DES MONINES, Iowa – With the Fourth of July holiday now in the books, it’s straight ahead to Iowa’s hottest days of summer and that has parents being reminded of the dangers when it comes to children, vehicles and heatstroke. There are children who die every year after being left in the heat in a vehicle unattended and while the voices that follow always exclaim, ‘not me.’ Janette Fennell, president and founder with KidsandCars.org says “The worst mistake you can make is to think this can’t happen to you or someone in your family,” she says. “We are human and sometimes our memories let us down. So if we realize everyone is capable of having something like this happen to them, we will put the correct safety measures into place.”

Fennell says those safety measures include always looking before you lock or leaving an important item, such as your cell phone or handbag, in the back seat so you have to open the back door to retrieve it every time you park. On average, 38 children die each year from heat-related deaths after being trapped inside motor vehicles.

While most of those deaths are from parents leaving or forgetting their child is in the back seat, Fennell says about a third are from a child climbing into a parked car unnoticed. She says you should always keep your vehicle locked even if it’s in your driveway or garage. “Another thing that’s very important is to make sure you have keys that are out of reach of children,” says Fennell. “So many of them have remote openers and the kids want to use those and they make noises and the trunk pops open and all of those fun things, but it could be a death sentence in the hands of a child.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, temperatures inside a car can rise more than 20 degrees in only 10 minutes and even with an outside temperature of just 60, the temperature inside a car can reach 110 degrees.

(Iowa News Service)

Authorities in Montgomery County say one man was arrested and another cited on separate charges Sunday, in Red Oak. The Sheriff’s Office says 42-year old Lester Michael Ballard, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 5:45-p.m. on a charge of Driving While Suspended. His bond was set at $566.

And, at around 5:30-p.m., 58-year old Michael Loren Kelly, of Elliott, was cited for Urinating in Public following an investigation by Red Oak Police into a report of a man exposing himself in public. The incident allegedly occurred in the 900 block of E. Hammond Street.  Kelly was cited for the Simple Misdemeanor offense and given a date to appear in court before a magistrate.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports an investigation Sunday into an alleged assault Villisca resulted in an arrest. 48-year old Douglas Franklin Nicholas, of Villisca, was taken into custody a little after 2:30-p.m. on charges that include Domestic Assault, Obstruction of Emergency Communication and Criminal Mischief in the 4th degree, Nicholas was arrested in the 300 block of S. 3rd Avenue and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where he was being held on $1,000 bond.

(Used during overnight news 7/5-6)

A new online tool has been created to help gauge the well-being of Iowans and “nudge” Iowans to make improvements. Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds is encouraging Iowa businesses, communities and schools to use it. “This assessment tool is a great resource for those who want to seek change and positively impact the health of our state, but they may not know where to start,” Reynolds says. “The assessment tool will provide immediate feedback on opportunities for improvement and access to resources that will help support those improvements.”

Jami Haberl is executive director of the Healthiest State Initiative, which led the effort to create this test. “Being healthy extends beyond physical activity and nutrition,” Haberl says, “and it includes other factors such as tobacco and substance abuse, dental health, community engagement and emotional health. In the tool you’ll find questions about all of these areas.”

The online tool, which is free, is available at www.iowahealthieststate.com. A number of Iowa schools and businesses have already taken the assessment as part of a pilot project. Among them is: the Red Oak Senior High School; Wesley Life; Houghton State Bank; CDS Global, and RDG Planning and Design.

Answers are scored and provide immediate feedback on how Iowa schools, workplaces and communities support or put up roadblocks to the physical, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual health of Iowans.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

COUNCIL BLUFFS ,Iowa (AP) — Council Bluffs Police say a bullet someone fired into the air wounded a 7-year-old boy who was watching fireworks with his grandparents. When the boy started crying and complaining about shoulder pain Saturday night, his grandparents initially thought he’d been hurt by fireworks. But while treating the wound, the boy’s grandmother discovered a .223 caliber bullet in the wound, which was about ¼-inch deep. The boy was treated at a local hospital and released.

FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) — A 25-year-old inmate who escaped from the Iowa State Penitentiary Sunday morning was recaptured several hours later in Illinois. The Iowa Corrections Department says Justin Kestner was arrested by the Illinois State Police roughly 100 miles from the prison in Fort Madison, Iowa.

LANCASTER, Wis. (AP) — An Iowa girl has drowned during a family gathering on a Wisconsin island on the Mississippi River. The Grant County Sheriff’s Office says 2-year-old Bryle (BRIGH’-lee) Morgan of Waterloo, Iowa died early Sunday at an Iowa City hospital.

CLEAR LAKE, Iowa (AP) — After 50 years of marriage, one Iowa woman found the perfect gift for her husband: a kidney. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports Jan Maulsby donated one of her two kidneys to her husband Mike on Thursday. Family members say both are recovering well after the surgery. Mike Maulsby has been undergoing dialysis treatments for about a year while waiting for a kidney donation, but that takes an average of three to five years.