One person was killed in a fiery crash early this (Thursday) morning in northwest Iowa. The crash happened around 4:20 a.m. on Highway 71 southeast of Storm Lake. Authorities say the motorist who died at the scene was 24-year old Cory Urban, of Newell.

The Iowa State Patrol said Urban tried to pass another vehicle in a no-passing zone, when his 2000 Buick LeSabre crashed into an oncoming 2002 Chevy Trailblazer, at the crest of a hill. Both drivers swerved to the west, but the vehicles collided head-on. Urban’s car erupted into flames following the collision. The driver of the SUV, identified as 55-year-old David Munoz of Storm Lake, was injured and transported to the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Regent Larry McKibben says he’s seeking to become the next president of the Iowa Board of Regents starting May 1. McKibben said at a board meeting in Council Bluffs on Thursday that he will campaign to replace President Bruce Rastetter, who is leaving the board when his term expires April 30.

The board, which governs the state’s three public universities, plans to hold a special meeting to pick new leadership. The board’s president pro tem, Katie Mulholland, is also leaving the board.

McKibben is a Republican former state senator from Marshalltown and an attorney. He has been on the board for four years, and has overseen a wide-ranging review of the university’s business operations designed to save money.

One person is dead, another was injured during a head-on collision in a No Passing zone early this (Thursday) morning, in northwest Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol says the crash happened at around 4:20-a.m. on Highway 71 in Buena Vista County, when a 2000 Buick Lesabre passed a commercial vehicle on a hill crest that was marked as No Passing in both directions.

The driver of the northbound Buick and 55-year old David Munoz, of Storm Lake, who was traveling south in a 2002 Chevy Trailblazer, both swerved to the west and collided head-on. The car became engulfed in flames immediately after the collision.

Munoz, who was wearing his seat belt, was transported by ambulance to the Buena Vista Medical Center. The unidentified driver of the car died at the scene.

PEOSTA, Iowa (AP) – The parents of a 13-year-old and the boy’s uncle have been accused of having the repeat runaway wear a chain belt attached to a weight. Court records say Cynthia Kobusch and her husband, Michael Kobusch, and her brother, Jeffrey Merfeld, have been charged with child endangerment. They live in Peosta. The records don’t list attorneys who could comment for them.

The records say the boy was known for running away. He told investigators his parents were out of town when Merfeld padlocked a chain around the boy’s waist and attached a weight. He also says his parents left the chain on for two days after they returned. The document says Cynthia Kobusch told an investigator she’d asked Merfeld to fashion a way to attach a GPS unit to her son.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a Cass County man was arrested Tuesday night in Walnut. 18-year old Robert Lee Hitch, of Atlantic, was taken into custody without incident at around 8:45-p.m. as he sat in a vehicle located in a residential driveway in Walnut. He was wanted on a warrant for Interference with Official Acts.

And, a traffic stop at around 1-a.m. today (Thursday) at the intersection of Highways 59 and 6 outside of Oakland, resulted in the arrest without incident, of 38-year old Terrance Brierly, of Carson. Brierly was wanted on a warrant for Theft in the 5th Degree. He was also cited for Driving Under Suspension and Failure to Provide Proof of Financial Responsibility (SR-22 insurance).

If you haven’t yet had a chance to check out the book sale at the Atlantic Public Library, you still have time. The Library Auxiliary’s “Friends of the Library Semi-Annual (used) Book Sale” began Wednesday and continues through Friday (tomorrow), April 21st.

Ken Moorman, Publicity Chair for Friends of the Library, said the sale runs from 9-a.m. until 6-p.m. each day, and includes primarily reading materials, audio books, DVD’s, CD’s, and even VHS tapes, all priced at 25-cents to one-dollar.

Moorman says children’s books are always popular. All proceeds from the book sale benefit the Atlantic Library for Adult and Youth programs, of which more than 200 are held each year, thanks he says, to Library Director Natalie Struecker.

He says last year’s contribution to the Library amounted to over $4,000 for the combined Spring and Fall book sales.

Those who oversee the security at city halls and courthouses around the state are hoping to get some more information about what Iowa’s new gun bill signed into law by Governor Branstad will mean for them. The bill will allow the nearly a quarter of a million Iowans with a concealed weapons permit to carry their guns into the state capitol. Woodbury County Sheriff Dave Drew is in charge of security at the county courthouse.

“It’s still a little unclear because we’re waiting for the Attorney General’s opinion — which I think should come out within 30 days — of where courthouses that have existing courthouse security will stand,” Drew says.

The Iowa Judicial Branch, the Iowa County Attorneys Association and the Iowa Judges Association all opposed to the bill, which becomes law on July 1st. Sheriff Drew says there are also concerns about where someone carrying a gun could go after they enter the courthouse. “It covers more than just the courtroom, and that’s the definition we are trying to find out. Does that protect the whole courthouse?,” Drew explains. “Because the courthouse in itself isn’t just courts, it has the auditor’s office, the recorder’s office in there.”

The Sheriff says we live in a dangerous world, and emotions can run high in court hearings. “Judges and those involved in the criminal justice system, there’s a lot of days there’s a lot of threats made,” Drew says. “There’s threats made in the courtroom when we have divorce hearings, child custody hearings. You know, a secure and safe courthouse makes it easier for jurors. Jurors are concerned about coming to the courthouse and feeling safe.”

Woodbury County officials will meet in May to discuss their concerns about courthouse security.

(Radio Iowa)

Two students who escaped from court ordered custody at the Clarinda Academy this (Thursday) morning escaped, but were captured about three hours later. Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports the students, both from Minnesota, absconded from the Clarinda Academy at around 4-a.m.  They were apprehended at around 7-a.m. in the back yard of a residence in the 400 block of E. Lincoln Street in Clarinda, after a brief foot chase. They have since been returned to the facility for At-Risk and Delinquent youth, where they were ordered held by Ramsey County, Minnesota juvenile court authorities.

Assisting with the search and apprehension of the students were the Clarinda Police Department, Clarinda Academy staff, Clarinda Fire Department firefighters and the Clarinda CRHC/EMS staff.

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Legislature has approved most bills needed to finalize the roughly $7.2 billion state budget, an indication that adjournment is near for the session.

The Republican-controlled chambers have voted in support of several budget bills over the span of days that address spending on everything from education to economic development. Lawmakers are scheduled back at the Capitol on Thursday, though it’s unclear what day they will finish work.

The Senate must still vote on funding for health and human services. Both chambers must finalize the so-called standing appropriation bill, which includes state spending for a variety of purposes across several state agencies. It is often the last bill passed in the session and attracts last-minute and sometimes controversial proposals that lawmakers hope to tack on before adjournment.