DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Lawmakers have been unable to change a state law on postmarked absentee ballots that may accidentally void some valid ballots.  Election officials say some valid ballots over the years could have been invalidated because the Postal Service doesn’t always postmark business reply mail envelopes.

The Des Moines Register reports the state law has been in effect for years. But an accompanying administrative rule that allowed election officials to check the date on the enclosed voter affidavit was repealed in 2011.  The newspaper reports data collected in local elections from 2011 and 2013 show the issue is widespread throughout the state.

Legislators this session have failed to find a solution to the problem. Officials say the practice could continue during high-profile statewide contests this year, including the race for governor.

The Museum of Danish America, today (Monday), announced this year’s winners of the Victor Borge Legacy Award in Omaha and southwest Iowa. Named in honor of the beloved comedian and musician, the Victor Borge Legacy Award is designed to encourage young pianists in the Omaha and Southwest Iowa regions. Four talented piano students have earned cash prizes of $1,000 and $500 dollars and will perform in public recitals at the Museum of Danish America.

The first-place winners, each receiving a $1,000 cash prize, are Emily Zhang of Omaha, Nebraska, and Emily Umphreys of Council Bluffs, Iowa. Second-place winners, each receiving a $500 cash prize, are Katherine Payne of Woodbine, Iowa, and Moriah Hellstrom of Omaha, Nebraska.

The winners were selected in piano competitions organized by the Southwest Iowa Music Teachers Association and the Omaha Music Teachers Association. Each competitor performed multiple piano solo works in front of a judge, and winners have also prepared a written essay about the legacy of Victor Borge.

All four winners will perform at the Museum of Danish America in public recitals. Emily Zhang and Emily Umphreys will perform on April 26 and Katherine Payne and Moriah Hellstrom on June 1st. The public is invited to enjoy these talented musicians as they perform on Victor Borge’s own piano, part of the museum’s collection. Each recital will begin at 2 p.m. and will be followed by a reception.

This is the third year of the Victor Borge Legacy Award, a program organized by the museum and funded by R. James and Janet Borge Crowle of Saint Michaels, Maryland, with additional support from the Eric and Joan Norgaard Trust.

The Atlantic Police Department reports the arrest on Sunday of 28-year old Summer Cole. Cole, who’s from Atlantic, was taken into custody on a Cass County warrant for Contempt of Court. The woman was booked into the Cass County Jail.

And, officials say no injuries were reported following an accident Friday afternoon at 5th and Chestnut Streets, in Atlantic. The P-D says a vehicle driven by Randall Olsen, of Omaha, was traveling east in the 100 block of west 5th Street at around 12:25-p.m.,  when the trailer portion of his vehicle struck a vehicle owned by Jolene Roecker, of Atlantic, that was parked in the alley between Chestnut and Poplar. Damage from the collision amounted to $2,000.

A special, one-time showing of an HBO documentary that demonstrates what the producers say is the precariousness of the U-S economy, will be held next week in Red Oak. The Grand Movie Theater and Organizing For America-Southwest Iowa, will hold “American Winter,” beginning at 7-pm on April 24th. Admission is your free-will donation, either cash or canned goods, with the proceeds supporting local charities, such as food banks and the Southwest Iowa Free Medical Clinic.

Diedre Melson, who appears in the documentary,  says “[We] are not the people we see in the media — people taking advantage of the system — we’re the working poor. We’re people who get up every day, and try to pay our fair share, and try to pay our dues. But despite our efforts, we’re sinking.”

After the movie, local poverty experts will hold a brief panel discussion. The movies’ sponsor Organizing for Action (OFA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to advancing the policies that Americans voted for in 2012. As a grassroots funded social advocacy group, OFA says it is committed to tipping the scales of power back to the American people instead of special interests in Washington.

Police in Red Oak say no injuries were reported following an accident this (Monday) morning at the intersection of  North 8th and East Oak Streets. The collision occurred just before 8-a.m.  Officials say a vehicle driven by 18-year old Christopher Allison, of Red Oak, was traveling north on North 8th Street and approaching the intersection behind a vehicle driven by 44-year old Felisha Wingfield, of Red Oak.

Due to icy conditions, Allison was unable to stop. The 2000 Chevy pickup he was driving rear-ended Wingfield’s 2006 Dodge Caravan, causing a total of $1,900 damage. Officers said Allison was driving too fast for conditions, but because of the road conditions, he was not cited.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports the arrest Saturday evening, of a Clarinda man on drug charges. 21-year old Devin Ray Wallace, of Clarinda, was taken into custody at around 7:20-p.m., following a traffic stop. He faces a felony charge of Possession with the Intent to Deliver more than 5 grams of a substance believed to be methamphetamine, and a Possession of Drug paraphernalia charge.

Wallace was being held in the Page County Jail on $100,000 bail or bond.