The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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DYERSVILLE, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa man has died in a crash on U.S. Highway 20. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that 60-year-old Russell Faust was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash just west of Dyersville on Tuesday evening. The Iowa State Patrol says Faust was driving eastbound when a semi driven by 54-year-old Davis Steger, of Colesburg, turned onto the highway from a county road. Authorities say Faust’s van struck the semi and caught fire, trapping Faust inside. The crash happened around 6:50 p.m. Authorities are still investigating.

(Radio Iowa) — A semi collided with a school bus from the Belmond-Klemme (CLEM-ee) School District in Wright County on Tuesday afternoon near Belmond. The accident occurred at 4 p.m. on County Highway C20 just north of Belmond. The semi driver allegedly did not see the school bus traveling along the road and ran a stop sign, striking the bus on its side near the rear of the bus. The impact spun the bus around on the road, but the bus never actually left the road surface.

An ambulance and a Wright County Sheriff’s Deputy quickly arrived on scene and the four students and driver appeared to be unharmed, but were transported to the Iowa Specialty Hospital in Belmond for further examination. The driver of the school bus is identified as Randy Dougherty, a veteran driver with 39 years of experience. The driver of the semi has not been identified and it’s unclear if charges will be filed. The district says the parents of the four students were quickly informed of the accident and were directed to the hospital where the students were being examined.

Voters in the Harlan Community School District have defeated a proposed $28.5-million bond referendum for District improvements that would have increased property taxes. According to the Shelby County Auditor’s Office, Proposition “A”, the issuance of a General Obligation Bond to fund the facility updates, was defeated by a vote of 947-No (73.64%) to 339 Yes (26.36%). Proposition “B”, authorizing an increase in the tax levy by $4.05/$1,000 taxable property value, was defeated by a vote of 898 No (70.10%) to 383 Yes (29/90%).

Proposition “C”, an extension of the PPEL (Physical Plant and Equipment Levy), was denied by a vote of 729 No votes (56.82%) to 554 (43.18%) Yes votes. And, Proposition “D”, an extension of the ISL (Instructional Support Levy), was denied by a vote of 733 No votes (57.27%) to 547 Yes votes (42.73%). Harlan School District voters also voted down the IWCC bond measure for improvements to Iowa Western Community College’s Council Bluffs campus. The vote in Harlan was 674 No votes (52.62%) to 607 Yes votes (47.38%).

MANLY, Iowa (AP) — County officials in northern Iowa are trying to maintain custody of nine dogs and four cats that were taken from a commercial breeder accused of neglecting the animals. The Des Moines Register reports that court records describe overcrowded and filthy conditions at the Manly, Iowa property. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is caring for the animals and calls the operation a “puppy mill.”

Officials seized 154 Samoyeds and four cats from the property last month. In several visits to the property, a Worth County sheriff’s deputy says he saw kennels covered with feces and mud and visibly skinny dogs with no water and little food. The owner denies animal neglect allegations, but says she struggled to maintain the operation after her husband’s 2017 death.

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa Lottery will ask state lawmakers in January to allow them to modernize their operations making it easier for customers to purchase and play lottery products electronically. Iowa Lottery spokesperson, Mary Neubauer says they’ve been talking about the issue for ten years or more.”Things have now reached such a tipping point that we at the lottery truly believe it is our fiduciary responsibility to tell the public and lawmakers that with the ongoing trends in retail that we are seeing, that our proceeds aren’t going to hold, or be able to continue to grow,” Neubauer says. She says the Iowa Lottery is a paper cash business in a world where that is becoming more uncommon. [ “So many people don’t carry any cash any more — or if they do they only have a little bit with them,” Neubauer says. “Certainly we’re buying more and more products online — even everyday staples like groceries. And people just expect convenience today, consumers expect convenience.”

You can now buy lottery tickets with a debit card, prepaid gift cards and cash, but not anything that involves a credit card. “And that would continue to be the case under the legislation that we have filed,” Neubauer says, “however we have added to the definition that people could use to pay for lottery tickets would be an e-wallet or an electronic account that people would be able to open with the lottery.” She says they would also be able to develop ways for people to play the games electronically without having to buy a paper ticket. But the plan isn’t to scrap the paper altogether. “What we truly envision is that e-gaming or e-lottery would be an addition to our existing products and would really compliment those products, but would never replace them,” according to Neubauer. “….I anticipate that the physical products, the traditional products that we have in retail locations would continue on.”

