A Springfield, Missouri girl who was kidnapped and murdered Tuesday afternoon, allegedly by a middle school football coach, has ties to southwest Iowa. The Red Oak Express reports 10-year old Hailey Owens is the daughter of Markus and Stacey Owens, of Springfield, MO., and granddaughter of Mark Scanlan, of Red Oak. Hailey’s great-grandmother, Connie Sparr, also lives in Red Oak.

Photo from the Porch lights for Hailey Owens Facebook page.

The 4th grader was abducted as she was walking home from a friend’s house less than two-blocks away. Her body was found four-hours later inside Craig Woods’ basement. Woods has been charged with 1st degree murder, kidnapping and armed criminal action. He plead not guilty to the charges this (Friday) morning. Woods was being held without bond in the Greene County, MO, jail. Authorities have said there is no known connection between the girl and Wood.

Local residents are urged to leave their porch light on overnight for the next couple days and wear pink and purple Friday in memory of Hailey.

Since Owens’ death, several Facebook sites have been created to pay tribute to her and  honor her memory. One is “Porch Lights for Hailey Owens,” which encourages people to  to leave their porch light on overnight until Sunday. Another site, “Wear Pink/Purple Friday in Honor of Hailey Owens” encourages people to dress in Hailey’s favorite colors for the day, on Friday.

Cass County Democratic Party Chair Sherry Toelle reports U-S Congressman Bruce Braley held a spirited discussion with 31 citizens from different counties Wednesday, at the Atlantic Family Table Restaurant.

Bruce Braley (Sherry Toelle/photo)

Braley talked about his years growing up in Brooklyn, Iowa before moving to Waterloo where he and his wife raised their three children and where he practiced law for 23 years until he was elected to the US House of Representatives from Iowa’s First District. He called himself a “passionate spokesperson for the middle class, fighting for those people who have been marginalized and pushed out of the middle class”.

He talked also about the effects of Citizens United on his campaign, citing the monetary influence that unknown people are using to formulate negative ads against him. Topics discussed during the 50 minute event included mandatory minimum sentencing for federal crimes, the Affordable Care Act, and getting the youth and minorities of the country involved in politics.

Some in the crowd cited issues with the ACA, saying that they could get insurance at a lower cost outside the exchange. Others cited family members benefiting from the ACA, receiving insurance for conditions that they could not previously have had covered. Braley said that the bottom line to the ACA is that “people have benefitted from the the ACA, giving people a new lease on life”, allowing people to change jobs without worry that they will lose their health care coverage and allowing people with pre-existing conditions to have health care coverage for the first time.

Braley is running for the US Senate seat that will be open due to Senator Tom Harkin’s planned retirement at the end of his current term.

Three people were injured when a bus carrying passengers from Omaha to Des Moines was involved in an accident Thursday afternoon, in Adair County. KCCI in Des Moines reports a MegaBus went out of control and crashed at around 12:25-p.m., near the Greenfield ramps on eastbound Interstate 80.The bus’ wheels became separated from the axle and the windshield was smashed.

Two Megabus employees and two passengers were on the bus at the time of the crash. Stuart and Menlo rescue crews took three people to a hospital to be checked out.

Two women were injured during an accident Thursday afternoon on Interstate 80 in Cass County. The Iowa State Patrol says a 2007 Chevy van driven by 19-year old Diana Cabanas, of West Covina, CA, was traveling west on I-80 near the Anita exit at around 2-p.m., when the van went out of control on the icy road, entered the median. The driver’s side impacted the guard rail causing Cabanas, and her passenger, 21-year old Danielle Perkins, from Offutt Air Force Base, to be injured. Both women were wearing their seat belts.

The women were transported by Anita Rescue to the Cass County Memorial Hospital for treatment.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An economist says a survey of bankers in 10 Midwest and Plains states suggests the regional economy is losing steam. The Rural Mainstreet Index dropped below growth neutral in the February survey, hitting 48.4, compared with 50.8 in January and 56.1 in December. The survey indexes range from 0 to 100, with 50 representing growth neutral. A score above 50 suggests growth in that factor in the months ahead.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the overall index’s decline shows that “areas of the nation highly dependent on agriculture and energy are losing economic steam.”

Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.