A 39-year old Council Bluffs Police Officer was injured, and another person died, when a vehicle struck the officer’s cruiser as he was handling traffic control Saturday afternoon. According to Bluffs’ Police, Officer Josh Horner, a seven-year veteran of Council Bluffs, was conducting traffic control on southbound Interstate 29 near 25th Street at around 3:30-p.m., when his vehicle was rear-ended. The officer was transported to the Creighton Hospital Emergency Room for treatment. The driver of the vehicle that struck his car was transported to Nebraska Medicine, where he died.

The name of the victim had not been released as of late Saturday evening. The accident is being investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Department Traffic Unit.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A number of car crashes were reported in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa Saturday as snow fell in the area. KETV reports police had to close major roads in Omaha and Council Bluffs Saturday afternoon, because of car crashes involving multiple vehicles. The National Weather Service says one or two inches of snow is expected in the area.

In Omaha, police shut down several lanes of northbound U.S. Highway 75 near Interstate 80 after a crash. Serious injuries were reported in the crash, but details of those injuries weren’t immediately available. Across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, a crash on southbound Interstate 29 blocked the highway between the exits for North 25th Street and North 16th Street.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — According to KCCI-TV, fire destroyed an Iowa horse barn, killing one of the horses, while another remained unaccounted for as of late Saturday evening. Another stallion was being treated at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. The building is owned by Tim and Libby Hott, and Melinda Antisdel. The 8,000-square-foot building is considered a total loss.

The Des Moines Register says the fire was reported Friday evening in Madison County. West Des Moines Fire Chief Mike Whitsell says crews couldn’t do much initially because there are no hydrants in the area near the Maffitt Lake Equestrian Center.

Whitsell says the barn was already collapsing when firefighters arrived. The flames were visible roughly 10 miles away. About 30 horses were housed in the barn. Whitsell said they were being rescued when firefighters arrived and some had fled the barn on their own. More than 100 volunteers helped search for the horses that ran down Maffitt Lake Road.

PELLA, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Wal-Mart where three people died after a pickup truck crashed into the store plans to reopen on Sunday. Wal-Mart company spokesman Charles Crowson told The Des Moines Register that the store in Pella, Iowa, would reopen at 7 a.m. Sunday. Authorities have said the Thursday morning crash appears to have been unintentional.

The crash killed two store employees: 31-year-old Carrie Zugg, of Leighton, and 29-year-old Lindsey Rietveld, of Bussey. Seventy-six-year-old customer Ruth Jean DeJong, of Pella, also died. DeJong’s husband, 77-year-old Robert DeJong, was injured in the crash and remained hospitalized Saturday.

Iowa State Patrol spokesman Sgt. Nathan Ludwig said Saturday that the truck’s driver, 66-year-old Dennis Mockenhaupt, of Knoxville, Iowa, had been released from the hospital after his injuries were treated.