The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office reports two people suffered non-life threatening injuries during a two-vehicle accident this (Monday) morning, about a mile north of Corley. Officials say 31-year old Salvador Anguiano, of Omaha, and 30-year old Justin Andersen, of Harlan, were transported by Medivac Ambulance to Myrtue Memorial Hospital following the crash on Highway 59, at around 6:45-a.m.

According to authorities, a 2002 Honda driven by Anguiano was traveling north on Highway 59 when it went out of control due to the icy road conditions, and was hit by Andersen’s 2005 Dodge Stratus, in the southbound lane of travel. The collision caused Highway 59 to be closed until emergency crews arrived on the scene. Traffic was temporarily rerouted onto the east shoulder of the road.

Both vehicle were totaled in the crash. Anguiano was cited for Failure to Maintain Control.

A pair of Atlantic residents were arrested Saturday on Cass County warrants for Making Firearms available to persons under age, and Possession of a Controlled Substance, which tested positive for marijuana. 36-year old Heather Cox, and 37-year old Michael Stutzman were booked into the Cass County Jail. Stutzman faces an additional charge of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green says the charges are the result of an investigation which revealed the couple had a loaded handgun in their closet and a loaded rifle under the bed, neither of which were secured to prevent a child from injuring themselves if they came into contact with the weapons.

Atlantic Police report also, the arrest on Sunday, of 24-year old Damion Selders, of Atlantic, on a 4th degree theft charge, and 57-year old Blaine Buchanan, of Atlantic, for Public Intoxication, 2nd offense. Both men were booked into the Cass County Jail.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Charges of election misconduct filed against three Council Bluffs residents have been dismissed.  Albert Harte-Maxwell and his wife, Linda, were charged in September after prosecutors alleged they registered to vote even though they aren’t U.S. citizens.  They hold Canadian citizenship. Their attorney, David Richter, says prosecutors moved to dismiss the charges last week. Court records entered on Thursday indicate a judge approved the motion.

Richter has argued that Iowa’s voter registration form violates state law because the size and color of the printing isn’t consistent. Before a judge could rule on whether the form is legal, prosecutors dismissed the charges.

Similar charges against Maria Ayon-Fernandez, a citizen of Mexico, also were dismissed.   The charges were filed amid Secretary of State Matt Schultz’s effort to fight voter fraud.

Officials in Crawford County report three people were injured during a single-vehicle, rollover accident, Saturday afternoon, near Vail. The Crawford County Sheriff’s Department says 17 year old Lacey Wyckoff, of Ames, was traveling in an SUV eastbound on Highway 30. When she reached for her cell phone and the vehicle went off the roadway onto the right shoulder. Wyckoff over corrected, causing the 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer to skid out of control and into the south ditch. The SUV slide through the ditch, and hit the railroad tracks before rolling numerous times. The vehicle finally came to rest facing west to east and landed on its wheels.

Injured in the crash was: 17 year old Hailey Bockholt and 15 year old Hannah Bockholt, both of Yankton, SD and 12 year old Lyra Wyckoff of Ames. All three were transported to the Crawford County Memorial Hospital in Denison by ambulance for what were described as minor injuries. Lacey Wyckoff was cited for failure to maintain control. The accident happened around 3:12pm Saturday.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

A woman from Oakland died and another person was injured during a single-vehicle accident Saturday, in Pottawattamie County. Sheriff Jeff Danker says 21-year old Nicolla Emge died from injuries she suffered during the crash that occurred about three-miles east of McClelland. Danker says deputies were dispatched to the scene near 290th and Idlewood, at around 6:50-a.m.  When they arrived, they determined a 2002 Ford Taurus had gone out of control and rolled into a ditch. It’s not clear when the accident actually occurred.

Emge was ejected from the car. She was flown to Creighton University Hospital in Omaha by Lifeflight helicopter, and later died. A second person in the car, 21-year old Newberry Wright, of Oakland, was injured and also flown to Creighton Hospital. His injuries were serious, but not believed to be life threatening. It’s not clear which person was driving the vehicle.

The accident remains under investigation.

Around 150 postal workers and supporters held a protest in the snow on Sunday, rallying against the planned shutdown of Saturday mail service later this year. In front of the Des Moines Main Post Office, the crowd lined the streets, urging passing cars to honk in support, part of a nationwide effort. Jerry Stake works at the Pleasant Hill branch of the post office and says they’re busier than ever.

“Six days a week, we hardly have enough time to even catch up,” Stake say. “I don’t know how they expect to move the mail in five days. We can’t hardly keep up with six days delivery.” Stake says the plan to end most service on Saturdays would back up delivery for days, while having a negative impact on rural Iowans and the elderly.

Thomas Dawlins, a letter carrier from De Soto, says he’s protesting proposed cuts to his own hours and wages, in addition to cutting services to those who depend on it.”My folks live out in the country and if you stop delivery out there, there’s nobody else that’s going to take that stuff out to the country because UPS and the Fed Ex guys don’t deliver out there,” he says.

Dawlins says it isn’t just about paper mail, either. “I deliver to the south side to a lot of veterans in the trailer parks over there and they absolutely rely on the post office to give them their medications,” Dawlins says. “I call it my medical route, because every time I go over there, there’s 30-to-40 parcels of medication going out to those folks on a daily basis.”

Along with the well-publicized end of Saturday delivery in August and consolidating major mail centers, another move that’s hitting home in rural America is the plan to cut staff and hours at about 13-thousand post offices.

(Radio Iowa)