A program pertaining to Human Trafficking will be held this Sunday (June 3rd), in Villisca. The Southwest District United Methodist Women and Villisca UM Church are hosting the program, which runs from 2:30-to 4:30-p.m. Sunday, at the Villisca United Methodist Church.

Paul Yates, executive director, and Megan Johnson, street outreach director, of “I’ve Got a Name,” in Lincoln, Neb., will share their knowledge of sex trafficking and how we can recognize it and help. Their program will help attendees:

·      Find out what sex trafficking is, how it begins and where it may exist.

·      Understand that sex trafficking exists in our communities throughout Iowa and Nebraska.

·      Discover how they can make a difference in the lives of those who are vulnerable to or who suffer through sex slavery.

“I’ve Got a Name” stands against sex trafficking through generating awareness, advocating, and financial support of those who fight injustice within our communities. I’ve Got a Name uses a faith-based approach to empower those who rescue, restore, and protect those who cannot protect themselves.

The program is open to the public and free of charge. All are welcome to attend and learn more about this growing problem across the country.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Following the abrupt departure of one leading candidate, the five remaining Democrats running for governor are scrambling in the final days before Iowa’s June 5 primary. Candidates are working to win over supporters of state Sen. Nate Boulton, who suspended his campaign after the Des Moines Register reported last week that three women allege he touched them inappropriately years ago. If no candidate receives at least 35 percent of the vote, the nomination would be decided at a state convention.

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) — Officials and volunteers in eastern Iowa have opened a park on a former vacant lot with hopes of increasing habitat for bees, butterflies and other insects and demonstrating the importance of such efforts. The Muscatine Journal reports that the Pollinator Park opened in Muscatine May 19. A founding member of the nonprofit Pollinator Park Project group says they hope to attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other flying insects with the plants.

DECORAH, Iowa (AP) — A group that keeps an eye on the eagle population in Iowa says two eaglets at a nest in Decorah have died. Television station KCRG reports that a pathogen carried by blackflies, coupled with recent high heat and humidity, led to the baby birds’ deaths. The Raptor Resource project says the birds were hatched on May 18 and May 20, considered late for eagles.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Trial has been set later this summer for a Texas man shot by a Council Bluffs officer after allegedly leading police on a chase and ramming police vehicles. The Daily Nonpareil reports that a preliminary hearing was held Friday for 28-year-old Clifton Wade, of Zavalla, Texas. Wade is charged with two counts of attempted murder of a peace officer, assault on an officer and other counts for the May 1 incident. Wade’s arraignment has been set for June 25, and his trial is set for July 31.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Faced with an increasing shortage of workers, Idaho dairies are investing in robotic milkers. John Paetz, regional manager of Lely North America, headquartered in Pella, Iowa, says “The interest in robotic milking in Idaho is growing quite rapidly.” The company has robots installed in three Idaho dairies now, with two more scheduled to come online in July and two more scheduled for later in the year or early next.

In robotic milking, the cow decides when she wants to be milked and goes to the robotic milker. While she enjoys a snack such as a high-energy pellet, a laser-controlled device finds her teats, cleans them and dries them, then attaches and milks. When she’s done, the robot detaches and the cow wanders off. All without human intervention.

Paetz says “Larger dairies, where they’re employing 20 people, can see a big benefit initially. We’re not in the business of displacing labor, but you can do the same job with less labor.” Idaho has been behind the curve in implementing robotic milking, partly because Lely, one of the major vendors, has been migrating its marketing across the country after starting in western Europe and then heading to Canada and the East Coast. “We just started looking at the western region in the last five or six years,” Paetz said. “We don’t want our infantry to outrun our lines of support.” Across the U.S., robots are now being used in 5 percent or fewer of the dairies, he said. “But it’s accelerating.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Following the abrupt departure of one leading candidate, the five remaining Democrats running for governor are scrambling in the final days before Iowa’s June 5 primary.

Candidates are working to win over supporters of state Sen. Nate Boulton, who suspended his campaign after the Des Moines Register reported last week that three women allege he touched them inappropriately years ago.

Polls have indicated retired businessman Fred Hubbell is leading the race, and Boulton’s departure could help him top the 35 percent mark required for the nomination. If no candidate reaches that threshold, the nomination would be decided at a state convention.

The other candidates are union leader Cathy Glasson, physician Andy McGuire, party activist John Norris and former Iowa City mayor Ross Wilburn.

The nominee will face Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds.

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) — Officials and volunteers in eastern Iowa have opened a park on a former vacant lot with hopes of increasing habitat for bees, butterflies and other insects and demonstrating the importance of such efforts. The Pollinator Park opened in Muscatine May 19. Volunteers planted new plants during the ceremony.

The nonprofit hopes to attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other flying insects with the plants. Volunteers from Nature Conservancy of Iowa, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Muscatine County Conservation Board and City of Muscatine helped with the project. Bridgestone Bandag donated most of the seeds, which are all native species, and Muscatine Community College donated the greenhouse.

Pollinator Park will take up to four years to be fully developed. It will also feature benches, a pathway and signage to explain how an active prairie is sustained.

There were several reports of pavement buckling and blowing-up in southwest Iowa, Saturday, due to the combination of extreme heat and humidity. A section of Interstate 80 buckled in Cass County between Exits 64 and 70, forcing traffic to be rerouted for a time. More than a couple of vehicles were damaged by driving over the uplifted section of pavement. In Fremont County, a section of 250th Street blew out near 290th Avenue, west of Riverton. And, there were reports of a road buckling near Treynor. Transportation officials in Minnesota and Wisconsin were warning motorists of similar, dangerous road conditions, Saturday.

