Iowa motorists are reminded harvest time is underway and drivers should be prepared to encounter combines and other large farm equipment on the road. Chuck Schwab, a safety specialist with Iowa State University Extension, says rear end collisions are among the most common crashes involving farm machinery. “Motor vehicles go at a much higher rate of speed than agricultural equipment, so you have this fast closing distance and rear end collisions are very prominent if you’re not prepared to stop,” Schwab says.

When attempting to pass farm machinery, Schwab urges motorists to be patient and make sure they know the farm equipment won’t be turning left. “You need to make sure you’re in line and know that they’re not turning left, watch for the signals and the movement of equipment before you make that pass,” Schwab says.

In addition to roadway collisions, Schwab says the most common type of farm vehicle related accidents include roll-overs involving tractors, lawnmowers, and all terrain vehicles.

(Radio Iowa)

An Iowa high school’s homecoming queen shared her crown with a classmate late last week and by Sunday night video of the kind gesture had been viewed nearly 200-thousand times on the internet. During a school assembly on Thursday, Katie Gassman was crowned the homecoming queen for Wayne Community Schools in Corydon. Gassman had passed a note to the adults in charge of the ceremony and asked that it be read if she won. The teacher who read it choked back emotion as she told the crowd what that note said.

“Tonight I would like to share my crown with the girl who always has a smile on her face and has overcome so many hardships,” the woman said. That girl is Chelsea Sloan, who has Down Syndrome, kidney problems and arthritis — and she was part of the queen’s court, too. Chelsea’s mother was the one videotaping the scene and you can hear her surprised AND pleased reaction to the announcement. The crowd in Corydon cheered as Chelsea stood between her school’s homecoming king and queen and posed for pictures, with the crown on her head.

(Radio Iowa)

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

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Council Bluffs working to upgrade its levees before homeowners are forced to pay higher premiums for flood insurance. City officials say the levees are being upgraded because of the 2011 flood along the Missouri River that lasted for months, but the levees must be certified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) — Iowa authorities say 29-year-old woman fatally wounded in shooting Sunday morning in Keokuk. The state Division of Criminal Investigation is looking into the woman’s death. The woman was found in an alley shortly after midnight Sunday morning.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Christian college in northwest Iowa to begin offering vocational programs to fill gap in its offerings. Dordt College officials say they decided to add the program after noticing how many students graduating from Christian high schools were enrolling on vocational programs at other colleges.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Former Iowa State running back Troy Davis arrested on suspicion of public intoxication roughly 14 hours after being honored at the Cyclones’ game against Baylor on Saturday. Iowa State University Police say Davis refused to take a sobriety test when officers contacted him early Sunday morning. Davis will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame later this year.

Audubon County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Jensen reports 350th Street will be closed for about 65 working days, effective Monday, Oct. 3rd, for a bridge replacement project. The bridge is located just west of the 2900 block of 350th Street, between Swift and Thrush Avenues, on the south side of Audubon Township Section 35…on the Audubon/Cass County line.

For emergency responders: The residence at 2951 350th Street will only be accessible from the east. Plan alternate routes for emergency response to nearby residents. If you have any questions, call the Audubon County Engineer at 712-563-4286.

Two Council Bluffs men were arrested Sunday morning on 1st Degree Robbery charges following the alleged robbery of a 16-year old male. Authorities say at around 5:30-a.m., Officers with the Council Bluffs Police Department responded to Jennie Edmundson Hospital Emergency Room for a subject later identified as 18-year old Darrel Thompson, of Council Bluffs, who was receiving treatment for what appeared to be possible stab wounds.

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In his possession officers located a wallet that did not belong to Thompson. Officers contacted the owner of the wallet, a juvenile, who reported being the victim of a Robbery that occurred in Valley View Park. The juvenile had multiple lacerations and abrasions primarily to the area of the head and face and later he received treatment at Mercy Hospital. He told officers that while at the park with the suspects, the suspects “Jumped him” knocking him to the ground and assaulting him.

While on the ground being beaten by the suspects he grabbed a knife from his pocket and began swinging at the suspects attempting to protect himself. The juvenile also told officers that the suspects took the knife from him. The juvenile told officers the suspects were armed with a handgun and threatened to “Kill him” while holding the gun to his face. The second suspect, 18-year old Jesse Shipley, of Council Bluffs, was identified when he was brought to Jennie Edmundson Hospital for treatment of injuries that he received during the incident. All parties involved were treated and released from the Hospital.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Christian college in northwest Iowa is starting a new vocational program that will prepare students for work while giving them a foundation in their faith. Dordt College President Erik Hoekstra told the Sioux City Journal the new two-year Pro-Tech program will fill a gap in Christian education offerings in the area.

The new program will enroll as many as 40 students next fall and offer them a combination of Christian education and vocational training. Hoekstra says he believes there’s a need for such a program because of the number of students graduating from Christian high schools who might want a two-year vocational degree but didn’t have a Christian option.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Council Bluffs officials are working to strengthen the levees protecting the western Iowa city before homeowners are forced to pay higher premiums for flood insurance. The Daily Nonpareil reports the city wants to complete the levee projects before the Federal Emergency Management Agency updates its flood maps sometime in the next several years.

Council Bluffs Mayor Matt Walsh says the city is racing to get the levee system upgraded and certified before the flood maps are redrawn. Council Bluffs is working to improve its levees because of the massive 2011 flood where water levels along the Missouri River remained high for months.

All of the city’s levees must be certified by FEMA. If they aren’t, then homeowners will have to pay significantly higher flood insurance premiums.

A man who swerved to miss a deer Saturday night in Montgomery County, was transported to the hospital after he lost control of his pickup and hit a utility pole. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says 26-year old Monroe Casey Watson Peterson, of rural Villisca, was westbound on 220th Street at around 10:50-p.m., when he veered for the deer. Peterson’s 1993 Chevt K-1500 pickup entered the south ditch and hit a power pole. Peterson was transported by Stanton Rescue to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries to his head.

Early this (Sunday) morning, authorities in Montgomery County arrested Peterson at 106 W. Coolbaugh Street in Red Oak. Peterson was charged with OWI/1st offense, and was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1.000 bond.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A jury has found a Minnesota man guilty of sexually abusing a young boy in northwest Iowa’s Woodbury County. The Sioux City Journal reports 23-year-old Joshua Kobold, of Ruthton, Minnesota, was found guilty Thursday of second-degree sexual abuse following a two-day trial in Woodbury County District Court. He is set to be sentenced Nov. 4.

Prosecutors say Kobold forced the boy, who was younger than 12, to perform sex acts at homes in Sergeant Bluff and Salix in 2013 and 2014. The victim’s mother reported the abuse, and Kobold denied the allegations and moved to Minnesota. He was arrested after another young witness came forward to corroborate the abuse.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Storm Lake, Iowa, man has been arrested and charged in the alcohol-related death of a Storm Lake teenager. The Sioux City Journal reports 24-year-old Marcelino Antonio Flores was arrested Thursday and charged with contributing alcohol to a minor resulting in death, a felony.

Storm Lake police and the Buena Vista County Medical Examiner’s Office have been investigating the death last month of 19-year-old Mark Anthony De Lira, of Storm Lake. De Lira was found dead at a home on Sept. 25. Police say De Lira’s death is related to excessive consumption of alcohol.

Flores remained in the Buena Vista County jail on Saturday.