A woman in Red Oak who was distracted by answering her cell phone Thursday afternoon, was cited for having no insurance – accident related, following  a collision. 55-year old Shelly Shuffler, of Red Oak, was also issued a warning for following too closely, after the 2006 Chrysler Town and Country van she was driving hit the rear of a 2013 Chevy Traverse, registered to Agrivision Equipment Group, and driven by 57-year old Robert Irr, of Creston.

Officials say both vehicles were traveling north on N. Broadway at around 1:10-p.m., when Irr stopped after traffic stopped in front of him. Shuffler didn’t notice the SUV had come to a halt. Damage from the collision amounted to $8,000.  There were no injuries reported.

Two men were arrested in the same area but on separate charges Thursday evening, in Red Oak. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 60-year old Robert Ernest McMartin, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 6:30-p.m. in the 400 block of E. Grimes Street. following a traffic stop. McMartin was charged with Driving While License Suspended, with eight withdrawals in effect. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on slightly more than $566 bond.

About 10-minutes later, also in the 400 block of E. Grimes, 54-year old Joseph Olis Loudermilk of Red Oak, was arrested by Red Oak Police with assistance from Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies. Loudermilk was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and charged with Simple Assault. His bond was set at $300.

The board that governs the state’s three public universities has hired from within and devised a way to hike pay for the next executive director of the Board of Regents. By state law, the executive director’s salary is capped at 154-thousand dollars. But Mark Braun has been making 240-thousand dollars a year as the board’s chief operating officer. As the new executive director of the Board of Regents, Braun will get that annual base salary of 154-thousand dollars, plus a 185-thousand dollar “recruitment incentive” will paid out in installments over the next 18 months.

Board of Regents president Michael Richards says other budget cuts have been made and a new chief operating officer will NOT be hired to replace Braun. “We have a proposal that would bring approximately $300,000 of savings to the Board of Regents office,” Richards says. Braun’s new job — and pay plan — starts November 1st. The Board of Regents will ask legislators to change the law so Braun’s base salary can be raised in the future.

Braun is a graduate of the University of Iowa. He was the university’s lobbyist at the state legislature for a decade and also served on former University of Iowa president Sally Mason’s staff. He has been the chief operating officer for the Board of Regents since December of 2015.

(Radio Iowa)

Winnebago Industries has had a big year, financially. The company has been making recreational vehicles in Forest City for nearly six decades. Winnebago’s fourth quarter ended August 26th. Overall revenue was up nearly 73 percent for the QUARTER and operating income for the YEAR was up 90 percent. Michael Happe is Winnebago’s president and C-E-O.

“Our team responded in fiscal 2017with a tremendous year of top and bottom line growth,” Happe says. Revenue from sales of Winnebago motorhomes was down nearly three percent for the year, but the company had significant growth in sales of towable units. “This is a far cry from the days when more than 90 percent of our revenue came solely from motorhomes,” Happe says. “We are better positioned than ever before to drive growth and to compete for market share across the whole of the growing RV spectrum.”

Winnebago’s “Grand Design” towable campers are made in Indiana. According to the R-V Industry Association, sales of recreational vehicles were up 15 percent in the U.S. last year and more than half of those buyers were under the age of 45.

(Radio Iowa)

An investigation Thursday afternoon into an incident of an alleged robbery and stabbing resulted in the arrest of a Council Bluffs teen. Bluffs Police report just before 3-p.m., officers were dispatched to the area of the 500 block of 1st Avenue in reference to a Stabbing/Robbery that had occurred. Officers responded and found that a robbery did not occur.

Instead, they discovered 25-year old Levi Lovrien, of Council Bluffs, had been in a verbal altercation with a 15-year old juvenile male. During the altercation, the juvenile pulled out a multi-purpose tool and stabbed Lovrien in the upper right thigh, causing a minor wound (He refused medical assistance at the scene).

The juvenile ran away from the scene, after picking up the victim’s cellphone off the ground. Detectives later found the juvenile at his home, where he was arrested for Aggravated Assault and Theft 5th. The cellphone was not recovered, No other persons were injured in the incident.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials say projections for Iowa’s budget are down again, and it could force spending cuts when lawmakers return in January. A three-person panel concluded Thursday that the $7.2 billion budget in effect since July is down by about $130 million. The panel says Iowa’s economy is growing more slowly than expected. The news comes months after the GOP-controlled Legislature cut agency budgets and borrowed money to offset reduced projections released earlier this year and last.

