(Radio Iowa/KJAN) – Republican Senator Joni Ernst was speaking in Atlantic Friday evening when (KJAN’s Ric Hanson) informed her Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died. Ernst repeated the statement to the crowd and said she was sorry to hear the news.

Ernst was asked what she thought President Trump will do to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court.

Earlier this summer Ernst said if there were to be a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020, the president should nominate someone and the U.S. senate should vote on the nomination. Theresa Greenfield, the Democrat who is running against Ernst this year, says the appointment should wait until the next U.S. Senate and president we’re about to vote for take office.

Greenfield, in a written statement released this weekend, said Iowans are independent thinkers and a delay until 2021 would respect the voices of voters.

At least three area school district Boards of Education will hold their regular (separate) monthly meetings, Monday evening (Sept 21st). The Boards for the Exira-EHK, Audubon and Griswold School Districts all have meetings set to take place.

Some items on the agenda for the Griswold School Board meeting (5:30-p.m. in the High School Conference Room) include:

• Personnel matters
• The Sale of a bus
• Discussion & possible action on a Veteran’s Day Program, and, Athletic Director Supervisor Pay.

The Audubon School Board meets at 7-p.m. in the High School Board Room, and will act on the following:

• Approval of a 28-E Agreement w/the Woodward Academy
• Approval of a Truancy Officer
• Approval of construction contracts for the Renovation Project
• and Personnel matters.

Other business/updates, will cover: the Summer Foods Program; Preliminary Enrollment Figures, Unspent Authorized Budget – Preliminary Figures, and the Building Project Update (including progress on plans and design).

And, the Exira-EHK School Board meeting takes place at 6-p.m. in the Conference Room at the Elk Horn Building.  Most of their agenda includes administrative matters, such as: Approving a law firm for the District; Approving a Secondary Lawyer for property and local matters; approval of Banking Institutions; Personnel matters, and more.

Two people were injured during a collision between a pickup truck and a semi, Sunday morning, in northeast Iowa’s Chickasaw County. According to the State Patrol, a Ford F-350 pickup driven by 21-year old Hunter Poppe, of Shell Rock, was traveling north in the southbound lane of Highway 63 from the exit ramp with Highway 18, when the pickup collided nearly head-on in the right lane, with a 2015 Peterbilt semi, driven by 58-year old Ricky Toutges, of Byron, MN. The collision happened at around 7:10-a.m.

Poppe suffered life threatening injuries and was transported by ambulance to the hospital in New Hampton and then to the Mayo Clino by helicopter. He was not wearing a seat belt. Toutges suffered minor injuries in the crash. The accident remains under investigation.

The State Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Dept., IA DNR, IA DOT MVE, Mercy One Air, New Hampton Fire & Rescue, and New Hampton Ambulance.