Sheriff’s officials in Sac County are investigating the shooting death of a Guthrie County woman. Sheriff Ken McClure says the shooting was reported at around 11:40-a.m. Sunday. It occurred at the intersection of Highways 175 and 71, east of Lake View. McClure says a male front seat passenger in a vehicle was handling a loaded 9-m.m. handgun, when it accidentally discharged, striking the unidentified 24-year old female driver of the vehicle.

The woman was transported to Loring Hospital in Sac City and then airlifted to a hospital in Des Moines, where she died from her injuries. The identities of those involved were being withheld pending completion of an investigation and autopsy results.

The Sac County Sheriff’s Office, Lake View Police and Lake View Ambulance, along with Lake View Fire, all responded to the scene.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An analysis of data from Iowa law enforcement agencies shows they seize cash, vehicles and other private property from at least 1,000 people a year without proof the property was acquired as a result of a crime or was being used to help people commit crimes.

The Des Moines Register reports  the seizures have increased markedly since the 1980s, when state and local governments reported fewer than two dozen such cases annually. The civil forfeiture laws have let helped the agencies pump millions of dollars into their budgets, mostly in uncontested cases.

Iowa County Attorneys Association guidelines say prosecutors are supposed to use forfeiture to deter future criminal activity. But critics of the practice say it has strayed beyond the original intent of the state’s forfeiture laws.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest on Friday of 19-year old Megan Riley Wilker, of Orient. Wilker was arrested in Clarke County, on a Union County warrant for failure to appear on the original charge of possession of a controlled substance – methamphetamine.  She was later released from the Union County Jail on $1,000 bond.

And, 29-year old Shane Christian Peacock, of Winterset, was arrested Sunday morning at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on a Union County warrant for failure to appear on child support matters.  Peacock was being held in the Union County Jail on $2,000 bond.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a search warrant executed last week at a residence in Walnut resulted in an arrest. Deputies searched a home at 708 Pacific Street Sept. 14th and located marijuana and methamphetamine consistent with the delivery and sales of a controlled substance. 39-year old Daniel Patrick Campbell, of Walnut, was subsequently arrested for Possession of Meth and Marijuana with the Intent to Deliver. He was transported to the Pottawattamie County Jail, where his bond was set at $50,000. A preliminary hearing in his case was set for Sept. 23rd.

SIDNEY, Iowa (AP) – A city official in southwest Iowa accused of falsifying drinking water quality tests for years has quit his post. The Sidney City Council last week approved Mark Travis’ resignation as city administrator. It is effective Sept. 30. He’d been placed on paid administrative leave in July.

Travis has pleaded not guilty to charges of felonious misconduct in office and falsifying required water quality information. Fremont County authorities say Travis falsified monthly operation reports given to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources from 2009 to 2015. His trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 11.

(8-a.m. News)

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

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Officials with the Creston Police Department say a man who resides in the 900 block of W. Jefferson Street in Creston, reported Friday afternoon someone slashed two  driver’s side tires on his vehicle, while it was parked near his home. The incident, which happened sometime between 1-p.m. and 4-p.m. Friday, resulted in a loss of about $180.

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

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At least three area school district Boards of Education will hold their regular, separate monthly meetings this evening. The Griswold School Board meeting gets underway at 5:30-p.m. in the Central Office at the Middle School/High School Building. On their agenda is the second reading of series 403, 410, and 705 Board Policies, and information with regard to the Facilities Committee, followed by approval of the 2016-17 School Improvement Committee and other, administrative matters.

In Anita, the CAM School Board meeting begins at 6:30-p.m. in the CAM High School Media Center, and includes the annual election of School Board officers and other administrative matters for the 2016-17 school year. The CAM Board will also discuss Anita Parking lot improvements for Henningsen Construction, the Massena Bus lane for PCS Contractors, and act on contracts for Lexi Winther (para-educator), as well as Nicholas Hodges (Middle School A.D.).

And in Audubon, the School Board will meet at 7-p.m. in their Board Room at the High School. On their agenda, is the election of officers and related administrative matters, approval of a Building and Grounds Equipment request, admittance of a Foreign Exchange Student, and a review of preliminary enrollment numbers as well as the preliminary PPEL/SAVE plan.

U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack is scheduled to meet with egg producers and industry leaders this Wednesday (9/21) to discuss issues with raising cage free eggs. The demand for cage free eggs is rising, but Vilsack questions whether consumers realize what it takes to make that possible. United Egg Producers President Chad Gregory says around 90 percent of egg farms currently produce eggs through conventional methods. “To switch that 90 percent over to cage free, we’re looking at $45 per bird. So, a one million bird egg farm – which is about average these days – would cost $45 million dollars,” Gregory says.

Around 160 companies have committed to selling cage free eggs, according to Gregory. Given what they need to meet demand, he says it’s a significant investment. “The food companies and retailers who have made these announcements so far, they have collectively buy around 200 million birds on an annual basis. So you take those 200 million birds, times $45.00 per bird, and you get somewhere around 8 to 10 billion dollars,” Gregory says.

Switching to cage free doesn’t happen overnight, Gregory adds, and companies will need to make huge investments in time and resources to meet the goal of supplying only cage free eggs. Iowa is the nation’s top egg producer, with roughly 60 million laying hens producing nearly 15 billion eggs per year.

(Radio Iowa/Brownfield Ag News)