Hillary Clinton campaigned in Omaha late Monday afternoon, vowing to push for an upgrade to the nation’s electrical grid if she’s elected president — to better distribute the power generated by wind turbines. “I know because I’ve seen them in the crowd. There are a few people from Iowa here today and your neighbor Iowa is already getting one-third of its energy from clean energy, primarily wind energy,” Clinton said. Clinton says the wind industry is part of a “diverse economic development” strategy that keeps small town America going.

“They’re also giving farmers extra income for hosting the turbines on their farm and they are taking abandoned factories and actually assembling the wind turbines, putting people to work in Iowa to produce the energy in Iowa,” Clinton said, to cheers. Clinton is calling for more federal investment in the nation’s aging infrastructure, like electric transmission lines, as well as bridges, roads and water treatment systems.

Clinton spoke to a crowd at Omaha North High School late Monday afternoon, then attended a private fundraiser. It was held at the home of Susie Buffett, the daughter of investment guru Warren Buffet.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 2:40 a.m. CDT

NEVADA, Iowa (AP) — A bus driver charged in the hit-and-run death of an Iowa State University student has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge. KCCI-TV reports 23-year-old Benjamin Clague, of Gilbert, pleaded guilty Monday to failure to report a crash. Prosecutors will recommend he serve 30 days in jail and pay a $100 fine. Police arrested Clague more than a month after Iowa State student Emmalee Jacobs was found in the middle of a street bordering campus. She died at a hospital.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Machinery located at three oil pipeline construction sites in central Iowa has been extensively damaged by fire. Jasper County Sheriff John Halferty says it appears the fires were intentionally set along the Dakota Access pipeline.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad says he’s meeting with Iowa groups this summer to float around a new proposal to fund water quality initiatives in the state, but it’s unclear if he’ll have backing in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Branstad told reporters Monday he’s traveling Iowa to meet farmers, educators and community leaders to pitch a plan that would use some money typically designated for school infrastructure to pay for water improvement.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The executive editor of The Des Moines Register has been promoted to a new position with Gannett. The Register announced Monday that Amalie Nash, its executive editor and vice president for news and engagement, has been named Gannett’s west region executive editor. The Register is owned by Gannett, a media company based in McLean, Virginia. In her new role, Nash will oversee about 50 news organizations in the Midwest and West.

Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley will hold town meetings in Shelby, Harrison and Guthrie counties on August 10-11, 2016, as part of his annual 99 county meetings.  His office says “With these meetings, Grassley will continue his long-standing practice of holding meetings with Iowans in every one of Iowa’s 99 counties every year. Grassley has held a meeting in every county, every year since he was first elected to serve in the U.S. Senate. His question-and-answer sessions are open topic and cover whatever subjects those attending choose to raise.”

Grassley’s town meeting schedule for Wednesday, August 10, and Thursday, August 11, is as follows:

Shelby County

Wednesday, August 10, 2016: 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m., Shelby County Farm Bureau (908 6th Street), Harlan.

Harrison County

Wednesday, August 10, 2016: 2:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m., Main Street Station ( 303 Walker Street), Woodbine. 

Guthrie County

Thursday, August 11, 2016: 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m., Guthrie County Hospital – Conference Room 710 (North 12th Street), Guthrie Center.

An Iowa State University graduate is paving the way as a new type of designer in the auto industry. Adam Carlson from Davenport graduated from Iowa State with dual degrees in mechanical engineering and industrial design, which earned him the nickname of “Purple Squirrel” when he went to work at Ford Motor Company. “A purple squirrel is actually an H-R term to basically let management know that they are looking for something that is very hard to find,” Nelson says. He says the nickname was as unusual, but he knows why he got it.

“It was very hard to find somebody with an industrial design as well as mechanical engineering, so the nickname stuck. At this point they just call me Adam, it’s understood what I do, but it was quite the nickname to have right from the git go,” Nelson says. He says the work involved in dual degrees may be a reason why there aren’t more people like him.

“I think a lot of it is education, both degrees are each a four-year degree,” according to Nelson. “And it is very hard to find somebody who does both the technical side of the engineering as well as the aesthetic side of the design. So, it is utilizing both sides of the brain– both right and left.” Nelson says there also seems to be a tendency to have people focus on just one area of expertise.

“Yeah, I think we definitely pigeonhole individuals into a certain field,” Nelson says. “…For me it was something that I didn’t want, I wanted to do both. I wanted sketch and draw and create, as well as to actually understand the mechanical principles. To actually bring a product to life.” Nelson says knowing mechanical issues can help you create something on the design side quicker with less mistakes that have to be redone. For example, if a certain angle looks good on a car, but you know mechanically it may create more drag and higher gas mileage, you can change it early on.

“In the automotive industry prototypes are incredibly expensive. Usually you go to market and the first round of prototypes you use hard tooling, and if you make a mistake somewhere along the way and you have to throw out millions of dollars of tools for production, that gets incredibly expensive,” Nelson explains. While he may be a purple squirrel now, Nelson says there will be more and more openings for people who have the same skills.

“What we’re finding, is that we need more people who have an understanding of the virtual world and drawing up shapes, but also people can talk the language of engineering and communicate well. And it may not just be between design and engineering, but it also may be between design and business or engineering and business,” Nelson says. Nelson is 24-years-old and his work involves designing and building to deal with wind noise in cars.

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Council Bluffs are investigating the armed robbery of a convenience store. Authorities say at around 1:26-p.m. today (Monday), officers with the Council Bluffs Police Department responded to the Shell Speedy Mart (at 3624 9th Avenue) for an armed robbery at the business. The suspect had fled the area prior to the arrival of officers. A cashier at the business told officers that the suspect entered the business and pointed a handgun at him stating “Give me the money”.

The suspect fled with an undetermined amount cash belonging to the business. The suspect is described as a Black male 5’8” to 6’0” tall, approximately 250 lbs., estimated to be in his mid-twenties and wearing dark clothing. This case remains under investigation by the Council Bluffs Police Department.

Anyone having any information about the robbery is encouraged to contact the Criminal Investigations Division at (712) 328-4728 or Crime Stoppers at (712) 328-7867

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad says he’s meeting with Iowa groups this summer to discuss a new proposal to fund water quality initiatives in the state, but it’s unclear if he’ll have backing in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Branstad told reporters Monday he’s traveling Iowa to meet farmers, educators and community leaders to pitch a plan that would use some money typically designated for school infrastructure to pay for water improvement.

The idea is similar to a funding proposal that didn’t pass during the legislative session. The new plan would use a different funding formula and go into effect later. Branstad was vague about whether he has support in the Democratic-led Senate, where leaders haven’t commented on the plan. Branstad noted he may have more success if Republicans take control of the chamber.