DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The appropriateness of an Iowa lottery scratch game with ties to college football in the state is being questioned. The Des Moines Register reports some lawmakers and professors question whether state universities should help promote gambling. The debate is focused on the “Tail Gator” game that offers a chance to win packages to attend football games at Iowa, Iowa State and Northern Iowa.

Iowa psychology professor Elizabeth Altmaier says she thinks it’s wrong for the universities to be associated with any aspect of gambling. The NCAA recommends that schools avoid deals like this in its best practices guidance but it doesn’t strictly prohibit them.

Public documents show Iowa will get $75,000 this season for the lottery promotion. Iowa State will get $60,000 and Northern Iowa will receive $20,000.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports two Stanton men were arrested Saturday on Burglary charges. 43-year old Thomas Shawn Johnson and 35-year old Roger Lynn Gibson II were taken to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and charged with Burglary in the 3rd degree. Their bonds were set at $5,000 each.

A Nebraska man has died in southwest Iowa, after the car he was driving became stuck on the railroad tracks and was struck by a train in Hamburg. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports the accident happened just after 3-a.m., Sunday. Officials say a 1997 Chrysler driven by 39-year old Christopher T. Hayes, of Brownville, NE, became lodged on the Burlington Northern-Sante Fe rail line west of the Main Street crossing in Hamburg, and was struck by a northbound BNSF train.

Hayes was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. While the accident remains under investigation, alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the accident. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office along with crews from Hamburg Fire and Rescue responded to the scene.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Farmers and agribusiness professionals are invited to the Omaha Ag Outlook event in December. The event is scheduled for Dec. 6 and 7 at Embassy Suites in Omaha’s Old Market district. Organizers are offering sessions focused on livestock marketing, estate planning and international agriculture.

The event will also include a banquet to discuss the U.S. farm bill, and a discussion on the outlook for grains and oilseed. Pre-registration is required. The meeting is a joint effort of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Iowa State University.

The Chair of the Cass County Community Foundation has announced that $23,400 in grants have been awarded to several non-profit agencies in the County.

Cass County agency representatives received their checks on November 15th

According to CCCF Chair Nicholas Hunt, the largest grants ($3,700 each) was awarded to the City of Massena for the purchase of a “Jaws of Life” tool for emergency responders, and the Lewis 1^st Responders & Firefighters Association, for the purchase of turnout gear for the department’s members. The City of Griswold received a grant for $3,200, which will be used to replace worn or damaged picnic tables in the City’s public parks.

Other grant recipients include:

• $2,800 to the Cass County Historical Museum for new heating, and an air conditioning unit for the donated building.
• $2,000 each to the Jack and Jill Preschool for the purchase of 6 Ipads and a projector for the classroom, and the City of Lewis, for the installation of new playground set in the City Park.
• $1,500 to the Anita Child Care Center for room dividers and equipment for increased enrollment.
• $1,000 each to: The Anita Wellness Center for sports equipment for its Youth Program; The City Marne, for the replacement of old playground equipment in the City Park and to improve the area; and the Griswold Sports Boosters for the replacement of a broken, storm-damaged flagpole at the Griswold Athletic Facility.
• $750 each for: The Atlantic Coca-Cola Center & Museum, for an upgrade of cabinets; & the City of Lewis Public Library, for a meeting room table.

Each of those nonprofit organizations had submitted applications to the Cass County Community Foundation by the September 1^st deadline. The $23,400 total includes $800 to the Cass County Historical Society, $500 to the Griswold Sports Booster Club and $700 to the City of Griswold, from the Griswold Community Development Endowment Fund, and $500 from the Triumph Endowed Funds for Cass County, to the City of Marne.

All grantees met the criteria as Cass County nonprofit agencies or organizations with charitable missions in the areas of civic, cultural, health, education and social services.  Only organizations providing services in Cass County were eligible. Cass County agency representatives received their checks on November 15^th.

For information about donating or establishing an individual foundation/fund, please contact any of the Cass County Community Foundation Board Members, or call Dennis Nissen, Iowa Foundations Director, at 800-794-3458.

Police in Red Oak say a 32-year old woman was arrested Saturday night on an assault charge. Marcia Lynn Funkhauser, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at around 11:45-p.m. Saturday, after officers in Red Oak responded to an incident of simple assault in the 400 block of Highland Avenue. Funkhauser was being held in the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on a $300 cash bond.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest early this (Sunday) morning of Brandon M. Smith, of Glenwood. Smith was taken into custody at around 4:45-a.m. on a warrant for Theft in the 5th Degree (a Simple Misdemeanor). He was transported to the Mills/Montgomery County line without incident and brought by Montgomery County deputies to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center, where Smith was being held on $300 bond.

An investigation into a vehicle on its top Saturday morning in Adams County led to the arrest of a Corning man. The Adams County Sheriff’s Department says 28-year old Marcus Corcoran was charged with OWI/1st offense, after authorities received a call at around 4-a.m. Saturday, about a car on its roof in the ditch at the 26 mile marker of Highway 148. Corcoran told deputies he was traveling south on Highway 148 and swerved to miss a deer, but an investigation determined he had been drinking.

After Corcoran was brought to the Adams County Jail and searched, he was found to be in possession of a pipe used to smoke marijuana. He was subsequently charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office released details Saturday about a rollover accident in the 3800 block of State Highway 2 on Friday (11/15/13).

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office along with Shenendoah and Farragut Rescue responded to the one vehicle accident at approximately 3:20pm Friday.  Responders discovered a 1999 Pontiac driven by 19-year-old Adriana Gomez of Shenendoah had slid off the south side of the roadway and then rolled several times ejecting Gomez in the process.

Gomez was transported in critical condition to the Nebraska Medical Center via Mercy One helicopter.  No further details are known at this time.

GLENWOOD, Iowa (AP) — A location in western Iowa for the proposed Loess Hills Archaeological Interpretive Center has been approved by the Iowa Preserves Advisory Board. The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil reports that the location is on a state preserve at the south edge of Glenwood, just across the Missouri River from Nebraska.

The multimillion-dollar center will be devoted to studying the Native Americans who lived in earthen dwellings in extreme western Iowa and eastern Nebraska between 600 and 750 years ago. The 906-acre preserve, Iowa’s largest, was previously a part of the state-operated Glenwood Resource Center.

Its re-designation as a preserve was hastened by the evidence that beneath its surface are dozens of ancient earth lodges, camping areas and agricultural pursuits.