Example of Pavement blow-up incident

Pavement buckles are most common when the weather quickly goes from cool to very hot, causing pavement to expand. This can cause concrete slabs of pavement to push against each other, and if the pressure becomes great enough the pavement can buckle. With weather conditions expected to be extreme again today, be cautious if you plan on traveling, and anticipate the unexpected (Such as a sudden change in pavement conditions). Keep your eyes on the road, scanning ahead for obstructions, and a firm grip on the steering wheel.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:15 a.m. CDT

DECORAH, Iowa (AP) — A group that keeps an eye on the eagle population in Iowa says two eaglets at a nest in Decorah have died. Television station KCRG reports that a pathogen carried by blackflies, coupled with recent high heat and humidity, led to the baby birds’ deaths. The Raptor Resource project says the birds were hatched on May 18 and May 20, considered late for eagles.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Trial has been set later this summer for a Texas man shot by a Council Bluffs officer after allegedly leading police on a chase and ramming police vehicles. The Daily Nonpareil reports that a preliminary hearing was held Friday for 28-year-old Clifton Wade, of Zavalla, Texas. Wade is charged with two counts of attempted murder of a peace officer, assault on an officer and other counts for the May 1 incident. Wade’s arraignment has been set for June 25, and his trial is set for July 31.

FAIRBANK, Iowa (AP) — After losing an extended legal battle, a company is refusing to remove three wind turbines in northeast Iowa and is asking a court to reconsider a 2016 order and allow the structures to remain. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the Mason Wind, Dante Wind 6, Venus Wind 4 and Galileo Wind have also filed a new zoning application seeking a variance from Fayette County’s board of adjustment which would legalize the existing project.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — With summer heat already ratcheting up in Iowa, organizations in the state are preparing to help keep low-income families cool. In Des Moines, IMPACT Community Action Partnership and the Des Moines Fire Department are collecting new fans to distribute to low-income families within the city who do not have working fans or air conditioning in their homes. In Cedar Rapids, the Salvation Army will begin taking phone calls on Tuesday to schedule an appointment to receive a box fan.

DECORAH, Iowa (AP) — A group that keeps an eye on the eagle population in Iowa says two eaglets at a nest in Decorah have died. Television station KCRG reports that a pathogen carried by blackflies, coupled with recent high heat and humidity, led to the baby birds’ deaths. The Raptor Resource project — a nonprofit organization that runs the popular webcam trained on the nest — says the birds were hatched on May 18 and May 20, considered late for eagles.

The Memorial Day Holiday weekend has started off being deadly on Iowa roads, with two fatal accidents Saturday morning. The Iowa State Patrol reports in south central Iowa’s Marion County, a 22-year old woman died in a head-on crash between her van and a semi tractor-trailer on Highway 5/92, near Knoxville. The accident happened at around 7-a.m.

Authorities say Malloree Beth Murphy, of Pleasantville, was driving the 2005 Chrysler Town & Country van eastbound in the westbound lane of the highway near mile marker 615, at the same time a 2009 Polaris semi driven by 71-year old Ernest John Smith, of Knoxville, was traveling westbound. The accident remains under investigation.

About an hour later, a 42-year old woman died and an eight-year old male child was injured, during a crash in southeast Iowa’s Jefferson County. The Patrol says Wendy Le Ann Courtney, of Ottumwa, was southbound on County Road H-43 at around 8-a.m., when her 2006 Chrysler Town & Country van entered the east ditch, hit an embankment and vaulted into the air before rolling over and coming to rest on its top in the east ditch. Courtney died at the scene. The eight-year old boy was transported to University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics by air ambulance. The accident remains under investigation.

FAIRBANK, Iowa (AP) — After losing an extended legal battle, a company is refusing to remove three wind turbines in northeast Iowa and is asking a court to reconsider a 2016 order and allow the structures to remain. The Mason Wind, Dante Wind 6, Venus Wind 4 and Galileo Wind have also filed a new zoning application seeking a variance from Fayette County’s board of adjustment which would legalize the existing project, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported .

Opponents of the turbines are asking the Fayette County District Court to find the companies and county zoning officials in contempt of court for failing to remove them already. Fairbank and group private owners sued in 2015 after zoning officials declared the turbines didn’t require special permit approval. Mason Wind and the other firms unsuccessfully appealed the 2016 decision, which was reaffirmed earlier this month when the Iowa Supreme Court let the original ruling stand.

Company attorneys have requested to reconsider the district court decision, contending the order is too harsh given the circumstances and noting the companies have an avenue to legalize them through a zoning process. “Because the turbines’ owners relied in good faith on certificates of zoning compliance issued by the Fayette County zoning administrator and engaged in no wrongdoing, it would be fundamentally unfair to require the turbines be removed,” the companies said in a May 17 court filing.

But attorneys for the city argued the companies continued building the turbines despite the pending lawsuit and failed to post a $450,000 bond to remove the structures as required by the court. They said the companies should be held in contempt for disregarding the court’s authority.

A hearing is scheduled for June 11 on the contempt issue and the application for a county zoning variance is expected to go to the board of adjustment soon.