Two people were injured during an accident over the weekend, in Harlan. Authorities say Norma Pattee, of Avoca, and Lisa Perkins, of Harlan, were transported by Medivac Ambulance to Myrtue Memorial Hospital Sunday, after their vehicles collided at the intersection of 19th and Pine Streets. Harlan Police say Pattee was traveling east on Pine in a 1997 Oldsmobile and failed to stop at the intersection. Her car was struck by Perkins’ northbound 2006 GMC, causing major damage to both vehicles. Pattee was subsequently cited for Failure to Obey a Stop or Yield sign. Damage from the crash amounted to $8,000.

And, officials say no injuries were reported following an accident Tuesday, when vehicles driven by Maxine Gau, of Portsmouth, and Laura Andersen, of Harlan, collided on Chatburn Avenue. Officials say both women were traveling west in the 2100 block of Chatburn, when Gau attempted to change lanes in order to make a right hand turn. The front of her 2010 Chevy made contact with the left side of Andersen’s 1990 Pontiac, causing a total of $5,000 damage. No citations were issued.

A central Iowa man and a teenager were injured when the tow truck they were in toppled over early Tuesday on Interstate 80, two-miles west of Stuart. The Iowa State Patrol says 40-year old Anthony Ray Stuhldryer, of Perry, was driving a 1989 International tow truck eastbound on I-80 in heavy rain and strong winds at around 1:30-a.m., when a gust of wind caused the truck to enter the median and roll over.

The truck — registered to Jason’s Towing, LLC in Perry —  came to rest on its top in the median. Stuhldryer and his passenger, 15-year old Austin Stuhldryer, were transported by Stuart Rescue to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines.

Authorities in Montgomery County say a Red Oak man was arrested Tuesday afternoon for allegedly violating the terms of his probation. 33-year old Joshua Edward Mastin was taken into custody at around4:35-p.m.  on a valid Page County warrant for probation violation on an original charge of forgery.

Mastin was transported to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and subsequently transported by a Page County Deputy back to Page County, where he was being held on $10,000 bond.

State regulators have set the process in motion to get the casinos in Council Bluffs and Dubuque out of greyhound racing. The legislature passed and the governor signed a bill that shuts down the Dubuque track and shifts the management of dog racing in Council Bluffs to the Iowa Greyhound Association. It also creates a retirement fund for greyhound owners and breeders who want to get out of the business. Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission administrator, Brian Ohorilko, says they’ve decided to send out a Request For Proposals (RFP) to hire a consultant to help them.

“The commission will have to write rules, but this will be an additional step where prior to the rulemaking process –if there is an acceptable bidder for the R-F-P — we can allow them to go through a process, get input from all of the stakeholders, and make a recommendation to the commission,” Ohorilko says. Ohorilko says the consultant is important because there aren’t any other situations they can look to as an example. “There is not. There has been instances where jurisdictions have passed legislation to end greyhound racing, but there is no instances where that has occurred and there’s been a fund that would be distributed back to the industry,” Ohrilko explains.

The deal reached in the legislation has the Council Bluffs casino pay 65 million dollars over the next seven years, and the Dubuque casino will pay one million dollars a year in the fund. Half of that money goes into the retirement fund and the other half can be used by those who remain in the industry to run the Dubuque Greyhound Park. Ohrilko says it could take until fall to the actually get things going. “Essentially, that process to review the bids and select someone will take a few months,” Ohrilko says. “And then if the commission selects a vendor, we will want that vendor to have time to meet with all the stakeholders and participants.” It could take until the end of the this year to have everything in place. “I think it’s reasonable to assume that once a bidder is selected then the bidder would have three to four months to work through that process,” Ohorilko says.

The bill says the Bluffs Run track in Council Bluffs should close, and the management of the Dubuque track should shift by December 31, 2015.

(Radio Iowa)