A vacancy on the Audubon School Board created by the resignation of Board Member Joni Madsen, will be filled by appointment in July. Madsen has accepted a teaching position within the school district. The person appointed to fill her seat on the Board will be in-place until at least an upcoming school election that takes place later this year. The Board also accepted the resignation of John Roberts as Board Secretary. He’s served in the position for over 30-years. School Business Office Manager Natalie Lange was appointed to replace Roberts.

In other business, the Audubon School Board, Monday, approved Summer Launch contracts, along with a teaching contract for Middle School/High School Art. In addition, the Board approved student fees for FY22. Superintendent Eric Trager has said there were no actual increases in student fees, but substitute pay was increased by $10 per day. They reduced the cost of their adult activities passes (The 10-punch cards) by $10 because the Western Iowa Conference is going to a different fee structure for admissions: $5 per person, regardless of age.

Seven people were injured in a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 80 in Pottawattamie County, Tuesday afternoon. According to the State Patrol, a 2021 Toyota RAV4, a 2016 Acura MDX and a 2012 Dodge Durango were all heading west in that order, in the right lane of I-80, at about mile marker 36.75. Due to road construction, the Toyota and Acura were at a near stand still because traffic ahead of those vehicles was backing up.

The Dodge Durango, driven by 21-year-old Colton Demars, of Rawlins, WY., approached the Acura from behind and was unable to stop, before the SUV rear-ended the car. The Acura was driven by 72-year-old Todd Ladrow, of Colorado Springs, CO. The crash happened at around 3-p.m.

The impact from the collision forced the Acura in the rear of the Toyota, driven by 60-year-old Siriyalatha Adikari, of Huntington Beach, CA. All vehicles came to rest in the right lane, blocking the roadway. Colton Demars, 18-year-old Samantha Lloyd, of Rawlins, WY, 44-year-old Renuka Senavirathna and 45-year-old Priyantha Wathelege, both of Woodland Hills, CA, were all transported by ground EMS to Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs.

Also injured in the crash, and transported to Myrtue Memorial Hospital in Harlan, was 57-year-old Haneef Kitchil, of Canoga Park, CA, 60-year-old Siriyalatha Adikari. Authorities say Avoca Rescue transported 72-year-old Lona Ladrow, of Colorado Springs to Myrtue, as well.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst have joined their fellow Republicans to block debate of a bill that would require automatic voter registration nationwide and at least 15 days of early voting in each election. Democrats have argued their bill is a necessary response to election law changes being made in G-O-P-led state legislatures in Iowa and other states. Ernst, a former county auditor who oversaw Montgomery County elections, calls the bill a D-C power grab.

“I trust the county auditors in Iowa at the local level — Democrats, Republicans and the occasional independent — much more than I trust a bunch of DC politicians and bureaucrats who want to run our local elections,” Ernst said. Grassley says he voted against debating the plan because it would strip states of key election management decisions. All 50 Republicans in the Senate voted against allowing debate, triggering a filibuster since 60 votes are needed before a bill can be debated. Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann says the bill shows Democrats are desperate about the 2022 election.

“Bottom line is this: this federalizes elections even though the vast majority of Americans and Iowans do not want it,” Kaufmann says. “…This is undoing many things that states have done to make voting more secure.” Iowa Democratic Party chairman Ross Wilburn says the bill would protect the sacred right to vote everywhere and Iowans shouldn’t be fooled by the G-O-P spin. Wilburn says the election bill Governor Reynolds signed this year rigs Iowa’s voting system in Republicans’ favor.

(Radio Iowa) – A second person charged in a New Year’s Eve shooting that claimed the life of a Sioux City girl has agreed to a plea bargain in Woodbury County District Court. Twenty-year-old Christopher Morales pleaded guilty Tuesday, to second-degree murder, and three counts of reckless use of a firearm. in the death of 18-year-old Mia Kritis. Morales was originally charged with first-degree murder, and in the plea hearing admitting to firing at the home where Kritis was attending a party.

” I discharged my weapon and I injured a couple of people,” Morales says. He said he fired the weapon nine or ten times. Morales agreed to a 50-year sentence on the second-degree murder charge and another five years on the reckless use of firearms counts to be served consecutively.

He will serve 35 years before he is eligible for parole, with sentencing set for June 30th. Another man, Anthony Bauer, also accepted a plea deal on a second-degree murder charge. Christopher’s brother Carlos Morales, is set to go to trial on August 24th.

The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest of 24-year-old Sabrina Marie Kammerer of Red Oak at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday on a valid warrant for Harassment 2nd Degree. Kammerer was arrested at 106 West Coolbaugh Street in Red Oak and taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $1,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa ranks ninth overall for child well-being in an annual report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The Kids Count report ranks states on economic well-being, education and health, as well as family and community. Anne Discher is executive director of Common Good Iowa, which worked on the state’s data. She says despite Iowa’s high ranking, there’s still a lot of work to be done for children and families.

“In 2019, there were 92,000 kids in Iowa that lived in households with an income below the poverty line,” Discher says. “For a family of three, that’s around $32,000 a year and that is families living with very low incomes.” Discher says Iowa’s top-ten ranking is deceptive, as more than one in ten households with children report being food insecure.

“The data is much higher for many groups of color in our community,” Discher says. “Thirty percent of black households with children, 18% of Latino households, 21% of households identifying as multiracial or of some other race, reported that they sometimes or often did not have enough food to eat.” The report recommends permanently expanding the federal child tax credit and strengthening state and local policies affecting families.

(By Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)