The Atlantic Police Department says no injuries were reported following two separate accidents Thursday. The first occurred at around 10:40-a.m. at 3rd and Linn Streets. Officials say a vehicle driven by Carroll Bouchard, of Atlantic, was traveling east on 3rd Street, and a vehicle driven by Kathryn Jones, of Atlantic, was stopped at Linn, facing south. Police say Jones made a left turn onto 3rd Street, and hit the Bouchard vehicle, causing $1,500 damage altogether. Jones was cited for Failure to Yield upon entering a through highway or street.

The second accident happened at around 1:30-p.m. Thursday, in the 300 block of 2nd Street. The A-PD says a vehicle owned by George Evans, of Atlantic, was parked at the Nishna Valley Credit Union and had begun backing out onto 2nd Street. A 3rd, non-contact vehicle was blocking the view for both Evans, and Robert Nichols, of Brayton, who struck Evans’ vehicle, causing a total of $7,000 damage. No citations were issued.

The Iowa Department of Transportation is announcing that its popular “IA Driver Test” app, a practice test for the real written exam that applicants must take to get their driver’s license, is now available online for all web users. With the addition of the desktop/laptop version, the test is now available for most electronic communication including iPads, Android devices, Kindle Fire devices and personal computers.

The web practice test generates 25 questions, randomly chosen from a larger group of sample questions from the real knowledge test given at any Iowa driver’s license station or county treasurer’s office. Users can repeat the test as often as they like; each test generates a new set of 25 questions. The web version also tracks a user’s high scores and includes a pass/fail indicator.

The practice test, whether online or on a mobile device, is not just for teens. It’s great for experienced drivers as well. Take the quiz just for fun, as a family, with friends, or as a refresher to see if you are as smart as a 14 year old – the youngest age in which someone in Iowa can get an instruction permit to drive.

To find all versions of the Iowa DOT’s driver test, go to http://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/ods/iadrivertest.html, or search your device store for “IA DOT driver test.” Don’t be fooled by imitation apps that may be unreliable and possibly charge a fee. The official Iowa DOT test is free and will appear with the words “Iowa DOT” on the icon.

(Updated 9:44-a.m.)

Several law enforcement agencies converged on a location in southern Cass County late last night. According Sheriff Darby McLaren, the incident involving a man with a gun began at around 10:45-p.m, near 660^th and Yankton Road, northeast of Grant.

McLaren says a man making threats to his own life went to a bridge about 5-miles east of Highway 71 on Yankton Road, and began firing rounds from a weapon. Law enforcement was notified. Responding agencies included the Adair, Adams, Cass and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Offices, Iowa State Patrol, and Able 1 helicopter. The man eventually surrendered to authorities and was taken into custody without further incident. He was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic for evaluation.

The incident ended at around 12:04-a.m. at the man’s nearby residence. No injuries were reported. McLaren said alcohol may have played a role in the incident. He says also, that no charges will be filed.

w/ Ric Hanson

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IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in eastern Iowa have arrested a western Iowa woman they say intentionally set a fire that injured a firefighter more than two years ago. Iowa City police arrested 25-year-old Nicole Kramer, of Carter Lake, on Wednesday. She is charged with first-degree arson.

A structure fire in January 2011 burned the hands of a firefighter trying to contain the damage. Authorities later determined that the fire was intentionally set with gasoline. Officials did not release details about the investigation, or how they linked Kramer.

Kramer was taken to the Johnson County Jail.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s unemployment rate in June remained unchanged from the previous month at 4.6 percent. A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report shows the rate remained the same despite the state adding 6,500 jobs. It’s still an improvement from the same period last year, when Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.3 percent and the state had 24,800 less jobs.

The Des Moines Register reports the industries of construction, leisure and hospitality added 2,600 jobs in June. Professional and business services also added 1,900 jobs in the same period. Education, health services and government each lost 1,700 jobs in June.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa State Patrol is praising a trooper who responded to a house fire while he was driving Governor Terry Branstad. The patrol said yesterday that trooper Greg Steffen was driving Branstad to Des Moines after an event Wednesday in Eddyville, when they passed through Monroe on Highway 163. Steffen noticed black smoke, couldn’t tell where it was coming from and decided to investigate, eventually finding a house engulfed in flames. An elderly resident had escaped the fire with multiple burns.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Governor Terry Branstad is seeking a presidential disaster declaration for 10 Iowa counties that were hit by severe storms and flooding in June. Branstad says he signed a letter yesterday for President Barack Obama seeking the declaration for the counties of Allamakee, Benton, Buchanan, Butler, Cedar, Clayton, Delaware, Howard, Jones and Winneshiek.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican Senators and potential presidential candidates Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of Texas are set to address evangelical pastors today in Des Moines. The 50-year-old Paul is the son of retired Texas Congressman Ron Paul who finished third in Iowa’s 2012 caucuses.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Matt Chapman had an RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning to give Team USA a 2-1 victory over Cuba last night in an international exhibition. The matchup in Des Moines was the opener of a five-game series between Cuba and a team of American college stars.

Authorities in Pottawattamie County say a Council Bluffs woman who allegedly abused her special needs stepson and deprived him of food and bathroom facilities, has posted bond and was released from jail.  46-year old Rebecca S. Beyer posted 10-percent (or ($10,000) of her $100,000 bond. Her trial is set for Sept. 17th.

The woman was placed on pre-trial release, and was ordered to have no contact with the victim, Joshua Gorda, whose father, 41-year old James Beyer Jr., and Beyer’s son, 23-year old Ryan Matthew Smith, are also accused in the case.

Beyer, Jr., posted bond on July 3rd, and has entered a written plea of not guilty to charges of kidnapping in the 1st degree, and felony willful injury. Smith also posted bond on Thursday, and has plead not guilty to a charge of kidnapping in the 1st degree.

A teenager from Hancock was crowned Queen of the East Pottawattamie County Fair, Thursday evening, in Avoca. 17-year old Sophie Kock moves on to represent East Pott. at the Iowa State Fair, which runs from August 8th through the 18th, in Des Moines.

18-year old Breanna Kixmiller, of Walnut, earned the first runner-up honors, with 17-year old Hannah Constable, of Shelby, being named second runner-up. 17-year old Brittany Kay won the title of Miss Congeniality, while 16-year old Jessica Butcher won the Miss Leadership award. Both Constable and Kay are from Avoca.

And, with the exception of Kixmiller, who will be a senior this fall at the Atlantic High School, each of the other girls attend the AHST High School in Avoca,