COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a western Iowa boy was injured after he was kicked in the face by a horse. The Pottawattamie County sheriff’s office says 2-year-old Maxx Danker, of Minden, was injured Wednesday morning. Officials say the boy followed his father into a pen with a drafting horse. The toddler, who had ducked under the fence, was kicked and received bruises on his neck, face and upper chest area.

Authorities say the boy was taken to Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs. He was alert and responsive. The hospital says Wednesday afternoon that the child was treated and released.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Department of Education officials have notified their federal counterparts that the state will seek a waiver from requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. State officials have criticized the law as being too rigid and argued it relied too heavily on standardized test scores. They also said it’s one-dimensional and doesn’t accurately measure how well schools are  performing. Education Department Director Jason Glass said Iowa officials have developed their own rigorous standards and can implement them in a way that ensures students make progress each year. “We expect our schools to meet high standards, but we need to do it in a reasonable way that focuses on students making strong progress every year,” Glass said Wednesday. “The bar has to be reasonable.” Iowa officials announced details of that plan earlier this month.

Glass noted that federal officials have encouraged states to seek a waiver from the federal law, as long as they develop their own systems for measuring the progress students are making. Glass said the formal waiver request will be filed in February. President Barack Obama’s administration announced in August that states were being encouraged to seek a waiver from the law, which requires states to show that a higher proportion of students are reaching proficiency in math and science.

The plan that Glass announced called for linking teacher pay to performance in the classroom as well as setting new testing standards for students, along with developing other methods of measuring student performance. He said measuring performance of a healthy and active child involves more than a single test score, though testing is part of the measurement.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Pioneer Hi-Bred is expanding its seed research in central Iowa. The company announced plans Wednesday for a new research facility in Dallas Center. The company says in a news release that it will support corn breeding, corn and soybean product testing and help farmers in western and central Iowa, eastern Nebraska and northwest Missouri. Pioneer has had a research location in Dallas Center since 2004. Construction is to begin this month and be finished in the spring.

The new facility is the latest in a series of projects by Pioneer, including a $40 million research facility in Johnston that is expected to create 400 jobs. Pioneer, which is headquartered in Des Moines, is a subsidiary of Wilmington, Del., chemical maker DuPont Co.

The Iowa State Patrol now says two people were injured during a collision involving two semis on Interstate 80 westbound early this (Wednesday) morning, about a mile west of Adair. The accident was reported at around 5:45 a.m.

According to Trooper Ryan DeVault, a westbound semi went of the road near exit 75, entered the south ditch and came back onto the roadway before it rolled onto its side, blocking both westbound lanes of traffic. A second semi approaching the scene crested a hill and collided with the overturned semi.

Both drivers suffered minor injuries. Their names have not yet been released. The accident resulted in the interstate being closed for a little more a little more than three-hours. Traffic was rerouted through Anita while the wreck was being cleared and investigated.

I-680 torn-up by Missouri River Flooding, Summer 2011 (IA-DOT photo)

The Mayor of Omaha, Nebraska says Missouri River flooding that decimated Interstate 680 in western Iowa demonstrates the need to have that stretch of road elevated, to avoid future devastation caused by floodwaters. Jim Suttle, addressing the Iowa Transportation Commission Tuesday, in Council Bluffs, also asked officials to consider doing the same thing for parts of flood-affected Interstate 29.

Suttle said western Iowa relies on Eppley Airfield in Omaha, just as Omaha relies on the Interstate system in Iowa. According to the Omaha-World Herald, Suttle said “Let’s figure out how we can work together so that we can deal with the flooding situations in the future, but also assuring that our transportation system stays in place if we do have another catastrophic event like the flood of 2011.”  Suttle’s remarks were part of the public comment portion of the meeting. No action was taken on his request, and the commission members did not respond during the meeting.

A 3.1-mile stretch of Interstate 680 between Omaha and Crescent, Iowa, was massively damaged during the summer’s Missouri River floods and remains closed. The Interstate runs perpendicular to the flow of the Missouri. Floodwaters undermined the roadway, and caused it to collapse.

