The governor’s office late Friday afternoon revealed details about MORE cuts in the present year’s state budget. The spending reduction plan legislators approved a few weeks ago directed the governor’s budget director to make another 11-and-a-half MILLION dollars in cuts on his own. That plan calls for community colleges to pare another one-point-seven MILLION dollars in spending between now and June 30th.

The University of Iowa must cut one-point-two MILLION dollars deeper. Iowa State University must cut nearly a MILLION and the University of Northern Iowa about HALF a million.

The state’s prison system will be required to make another quarter-of-a-million dollar cut and the Highway Patrol will have to cut its budget by more than a HALF million dollars.

(Radio Iowa)

One person died and two others were injured during a crash Friday evening in southeast Iowa’s Mahaska County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a passenger in the vehicle, 52-year old James Lee Franciskovic, of West Burlington, IA, who was not wearing a seat belt, died at the scene. The driver of the vehicle, 35-year old Carrie Ellen Falcon, and another passenger, 25-year old Shane Yorel McCampbell, both of Burlington, IA, were injured and transported by Pella EMS to the hospital in Pella. Both had been wearing their seat belts.

The Patrol says the three were in a 2004 Chevy truck that was traveling west on Highway 163 at around 6:10-p.m., Friday, when the vehicle went out of control on the snow covered road. The pickup entered the north ditch near mile marker 46 and came to rest on its top. Franciskovic was ejected from the vehicle and died from his injuries.

The accident remains under investigation.

A teenage back seat passenger in a vehicle that was on the shoulder of Interstate 80 died Friday evening, when the vehicle she was in was hit from behind. The Iowa State Patrol says 17-year old Angel Martinez, of Medina, OH, who was not wearing a seat belt, died at the scene of the crash that took place at around 6:25-p.m. on eastbound I-80 near mile marker 23, in Pottawattamie County.

Authorities say a 2016 Kia Sportage driven by 52-year old Karen Marchbanks, of Wilmington, NC, was eastbound on I-80 approaching the 22.7 mile marker. A 2005 Honda Civic, operated by 36-year old Fabian Prado, of Brunswick, OH, was parked on the right shoulder near the same location, when the Kia entered the shoulder of the road and struck the Honda from behind.

Both vehicles sustained heavy damage during the collision.  Prado, who was wearing his seat belt, was injured in the crash and transported by Underwood Rescue to Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:00 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A budget aide to Gov. Terry Branstad has released details about $11.5 million in cuts that will help close a mid-year budget shortfall. The Iowa Legislature earlier passed a budget bill with roughly $117 million in cuts. David Roederer, with the Iowa Department of Management, indicated at the time that $11.5 million of that amount would come from unspecified cuts. He’s now disclosing that includes an extra $2.7 million in cuts to Iowa’s public universities and $1.7 million to community colleges.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska State Patrol says all lanes of Interstate 80 have reopened after being closed earlier Friday because of blizzard-like conditions. A slow-moving storm dropped more than 2 feet of snow in parts of western Nebraska as it moves east through Iowa. A winter weather advisory remained in effect late Friday afternoon for east-central Nebraska and parts of western Iowa into northeastern Iowa. A blizzard warning remained in effect for a portion of northwestern and northern Iowa.

BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — A man shot by an officer during a standoff at a Bettendorf store has pleaded not guilty to several charges. Court records say 19-year-old Joshua Price filed the written pleas Thursday to kidnapping, burglary and assault. Authorities say Price had taken the store manager hostage on Dec. 19 after ordering him to evacuate the store. Authorities say Price was carrying only an airsoft gun that looked like a deadly handgun.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A civil liberties group is taking up the case of a central Iowa transgender high school student who was ordered to wash “love trumps hate” written on his arm or be sent home. The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa says the incident happened in November at Newton High School. The ACLU says a teacher also repeatedly referred to the student as “girl,” even though he openly identifies as male.