Police in Creston report the arrest at around 1:50-a.m. Sunday, of 48-year old Diane Woodhull.  The Creston woman was arrested in the 400 block of S. Division in Creston, on a charge of Public Intoxication/2nd offense. She was being held in the Ringgold County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

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

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A monthly survey of business leaders suggests economic conditions are still improving for nine Midwest and Plains states. A report released Monday (Today) says the Mid-America Business Conditions Index rose to 58.2 in September from 57.5 in August and 56.1 in July. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says international sales, strong profit growth and low interest rates boosted the economic outlook among supply managers in the nine-state region.

The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth in that factor. A score below that suggests decline. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

October brings a month-long series of assemblies across Iowa for REAP, or Resource Enhancement and Protection. Tammie Krausman, the REAP coordinator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says they focus on issues like habitat, water quality and preservation of cultural heritage. “REAP is one of the most popular conservation, natural resources and historic development programs in the state,” Krausman says. “One of the reasons it stays so relevant is because every few years, we get out and hold 18 meetings across the state to talk to Iowans about what they really want from those types of programs.”

The assemblies cover a wide range of topics centered on outdoor recreation, soil and water enhancement, historical resources, land management and more. “We get together in a room, we give a brief history of REAP so everyone is on the same page, and then we open it up for questions,” Krausman says. “We talk about all of the local things that have happened with REAP in that area. We ask people what they really want to see with these programs in the future.”

Also at the meetings, delegates are elected to attend the REAP Congress. It will be held on January 6th in the House chambers of the Iowa State Capitol. “All of the delegates who were elected at the individual REAP assemblies come together and we really hard-core debate REAP policy, natural resources policy, conservation, outdoor recreation,” Krausman says. “Then, we make those recommendations to the governor, to the general assembly and to the Natural Resources Commission.”

The assembly meetings run about 90 minutes. The first of the 18 assemblies is planned for Wednesday in Spencer, with another on Thursday in Lehigh. Other meetings will be held this month in: Ventura, Chariton, Maquoketa, Shenandoah, Iowa City, Burlington, Oskaloosa, Marshalltown, Calmar, Carroll, Afton, Neola, Waterloo, Correctionville, West Des Moines and Muscatine. See the complete schedule at: www.iowareap.com

(Radio Iowa)

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

JACKSON JUNCTION, Iowa (AP) — When a northeast Iowa school board was faced with a costly bill for repairing a baseball outfield, officials decided to seek help from volunteers instead. A week later, the work is finished and officials happily note they saved about $25,000. KWWL-TV reports the work was needed at Turkey Valley High School in Jackson Junction, where the outfield’s uneven surface would cause balls to take weird bounces. School board vice president Don Blazek says about 25 people quickly completed the job.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A stagnant farm economy is reverberating hard through Nebraska and Iowa, both of which posted the nation’s weakest income growth in a recent federal report. The trend helps explain why both states are facing budget problems, but lawmakers have differing views on how to address the problem. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis says Nebraska and Iowa posted the slowest income growth in the second quarter of 2017.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Democratic candidate for Iowa governor intervened when a woman had a medical emergency at a political fundraiser. The Des Moines Register reports that Andy McGuire rushed to help the woman at the Polk County Steak Fry on Saturday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A House Democrat seen as a rising star says the party is to blame for allowing President Donald Trump to claim voters in reliably Democratic territory. Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio told Democrats at a fundraiser in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday that those voters don’t think Democrats are with them anymore and don’t listen to them. Another House Democrat at the gathering, Illinois’ Cheri Bustos, says the election shows that the party lost touch with small-town America.

Red Oak Police conducted a traffic stop at around 2:30-p.m. Sunday, and arrested the driver of the vehicle for Driving While Barred. 24-year old Ozzy Ray Hunter, of Red Oak, was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond.

A man from Montgomery County was arrested Saturday night in Adams County on drug & weapon charges. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports 50-year old Charles Samuel Williams, of Villisca, was taken into custody at around 8-p.m., following a traffic stop. Upon further investigation, Williams was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/3rd or subsequent offense, Possession of an offensive weapon by a Felon, and Possession of drug paraphernalia. In the vehicle, Deputies located a machete’, which was concealed next to the driver’s seat. Williams was booked into the Adams County Jail and held on a $10,300 cash only bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Democratic candidate for Iowa governor intervened when a woman had a medical emergency at a political fundraiser. The Des Moines Register reports that Andy McGuire rushed to help the woman at the Polk County Steak Fry on Saturday. McGuire is a physician and businesswoman.

McGuire performed CPR on the woman who had apparently choked on her food until paramedics arrived a short time later. McGuire is one of seven Democratic candidates for governor. The others are Nate Boulton, Cathy Glasson, Fred Hubbell, Jon Neiderbach, John Norris and Ross Wilburn.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A stagnant farm economy and its ripple effects on other industries are creating budget problems for Nebraska and Iowa, both of which posted the nation’s weakest income growth in a recent federal report.

Key lawmakers from both states say they’re concerned the agricultural downturn will persist, ripping through other sectors and putting additional strain on their budgets.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis says declining farm income was the leading cause of the slowdown in many states, including Iowa and Nebraska. The bureau reports that incomes in both states increased just 0.1 percent in the last quarter, the lowest growth nationwide.

Officials say the sluggishness also hurt agricultural manufacturing, lending, land-rental income and other industries tied to farming.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports two men were cited for Possession of Alcohol under the legal age, Saturday night. Cited at around 8:40-p.m. in the 2500 block of Highway 71, was 20-year old Brett Jeffrey Fulton, and 20-year old Blake Michael Haidsiak-Riggle, both of Villisca. And, at around 3:45-a.m. today (Sunday), Montgomery County Deputies arrested 19-year old Parker Timothy Wagaman, of Red Oak, at the intersection of L Avenue and Highway 48.

Wagaman was charged with OWI/1st offense and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where his bond was set at $1,000.