The namesake of the state of Iowa has come in second in a contest to choose the nation’s best museum ship. Twenty museum ships were nominated by the Historic Naval Ships Association in a contest conducted by the Reader’s Choice. The U-S-S Iowa, which is in Long Beach, California, came in second in the voting to the U-S-S Midway in San Diego. The four weeks of voting wrapped up on July 18th.

The state of Iowa help provide funds to save the historic battleship and have it towed to Long Beach where it now serves as the museum. Anyone with an Iowa driver’s license can visit the Battleship Iowa Museum for free.

(Radio Iowa)

Thousands of potential students and their parents are checking out many of the state’s smaller colleges this week. It’s part of an annual event in Iowa, during the first week of August, known as Private College Week. Derek Hartl, director of admissions at Luther College in Decorah, says all 25 of Iowa’s private colleges are taking part in the program. “Our purpose through all of this is to try to let students know what a private education can include and the benefits and advantages of a private education,” Hartl said.

Some parents and students may feel attending a private college is out of their price range, but Hartl suggests there are ways for families to make it affordable. “There’s a great deal of financial aid out there,” Hartl said. “We have a lot of students who are paying less to come to Luther than they would have to go to a state institution.”

Hartl notes that students who graduate from a private college, such as Luther, are in high demand. “When we look at the graduating class of 2015, 99.4 percent of our students were either employed, attending graduate or professional school, or selectively volunteering. So, we’re talking about a very high placement rate,” Hartl said.

More information about Private College Week in Iowa is available at: thinkindependently.com.

(Radio Iowa)

WALNUT, Iowa (AP) – A highway bridge in Pottawattamie County has been dedicated as a memorial to a slain Omaha police officer. The Interstate 80 bridge that carries traffic into Walnut has been named the Kerri Orozco Bridge. A scholarship fund also was announced at the bridge dedication ceremony Tuesday.

Orozco was fatally wounded on May 20, 2015, when Marcus Wheeler opened fire on officers who were trying to arrest him. Wheeler was killed when another officer returned fire. Orozco was one day away from going on maternity leave to care for the daughter she had delivered prematurely three months earlier.

Orozco and her family lived in Council Bluffs, and she was a native of Walnut.

Police in Council Bluffs are investigating an incident that took place late Tuesday night, and involved an explosive device. Authorities say at around 11:45-p.m., an unidentified person threw a small explosive device from a vehicle as it was traveling Westbound in the 2200 block of Avenue A. The device exploded in the air. No injuries or property damage was reported.

The Council Bluffs Fire Department’s Fire Marshal is conducting the investigation into the incident. If you have information concerning the incident, you’re urged to contact Crime Stoppers at (712)-328-7867 or the Fire Marshal’s Office at (712)328-4646.

Red Oak Police report three people were arrested on various charges early this (Wednesday) morning. A little after 2-a.m., 29-year old Jessie Bruce Fitzwater, of Villisca, was arrested on a valid warrant out of Adams County for Failure to Appear on an OWI/1st offense charge. Fitzwater, who was arrested last Friday evening in Montgomery County for Possession of Stolen property, remains held without bond, in the Montgomery County Jail.

At around 1:15-a.m. today, Red Oak Police arrested 24-year old Eric David Taylor, of Red Oak, on a Montgomery County warrant for Violation of Probation. Taylor was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 cash bond.

And, at around 12:30-a.m., Red Oak Police arrested 19-year old Yessica Silva-Lemus, of Red Oak, on a valid Page County warrant for Revocation of Probation. Silva-Lemus was being held in the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on a $1,000 cash bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Republican presidential campaign of Donald Trump has planned another Iowa event – his third in nine days. The Des Moines Register reports that Trump will hold a town hall Friday in Des Moines. It’s scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Where it will be held and other details have not been announced publicly. He held rallies in Davenport and Cedar Rapids last week.

Trump finished second in the February’s Iowa caucuses to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, of Texas.

