BURNSVILLE, MN (October 24, 2016) – As Halloween approaches, AAA – The Auto Club Group reminds parents to be extra careful if their children will be trick-or-treating on neighborhood streets.  Halloween can be a safe and enjoyable time for everyone if motorists are on watch for costumed children who may dart out between parked cars.

“Drivers should be especially careful when pulling in or out of driveways and realize that the normal residential speeds are way too fast when the night is full of excited children moving from house to house” said Amy Stracke, Executive Director, Auto Club Group Traffic Safety Foundation.  “A safe Halloween necessitates seeing others and being seen.”

To help make this a safer Halloween, AAA offers some reminders:

Motorists:

• Reduce any distractions inside your car, such as talking on the phone or with other passengers, so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings.
• Drive slower through neighborhoods.Driving five miles per hour slower than the posted speed limit will give you extra time to react to children who dart out in front of you.
• Watch for children walking on roadways, medians and curbs.  In dark costumes, they will be harder to see at night.
• Turn on your headlights to make yourself more visible – even in the daylight.
• Drive sober. Nearly 40 percent of fatal crashes on Halloween night involve a drunk driver.
•  Always designate a sober driver if you plan to drink any alcohol.  Visit www.PreventDUI.AAA.com   to learn more.

Parents:

• Walk with your children as they go door to door while trick-or-treating. Be sure to show them safe places to cross the street.
• Ensure an adult or older, responsible youth is available to supervise children under age 12.
• Buckle up. If driving trick-or-treaters between neighborhoods, always use appropriate car/booster seats and have children exit and enter on the passenger side of the vehicle.
• Have children carry a glow stick or flashlight to help them see and be seen by drivers.
• Prevent trips and falls by picking a costume that is the right size and doesn’t block vision.

Trick-or-Treaters:

• Cross the street and corners using traffic signals and crosswalks.
• Look both ways between crossing and keep an eye on the road while you are crossing.
• Always walk facing traffic if there are no sidewalks available and stay as far to the left as possible.
• Wear light-colored clothing or costumes with reflective material or tape for the best visibility.
• Consider using nontoxic face paint instead of masks to avoid obstructing vision.
• Stay in familiar neighborhoods.Only visit homes that have the porch light on and never go into a stranger’s house.
• Always have an adult check your treats before you eat. Discard anything that looks like it has been unwrapped or altered.

For additional tips to keep Halloween safe, visit http://exchange.aaa.com/safety/child-safety/halloween-safety.

A southwest Iowa teen was injured Wednesday afternoon during a rollover accident in Union County. The Sheriff’s Office reports 15-year old Cole Michael Nelson, of Shannon City, was transported by ambulance to the hospital in Creston for treatment of unknown/possible injuries. The crash happened at around 3:45-p.m. Wednesday, on 205th Street.

Officials say Nelson was driving a 2004 Ford pickup westbound when he fell asleep at the wheel. After the truck crossed the center line, Nelson over-corrected, causing the vehicle to go out of control and enter the north ditch, where it rolled once and came to rest on its tires.

The pickup sustained $5,000 damage. No citations were issued.

The Audubon County Emergency Management Agency reports the Audubon County Engineer’s office was forced to immediately close a bridge in the 1900 block of 220th Street, following an inspection that determined the bridge was unsafe. The bridge is located just east of Highway 71 on 220th Street (just east of Agriland FS), in Audubon County.

The closure will be in effect until plans can be made to make repairs. Persons living in the 1900 and 2000 blocks of 220th Street who normally access their properties from the west, will only be able to do so using 215th Street and Lark Avenue from the north and east, or Highway 44 and Kingbird Avenue from the south and east. Addresses in the 2200 and 2300 blocks of Kingbird Avenue will have to be accessed by Highway 44.

Police, Fire and Ambulance services should plan alternate routes for emergency response to nearby residents. If you have any questions, call the Audubon County Engineer’s Office at 712-563-4286.

Changes now give the parents of prospective and current college students more time to file the information for the  Free Application for Federal Student Aid  or FAFSA. Iowa College Aid spokesperson, Elizabeth Sedrel says “The FAFSA is really the gate toward any financial aid that you might get for college. It’s required for the Pell Grant, for some federal loans and even for about half of the state grants and scholarships that are available in Iowa,” Sedrel says. “So this is your first step. If you are looking to get help paying for college, FAFSA needs to be the first thing you that you do.

The filing window opened at the start of this month and Sedrel says you should get it done as soon as you can. She says if you fill it out now you won’t be rushed to get it done before the holidays, and she says for many colleges the deadline to apply for financial aid is March 1st. In the past you had to wait to file FAFSA until January 1st, and you needed current tax information “Now with the window opening earlier, they are letting you use what they call prior, prior year taxes,” Sedrel says. That means you can use your 2015 tax information to file.

Some students may think their parents make too much money for them to qualify for any aid.  Sedrel says that shouldn’t keep them from filing. “Everyone should file. No one should assume that they are not going to qualify for aid. Something like 85 percent of the people who file find out that they are eligible for some kind of aid to pay for college,” Sedrel says. “And it doesn’t cost anything to file the FAFSA, and for most people it takes under a half hour — so you are really out nothing if you should turn out to be in that very small minority who doesn’t get any aid. But for most people it turns out to be worth it.”

She says go to FAFSA-dot-gov (FAFSA.gov) to file and if you have questions or want some tips,  you can go to the Iowa College Aid website at Iowa-College-Aid-dot-gov (iowacollegeaid.gov).   New and returning college students need to file. Sedrel says you have to file FAFSA for every year in which you hope to get aid to help pay for college.   Sedrel says FAFSA is free just like the name says and you should avoid any websites that want to charge you to file.

(Radio Iowa)