The Iowa Transportation Commission has approved a Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy (RISE) Local Development grant application submitted by Audubon County. The action came during the Commission’s meeting this (Tuesday) morning, in Ames. Up to $314,977 will be made available to assist in reconstruction of approximately 1,300 feet of 190th Street located northwest of the city of Audubon. The project is anticipated to be completed by September 2014. Officials say the project is necessary to provide access to 20 acres for industrial purposes.

Funding for the grant comes from the county share of the RISE Fund.

w/ Ric Hanson

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A 52-year-old northwest Iowa woman has claimed her $1 million Powerball prize.  Debbie Sheldon went to the Iowa Lottery headquarters on Monday after working a few hours at her job in Rock Valley. She’d bought the ticket at a convenience store in Sheldon. The ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Powerball number. It was one of five tickets nationwide to win $1 million in Saturday’s drawing.

Sheldon and her husband, Dave, plan to use the money to help their children and grandchildren and put a little money away for retirement.  Debbie Sheldon says the money also will let her and her husband “breathe financially a little bit now.”

No one won Saturday’s $88 million jackpot, so the prize will increase to about $108 million for Wednesday’s drawing.

w/ Ric Hanson

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Police in Red Oak report the arrest Monday evening of a woman on alcohol-related charges. 38-year old Ginger Lee Reed, of Shenandoah, was arrested at around 9:30-p.m. in the 1000 block of East Maple Street in Red Oak, on a charge of Public Intoxication. Reed was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $300 cash bond.

Due to the Federal government shutdown, the USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) has not completed the weekly crop progress and condition report that is released weekly during the growing season. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey issued a statement Monday on harvest progress, however.

Northey said “Unfortunately due to the Federal government shutdown we will not have a crop progress report this week. In general, what I’m hearing from around the state is that many farmers were able to start harvesting before the wet weather moved in late last week. If we get several days of dry, warm weather this week as forecasted, that will help crops dry down and farmers will again be busy harvesting both corn and soybeans.”

State Climatologist Harry Hillaker, with the Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship says weather-wise, the big news of the week was the severe weather impacting northwestern Iowa on Friday (4th) evening. Damage surveys are ongoing, however it would appear that this was Iowa’s largest tornado event for so late in the year since the outbreak of November 12, 2005. Tornado damage was reported from Woodbury, Plymouth, Cherokee and Buena Vista counties with large hail and high winds reported from an additional 15 counties across north central, southwest and central Iowa.

The past reporting week began with dry weather prevailing from Sunday (29th) through Wednesday (2nd) afternoon. Thunderstorms developed over western Iowa late Wednesday and spread across far northern and far southern Iowa on Thursday (3rd) morning. Thunderstorms brought widespread moderate to heavy rain from west central into east central Iowa late Thursday into Friday afternoon with a few reports of large hail and high wind in central Iowa. Friday evening’s storms were mostly confined to about the northwest one-half of the state with the heaviest rains centered upon Worth, Mitchell and Floyd counties. Weekly rain totals varied from only 0.02 inches at Fairfield to 5.19 inches near Colwell in Floyd County.

The statewide average precipitation was 1.19 inches while normal for the week is 0.69 inches. This was Iowa’s wettest week in 14 weeks (late June). Meanwhile, unseasonably warm and humid air dominated the state from Monday (30th) through Friday (4th) with afternoon highs reaching into the 80’s each day over much of Iowa. Sunday (29th) and Saturday (5th) at the beginning and end of the period brought seasonal temperatures. Temperature extremes varied from afternoon highs of 88 degrees at Sioux City on Wednesday (2nd) and at Donnellson, Fort Madison and Keokuk on Friday (4th) to Saturday (5th) morning lows of 37 degrees at Hawarden, Le Mars, Rock Rapids, Sibley and Sioux Center. Temperatures for the week as a whole averaged 7.7 degrees above normal.

U.S. Senate candidate Joni Ernst says communication is the key to resolving the partisan impasse in Washington, D.C. “You absolutely have to be communicating,” Ernst says, “even with people you may not agree on those same ideas or same philosophies, but you know what? You have to sit down and communicate — period.” Ernst is one of a handful of candidates who are running for the Republican Party’s 2014 nomination for the U.S. Senate. Ernst and competitors Sam Clovis and Matt Whitaker signed an online petition calling for an “ObamaCare Showdown” over “defunding” the Affordable Care Act.

“We need to repeal and replace ObamaCare,” Ernst says. “I know that they are working hard to do that, but they have to communicate.” Ernst was at the statehouse Monday to publicly receive the endorsement of Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds. Afterwards, Ernst was asked by a reporter if the federal government shutdown was the “wrong strategy” for Republicans in congress. “I don’t know that it’s the wrong strategy,” Ernst replied. “But, again, they need to be working through this situation and I don’t see the communication right now.”

Ernst, a state senator from Red Oak, is also a battalion commander in the Iowa National Guard.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Attorney General’s Office is asking a judge to put fired Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent Larry Hedlund’s wrongful termination lawsuit on hold. Its lawyers say Hedlund’s termination technically isn’t final because he still has administrative appeals. Hedlund’s attorney has asked a judge to declare those appeals unnecessary.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Specialty Iowa license plates commemorating law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty are now available. The state Department of Transportation says the plates have a “Fallen Peace Officer” emblem. A numbered license plate costs $35 and a personalized plate is $60. Funds from the plates will be distributed to nonprofit organizations that assist families and co-workers of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A rule disallowing the use of a video-conferencing system to distribute abortion-inducing pills will take effect Nov. 6 unless stopped by a court. That’s after a committee that provides legislative oversight on state agency rule making decided the rule can go forward. Monday’s rules committee meeting was the last opportunity to stop the rule administratively. Planned Parenthood is has filed a lawsuit to try to do so in court.

BONDURANT, Iowa (AP) — A central Iowa high school is banning the use of cellphones and other hand-held devices during the entire school day. Officials at Bondurant-Farrar High School say students can carry them in their pockets or purses, but can’t use them or even look at them. That includes between classes and during the lunch hour. Officials say the ban is in response to students’ excessive use of electronic devices. They say they also want to control cyberbullying on social media.

Three people were arrested Sunday on alcohol-related charges in Cass County. The Sheriff’s Department says 68-year old James Stanley Kwiatkowski, of Griswold, was taken into custody on a charge of OWI 1st Offense/Serious Misdemeanor. Kwiatkowski was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released later that day on his own recognizance.

33-year old Matthew Bernard Steffens, of Atlantic, was arrested Sunday on a charge of OWI 2nd Offense/Aggravated Misdemeanor. Steffens was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released later that day on his own recognizance.

And, 23-year old Fernando Romero, Jr., of Omaha, was arrested Sunday on a charge of OWI 1st Offense/Serious Misdemeanor. Romero was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released the following day on $200 bond.

Sheriff’s officials in Mills County report the arrest on Saturday of a Villisca man on drug charges. 58-year old Rodolfo Morales, Jr., was arrested at around 3:30-p.m. following a traffic stop on Highway 34. Morales faces OWI/1st offense, Driving While Revoked, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Possession of a Controlled Substance, charges. His bond was set at just over $2,866.

And, a Malvern man was arrested late Friday night in Mills County. 34-year old Dayton Ernest Tuper faces a charge of Simple Assault.  His bond was set at $300.