The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office responded to an accident on Friday, January 25th around 11:oo P.M. The accident occurred on 320th Street near Goldfinch Avenue. Thirty-six year old Ezra Sedina of Atlantic was traveling westbound on 320th Street when he lost control of his 2007 Chevy Impala and entered the north ditch. Sedina and his passenger, 26-year old Justin Knutsen of Atlantic both refused medical treatment at the scene. Sedina later requested medical treatment and was transported to the Audubon County Memorial Hospital by Audubon Rescue. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $3,000. The accident remains under investigation.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A top education aide to Gov. Terry Branstad says a major cost in the governor’s education plan is providing bonuses to experienced teachers who take on more responsibilities.   Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass said Monday that it will cost the state $46 million to give stipends to senior teachers who take on tasks like mentoring.

Branstad’s education reform plan also raises minimum teacher salaries from $28,000 to $35,000. The Education Department estimates that would likely cost about $5.5 million.      Another $96 million would go to districts to be used for teacher expenses related to the proposal. The money would be allocated on a per-student basis, meaning the most funding would go to the Des Moines Independent School District, the largest in the state.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – State officials are resending tax forms to 15,000 Iowa Medicaid providers due to an error.  The Des Moines Register reports officials with the Iowa Department of Administrative Services mailed 1099 tax forms last week with the wrong tax identification numbers. A letter mailed Friday says officials will send corrected versions to 15,000 Medicaid providers affected by the error.

An agency spokesman says the error happened during data sorting in the print-to-mail process. The newspaper reports officials weren’t available Monday to discuss the cost of fixing the error.    Two separate forms will be mailed to providers. The first form zeros out monetary values and the second form is the corrected version. A 1099 is a tax form for an independent contractor that shows how much they made from a business.

The Atlantic Police Department reports the arrest Friday of an Adair man on four charges. 33-year old James Block was taken into custody for Public Intoxication, Interference with Official Acts, Disorderly Conduct, and on two counts of Theft in the 5th Degree. Block was being held in the Cass County Jail pending a court appearance.

Authorities in Montgomery County report the arrest this (Monday) morning, of a Red Oak man on a burglary charge. 21-year old Cody Keen Blystone, who was already in the Montgomery County Jail on a charge of 3^rd degree burglary, was hit with additional charges that include three counts of forgery and three counts of possession of stolen property. His bond was set at $5,000.

An electrical problem with a space heater is said to have been the blame for a devastating house fire in Villisca late last week. According to reports, the blaze occurred at 104 North 5th Street, Friday. Villisca firefighters arrived on the scene at around 9:30-a.m., and had the fire under control about 4 1/2 hours later, thanks to mutual aid by fire crews from Stanton and Grant. The last crew left the scene about seven-hours after they arrived.

According to Villisca Fire Chief Terry Currin the structure is a total loss. A resident in the home, identified as Kevin Kling of Villisca, was taken to a Lincoln, NE hospital for treatment of minor burns.  Two dogs in the house died during the fire.

NEW YORK (AP) – Federal health officials say at least 16 people in five states have been sickened by salmonella food poisoning linked to ground beef.  No one has died, but half were hospitalized. Most of the illnesses have been in Michigan, but a few cases were scattered in Arizona, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.

Seven people ate a raw ground beef dish called kibbeh last month at a suburban Detroit restaurant that wasn’t identified. Health officials say consumers should not eat uncooked meat.    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the cases have been linked to last week’s recall of more than 1,000 pounds of ground beef from two Michigan businesses, Troy-based Gab Halal Foods and Sterling Heights-based Jouni Meats.

A fire at a tire repair facility near Underwood late Sunday night is being investigated as a case of arson. Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker told KJAN News fire crews from Underwood and McClelland were dispatched to a reported large tire fire next to a metal building at Paco’s Tires, L-L-C, on Magnolia Road, at around 11:55-p.m. Danker says firefighters were able to keep the flames contained to the outside of the business.

The owners of the building claim damage to the structure amounted to about $30,000, while the loss of tools and equipment was estimated at $3,000. The incident remains under investigation.

Sheriff’s officials in Fremont County say no injuries were reported after a car struck a boulder on the road January 19th. Authorities say Melinda Weeda, of Mt. Ayr, was driving a 2009 Chevy Traverse westbound on Highway 2, when her SUV hit a boulder that dislodged itself after having been stuck under the trailer of a semi and dragged along the highway. A dollar amount of the damage to the vehicle was not reported.

The previous day (Jan. 18th), a Shenandoah man was injured, when the full-sized pickup he was driving went out of control and rolled three-times. Officials say the accident happened as John Fraft was traveling north on Highway 59 near 110th Street. His Ford F-150 was rounding a curve in the road, when it hit a patch of heavy frost and lost traction before sliding sideways and rolling over. Fraft was transported by Essex Rescue to the Shenandoah Hospital, for treatment of his injuries.