Suttle, a civil engineer by training, suggested raising parts of the Interstates to 1 foot above the so-called 100-year flood level, but Commissioner Barry Cleaveland of Council Bluffs, who works in Omaha, expressed skepticism. Cleaveland said it would be cost-prohibitive, to the tune of several billion dollars, at least. .He also didn’t know how high I-680 would have to be raised, in order to meet Suttle’s request.

Omaha television station KETV reported Tuesday, 100 construction workers are on the job 24/7 to repair I-680, and they’re just days away from pouring cement.  The $20 million effort has those crews, working 16 to 24 hour shifts. They’ve already removed hundreds of thousands of tons of damaged interstate.  Peterson Contractors and Reilly Construction started work a week and a half ago, and almost all the torn up freeway has been recycled into the new construction. In fact, work has progressed so well, the westbound lanes of I-680 are nearly ready for paving.  Construction officials say they hope to have traffic flowing again by December 23^rd.

(update 9:17-a.m.) The Iowa Department of Transportation reports Interstate 80 westbound is now open near Adair. Both lanes had closed earlier this morning, due to a crash involving two semis. One person was injured. Additional details are not available at this time. The accident was under investigation by the Iowa State Patrol.

Two people are being held in the Adams County Jail in Corning, following their arrests Tuesday night on unrelated charges. Sheriff’s officials say 34-year old Michael Welling, of Corning, was taken into custody at around 11:15-p.m. on charges of Domestic Abuse, 3rd offense, and Disorderly Conduct. His arrest followed an investigation into a noise complaint at a residence in Corning.  When deputies arrived on the scene, they heard a fight allegedly taking place inside the home at 909 7th Street, Apartment number three. Shortley thereafter, Welling was arrested and brought to the Adams County Jail.

And, 25-year old Elizabeth Ann Holt, of Des Moines, was arrested at around 10:45-p.m. Tuesday, in Woodbury County. Holt was wanted on a warrant for Conspiracy to Commit Felony Forgery, and Identity Theft. She was transported from Woodbury County to Adams County, where she was being held on a $25,000 cash only bond.

w/ Ric Hanson

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WASHINGTON (AP) – Food prices could rise more slowly next year because farmers have a bigger surplus of corn on hand than previously thought. The Department of Agriculture estimates farmers have 206 million more bushels of surplus corn on hand at the start of this year’s harvest. That means farmers will have 866 million bushels of corn on hand at the end of next summer. That’s higher than last month’s forecast of 672 million bushels. The bigger surplus could bring down corn prices, which soared to record levels in June because of limited supplies. Corn is an ingredient in everything from animal feed to cereal to soft drinks. So cheaper corn could ease broader food prices. It takes about six months for corn prices to trickle down to products at the grocery store.

"The Beast" (image courtesy Radio Iowa)

After a full summer of flooding, Interstate 29 reopened last weekend in southwest Iowa, yet repair work is still underway on many miles of other highways and roads. The Missouri River flood caused tens of millions of dollars damage to thoroughfares in the region. Melissa Black, with the Missouri DOT, says there’s a giant hole worn in Route 136 in northwest Missouri, just south of Hamburg, Iowa.   “It’s 480 feet long, which is quite sizeable, and 65 feet deep,” Black says. “That’s a pretty darn big gap in the pavement.”

While it’s not exactly the Grand Canyon, she admits it’s going to take a lot of work to fill in the huge hole, dubbed “The Beast” by construction crews.

Three other large gaps in the highway that were carved out by months of rushing floodwaters have already been repaired. “It will take more than 100-thousand tons of rock to fill that back up to the regular pavement level, which is about what it took to fill the other three gaps,” Black says.

The contract to tackle and fill “The Beast” is worth nearly three-and-a-half million dollars and she says it should take another several weeks to complete. “These other emergency repair projects have been going pretty smoothly,” she says. “The weather’s been cooperating and contractors have been getting done quicker than we were anticipating so we’re hopeful this one will go the same way.” The target date for completion of work on that gap is November 28th. Many roads that were impacted by the flooding closed in June.

(Radio Iowa)