approached Paarde-kooper and challenged his authority to be there.  The jury found that after refusing to accept Paardekooper’s explanation of having received permission to be there, or his offers to leave, Mock pulled a loaded handgun on Paardekooper and pointed it at him.

Mock is scheduled to be sentenced on October 8th.

A 40-year old school bus driver from Council Bluffs was cited following a hit-and-run accident in Council Bluffs, Thursday. According to Bluffs Police, Chris Fischer, received a citation for suspicion of leaving the scene of an accident. Witnesses say at around 8:40-a.m., a bus transporting about 30 students to Hoover Elementary School in Council Bluffs struck a parked pickup truck in the 300 block of Benton Street. Afterward, the bus driver allegedly walked the aisle through the students, then went back to the front of the bus and drove off.

After Council Bluffs police located the number 44 bus, Fischer told officers his route didn’t take him on Benton Street, but an investigation resulted in evidence indicating the bus had collided with the pickup. Fischer later admitted to police he’d stopped the bus to discipline a student, forgot to put on the parking brake, and the bus rolled.

Republican Congressman Steve King and Democratic challenger Christie Vilsack debated for 50 minutes last night (Thursday) — and it was a feisty affair.  The debate was sponsored by WHO Radio and broadcast live Thursday evening. Vilsack accused King of being more interested in promoting himself than in passing legislation. “He’s on television a lot and he talks a lot, but I hear a lot of talk and no action,” Vilsack said. “And frankly I’d like to say to Congressman King that all that talk — some of it is actually offensive to people in Iowa and, frankly, he’s been a bully and he’s an embarrassment to the people of Iowa when he talks as immigrants as animals and if my mother were here she’d say to Congressman King: ‘Show some common decency.'”

King immediately shot back. “My mother would say, ‘Show some common decency,’ at this point, too,” King replied. “And what makes me stay in office is that I’m driven to protect America from the hard core movement of the left that’s undermining the American dream.” As for that comment Vilsack cited, when King said the best immigrants are like an “aggressive…bird dog” rather than a lazy dog “sleeping in the corner,” King offered this explanation: “We got the cream of the crop of every donor civilization on the planet and people that can take it into a complement and turn it into an insult are not going to be constructive working across the aisle, but that’s what that was and everyone who was there that heard that knows that.”

King said his job as congressman involved “showmanship” and traveling around the country to spread the conservative message and help elect conservatives to congress.  “That is my job. My job is to carry a message,” King said. “…It would be a lot of easier to just simply vote your district, avoid the controversy, stay down below the line of fire, spend all your time trying to get reelected, but that’s my job. My job is to move our Iowa agenda in the nation and what that takes is convincing people outside the district that they need to change their position, maybe change their member of congress.” Vilsack said she’d be a “problem solver” rather than a “partisan fighter.”

“I want to redefine the job of congressperson and I want to make sure that I’m out there every day, talking to people about bringing economic opportunity to the communities of my district,” Vilsack said. “…Congressman King basically said in an interview with The Sioux City Journal that if he only had to deal with the issues of the fourth district that he’d have time to go fishing. I want to make it a full time job.” King later joked that he lacks the patience to go fishing anymore and laughed at some of Vilsack’s statements. King has not debated an opponent for 10 years and canceled on a debate with Vilsack in Ames because sponsors wouldn’t allow it to be a Lincoln-Douglas style affair. A little more than midway through last night’s radio debate, the moderator gave King a chance to ask a question of Vilsack.

“I guess I’ll say that I’m a little surprised here the way things have gone and so I’m just trying to formulate a question. I’m a little caught off balance,” King said. “You know, I don’t even know what to ask you, Christie.” King wound up asking Vilsack to name three issues on which they agree. Vilsack cited two policy issues, including their shared support for building the Keystone X-L Pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, then she added a third area of agreement and it was the only truly lighthearted moment of the debate. “We both have enjoyed the company of good Labrador retrievers,” Vilsack said. King laughed, adding: “And lots of them.” The two are scheduled to debate again Saturday in Spencer.

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)