A high speed chase involving an erratic driver Tuesday night in northwest Jefferson, lead to two-vehicle crash that killed one-person and injured another. The Iowa State Patrol reports the driver of the vehicle being pursued, 18-year old Jonathan Dalton Bindel, of Jefferson, died in the crash. A passenger in the vehicle, 20-year old Miranda Sue Parris, also of Jefferson, was injured, and transported by Jefferson Rescue, to the Greene County Medical Center in Jefferson. Both of the accident victims were wearing their seat belts.

Officials say Bindel’s 2006 Ford Taurus was being pursued by a State Trooper on westbound Highway 30 at around 11:30-p.m.  The Patrol says Bindel was driving erratically and at a high rate of speed. A Ford F-250 pickup driven by on-duty Jefferson Police Officer Heath Aaron Enns,  was traveling north on North Grimmell Road, and had turned east onto Highway 30 to assist with the pursuit, when Bindel drove into the eastbound lane of Highway 30.

The Patrol says Enns tried to avoid a head-on collision by driving onto the shoulder, but his pickup was hit by car, causing the pickup to spin around and enter the south ditch, before it rolled over and came to rest on its wheels. After the impact, the Taurus came to rest in the south ditch. Officials say Enns was not injured in the crash.

Santa’s sleigh may be lighter this holiday season. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says consumers in Iowa and nationwide are continuing to show signs of hesitation about buying, so merchants are beginning to make plans for another slow December.

“Retailers are very guarded on what’s going to happen,” Goss says. “As a result, they’ve been very cautious in terms of expanding their inventories. They’ve pared them back fairly significantly.” Iowa and the Midwest are in better shape than many other states and regions, Goss says, and growth in holiday sales here ought to be higher than elsewhere, too.

“In my judgment, we’re going to see growth from last year of about three to four-percent,” Goss says. “At the national level, it’s going to be about half that, one to two-percent.” With consumer confidence tanking, he says that projection is a far cry from where it would ordinarily be during a healthier economy. “While it’s not as good as we’d like to see, a normal expansion would be in the six to seven-percent range but still, it’s much better than what we saw last year,” Goss says.

(by Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police have identified a body found on the Iowa side of the Missouri River as a man who jumped off a bridge in Omaha nearly three weeks ago. Police on Tuesday identified the man as 19-year-old Corey Criss, of Omaha. Authorities say his death doesn’t appear suspicious or criminal. A fisherman discovered a body on Sunday in the river west of Percival, Iowa.

Police say a man was seen jumping from the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge on Oct. 7. Witnesses lost sight of the man in the water. Emergency crews searched the river, but couldn’t find him and the search was called off.

Officials with Snyder and Associates Engineers in Atlantic have issued a notice to the public about road work that require some temporary changes in your parking patterns. Beginning this Friday, October 28th, construction will resume on the 2011 HMA (Hot Melt Asphalt) Paving and Storm Sewer Improvement project within the City of Atlantic.

Snyder’s Dave Sturm says the contractor intends to begin paving on the following streets:
1. 13th Street between Chestnut Street and Elm Street.
2. Poplar Street between 8th Street and 10th Street.
3. Walnut Street between 8th Street and 10th Street.
4. Redwood Drive between 14th Street and 17th Street.
Residents will be required to remove their vehicles from these streets in order to accommodate the paving equipment. Vehicles shall remain off the streets through Saturday, October 29th. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Dave Sturm at 243-6505.