Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

In an effort to ensure Iowa’s road are as safe as possible for motorists during the week leading up to Thanksgiving, law enforcement agencies across the State will be participating in another special Traffic Enforcement Program (sTEP). Officers with local police departments, deputy sheriffs, state troopers and DOT officers, will be encouraging everyone to buckle-up, and be watching out for impaired drivers. They’ll also be looking closely for other moving violations. It all takes place November 19th through the 25th.

Although 92% of Iowa motorists are using safety belts during the daytime hours, there is plenty of those who aren’t especially in the rural communities.   Patrick Hoye, Bureau Chief of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau continues to stress the importance of buckling up during the daytime hours and especially at night. Hoye says “Seat belts save lives and that is the bottom line.”  As of November 1^st with over 37% of this year’s 299 fatalities having been determined not to have been wearing seat belts, the answer he says is clear, that buckling up increases your odds in surviving a major crash.

During the last August-September sTEP wave, Iowa officers confronted 2,358 seat belt violations, 847 impaired drivers, 13,443 speeding violations, and a total of over 34,335 contacts with traffic violators.  Vehicle assistance was given to 1,980 motorists and 419 arrest warrants were served.  The next sTEP wave is scheduled for March 14-17, 2013.

A program designed to make sure every child in Clarinda receives a gift on Christmas Day begins next week. According to Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers, next Monday, November 19th, the Clarinda Police Department and Clarinda E-911 Communications Center will begin “Operation Blessing 2012.”  Children may be signed up for involvement in the program by calling the Clarinda Police Department at 712-542-2194. A Clarinda E-911 Communications Center Operator will take the child’s name, age, sex, and address and request two gift requests per child. Names of children can be submitted beginning Monday, November 19, 2012 and will be accepted through Thursday, December 20th 2012. All information concerning the child is kept strictly confidential.

Persons wishing to make a charitable contribution to Operation Blessing 2012 may either donate cash or purchase a requested gift item. Gifts purchased can be dropped off at the Clarinda Police Department along with a note indicating the sex and age of the child the gift is for. Please leave the gift unwrapped. Cash contributions can be dropped off at the Clarinda Police Department or mailed to the Clarinda Police Department, 200 South 15th Street, Clarinda, Iowa 51632. Cash contributions will be used by the Clarinda Police Department to purchase gifts for the children.

Families will be contacted by the Clarinda Police Department when the gift items are ready to be picked up.

As Cow calf and feedlot operators continue to deal with issues related to the drought this past summer, ISU Extension and the Iowa Beef Center have been and will continue to offer a series of educational opportunities to address these issues. On Tuesday, November 27th, Cass County Extension will host the meeting “Drought – A Game Changer for Beef Operations- Strategies to Move Forward”. The meeting will be held at the Cass County Community Center from 6:30 to 9:00 PM.

Extension Beef Field Specialist Chris Clark says “These fall meetings will focus on managing feed costs and alternative feeds for winter feeding of the cow herd or feedlot. Developing feeding programs that utilize available feeds and keep feed costs in check is the goal.”  With corn costs relatively high, producers are searching for ways to reduce corn use but still maintain performance. Chemically treating lower quality forages and supplementing the forage or drought stressed corn silage will be a part of the discussion as well.

A situation update on beef outlook, current beef supply and demand, and feed price outlook will also be provided by Lee Schulz, ISU Extension Livestock Economist via a recorded presentation. A short update on precipitation outlook from Dr. Elwynn Taylor will be shared via a recorded presentation as well. The meetings will also give an introduction to planning for the next year and beyond for beef producers and highlight factors producers should be considering. Additional meetings are being considered for later in the winter.

Topics for the meetings will be determined as the weather and economic situation develop. There will be a $10 per person fee for this meeting to cover refreshments and other costs. Pre-registration is encouraged but not required. Contact the Cass County Extension office to register by calling (712) 243-1132 or emailing xcass@iastate.edu. Contact your local extension office, regional beef field specialist, or the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association for more information. Additional dates and locations are scheduled in Southwest Iowa earlier in November. More information on those can be found on the Iowa Beef Center website, www.iowabeefcenter.org, or by calling the Cass County Extension Office.

LAKE CITY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a house fire in west central Iowa has killed four people. The fire in Lake City started sometime before 1:45 a.m. Tuesday and was discovered by a police officer on patrol.  The state fire marshal’s office says three children and one adult were killed.

Lake City Police Chief Bobby Rist says one of his officers noticed smoke coming from the south edge of town. The officer followed the smoke to the house and found it ablaze.  Rist says the smoke and flames prevented the officer from getting into the house.

