w/ Ric Hanson

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LA VISTA, Neb. (AP) – La Vista, NE, police say a suspected drunken driver ran a red light and hit an unmarked police car that was in the intersection. Police Chief Bob Lausten says the detective involved in Wednesday evening’s crash was taken to a hospital as a precaution. His name has not been released.

The other vehicle rolled after the collision, but Lausten says no one inside was hurt. The driver, 38-year-old Jeff Gundersen of Missouri Valley, Iowa, was arrested on suspicion of DUI and careless driving. His passenger was arrested on an unrelated warrant out of Sarpy County, NE.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – About one-third of the nearly 3,000 Iowa Army National Guard soldiers deployed to Afghanistan are back in the United States and awaiting reunions with their families and friends. One of those soldiers is Griswold resident and Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Johnson.  Sgt. 1st Class Johnson just returned from his second tour of duty in Afghanistan.

The soldiers have returned to Fort McCoy, Wis., with homecoming ceremonies planned over the next month, including those planned for Thursday in Cedar Rapids, Boone and Johnston, where 185 soldiers will be welcomed home.

Guard spokesman Col. Greg Hapgood says about 1,000 soldiers arrived from Afghanistan on Tuesday and Wednesday. He says the rest will arrive over the next 10 days.

The soldiers are spending time at Fort McCoy for debriefing and to turn in weapons and equipment. Soldiers sent to the country comprised the largest single deployment of Iowa National Guard troops since World War II.

w/ Ric Hanson

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The federal government’s Small Business Association is making low-interest loans available for Iowa small businesses affected by last month’s flooding along the Missouri River. The move is designed to help small businesses affected by the flooding to recover financially. But it doesn’t including farms or structural damage.

Thirteen western Iowa counties along the river are included in the declaration. Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, a member of the Small Business Committee, announced the move Wednesday.

Two woman were injured during a crash Wednesday morning in Shelby County. The driver of one of the vehicles, 58-year old Teresa Wageman, of Harlan, was transported to the hospital in Harlan, while the driver of the other vehicle, 17-year old Rachel Ferry, of Kirkman, refused treatment at the scene.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office says the accident happened at around 11:45-a.m., on Highway 59, north of Harlan. Officials say Wageman’s 2007 Chevy Impala and Ferry’s 2001 Ford F-150 pickup were both headed northbound, when Wageman slowed to make a left turn into a residential drive.

Ferry was unable to slow down in time. Her pickup rear-ended the car, causing considerable damage to both vehicles. Rachel Ferry was cited by deputies for failure to stop in a clear and assured distance.

Free music and dancing will once again be featured at the Elks Lodge in Atlantic, on Saturday, July 23rd, with a full stage of local talent performing big band hits. The “Let Freedom Swing” event takes in the Lodge, located at 501 Poplar Street, beginning at 7- p.m.

Event organizer Curtis Ullerich says members of “Popcorn Button” are rested-up from their Winter performances, and ready to entertain the masses. The twenty piece band is comprised of musicians from the Atlantic community and southwest Iowa at-large, with students from Atlantic High School, Iowa State University, and the University of Iowa.

In addition to their standard fare of classic big band hits, Popcorn Button plan to unveil
fresh charts, such as “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Moon River Waltz,” and “Too Fat Polka.” And, local ballroom aficionados Pam and Jake Auerbach will again grace the dance floor with their swinging styling’s and share their gift of smooth moves with any dancers present during the event, in the form of free ballroom lessons from 8- to 8:30-p.m.  The couple will teach interested individuals the waltz, polka, lindy hop, and two step.

Again, “Let Freedom Swing” is a free public event. A free will donation will be accepted at the door to help defray costs of the event. All ages and dancing abilities are invited and encouraged to attend on Saturday, July 23rd at the Elks Lodge in Atlantic.

Popcorn Button recently appeared at the Atlantic All-Class Reunion and will be performing at the First United Presbyterian Church in Atlantic on July 24th as pre-dinner entertainment for RAGBRAI riders. For more information on any of these events, contact Curtis Ullerich at curtisullerich@gmail.com or at 424-242-2878.

Western Iowa Congressman Steve King and Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, his best friend in congress, have unveiled a bill they say will ensure the government would pay the interest on the debt and pay the nation’s active and retired soldiers first if there’s an impasse over the so-called debt ceiling.

“We want to make sure that we keep our promises,” King says. Bachmann has repeatedly vowed to vote against raising the debt ceiling and she accuses President Obama of using “scare tactics” by suggesting there’s no guarantee Social Security checks will be issued in August if congress doesn’t raise the nation’s debt limit.

“We were all shocked and appalled that President Obama dangled out in front of the cameras that senior citizens may not get their checks. That’s a very dangerous statement to make,” Bachmann said. “We don’t believe that for a moment.” The legislation Bachmann and King propose would put institutions that hold U.S. government debt and individuals who hold U.S. Treasury notes at the front of the line to get paid if the government gets in deep financial problems.

“It ensures that we keep our credit and our bond rating by paying and servicing our debts first,” King says. King and Bachmann argue the Social Security Trust Fund has enough money to pay Social Security benefits in August. The two Republicans made their comments Wednesday during a news conference in Washington, D.C.

(O.Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

Two western Iowa women were among seven people injured during a two-vehicle crash today (Wednesday), in Boone County. The Iowa State Patrol says 20-year olds Sarah Conry, of Harlan, and Jacqueline Carlson, of Red Oak, were hurt when the car Conry was driving hit a vehicle that failed to yield from a stop sign and pulled into Conry’s path. The accident happened at around 1:20-p.m., just south of the Boone Municipal Airport.

Officials say the vehicles collided as Conrys 2003 Ford Taurus station wagon was traveling west on Highway 30, and a 1998 Toyota Avalon driven by 26-year old Ashley Sabatka, of Omaha, was traveling south on Snedden Drive.

Sabatka was flown by helicopter to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines following the crash. A passenger in her car, 5-year old Nathan Sabatka, of Omaha, was injured and transported by Boone County Ambulance to Children’s Hospital in Des Moines. Also injured in the crash, was 21-year old Monica Madsen, of Melbourne, 20-year old Rose Koester, of Gladbrook, and 26-year old Amanda Valentin, of Ames.

Madsen was transported by ambulance to Methodist Hospital in Des Moines, while Koester, Valentin and Conry were taken to the Boone County Hospital. Jacqueline Carlson was transported to Mary Greely Hospital in Ames.

All of the crash victims were wearing their seatbelts.

GREENFIELD, Iowa (AP) — A former Adair city clerk and her son have been charged with stealing city funds.

The Iowa attorney general’s office says 63-year-old Linda Nichols and her son, 41-year-old Terry Nichols, a city street department employee, were each charged Monday with first-degree theft and felonious misconduct in office.

There is no attorney listed for them in court records. They appeared in court Monday and were released.

A state auditor’s report in May found $119,000 in questionable spending for the city of Adair from 2007 through 2010.

Prosecutors say the Nichols accepted inflated or unwarranted payments, failed to pay municipal utility bills, used city funds to buy goods for their personal use and falsified public records.

If convicted, they each could face up to 15 years in prison.