Officials with the City of Walnut say the Walnut Merchants Association will hold a costume swap in conjunction with their Walnut Halloween Haunt, which will take place on Saturday, October 26th, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.  The event is sponsored by McCurdy’s Pumpkins of Atlantic.

The costume swap allows you to unload your old costumes, and if you don’t have one, a costume can be picked up free of charge the night of the Walnut Halloween Haunt. Face painters will also be available to help complete even the most terrifying looks. The swap will be held at the Walnut Public Library. Costumes can be dropped off at any of the following businesses: Frannie’s Attic, Sugar Grove Antiques, Bulldog Antiques, or City Hall.

When you’re all dressed up, enjoy the activities that will be taking place in Walnut’s downtown, including after-hours shopping, trick-or-treating, pumpkin painting, and free chili and hot chocolate to keep warm.

If you have your costume ahead of time, post your photo on Walnut’s Facebook page: “Fans of Walnut, Iowa’s Antique City.” The pictures will be collected and a winner will be chosen and announced that night! Prizes will be announced closer to the evening of the event.

Find the link at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fans-of-Walnut-Iowas-Antique-City/343002367130.

A Mills County investigation into the theft of a stolen vehicle resulted in its recovery Friday in Red Oak. Authorities say the Mills County Sheriff’s Office took a report of a stolen 1998 Ford F-150 pickup belonging to Michael Johnson. Through their investigation, officials were able to ascertain the vehicle would likely be in Red Oak.

Officers with the Red Oak Police Department were contacted, and the parked vehicle was located in the 200 block of east Valley Street, in Red Oak. The pickup was impounded and all information gathered turned over to the Mills County Sheriff’s Office. The incident remains under investigation.

Red Oak Police report the arrest Friday evening of 37-year old Joel Wayne Eitzen. Eitzen was taken into custody in the 200 block of east Market Street at around 6:45-p.m. The Red Oak man was brought to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and charged with Driving While Suspended. Eitzen was cited for the offense and released.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Gold Star Military Museum at Camp Dodge in Johnston will temporarily close due to the federal government shutdown. The Iowa National Guard announced on Friday the museum would be open today but would close beginning Sunday. Although museum workers are employed by the state, some of the positions receive federal funding.

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have taken into custody three men who they believe may have information tied to a Marshalltown slaying on October 1st. The Marshalltown Police Department says the three men were taken into custody Thursday on material witness warrants. Two were later dismissed. One man remains in custody on the warrant.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa City officials say a 21-only ordinance passed in 2010 has reduced crime. The Iowa City Police Department says the data released Thursday shows at least 1,300 fewer calls for alcohol-related crimes between 2010 and 2013 compared to three years prior to the ban. City officials say the data is aimed at voters who will decide on November 5th whether to retain or repeal the ordinance, which prohibits people under 21 from entering most bars after 10 p.m.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities pulled a submerged sport utility vehicle out of the Iowa River in Johnson County and now are trying to figure out how the vehicle ended up in the river. KCRG-TV reports someone noticed the vehicle in the river Thursday afternoon and reported it.

Two Iowans who served a combined 66 years in the U.S. House of Representatives say they’re glad to be sitting on the sidelines these days. Ninety-three-year-old Neal Smith, a Democrat from Des Moines, served 36 years in the House, starting when Dwight Eisenhower was president. “The people I served with, most of them wouldn’t be there today because they wouldn’t stay,” Smith says. “…It’s just so different. When I was there we put coalitions together on every bill. We just expected to.”

Former Congressman Jim Leach, a Republican from Iowa City, says he never saw a time as “intense” as this during his 30 year career in the House. “People didn’t think that dysfunctionality should be a goal or a strategy,” Leach says. Leach was asked if he’s happy not to be in congress right now. “Oh gosh yes. I’m happy to be sitting next to Neal and we’re both happy to be free men.” Leach and Smith are the guests on this weekend’s “Iowa Press” program which will be broadcast Sunday at noon on Iowa Public Television.

Both lawmakers were known for their low-budget campaigns. Leach refused to accept contributions from political action committees and Leach argues America has become “less democratic” because “power brokers” with deep pockets are calling the shots. “I always considered myself a moderate in politics, but on one subject I’m terrifically radical and that is I would take both PACs and corporations out of the money game and have partial public financing of elections where small contributions could be matched, up to a point,” Leach said on IPTV. Smith spend a little over 10-thousand dollars on his first race in 1958. By 1994, his last campaign, Smith had hired a fundraiser.

“I never did ask anybody for a contribution,” Smith said. “I just wouldn’t do it…Today, you couldn’t run for congress that way. Today, you have to spend one or two days a week asking people directly for money.”
According to Leach, that’s ridiculous. “Both parties tell all newly-elected members, ‘You have to spend two days a week on telephones raising money,'” Leach says. “Well how many voters think they’ve elected someone to do that? Money is the driving force behind everything in the word politics today. If there’s any reaction to what is happening in this shutdown, it ought to be a demand for reform of that system.”

Leach, who is 70 years old, is currently a visiting professor at the University of Iowa. The 93-year-old Smith credits his longevity to healthy living, as he never drank liquor or coffee and only smoked for three months when he was in his late teens.

(Radio Iowa)