Seven people were injured as a result of two separate accidents involving a total of 9 vehicles Friday evening, in Pottawattamie County. Both crashes occurred just hours apart, near a construction zone. The first accident took place on I-80 eastbound, about two-miles east of Shelby, at around 4:15-p.m. It involved four semi tractor-trailers and three other vehicles.

The Iowa State Patrol says the driver of one of the semi’s, 64-year old David Nyhus, of Arena, WI, was seriously injured in the crash and flown by LifeNet helicopter to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha., where he was listed in serious condition. Two other people were injured, including an eight-year old child, who was a passenger in a 2007 Toyota Camry, driven by 32-year old Jessica Cook, of Winthrop, Iowa. The other person injured was identified as 47-year old Jeffrey Vondeaxplette, of Moreno Valley, CA. Both were transported by ambulance to the Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan.The drivers of the other vehicles were not injured. The crash resulted in the eastbound lanes of I-80 being closed for more than five-hours, with traffic being diverted through Avoca.

The Patrol says traffic was stopped due to heavy traffic merging into one lane because of the construction ahead of them. The semi driven by Nyhus was traveling eastbound in the right lane, and for reasons unknown, failed to stop with the traffic ahead. The semi swerved to the right and hit Cook’s Camry in the rear. The car was shoved forward into a 2011 Ford Fiesta, driven by 27-year old James Paul,of Columbus, NE. Paul was not injured in the crash. The semi continued down the eastbound shoulder of I-80, where it hit a semi driven by 60-year old Thomas Kuster, of Madrid, a 2005 Ford F-250 pickup, driven by 31-year old Jacob Zech, of Omaha, and a 2007 Volvo semi, driven by 38-year old Slatcho Gueirguiev, of Prospect Heights, IL. After Nyhus’ semi pushed the Volvo semi into a 2011 International semi, driven by Vondeaxplette, the Volvo rolled onto its left side.

The accident remains under investigation, with charges pending.

The second accident happened less than one-half mile away from the first, in the westbound lane of I-80, at around 8:15-p.m. The State Patrol says four children, ranging from eighth-months to 6-years of age, all of whom were from Omaha, were injured, when the 2002 Chrysler van they were in was rear-ended by a semi. The children were transported by Shelby Rescue to Myrtue Hospital. Officials say the accident occurred as the van, driven by 27-year old Rachel Foster, of Omaha, was traveling in the right lane of I-80 westbound, and was slowing for traffic in front of her. The van was hit from behind by a 2006 Freightliner semi, being driven by 28-year old Steven Daubs, of Robinson, IL.

No injuries were reported following a crash between a semi and a van Friday evening on Interstate 80 westbound near Neola, in Pottawattamie County. The Iowa State Patrol says a 2010 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Van driven by 59-year old Marvin Wendel, of Jackson, WY, was traveling west in the left lane at the same time a 2008 Kenworth semi driven by 56-year old Raymond Pratt, of Harrison, MI was attempting to pass him, in the right lane. The semi crossed the divided line and came into contact with the van near mile marker 27. No dollar amount of damage was listed in the Patrol’s report, which also did not indicate if there were any citations issued.

Dozens of western Iowans and eastern Nebraskans who sold gold coins and jewelry at a traveling antique show earlier this month are learning the checks bounced. The Treasure Hunters Roadshow bought tens of thousands of dollars in merchandise during the show in the Missouri River town of Nebraska City, Nebraska, on July 3rd through the 7th. Warren Myers, who hosted the event, says the company told him it would reimburse the customers. Myers says: “They told us, ‘Hey, everybody’s getting paid. You guys don’t have to worry about it. Just send us their information and we’ll cut ’em a check. We’re going to give them what we owe them and a little something extra for their time and for their bank fees.'”

