There’s a frenetic week of political activity ahead in Iowa. A nationally televised debate among Republican presidential candidates will be held in Iowa on Thursday. At least nine candidates plan to visit the Iowa State Fair on Thursday and Friday. Then, on Saturday, the Iowa Republican Party will hold its Straw Poll. Six candidates have spent campaign cash to participate in the event and, in some cases, literally drive supporters to the Straw Poll voting site in Ames in rented buses. Texas Congressman Ron Paul has said anything less than a third-place finish would be a disappointment. He has suggesting the Straw Poll may be the end of the road for some of his competitors.”Since you get so much attention,” Paul says, “it can make or break some people in campaigning.” Last week, former Godfather’s C-E-O Herman Cain was asked whether he has to win the Straw Poll.

“No, I don’t believe that I have to win the Straw Poll,” Cain said. “But I do believe that I need to finish in the top three.” Other candidates have been downplaying the significance of a top-tier Straw Poll finish. Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has used the term “underdog” to describe her chances.  “Obviously we want to do as well as we possibly can,” Bachmann said Friday during a news conference in Newton. “We’re at a disadvantage in that we’ve only been running and putting our plan in effect for two months here in Iowa. Other candidates have been here two years or more, and so we’ve at a distinct disadvantage from an organizational standpoint, but the response that we’ve had from Iowans has been overwhelming.” Former Minnesota Congressman Tim Pawlenty hasn’t publicly suggested he needs to win the Straw Poll either, but he’s been urging Iowans to select a candidate who does more than give “fiery speeches”, but one who can beat President Obama in 2012.

“Barack Obama is ripe for the picking,” Pawlenty said Friday night in Tiffin. “In fact, I would say, politically, you could just about stick a fork in him because it’s over for him.” Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has taken swipes at some of his Republican competitors, but his most bitter barbs are targeted at the media. “The national media’s missing the boat,” Santorum said during an appearance at a coffee shop in Ankeny. “They’re missing what is really moving things here on the ground when people are exposed to the candidates, where do they end up migrating as opposed to what the experts when they sit there in their ivory towers, choosing who the profile of the right candidate is to beat Barack Obama.” Santorum, Pawlenty, Bachmann and Cain all are campaigning in Iowa today (Monday).

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney arrives in central Iowa in the middle of the week, his second trip to the state this year. Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, a G-O-P presidential candidate who is employing a “skip Iowa” strategy, is due to make his first and likely only Iowa appearance later this week, at the televised debate co-sponsored by the Iowa G-O-P and the FOX News Channel.

(O.Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

HAMBURG, Iowa (AP) – Residents of Hamburg who were ordered in June to flee their homes amid Missouri River flooding are now being allowed to return. Local officials have lifted the mandatory evacuation. The river rose to record levels because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers increased releases from upstream reservoirs to make room for heavy rains and melting snowpack. The corps has started reducing the releases but the river is expected to remain high into fall.

Terry Cooper and his family spent Friday cleaning up their house. Cooper says he’s glad to be back but he’s frustrated that the Federal Emergency Management denied financial help for displaced homeowners. The state is appealing.

Cooper says the government caused the flood, so they should help fix the problems it caused.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a Red Oak man was arrested Friday afternoon. 31-year old William Eric Jones was taken into custody on a charge of Simple Domestic Abuse, following an incident which allegedly occurred in the 300 block of West Washington Avenue, in Red Oak.

Jones was being held in the Montgomery County Jail without bond, pending a court appearance.

A Cumberland woman wanted on a warrant for 1st offense OWI (drug related), turned herself in to authorities late last week. 23-year old Rachel Marie Huggins appeared at the Cass County Jail on Friday. Huggins was seen by the magistrate late that same day, and released on her own recognizance.

The warrant for Huggins was issued following an investigation into a traffic accident June 17th, 2011.

w/ Chris Parks

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An official with USDA Rural Development will be on-hand Sunday afternoon in Red Oak, for the dedication of new parking lot at the Montgomery County Historic Center. Hollie Askey will be in attendance for the 1-p.m. ceremony. The Montgomery County History Center received a $70,000 grant from the USDA to assist with the parking lot project.

The Montgomery County Historical Society was organized in 1945, to help preserve and share the area’s history. It continued to grow over the years, and in 2006, moved into a new 14,000 square foot building

The parking lot project marks the conclusion of the final beautification project at the center.

An official with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources says the Lewis and Clark State Park campground near Onawa, was reopened to campers, Thursday, nearly two months after it was closed as a precaution ahead of the predicted Missouri River flooding.

Kevin Szcodronski, chief of State Parks for the Iowa DNR, says they “Pulled all the electrical breakers, and removed other expensive utilities to try to minimize the impact of the flood waters, but the flood did not come,” so they didn’t have the extensive clean up they initially thought would be necessary, in order to reopen the park.

Szcrodronski says “The campground, lodge and modern restrooms are open with two caveats: for the rest of the recreation season, campsites will be available on a first come basis and several campsites immediately along Blue Lake will remain closed to allow them to further dry out.”

The lodge can be reserved by calling the park office at 712-423-2829. The Lewis and Clark State Park draws on average, about 25,000 campers per year.

Some employees at the Post Office in Council Bluffs are steamed over their working conditions. They contend building officials were purposely turning off the air conditioning during the hottest part of the day, but building maintenance officials say that’s not the case.

Cindy Martinez, acting Postmaster for Council Bluffs says the heating and cooling system in the facility…located at 8 South 6^th Street…is at least 50-years old, and is in need of a major repair or replacement. Building maintenance official James Califf told the Omaha World-Herald there were a couple of incidences when it got uncomfortably humid, but those problems were corrected within 24-hours. Another reason the building could be hot, according to owner Michael Kim, in Seattle, is that the dock area remains open to the heat during the day.

Califf said the air conditioning is turned-off in the evening, and not restarted until the first crews arrive at 2-a.m. The recent heat and humidity wave he says, means the building takes longer to cool after the system is turned-off. Workers say they don’t like entering the hot and humid environment.

One worker said it becomes noticeably hot and humid in the building between 3-and 3:30-p.m.. Other workers say patrons of the Post Office have also mentioned the uncomfortable conditions they encounter, in the lobby.

A heating and cooling contract associated with the building, says it is to be cooled to the mid-70’s. Califf says daily records show the warmest it has been inside the facility, is 80-degrees.

w/ Ric Hanson

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MOVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have released the names of two Iowa brothers who were injured in a “tough truck” competition at the Woodbury County Fair in Moville.

Authorities say the men were in a truck that flew off a jump and landed on its nose. It took 20 minutes to free the two men after the accident Thursday night.

The men were identified as 28-year-old Matthew Andresen, of Hornick, and his brother, 24-year-old Michael Andresen, of Ute.

The Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office says both men were conscious and breathing as they were taken to a hospital. Their conditions aren’t available yet.