Motorists who travel Interstate 29 between Highway 92 and Council Bluffs will want to plan an alternate route early this week. The Iowa Department of Transportation says the southbound lanes of I-29 between Exit 37 for U-S Highway 92, and Exit 4 for I-80 and Council Bluffs, will be closed for construction beginning today (Sunday) at 7-p.m., through 5-a.m. Monday.

Monday night at 7, the northbound lanes of I-29 in those same locations will be closed due to construction, until 5-a.m. Tuesday. Work on the highway is part of the DOT’s project to improve Interstates 80, 29 and 480 around Council Bluffs.

For more information, go to www.councilbluffsinterstate.iowadot.gov.

Two Red Oak teens were arrested late Saturday night on alcohol-related charges. According to Red Oak Police, 16-year old Heath Robert Woods was arrested for an OWI .02 (point-oh-two) violation, and possession of open container of alcohol. And 16-year old Nicholas James Terry was arrested for possessing an open container of alcohol. The teens were taken into custody in the vicinity of 4th and Senate Streets, in Red Oak, at around 11:30-p.m. They were subsequently released to the custody of their parents.

An investigation by the Des Moines Sunday Register reveals a Red Oak woman who served as a supervisor for a charity providing services to disabled adults, was fired from her job after mishandling more than $2,700 in funds belonging to at least nine clients. State records show that until late last year 33-year old Jennifer Koppa, of Red Oak, was employed by Nishna Productions, a Shenandoah charity that provides a wide variety of service to disabled Iowans.

As a team leader, Koppa oversaw operations at four separate homes for people with disabilities, supervised the staff, and had access to the checking accounts of nine clients. Last November, Nishna officials learned that the Internet service had been shut off in one of the homes where clients were living, and some utility bills appeared to have been unpaid.

Agency officials examined their expenses and concluded that Koppa, who was supposed to write checks from clients’ accounts directly to their landlords and to various utilities, had instead written checks from those accounts to the clients themselves — a process that converted those checks into cash, which Koppa could access. In another instance, Koppa wrote checks totaling $1,400 to pay for the utilities of some clients, but the utility bill was $945.

When confronted by her superiors at Nishna Productions, Koppa immediately stopped reporting for work and then stopped responding to phone calls and emails. Ultimately, the agency could not account for $2,730 of client funds, so it reimbursed all of the clients, fired Koppa and reported the matter to state and county authorities.

When Koppa did not appear at the unemployment hearing, an Administrative Law Judge ruled against her with regard to her claim of benefits and ordered that she repay $1,930 in benefits she had already collected. The Register’s investigation revealed eight other Iowans were recently fired from their positions at various locations around the state, and were denied unemployment benefits or have their cases pending in court.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (AP) — Hospitals across Iowa are preparing for a possible influx of people later this month when thousands of bicyclists pedal through their cities. Up to 10,000 riders are expected to traverse the state in the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Race Across Iowa, also known as RAGBRAI. Buchanan County officials say they can reasonably assume at least some riders will require medical attention.

CHARLES CITY, Iowa (AP) — Charles City police are looking for a dognapper. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports a male pit bull mix was taken from the PAWS Humane Society shelter sometime during the night of July 5th. Shelter manager Julie Taylor says the dog was in a kennel with an outdoor run and someone broke the padlock on the run.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines Public Schools has announced its five schools will remain with the Central Iowa Metropolitan League. At least eight schools had discussed breaking away from the activities conference, but many of the schools had backed off that suggestion by Friday. The district announced that its five members would remain in the CIML at least through the 2015-16 school year.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A Dubuque mental health counselor who admitted to abusing a dependent adult has been sentenced to one year of probation. Sixty-nine-year-old Lowell Routley was sentenced last week after he pleaded guilty to dependent adult abuse. Court documents say that between November 2010 and October 2012, Routley withdrew funds for personal use from the special-needs trust fund of a patient.