Officials now say thousands of bad checks were written to employees, vendors and customers nationwide. The Roadshow is owned by T-H-R Associates, based in Springfield, Illinois. At the Nebraska City show, reports say the company wrote 94 checks, totaling more than 37-thousand dollars. Amounts ranged from 15-dollars to more than 19-thousand dollars. Myer says he left the Roadshow after the Nebraska City show. He says the company stopped doing shows in June due to financial issues, but started again recently. “The week after Nebraska City, the company sent out an email to all employees and told them to shut the shows down and go home,” Myer says. “The owner, Jeff Parsons, put a ‘stop payment’ on all checks from employees to venders to media.”

To those people who sold their gold and other heirlooms to the company’s “appraisers,” he has some advice. Myer says, “One of the things they can do, give all those bad checks to the state Attorney General’s office, let them build a case, have an arrest warrant out for them and make them come back to Nebraska City and answer all these charges.” The Otoe County (Nebraska) Prosecuting Attorney’s office is taking complaints in the case at (402) 873-9044. You can also contact the Consumer Fraud Bureau of the Illinois Attorney General’s office at 800-243-0618. Nebraska City is about 45 miles south of Omaha and is just across the Missouri River from the Iowa towns of Sidney and Hamburg.

(Radio Iowa)

Three people, including an infant, were injured during a single-vehicle, rollover accident this (Friday) morning, in western Iowa’s Monona County. The Iowa State Patrol reports the accident happened as a 2000 GMC Jimmy was traveling north on Interstate 29 near Whiting, at around 7:15-a.m. Officials say for reasons unknown, the SUVwent off the shoulder and overcorrected, causing it to roll through the median, before coming to rest on its wheels in the southbound lanes.

The driver of the SUV, Tiffany Lucas, of Jefferson City, MO, and a front seat passenger, Derek Vining, also of Jefferson City, were ejected during the crash. Lucas was transported by Mercy Air Care helicopter to Mercy Hospital in Sioux City. Vining, and an infant in the vehicle, were transported by Burgess Ambulance, to the same hospital.

The accident remains under investigation.

Police in Harlan are investigating two incidents of theft which were reported Thursday. Officials say officers were called to a residence on Durant Street, in reference to items taken from a home. The owner claimed two guitars, two i-Pods and cash were taken. The loss was estimated at between 5-and 6-thousand dollars. The H-PD is also investigating the theft of a 1997 Buick from a residence in Harlan. The car was later located in a ditch by Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputies.

Atlantic Community School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein received word of the Iowa Supreme Court decision regarding the release of school district employee records from the district’s attorney this (Friday) morning. Amstein said he was amazed by the lengthy reasons given by the dissenting judges, but overall, he was happy with the end result. He told KJAN NEWS “The school district is pleased with the decision, and it affirms our contention that those records were confidential and exempt to the open records law. Amstein said “It was good to see that the majority of the Court felt that way, too.” 

Amstein said he hopes this puts an end to the controversy.  He says their attorney has informed the district the ACLU could ask for a “re-hearing,” but that rarely happens. Amstein says it’s time for the district to “move on.” Amstein said even if a second hearing is not heard by the state’s high court, the case will not be forgotten. He says “You never want to be remembered in the history books (for a case such as this), but when it comes to Case Law, we probably will.”

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that information regarding disciplinary action against two Atlantic School District employees is exempt from disclosure under the Iowa Code. The High Court’s decision upheld an earlier district court ruling allowing school officials to refrain from releasing information requested by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU sought information under Iowa’s open records law after two district employees were disciplined for conducting a strip search of five female students in an attempt to locate $100 reported missing by another student in 2009.

Read the complete Iowa Supreme Court decision and the opinions expressed by the justices, on this link:

http://www.iowacourtsonline.org/Supreme_Court/Recent_Opinions/20120727/10-0898.pdf

The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling blocking the release of information on how officials at Atlantic High School were disciplined after conducting a strip search on female students in August of 2009. The Iowa A-C-L-U sued seeking to find out the punishment given the two school employees involved in the case. The Iowa Supreme Court Friday (today) upheld the lower court ruling 4-3, saying the punishment information was part of the school employees personnel record and exempt from the state Open Records Act. Three justices dissented in the case, including Chief Justice Mark Cady, who said the majority opinion takes “a step backward from the new age of open government in this state.” Cady said while the legislature understands that confidentiality is needed in some aspects of government work, the facts of this case reveal a substantial public justification for disclosure of the requested information.

