(Radio Iowa) — A state law passed in 2012 called on Iowa schools to identify struggling readers and improve the quality of reading instruction. In one central Iowa elementary school, reading aloud is being emphasized. Brian Vaughn, principal of Cornell Elementary in the Saydel Community School District, says  “Our staff has spent multiple weeks teaching, modeling, observing, conferring, self-reflecting on what fluent readers look and sound like in our classrooms.”

“Cornell students,” according to Vaughn, “now know that to be a fluent reader, they need to pay attention to their automaticity — reading quick, smooth and accurate; phrasing — making sure that my group of words sound like talking — and monitoring of expression, “to make sure their voice matches the punctuation.”

Vaughn says his teaching staff is building a “community of readers” with these strategies. “Our work here was to get students to start thinking about themselves as a reader,” Vaughn says, “because knowing one’s self as a reader has empowered them to take charge of their own learning and reach those fluency goals.”

The most recent STATEWIDE data found about 70 percent of kindergarten through third grade students in Iowa’s public and private schools are reading at or above grade level.

(Radio Iowa) — A rising number of beginning farmers are seeking help with loans and other financial planning, according to a report from the Center for Rural Affairs. Wyatt Fraas, the center’s farm and community assistance director, says he advises most of those who are just starting out to apply for loans through the U-S-D-A’s Farm Service Agency.  “In the last few years, there’s been a great increase in the number of small and new farmers who’ve gotten into the business,” Fraas says. “The Farm Service Agency responded to that by offering what they call a ‘microloan’ up to $50,000. Before that, they were focused on the larger commodity operations.”

Those larger operations may’ve been working with sums from the hundreds of thousands into the millions of dollars. He says many of those beginning producers have been challenged lately by low commodity prices and the trade war. “If they’re looking strictly at commodity crops, it’s very difficult to make the cash flow work,” Fraas says. “The Farm Service Agency uses a running average for the prices that they’ll use in those cases, which in this situation works to the farmer’s advantage as far as qualifying for a loan.”

Fraas says it’s critical new producers create a blueprint for their operation that can be shared with the lender. “It’s helpful for beginners to work up a business plan, something that talks about where their business is going to go, how they’re going to run it and the cashflow parts of it,” Fraas says. “The lender may not want to see the entire business plan. They specifically want to see the finances.”

Fraas says any new farmer who’s looking for advice can contact the Center for Rural Affairs, based in Lyons, Nebraska.

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

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DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Eight Davenport employees have sued the city, saying the city didn’t properly supervise a former housing program manager who hid a camera in a restroom. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Scott County District Court seeks restitution for “permanent personal injuries” and “an immense amount of emotional distress.” The former manager, Roy DeWitt, was sentenced in July to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to eight counts of invasion of privacy. The Quad-City Times reports that city attorney Tom Warner disputes the allegations and says the city was not negligent.

The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office reports two men were arrested today (Thursday), on assault and other charges. 30-year old Michael Hartley, and 35-year old Dennis Andrew Hartley, both of Lenox, were arrested in the 400 block of West Illinois St, in Lenox.  Michael Hartley was charged with Assault Causing Bodily Injury, and Interference with Official Acts. He has since posted bond and been released. Dennis Hartley was arrested at the same location, on charges of Domestic Abuse Assault Causing Bodily Injury, and Interference with Official Acts. He was being held without bond in the Taylor County Jail, until seen by a Magistrate.

(Radio Iowa) — The executive director of the Iowa Turkey Federation says Iowa growers are still feeling some hang-over effects from the 2015 Avian Influenza (AI) or bird flu outbreak that saw the loss of millions of birds. Gretta Irwin says turkey producers have been able to replenish their flocks, however the demand has been down. “That is partially just due to our lack of being able to sell some of our turkey products overseas. So whether is continues to be bans because of high path A-I from 201 — to markets just not opening up because when we had A-I they replaced turkey with other products — our industry is still trying to rebound from that and get back up on our feet.”

Iowa ranks eighth in the nation for turkey production, and fifth for turkey processing. Irwin says Iowa turkey products usually end up in fast-food deli chain stores, as opposed to the center of the table for Thanksgiving dinner. “The processing part of the industry in Iowa is really key to having a successful industry,” according to Irwin. “We have great facilities in Storm Lake Iowa and in West Liberty Iowa — and if you are stopping by a deli store like Jimmy John’s or Subway — you are enjoying an Iowa turkey.”