Investigators say the fire is not considered suspicious, but the cause is being investigated. Lake City is a town of about 1,700 residents that sits about 75 miles northwest of Des Moines.

A Griswold man was arrested last week on a Mills County warrant charging him with Burglary in the 3rd degree. Sheriff’s officials in Mills County say 29-year old David Allan Minard was taken into custody in Cass County at around 9:35-a.m. Nov. 7th. His bond was set at $10,000.

Last Thursday, Mills County authorities arrested 52-year old Randall Alan Ross, Sr., of Glenwood, on a charge of OWI/1st Offense. Ross was brought to the Mills County Jail. On Saturday, deputies arrested three individuals: 36-year old Joseph Lee Miller, Jr., of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Driving While Suspended. Bond was set at $300; 36-year old Sean Eugene Hicks, of Emerson, was arrested for Tampering with a Witness. His bond was set at $2,000. And, 24-year old Seth Ryan Peters, of Glenwood, was arrested for OWI/1st Offense and Open Container. Bond was set at $1,300.

On Sunday, 36-year old Micheal Lee Butcher, of Glenwood, was arrested in Mills County on a charge of Disorderly Conduct. Bond was set at $300, and, 29-year old Trevor Wayne Steadman, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for being a Fugitive from Justice, and on a Mills County warrant for Eluding, Criminal Mischief and Interference with Official Acts. He was being held without bond on the fugitive charge, while his bond for the other charges amounted to $25,000.

The City of Harlan’s Streets and Alleys Committee held a public meeting Monday night in the Therkildsen Center to discuss the possibility of changing 6th and 7th Streets to all one-way, from Cyclone Avenue to Chatburn Avenue (Highway 44). The Therkildsen Center filled with over 50 people, including several business owners attending the meeting to give an opinion on the changes. Harlan City Councilman Keith Kaufman said the reason behind the changes was to generate interest from non-local people in coming to the downtown area. City Administrator Terry Cox said there were several concerns from the crowd.

He said “Overall it was the safety of kids, a speed factor with taking the parking off and where the cars will park. Also the snow removal and where cars will park during removal.” Cox said several businesses had their own concerns. A petition was also passed around that was signed by 55 residents against the change to 6th and 7th Streets. Cox says the matter of making 6th and 7th Streets one-way has been brought up several times in the past.

“This was brought up 12 years ago and 8 or 12 years before that. It was brought up as a discussion items to see if there was any improvement to do it back then and now this time.” For now, Cox said no decision will be made. “There will be another streets and alleys meeting to recommend to the council to go further or any changes or they will recommend they will stay the same. That’s where we are at right now.”

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

A bridge over Long Creek in Shelby County is closed for the next five months, while crews work to replace the structure, which is located in the 2100 block of 1500th Street. The site is just east of the intersection of 1500th and Umbrella Road. Shelby County Emergency Management officials urge emergency responders to plan alternate routes to reach residences located in the area. If you have any questions, call the County Engineer’s Office at 712-755-5954.

The director of the C-I-A resigned last week, in part, due to the F-B-I reading his emails and learning of an affair. A longtime critic of the F-B-I, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the whole episode with retired Army General David Petraeus should be a reminder to everyone that our private communications really aren’t likely all that private. “Anything that I put on my iPhone or Blackberry, I guess I just figure it’s all going public,” Grassley says. “I wouldn’t be surprised but what the FBI’s listening in to this phone call. Whether they have a legal right to do it or not, I don’t know. I presume they wouldn’t be doing anything that’s not legal.”

Grassley, a Republican, says the climate of our nation’s capitol has forced him to take a mindset that leans more to the paranoid.  “If the FBI’s not spying on me, probably the Russian embassy and the Chinese embassy is as well,” Grassley says. “Everything you do here in Washington, you’ve just got to consider it’s public.” Under federal law, the F-B-I needs a judge’s approval on a warrant to monitor -recent- communications. Agents only need a prosecutor’s okay, not a judge, to read electronic messages that are at least six months old.

(Radio Iowa)

Two men from Creston were cited Sunday, following a traffic stop in Lenox. According to the Lenox Police Department, an officer stopped a 1996 Chevy Monte Carlo driven by 24-year old Blake Gunter, of Creston. The stop was initiated because the vehicle had expired license plates.

During the stop a passenger in the vehicle, 31-year old Raymond Davis, of Creston, was found to have an open can of beer. Davis was issued a citation for possessing an open container of alcohol. Gunter was cited for having an expired registration. Both men were released after receiving their citations.