A-C-L-U executive director, Ben Stone, says the case is important beyond the impact it has on Atlantic. “We are disappointed, it was a close decision 4-3 with Chief Justice Cady and two of Governor Branstad’s appointees with us in the dissent. You know this case really raises a phenomenal public interest in the right to know,” Stone says. Justices Waterman and Mansfield joined Cady in the dissent. Stone says his organization was very specific in what they sought. “The school district announced the names of the two employees and said that they would be disciplined. And all we were seeking was what was the nature of that discipline. We weren’t looking for an entire performance record,” Stone says. “And the Atlantic School District refused to turn that over and the Supreme Court has agreed with that conclusion and so now the people of Atlantic will probably never know what was done to stand up for the privacy and integrity of those girls. And that’s very disappointing.”

The majority of justices said there was not a need to balance the public’s need to know, with the right to privacy of the individuals. Stone argued the other side and was supported by the dissent. “Chief Justice Cady really lays it out in the dissent, that we’ve been using a balancing test for 30 years and the majority opinion really denies that reality. Because when you are determining…whether or not something is personal in the language of the statute, you have to determine that by the context. And the context in essence is a balancing test,” according to Stone. The dissent also says in essence that transparency in government “will surely be thwarted” by those in government who say matters are related to personnel issues in an effort to keep them from being scrutinized by the public.

Stone says the A-C-L-U will seek to have the legislature change the law to keep that from happening. “The 4-3 decision is a disappointment, but we’re not done,” Stone says. “We’re gonna do what we can to try to see to it where incidents like this where really outrageous and indefensible conduct by public employees is disciplined by the institution, that the public will be able to find out — in certain circumstances — what that type of discipline was.” The strip search of the girls in a locker room came after a fellow student reported 100 dollars had been stolen from her purse. The money was not found and the district later announced the strip search was against school policy. The district paid 300-thousand dollars to settle a lawsuit filed by the families of three girls who were subject to the strip search.Atlantic assistant principal/activities director Paul Croghan one of the two employees identified by the district as being involved. Croghan later resigned from the district. The other employee was identified as Heather Turpen.

(Radio Iowa)

For a compete viewing of today’s Iowa Supreme Court ruling, click on this link:

http://www.iowacourtsonline.org/Supreme_Court/Recent_Opinions/20120727/11-0095.pdf

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – An uncle of the missing Iowa cousins is recovering in a hospital following an apparent drug overdose. Wylma Cook says her 32-year-old son Jeremiah Cook was in stable condition Friday at Allen Hospital in Waterloo after the overdose Thursday night. She says he’s expected to be OK. 

Wylma Cook says the disappearance of 10-year-old Lyric Cook and 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins has “taken a toll” on Jeremiah, who was having trouble sleeping and eating. She says he has no children but was very close to his nieces, considering them his “prized possessions.”  The girls vanished after leaving for a bike ride July 13 in Evansdale.  Cook says her son hadn’t taken methamphetamine, cocaine or marijuana, but she declined to say what caused the overdose.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Six people are arrested and more than 210,000 packets of synthetic drugs seized in six Midwestern states as part of a nationwide crackdown. The Drug Enforcement Administration on Thursday announced results of Operation Log Jam, targeting synthetic drugs like so-called “bath salts” and fake marijuana, items commonly sold at head shops and some convenience stores and often targeted at teenagers. The DEA says nearly 100 people nationwide were arrested and more than 5 million packets seized.
 
James Shroba of the DEA office in St. Louis says synthetic drugs are a growing problem around the nation, including the six states his office covers – South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and southern Illinois.  He says the crackdown sends a message to manufacturers and sellers that law enforcement is coming after them.