Two Union County residents were killed, two others were injured, during a collision between a car and an SUV Thursday, in Afton. The Iowa State Patrol says the driver of the car, 19-year old Sierra Peddycoart and her passenger, 51-year old Lori Anderson, both of Afton, died at the scene of the accident at the intersection of Highway 169 South and Highway 34. The crash took place at around 5-p.m.

Officials say Peddycoart stopped the 2003 Chrysler Sebring she was driving at the intersection, but as she pulled away, failed to see an approaching, eastbound 2010 Chevy Tahoe. The driver of the SUV, 30-year old Beth Kulow, of Creston, saw the car and tried, but failed to avoid the collision. Kulow and her passenger, 2-year old Kinsley Knutstrom, of also of Creston, were injured and transported by ambulance to the Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston. All of the crash victims were wearing their seat belts.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A national education assessment report shows Iowa students have had some gains in math and reading since 2011, but stagnation over the long term remains a challenge. The latest results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress covers math and reading for fourth- and eighth grade students. There is a flat long-term trend in reading for both grades, but a small growth in math.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines police say a 21-year-old man has been shot to death. Sergeant Jason Halifax says police received reports of gunshots about 6:30 p.m. yesterday in a neighborhood east of Drake University. Police were withholding the victim’s name until relatives could be notified.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Ian Davies, the former Australian Olympic basketball player who played at Graceland University in Iowa, has died. He was 57. Basketball Australia said in a statement today that Davies died yesterday at his home in Hobart, Tasmania. No other details were disclosed.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City man has denied allegations that he slammed his two young daughters’ heads against a floor. The Sioux City Journal says 22-year-old Christopher Schmidt has been charged with three counts of willful injury and three counts of child endangerment resulting in serious injury. He entered not guilty pleas on Wednesday. A trial date hasn’t been scheduled.

SIDNEY, Neb. (AP) — An Iowa man has been arrested in the Nebraska Panhandle following a car chase that turned up nearly 60 pounds of marijuana. The Nebraska State Patrol said Thursday that 40-year-old Vorachit Luexayachack of Sergeant Bluff was recently arrested following a car chase with authorities on Interstate 80 that started near Sidney. A trooper says the car reached speeds of 110 mph before a spike strip flattened a front tire.

The marijuana was found in Luexayachack’s vehicle after it was stopped. They were in four suitcases in the car’s trunk. Luexayachack remains at the Cheyenne County Jail. He faces charges of flight to avoid arrest, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, willful reckless driving, driving under suspension and speeding. Court records do not list an attorney.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A national education assessment report shows Iowa students have had some gains in math and reading since 2011, but stagnation over the long term remains a challenge. The latest results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress covers math and reading for fourth- and eighth grade students. There is a flat long-term trend in reading for both grades, but a small growth in math.

State Education Department Director Brad Buck said in a news release that there are some bright spots in the results, but they largely underscore a need to keep pushing education priorities. The NAEP, advertised as the nation’s report card, has been administered in Iowa since 1990. It is given to a sampling of students using the same sets of test booklets across the country.

Officials with the Red Oak Chamber and Industry Association have announced the hiring of a new Executive Director. Paul Griffen from Red Oak will assume his duties on November 18th, 2013. The Chamber say Griffen is an experienced manager with a Bachelor of Science degree and over 30 years of experience in managing all aspects of varied business operations. He has a history of community work with not-for-profit entities not only in Red Oak but in multiple communities and states. In addition, he has been involved with economic development partners on both the state and local level in several locations.

Griffen has said he is looking forward to working with the Chambers’ current staff and investors.

State lawmakers have launched a comprehensive review of emergency medical services across the state as providers call for lawmakers to require every community to have the service the same way there are now required to provide fire and police protection. Jerry Ewers, president of the Iowa Emergency Medical Services Association, told a legislative committee that in one third of the state, the services aren’t staffed during the day.

“Would you like to be the person who calls 9-1-1 when your parents are having a heart attack. And they’re like ‘sorry this is not an essential service, we don’t have anybody available’?,” Ewers asked. Emergency response times varying widely between city and rural areas, and Ewers says that’s because many of the volunteers are at their day jobs.  “They’re working their full time job during the day and sometimes it’s far ways from their community,” Ewers says. Lawmakers are looking into whether certification and training of emergency personnel are adequate, or so restrictive that it’s hard for volunteers to qualify.

Representative Todd Prichard, a Democrat from Charles City, says it’s a rural development issue. “You look at the response times that these providers are able to make and in some parts of the state it’s probably not acceptable,” Prichard says. State Senator Mike Breitbach, a Republican from Strawberry Point, worked with an ambulance service for 22 years. “And we see the same problems I think that a lot of our rural areas are seeing as far as recruitment, retention, and having enough people available to go on calls,” Breitbach says.

Providers will ask lawmakers to restore budget cuts at the state’s Emergency Services Bureau which they say have made it harder for volunteers out in the field to get the help they need. They also want a bigger income tax credit for volunteers to defray some of the cost of their training.

(Radio Iowa)