DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A Texas man accused of helping a former lottery official in Iowa attempt to collect fixed lottery ticket jackpots has lost an appeal of his extradition to Iowa but continues to fight. Robert Clark Rhodes, of Sugar Land, Texas, was charged last year in Iowa with fraud. A Texas judge ruled Iowa may extradite Rhodes, and a state appeals court on March 8 agreed. On Wednesday, Rhodes asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest appellate court, to review the case.

Iowa prosecutors say Rhodes helped Eddie Tipton attempt to cash a 2010 Hot Lotto ticket for which Tipton fixed the numbers and was convicted of fraud. Tipton faces another trial in July for allegedly fixing lotteries in other states including Wisconsin, where Rhodes claimed a 2007 jackpot.

A half-dozen cars from a Union Pacific freight train derailed about 4:30 this (Friday) morning in the Wright County community of Eagle Grove. Calli Hite, spokeswoman for the Omaha-based railroad, says the cause of the derailment is still unclear. “We’re investigating to really understand what happened there,” Hite says. “We had six cars that derailed, a couple are on their side and a couple are still upright. There were no injuries to the crew or to the public, so we’re focused on cleaning up the derailment and figuring out what happened.”

Eagle Grove police and fire departments are on the scene along with a hazmat team from Fort Dodge. Hite says the track should reopen soon. “The expectation is to have normal operations resumed in the area by this afternoon,” she says. “Occasionally, cleanup takes a bit longer, but we can clear the track and start moving trains through the area while we clean up any commodity or anything that is occuring outside of the railroad line.”

The cars that derailed were oil tankers. They were reportedly empty and there are no reports of anything spilled.

(Radio Iowa)

The state unemployment rate moved up two-tenths of a percent in February to three-point-seven percent. Iowa Workforce Development spokesperson Courtney Greene, says it has been a long time since the rate went up. “This is the first increase since 2009, and it’s not surprising given the number of recent layoff announcements over recent months. The silver lining for workers experiencing layoffs is, they are finding employment,” Greene says.

The unemployment rate is the same as it was one year ago in February. Greene says almost all segments of the Iowa economy scaled in the month, with the private sector losing five-thousand jobs. “Government was down 12-hundred jobs due to a decline in local government. Private sector losses were largest in leisure and hospitality this month — down 31-hundred — and accommodations and food services experienced most of the decline. Although the loss was large, it is the first since July for this super sector,” Green says. “In addition, professional and business services trended down for the fourth consecutive month, fueled by losses in administrative and support services.”

The Workforce Development report says education and health services added 22-hundred jobs this month and has been steadily climbing due to the demand for health care services. The only other major sector to add jobs this month was financial activities — up 500 jobs in February. Greene says there are more Iowans working compared to last year, despite the February increase in the unemployment rate.

“You know, the number of Iowans working increased to one-million-651-thousand-100 in February, up 19-hundred from January, and we are still up 13-thousand-700 jobs from a year ago,” Greene says. The U-S unemployment rate remained at four-point-nine percent in February.

(Radio Iowa)

Sheriff’s officials in Harrison County say a man from Nebraska was arrested earlier this week on assault and animal abuse charges. Nicki Wayne Busby, of Columbus, NE., was arrested Tuesday following an investigation into a reported domestic disturbance that allegedly took place west of Missouri Valley.

Busby was subsequently arrested on charges that include aggravated domestic assault, interference with official acts, and animal abuse. A search warrant executed later at his property resulted in two guns being taken as evidence.

The campus for the state’s second-oldest educational institution may be adapted for a new mission. The Iowa Braille and Sight-Saving School began operations in Vinton 154 years ago, but blind and visually-impaired students no longer live on the campus. Instructors now rotate around the state to work with students in their home school districts. The AmeriCorps program has been using facilities on the campus, but Board of Regents president Bruce Rastetter says since the whole campus is not being “fully utilized,” there are discussions about what’s next.

“We’ve been in visits with the community because there are other uses for it, to make sure that campus stays intact,” Rastetter says. The main building on the Vinton campus was damaged by a tornado in 2011, but has been repaired. In 2012, the Mary Ingalls Society was founded to highlight the school’s connection to the family depicted in the eight popular “Little House” books.

Mary Ingalls — the blind sister of author Laura Ingalls Wilder — attended the Vinton school in the 1880s. The Laura Ingalls Wilder home in Missouri is a tourist site and a “National Historic Landmark.” Vinton residents are hoping to boost tourism in the town by highlighting Mary Ingalls’s connection to Vinton.

(Radio Iowa)

A committee in the Iowa House is considering a bill that would require parental permission for students to attend an annual statewide conference for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. Representative Greg Heartsill, a Republican from Columbia, says the bill would require parental permission slips for ANY conference or seminar where “human growth and development information is provided.”

“It’s just giving parents more opportunity to make an informed decision on whether or not they want their kids to participate in subject matter that can be very sensitive,” Heartsill says. Heartsill has been leading a House Government Oversight Committee investigation of complaints about inappropriate content at the annual conference for L-G-B-T-Q youth.

“If it’s not on school time, you know, that’s a different matter,” Heartsills ays. “But this is on school time and parents should be given information on what’s being presented.” Critics say the bill is unnecessary because schools already get parental permission slips for student trips to the conference. Other say the bill could prevent some kids from attending the conference and finding support from other students who are bullied because they’re different.

(Radio Iowa)

An event that brought historic military vehicles and their enthusiasts to Atlantic last year, is back for the second year in a row. Steve Livengood is the founder of the Ba-Da-Ba-Da Bing Bang Military Vehicle Rally, that takes place this year May 21^st, which, not coincidentally, is Armed Forces Day. Livengood said it’s being brought back because it was a success last year, even though Mother Nature tried to put a damper on attendance by the owner/operators of the vintage equipment.

The assortment of vehicles and equipment will be available for you to see, touch and maybe even ride in. Over 20 vintage military vehicles will be on display that the owners have spent a lot of time and money acquiring and restoring to their original condition. Livengood says other similar rallies are being held throughout the country this summer, but you’d have to drive quite a ways to participate in those events.

Others will be held on May 21^st in Findley, OH., the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, in Maryland [May12-14], one in Iola, WI. [August 13-14], and another in Arizona. The event in Arizona takes place this weekend (March 26-27).

Livengood says the collection in Atlantic is expected to include many different types of vehicles and military equipment. They’ll be on display in the Armory parking lot between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on May 21st. Afterward, there’ll be a cruise for those vehicles and their operators, and an ice cream social in the Wal-Mart parking lot before they head back to the Armory.

Look for additional details to be released later. If you have any questions, call Steve Livengood at 712-243-5445.