The Department of Defense today (Tuesday), confirmed earlier reports a southwest Iowa soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom has died during combat operations in Afghanistan. In a news release, the DOD said 19-year old Pfc. Brandon L. Buttry, of Shenandoah, died Nov. 5th, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Buttry was assigned to 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.  His family was notified of his death Monday morning.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A spokesman for the Iowa secretary of state’s office says about 670,000 people voted early, but roughly 68,000 absentee ballots requested by voters hadn’t been turned in by Monday night.  Spokesman Chad Olsen says the number of absentee ballots not submitted sounds like a big number, but the percentage not returned is typical of past elections.    Olsen calls it “nothing new.”

He says Iowa was setting a record for early voting, with up to 45 percent of people voting outside the normal polling place. People with absentee ballots could mail them up until Monday. Such ballots won’t be counted if mailed today, but they can drop off ballots off in person.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – The county auditor says a few voters in Pottawattamie County on Iowa’s western border are upset about being late for work after problems at voting precincts.  Marilyn Jo Drake says glitches happened Tuesday morning at about 10 of the 40 precincts, causing a wait in at least two locations. Drake says delays of 15 to 20 minutes caused “a little bit of anger in a couple of precincts.

She blamed the problem on identification labels that allow voters to confirm their information without having to handprint it on rosters. Some of the labels got put into the wrong “port” of the voting machines.  Drake says “we had some workers panic” but fixed the problem as quickly as they could.  The problem didn’t affect counting of ballots.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Department has released a report on recent arrests. Officials said today (Tuesday), 52-year old Lori Lynne McCord, of Glenwood, was arrested at around 2:45-a.m. Tuesday in Glenwood, on a charge of OWI/1st Offense. Her bond was set at $1,000.

On Monday, deputies in Mills County arrested 50-year old Mark Edward Fisher, of Glenwood, on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault. He was being held without bond, in the Mills County Jail. Last Saturday, 49-year old Brenda Lee Russell, of Glenwood, was arrested at around 2:30-a.m., on an OWI/1st Offense charge.

And, on Friday, 20-year old Kyle Edwin Sharp, of Bellevue, NE, and 20-year old Drake Edward Krcmarik, of Omaha, were each arrested on Possession of a Controlled Substance charges, following a traffic stop n Highway 34, at around 5:35-p.m.  Sharp, Krcmarik and Russell were being held in the Mills County Jail on $1,000 bond each.