RIVERSIDE, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials say two southeastern Iowa parents have been arrested and charged in the death last year of their severely malnourished toddler. The Iowa Department of Public Safety says in a news release that 29-year-old Ambrashia Chrzan and 36-year-old Anthony McCoy, both of Riverside, were arrested Thursday. They are charged in Washington County with child endangerment resulting in the November death of 17-month-old Avery McCoy.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The trend of raising backyard chickens is causing a soaring number of illnesses from poultry-related diseases. Since January, more than 1,100 people have contracted salmonella poisoning from chickens and ducks in 48 states. Almost 250 people were hospitalized and one person died. The Centers for Disease Control says that toll was four times higher than in 2015. A big factor is people who treat their birds like pets by kissing or snuggling them and letting them walk around indoors.

HAMPTON, Iowa (AP) — A Hampton man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for sexually abusing a child. The Globe Gazette reports that 72-year-old Michael Lynn Rodemeyer Sr. sexually abused a child over a two-year period in Hampton and rural Franklin County. He pleaded guilty to an amended charge of three counts of third-degree sexual abuse in August.

Sioux City Police say a car witnesses saw submerge in the Missouri River Monday afternoon likely belongs to a local family of three reported missing on Tuesday morning. Police Captain Mark Kirkpatrick gave an update on the investigation today (Thursday).

“We have a fair degree of confidence that this may be, in fact, that vehicle,” Kirkpatrick said. “We can’t say with 100-percent certainty that it’s that vehicle.” Divers have not been able to reach the vehicle to inspect it because it’s located in a portion of the river with dangerous currents. The family members, 51-year-old Salomon Medina, his 41-year-old wife Angelica Medina-Gonzales, and their 17-year-old daughter Vanessa Medina Gonzales, were last seen at a WalMart Monday about an hour or so before the accident that sent the car into the river. Kirkpatrick said the evidence officers are checking out includes surveillance video from WalMart.

“One of the more solid pieces (of evidence) was probably the cell phone pings,” Kirkpatrick said. “We did receive phone pings from their particular phones at about the time we believe the incident occurred and there have not been pings since then.” If divers are eventually able to reach the car, Kirkpatrick said they’ll have to operate by feel because of zero visibility in the murky waters of the Missouri River.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with the Iowa Judicial Branch report Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark S. Cady, of Ft. Dodge, on Thursday, signed an order appointing judges to serve as chief judges for the district courts commencing January 1, 2018. Among the eight justices he appointed, was Jeffrey L. Larson, of Harlan, to the Fourth Judicial District.

Fourth District Chief Judge Larson was appointed to the bench in 2003 and became Chief Judge due to the retirement of Judge Charles L. Smith III. He earned his law degree from the University of Iowa in 1985. He has been in private practice as well as serving as Shelby County attorney.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials say projections for Iowa’s budget are down again, and could force spending cuts when lawmakers return in January. A three-person panel concluded Thursday that the $7.2 billion budget in effect since July is down by about $130 million. The panel says Iowa’s economy is growing more slowly than expected.

Iowa Department of Management Director David Roederer says it’s too early to know the impact on the current budget but midyear reductions may be necessary. The news comes months after the GOP-controlled Legislature cut agency budgets and borrowed money to offset reduced projections released earlier this year and last.

Democrats and Republicans blamed each other for poor budget priorities. GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds is seeking bipartisan support for tax cuts and skilled jobs training. The revenue panel meets again in December.

BOONE, Iowa (AP) — Officials in the central Iowa city of Boone have announced plans to close the Mamie Doud Eisenhower Birthplace, citing waning revenue in recent years to the museum.

The quaint, yellow clapboard house is where Mamie Doud was born in 1896. As first lady, she often returned with her husband, WWII general and President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The home now serves as a museum filled with memorabilia from Mamie Eisenhower’s life.

Boone County Historical Society Director Mara MacKay tells station KCCI that the home is in need of repairs, and declining revenue has left the organization unable to cover those costs.

MacKay says fundraising events intended to help have fallen short.