A Montgomery County man was arrested late Tuesday night on assault and other charges. Police say 42-year old James Reed Mitroff II, of Red Oak, was arrested just before midnight in the 2300 block of N. Eastern Avenue, on two counts of Assault, and Breach of Peace. His arrest stems from an earlier incident. Mitroff was being held in the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on a $300 cash bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 2:40 a.m. CDT

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Waterloo officials agreed to spend more money to design a white-water course along the Cedar River despite concerns about a lack of money to pay for the project. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports the City Council voted 5 to 1 Monday to pay $32,430 on top of the $245,865 original contract with a Colorado, company that is designing the project. The money comes from gambling revenue collected from the Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo. It would cost $2.6 million to $4 million to build the course.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — The longtime principal of a Cedar Rapids high school has resigned following questions about his response to an incident involving a substitute teacher charged with having sexual contact with a student. KCRG-TV reports Ralph Plagman announced Tuesday he will retire Wednesday as principal at Washington High School. Plagman says he’s leaving at the request of school district officials. He alluded to the case of 24-year-old Mary Haglin, who was charged with sexual exploitation by a school employee.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Ankeny man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for possession of child pornography and attempting to kidnap the children of a federal prosecutor. Court documents say 35-year-old Aaron Lawrence Storm reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors in Des Moines in which he admitted to having cell phone video clips of child pornography.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A Waterloo police officer has been charged in connection with what authorities say was a road rage incident last month. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports 45-year-old Corbin Allen Payne faces a charge of assault causing bodily injury, a misdemeanor. Police Chief Daniel Trelka says Payne is on paid administrative leave. It wasn’t immediately clear if he has an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

Sheriff’s officials in Page County are asking the public to be on the lookout for Utility Task Vehicle (UTV) stolen from an area about eight-miles east of Shenandoah. The Sheriff’s Office on July 30th received a report of a stolen, red Polaris Ranger 800cc UTV. Deputies responded to the location of the incident, a field in the 1800 block of Ironwood Avenue, processed the scene and spoke with surrounding agencies.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office was working cases that were similar to this one.  The Page County Sheriff’s Office is working with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies in regards to this case. It is believed that the stolen Polaris Ranger might possibly still be in Page County or the surrounding counties at this time.

There is a Page County CrimeStopper’s reward being offered in this case.  Anyone with information about this can call the Page County Sheriff’s Office or their local Law Enforcement agency.

State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald is helping the federal bureau which oversees banks try to return unclaimed payments from 15 mortgage servicers to Iowans. Fitzgerald says the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has the money from a settlement with lenders who were using improper mortgage lending practices. “They’ve tried to locate the owners, but we still have over one-point-two million dollars we’re holding for over two-thousand Iowans who have anywhere between 300 and three-thousand dollars coming back to them. And we want to find them,” Fitzgerald says.

Fitzgerald says some people may’ve already gone through a foreclosure, but could still be due some money. “If you had a mortgage between 2009 and 2010 — and especially if you were in financial difficulty with it — you are probably on our list,” he says. The servicers involved what was a three-point-six billion dollar overall settlement are: Aurora, Bank of America, Citibank, CountryWide, Goldman Sachs, H-S-B-C, J-P-Morgan Chase, MetLife Bank, Morgan Stanley, P-N-C, Sovereign, SunTrust, U-S Bank and Wells Fargo.

Fitzgerald says you can now claim any money you may be due from the settlement through the long-running program to return abandoned property known as The Great Iowa Treasure Hunt. “You go to the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt-dot-Gov and just put in your name, and it’ll pop up if you are there,” Fitzgerald says. He says even if you aren’t due any settlement money, you may find something else.

” When you are there and you punch up your name — you might find you have some other property coming too. Because we have over one million names and we are holding over 300 million dollars for people, so along with that you might find you have other money,” Fitzgerald explains. “It’s really simple, it takes about two to three weeks, and we have easy ways to work with you to prove that you are who you say you are.”

Fitzgerald says The Great Iowa Treasure Hunt program has returned over 214 million dollars in unclaimed property to more than 500-thousand people since it was created in 1983.

(Radio Iowa)