(Redfield, Iowa) – A collision in Dallas County, east of Redfield, late Tuesday morning , left one person dead and two others, including a child, injured. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan driven by 97-year-old Arnold Philip Whitney, of Redfield, was southbound on I Avenue, when Whitney failed to yield as he proceeded to turn east onto Old Highway 6.

A 2018 KIA Sorento traveling east on Old Highway 6 and driven by 76-year-old Jeffrey Lynn Lyon, of Adel, struck the van in the rear, sending it into the westbound lane, directly into the path of a westbound 2010 Honda Odyssey van, driven by 34-year-old Savannah Louise Corbett, of Adel. The crash happened at around 11:15-a.m.

The Dodge and the Honda collided in the westbound lane before the Caravan came to rest in the north ditch. The Honda van spun around and came to rest facing east, in the westbound lane. The Patrol says Arnold Whitney died at the scene. Corbett, and her 11-year-old passenger, Olivia Corbett, were injured and transported to Methodist Hospital in Des Moines by Dallas County EMS.

All of the crash victims were wearing their seat belts. The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office.

(Radio Iowa) – Health officials are encouraging Iowans to get flu shots as soon as possible. The experts say Australia is already experiencing its worst flu season in five years, which could indicate it will also be severe in the U-S. Nola Aigner -Davis, spokeswoman for the Polk County Health Department in Des Moines, says the county is still seeing many COVID-19 cases and its hospital system is again strained.

“We really need to still be good to our hospital and healthcare systems,” Aigner-Davis says, “because they’re still in a staffing shortage from COVID-19. They’re still taking care of very sick individuals.” Since early 2020, more than 46-thousand Iowans have been hospitalized for treatment of COVID, while the state’s death toll from the virus is expected to exceed 10-thousand when the official numbers are released on Wednesday.

“We’re not seeing COVID slow down,” she says. “We keep hearing of people getting sick, being hospitalized. Cases aren’t stopping and you can get COVID and the flu at the same time.” Aigner-Davis says people who are interested can get a flu shot and a COVID booster in one visit, while Iowans who think they have the flu should contact their doctor for guidance. In the past few years, Iowa’s average life expectancy has fallen about a year-and-a-half due to COVID.

(reporting by Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says a former aide on his Democratic opponent’s campaign has made very concerning allegations in a police report — allegations Mike Franken says are false.  “Iowa voters deserve honesty and, of course, the victim deserves respect,” Grasley says. Kimberley Strope-Boggus was fired from Franken’s campaign in February. She says Franken kissed her without her permission in March after offering her a new campaign job. Strope-Boggus filed a police report about a month later. Prosecutors declined to file charges. During an interview with The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Franken denied the allegations in the report and accused Republicans of targeting him because he’s in a critical U.S. Senate race.

“Franken made this a campaign issue, I think, by his comments,” Grassley says, “but it’s not a campaign issue I’m going to follow up on.” Grassley says Franken’s comments to the reporter show total disregard to his former campaign aide. “Anybody running for office, those of us running are held to a very high standard and I fulfill that responsibility for transparency each day as I have to honor serving the people of Iowa,” Grassley says, “and I think Iowans deserve nothing less.”

Grassley made his comments this (Tuesday) morning during a weekly interview with Iowa radio reporters. Four hours later, a spokeswoman for Grassley’s campaign said the senator would focus on issues like the economy and inflation — but at the same time, until there is full transparency about the alleged incident, it will continue to be an issue in the campaign.