At least ten Iowa communities are hosting “Wear Orange” events this weekend as part of National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Megan Gentrup, an organizer of the Wear Orange campaign in Omaha-Council Bluffs, says deadly gun attacks in schools and elsewhere have become too common across the country. “We found a lot of community members didn’t know what to do but knew we wanted to do something,” Gentrup says. “We decided to hold an event where the only purpose is to gather, get to know your neighbors, learn about more organizations in the community that are making us safer and also honoring those we have lost to gun violence.”

More than 350 Wear Orange events will take place across the country tomorrow (Saturday), from concerts to picnics to Orange Walks. Gentrup says survivors of gun violence will attend some of the Iowa events, like the one at Lake Manawa, in Council Bluffs. “We’ll have families who have lost loved ones to gun violence to talk about that,” Gentrup says. “We do want to acknowledge that this is happening and we need to talk about it. We’ll also have activities for kids, family-friendly events. We’ll have board games, cornhole, we’ll have Giant Jenga.”

While the events are called “Wear Orange, she says actually wearing orange clothing isn’t a requirement. “Color options of any kind are welcome,” Gentrup says, laughing. “Wear Orange is just the color we use because it signifies safety with hunters and we want to signify safety at our event and with everyone in our communities.”

Events are planned in several other Iowa communities, including: Ames, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Dubuque, Grimes, Iowa City, the Quad Cities, Keosauqua and Waterloo.

(Radio Iowa)

Sheriff’s officials in Union County report a deer ran out of a ditch Thursday morning, and collided with the side of a motorcycle and the rider. The incident happened on Highway 25, as 32-year old Michael Matherly, of Creston, was traveling south on a 1997 Honda Shadow. Matherly was transported by Medic 1 to the Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston.

The Glenwood Police Department reports 33-year old Troy Grindle, of Glenwood, was arrested Thursday. Grindle was taken into custody on a Mills County warrant for Criminal Mischief in the 4^th degree. No other details were provided. His cash or surety bond was set at $1,000.

A state senator who left the Republican Party in 2016 to protest Donald Trump being the G-O-P’s presidential nominee has ended his bid for reelection in November. David Johnson of Ocheyedan was the only independent in the state legislature for the past two years. Johnson announced in December he would run as an independent and seek another term in the senate. “I just decided this was a good time to get people thinking in a different way about the election coming this November,” Johnson says.

Three Republicans are running in Tuesday’s Primary for Johnson’s spot in the state senate. He’s been a legislator for nearly two decades but, as an independent, he faced a tough run for another senate term in the northwest Iowa district where Republicans far outnumber both independents and Democrats. Johnson had a long history in the Republican Party before he left it nearly two years ago. His father was a Republican candidate for governor in 1968. Johnson hints he’ll be back at the statehouse next year. “I want to be engaged from a citizen’s point of view,” Johnson said. “I plan to return to the capitol, perhaps, and advocate for causes that are important to me and important to a number of Iowans.”

There are more than 20-thousand Republicans, about 13-thousand independents and 73-hundred Democrats in the district Johnson has represented. There is no Democratic candidate in the Senate District One, but a Democrat could be nominated by convention before the ballot deadline in August.

(Radio Iowa)