The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Decatur County was arrested Sunday afternoon for Operating a vehicle with expired license plates. 21-year old Joseph Tyler Johnson, of Decatur, was also arrested for Driving While Suspended, with two withdrawals in effect. He was taken into custody at around 2-p.m. and bonded out of jail the same day.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Almost 20 Democratic presidential candidates are gathering in Iowa Sunday in an effort to demonstrate early support in the kick-off caucus state. In what amounts to an afternoon-long political talent show, 18 of the 24 declared Democratic hopefuls are scheduled to speak at the Iowa Democratic Party’s annual summer fundraiser.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, who leads in polls of Iowa Democrats, is not attending, giving the event the look of an audition for the national and Iowa frontrunner’s key challengers.

Some candidates who have been traveling to Iowa for months, such as Sens. Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren, are planning for a strong showing of backers outside the convention center in Cedar Rapids in hopes of projecting momentum eight months ahead of the 2020 caucuses.

AUBURN, Neb. (AP) — Some residents are unhappy that Interstate 29 across the bloated Missouri River in Iowa is closed again due to flooding, sending more drivers through their small Nebraska town than ever before. College student Maggie Kreifels says U.S. Highway 75, which passes straight through Auburn, Nebraska, is busier and its drivers more impatient.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that other residents complain that drivers, including semis, eager to avoid 75 are clogging up residential streets. Not everyone is unhappy. Business owners welcome the extra passing trade.

Evan Lindsey, the general manager of a Pizza Hut branch, says business is flourishing and he’s encouraging his staff to enjoy meeting new people in the restaurant. He says his staff recognizes that more customers mean more tips.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency is facing an unexpected challenge in meeting the needs of the many people affected by this spring’s widespread flooding and violent storms: a strong economy.

Tasked with responding to natural disasters that seem ever more frequent and destructive, the agency finds itself further challenged by the robust job market and an inability to match what the private sector can offer, in many cases.

FEMA officials are turning for help to retirees, recent college graduates and those who lost their jobs to the disasters, though they’re finding few available workers in many of the rural communities that are in some of the hardest-hit areas.

In no place is that clearer than Nebraska and Iowa, which were ravaged by floods and have some of the nation’s lowest unemployment rates.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports a woman from Union County was arrested at around 12:11-a.m. today (Sunday), following a traffic stop near Highway’s 34 and 25. During an investigation, the K9 “Baxo” was deployed and alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle.

A search resulted in the arrest of the driver, Jessica Shadley, of Creston, on a Possession of a Controlled Substance charge. She was also cited for not having insurance.

(Update 2:14-a.m.) Both Clarinda Academy students who walked away from the facility earlier this morning have been apprehended & returned to the facility.

************** Original story follows:

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reported at around 1:17-a.m. Sunday, that “At approximately 12:00 a.m. Sunday, June 9th two students walked away from the Clarinda Academy. Both students are white males, no additional description. Law Enforcement personnel & Clarinda Academy staff are searching for the students now.”

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reported at around 1:17-a.m. Sunday, that “At approximately 12:00 a.m. Sunday, June 9th two students walked away from the Clarinda Academy. Both students are white males, no additional description. Law Enforcement personnel & Clarinda Academy staff are searching for the students now.”

One person was said to have been injured and transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic, Saturday, following a rollover accident one-quarter of a mile east of Wiota on Highway 83. The accident was reported at around 4:21-p.m.

According to dispatch reports, a pickup was apparently passing another vehicle..possibly a tractor…when the vehicle went out of control and rolled into the ditch and landed on its wheels.

The male driver was transported to CCMH after he extricated himself from the pickup. Anita Rescue and Wiota 1st Responders responded to the scene. No other details were immediately available.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Democrat Pete Buttigieg, who hopes to become the first openly gay presidential nominee from a major political party, said at an LGBTQ event in Des Moines, Saturdays that activists must band together to deny President Donald Trump a second term. “We’ve got a lot to worry about, a lot to fight for, but we have the means to do it,” he said. The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, stressed the need for people to vote and to become involved in politics.

Speaking before an audience gathered for LGBTQ pride festivities in front of the Iowa statehouse, Buttigieg accused the Trump administration of lacking a clear answer about whether people can be fired from their job for being gay.

In a 2017 Supreme Court case brought by a man who said he was fired from his job when he revealed he was gay, the Justice Department argued that federal protections did not cover sexual orientation. But the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a brief supporting the plaintiff in the case.

Buttigieg also railed against policies by the department of State and Health and Human Services that he said prevent same-sex couples from adopting children internationally, and prevent transgender Americans from getting health care.

Seven other candidates planned to speak at the event in the capital. On Friday night, Buttigieg attended a dinner honoring Matthew Shepard, the young gay man whose brutal 1998 beating and murder heightened national awareness on the issue of gay rights, and New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was behind the bar at a gay bar.

CHARLES CITY, Iowa (AP) — Officials at a chicken processing plant in northeastern Iowa announced the plant will close in August, taking 500 jobs with it. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that the Simply Essentials chicken processing plant in Charles City closes on Aug. 5.

Employees were told Thursday in a letter that 479 plant workers, 22 administrators and 12 field operations workers would be laid off. The letter says the layoffs are expected to be permanent.

Simply Essentials has been in business since 2013, with a primary focus on health and wellness foods. It bought the Charles City plant in 2016. The Iowa Economic Development Authority Board awarded the company $1 million in investment tax credits and $66,000 through a refund of sales and other taxes paid during construction.