Irwin says the consumption of turkey has remained stagnant for the last few years. She says the turkey industry is looking at ways to build additional consumption beyond this signature turkey eating holiday. “The industry is really in need of some new product ideas and some new ways of serving turkey and sparking interest in the product again,” Irwin explains. “Yeah, it is something we work on 365 days in our industry, not just Thanksgiving, because it is a year-round protein.”

Iowa raises approximately 12 million turkeys each year.

The National Weather Service in Des Moines reports a potential winter storm may impact the state Saturday night into Sunday night. Officials say “At this time, confidence is increasing that this system will impact central and southern Iowa with the potential for moderate snowfall and strong winds.”  If you have travel plans from Saturday night through Sunday night, please monitor the weather forecast very closely. This system, according to the Weather Service, may cause significant travel impacts during this time period. Have alternate travel plans in place, and if you must travel, have a full tank of gas in your vehicle, and keep a winter weather survival kit in your vehicle.

The kit should include: A cell phone charger; 1st aid kit; jumper cables; a spare tire; road flares; sand or kitty litter for traction; a tow rope; blankets; snow shovel and brush; a flashlight; hats, mittens and snow boots; water and snacks.

If you must drive during a storm, take the following precautions:

• Slow down!Even if the roads just look wet they could still be slick. More than 6,000 fatalities occur on the roadways each year due to weather conditions.
• Make sure your vehicle is completely clear of ice or snow before starting the trip. Flying snow from cars causes accidents.
• Let someone know where you are going and what route you will take. If something happens, this person will know where to start a search.
• If you are driving and begin to skid, remain calm, ease your foot off the gas and turn your wheels in the direction you want the front of the car to go. If you have an anti-lock braking system (ABS), apply steady pressure to the brake pedal. Never pump the brakes on an ABS equipped vehicle.
• If you are having trouble seeing due to weather conditions, pull over to the side of the road and stop your car until visibility improves. Turn off your lights and use your parking break when stopped so that another car won’t mistakenly follow your tail/brake lights and end up hitting you.

If your car gets stuck during a storm:

• Stay in the vehicle!If you leave your vehicle, you will become disoriented quickly in wind-driven snow and cold.
• Run the motor about 10 minutes each hour for heat. While running the motor, open the window a little for fresh air to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Clear snow from the exhaust pipe to avoid gas poisoning.
• Be visible to rescuers.Turn on the dome light at night when running the engine.
• Tie a bright colored cloth, preferably red, to your antenna or door.
• After snow stops falling, raise the hood to indicate you need help.

A man arrested at around 3:25-a.m. today (Thursday) in Red Oak on an OWI/1st offense charge, also faces a felony charge of Introducing Contraband into a Correctional Facility. 24-year old Austin Wayne Hale, of Red Oak, was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 bond.

A van traveling the wrong direction on Interstate 29 late Wednesday night collided head-on with another van, resulting in two persons dead and three more injured. The Iowa State Patrol reports the accident happened at around 10:55-p.m. on I-29 in Monona County. A 2016 Dodge Caravan driven by 40-year old Angela Bender, of Omaha, was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes, when it collided with a 2012 Dodge Caravan in the northbound left lane. The driver of the second van, was identified as 51-year old Caroline Klimper, of Fort Morgan, CO. After the impact, Bender’s van entered the median and came to rest on the inside shoulder of southbound I-29.  The other van crossed both lanes of I-29 northbound and entered the east ditch. Both drivers died in the crash. Bender was not wearing a seat belt. Klimper was buckled-in to her vehicle.

One of the passengers, 32-year old William Wiley, of Phoenix, AZ., who was not wearing a seat belt, was flown by Mercy Air Care to Mercy Hospital. Two other passengers, 52-year old Preston Klimper, and 21-year old Mikayla Klimper, both of Ft. Morgan, CO., were transported by Burgess EMS to Burgess Hospital. Preston Klimper was buckled-in to the van, but Mikayla was not wearing her seat belt.

The accident remains under investigation.

Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies, early this (Thursday) morning, arrested a Union County man in Red Oak, on a Criminal Mischief charge. 50-year old Jeffry John Lusk, of Creston, was arrested near a pizza restaurant in the 2400 block of N. Broadway Avenue at around 1:45a.m. He was charged with Criminal Mischief/vandalism in the 4th Degree. Damage from the incident was more than $200 but less than $500. Lusk was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 cash bond.