A collision in Harrison County between a semi and two pickups resulted in two men being transported to the hospital, Friday morning. The Iowa State Patrol says a 2003 Freightliner semi driven by 59-year old Richard E. Fuhs, of Harlan, was eastbound on Highway 30 at around 7:53-a.m., when he swerved to avoid a vehicle that was slowing to make a left turn onto 280th Street.

Hwy 30 crash scene photo submitted

The semi crossed the centerline of the road and collided head-on with a westbound 2012 Dodge RAM pickup driven by 26-year old Brett J. Marcum, of Logan. Another westbound pickup, driven by 36-year old Jonathan D. Moe, of Logan, was unable to stop in-time, and ran into the back of the first pickup.

The impact caused Marcum’s truck to enter the ditch on the north side of Highway 30. The second pickup then ran into the semi. Both the semi and the pickup driven by Jonathan Moe, came to rest in the westbound lanes of Highway 30.

Marcum was flown by LifeNet to the UNMC in Omaha. He was not wearing a seat belt. Fuhs – who was wearing his seat belt – was transported to the Missouri Valley Hospital by Mo. Valley EMS. The accident remains under investigation.

The driver of a vehicle, who was ejected as it rolled multiple times, was transported to the UNMC in Omaha on Friday. The crash happened at around 12:06-p.m. on the northwest side of Council Bluffs on Interstate 29 southbound, at mile marker 54. According to Council Bluffs Police, the vehicle ran off the road before rolling over, ejecting the driver.

The victim was transported by Council Bluffs Fire and Rescue to the hospital.  At last report, the unidentified driver was in critical condition.

A traffic stop Thursday morning south of Audubon, resulted a man and woman from Nebraska being arrested on drug charges. According to the Audubon County Sheriff’s Office, 40-year old Raymond Williams, of Omaha, was arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance- marijuana 3rd and Possession with Intent to Deliver. He was seen by the magistrate and held on a $10,000 bond. He later posted surety bond and was released.

32-year old Tameika Willis, also from Omaha, was arrested on Possession of Controlled Substance- marijuana 2nd and Possession with Intent to Deliver. She was also seen by the magistrate and held on a $10,000 bond. She later posted a surety bond and was released.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Audubon Police Department.

(Radio Iowa) – Several northwest Iowa school districts now have mask mandates in place after the state relaxed its quarantine guidelines. Sibley-Ocheyedan Community School District is requiring students and staff in grades seven through 12 to wear masks in classrooms where they can’t social distance. Superintendent James Craig says there’s been very little pushback.

“I know that there are folks that don’t want to wear the masks, but they’re really doing a good job of doing it here,” Craig says, “and understanding that doing that keeps them safer and keeps them more likely to stay in school and not have to be quarantined at home.” Sibley-Ocheyedan tightened its social distancing measures two weeks ago. Students in upper grades had to participate in some classes remotely when social distancing wasn’t possible. Craig says with a mask requirement, the district can have all students in its classrooms safely.

The West Lyon Community School District in Inwood now requires masks for students and staff in grades seven through 12 when they can’t social distance. Superintendent Shawn Kreman says before this, a couple students had already quarantined twice because of close contacts. “I think the message was, ‘Hey, by masking up, we’re going to better our chances to not be sent home for 14 days.'” Kreman says, “So I think the underlying message, kids got it really quickly.”

Kreman says the district is requiring masks in upper grades only because it’s harder to spread those students at least six feet apart. Unlike elementary kids, those students also move to several classrooms throughout the day. The Iowa Department of Public Health’s new guidance says people in schools don’t have to quarantine if they were wearing masks properly while in close contact with an infected person who was also wearing a mask.

(By Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says Iowans have set a record for absentee ballots requested in an election. Pate reports 703,768 requests as of Friday. That surpasses the previous high set in 2016 when more than 693,000 Iowans requested absentee ballots. Of the requests just over 365,000 were requested by Democrats and more than 212,000 were from Republicans.

Voters registered with no party requested nearly 124,000. Over 96,000 have been returned so far with nearly 60,000 of those from Democratic voters. Iowans have until 5 p.m. Oct. 24 to request an absentee ballot. Iowa voters can also cast a ballot in person at their county auditor’s office through Nov. 2.

WAVERLY, Iowa (AP) — Officials in the northeastern Iowa city of Waverly say a $36 million construction project to expand and renovate the Waverly Health Center is ahead of schedule, despite the coronavirus pandemic. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the second phase of the project is underway, just months after the mid-May groundbreaking. The second phase will add 31,000 square feet to include a new emergency department, large family practice clinic and outpatient area.

It’s expected to be enclosed by Thanksgiving and operational in a bout a year. The third phase will renovate 40,000 square feet of the current emergency department and support staff areas into a new general surgery clinic, orthopedic clinic and other outpatient services.