Neubauer says they need to recognize the shift in customers who rely on paying and playing electronically while also continuing to meet the needs of those who don’t “This isn’t for everyone. There are some folks who don’t maybe have the latest smart phone and don’t really participate in e-commerce and they don’t have to. There would continue to be traditional products available for them,” she explains. “But for those folks who do like that convenience or ease of use, we could make that available in a secure manner.”  Neubauer says the Iowa Lottery has been following the 10 states that now offer electronic forms of lottery games. She says one of the advantages beyond the convenience are the number of security measures the electronic games provide. She says really you can’t track who paid for tickets now because it’s cash. Or can you track how much they’ve spent and where the money came from. “But with an electronic system you can put limits in place for how much people can deposit into their accounts. You can put limits in place for how long people can play. You can allow people to exclude themselves,” Neubauer says.

There has been a lot of talk recently about sports betting online. Neubauer says the Iowa Lottery knows there will be legislation filed this year on that issue and decided to take a supporting role instead of writing competing legislation. “We want to be part of the conversation and act as one of the state’s business experts when it comes to the issue of gaming,” Neubauer says. “And our retail organizations have said that they will make their voices heard that they want the option to add sports betting. So, I really think that the business conversation is that way that that conversation should occur on that side,” Neubauer says.

Neubauer says the Iowa Lottery will focus this upcoming legislative session on getting the legislation passed that they believe is necessary for the Iowa Lottery’s continued business success. The Iowa Lottery had sales of 371 million dollars in the last fiscal year, with 87-point-one million going to the state. That was the second highest amount every produced.

Police in Red Oak say a man arrested Tuesday night for Violation of a No Contact Order and Felony Theft in the 2nd degree (Burglary), was also charged with Felony, Possessing contraband in a correctional facility. The additional charge came after officers discovered during the booking process, that 35-year old David Ray Sturgis, of Red Oak, had a weapon in his possession. Sturgis’ bond was set at $10,000 on the Contraband charge, and $5,000 for the other offenses.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:54 a.m. CST

PRINCETON, Iowa (AP) — Eastern Iowa officials are investigating the death of a person whose body was found in the rubble of a house fire. The Scott County Sheriff’s Office says the fire happened early Monday morning at a rural Princeton home. Arriving firefighter found the house fully engulfed in flames, and firefighters and emergency crews from seven different departments responded to the scene. After the fire was extinguished, a search of the debris turned up a body. Officials have not released the victim’s name.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has named a new chief of staff as she assembles an administrative team to run the office after winning election in November. A statement released from the governor’s office on Tuesday says Sara Craig Gongol will begin work on Saturday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s cost for a children’s health insurance program is set to soar from $7 million to $37 million over the next two years because of changes approved by Congress that reduce federal funding. The Des Moines Register reports that the HAWK-I provides health insurance to 70,000 children from families with moderate income. Congress in January decided to phase out extra federal financing for children’s health insurance programs, which had been part of the Affordable Care Act.

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Ankeny police have arrested a man suspected of engaging in a drag race that ended when one of the vehicles crashed, killing its two occupants. A news release says 21-year-old Brandon Ferin, of Johnston, was arrested Tuesday. Court records don’t list an attorney for him. Police say Ferin was racing his pickup truck against another the night of Aug. 25 when the other truck went out of control and crashed into another vehicle in a restaurant parking lot. The two occupants in the other truck died.

Firefighters from Audubon and Exira responded to a hog confinement operation fire this (Tuesday) morning, about three-miles east of Ross. The incident at the Lawrence Handlos farm at 1599 Mockingbird Avenue was reported at around 10:15-a.m., according to the Audubon County Sheriff’s Office. Audubon Fire Chief Tyler Thygesen told KJAN News the first crews arrived around 12 minutes later, and found the flames confined to the southwest part of one of the confinement buildings and got the flames knocked down.

A firewall operated as it should and kept the damage to that part of the building, still the structure contained a significant amount of interior damage. The fire was declared under control at around 11:25-a.m. Audubon firefighters remained on the scene overhauling the site until around 12:45-p.m.

Thygesen said Exira Fire provided extra water to fight the flames, and everyone worked well together, including the owners, who worked to shut-off the power and gas. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. All the confinements were empty fortunately, so no animals died, and no firefighter injuries were reported.