Iowa is the first stop for Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson after Thursday night’s FOX News debate. Carson says he’s gotten a “phenomenal” response to his performance. “I think we got our message out, looking at you know what’s happened with Facebook and Twitter and you look at the social media,” Carson says. “Obviously the message got out in a very, very substantial way.”

Carson says the debate has helped him connect with voters on social media. His campaign staff told reporters he’s gotten around 24-thousand new Twitter followers since the end of the debate when he delivered an “off-the-cuff” closing statement that mentioned his surgical career. “You know, a debate stage? You’re not going to really get to know the person that well. Six minutes? I don’t think so,” he says. “When I finally got some questions, it went well.”

Republican Presidential Candidate Ben Carson

Carson will be in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines today (Saturday), for what his campaign has called “Family Festivals” featuring food and entertainment from a Christian musician. “Well, we didn’t have the strawpoll, and that normally would attract a lot of families, so this is the substitute,” Carson says. The Iowa G-O-P’s Straw Poll would have been held this Saturday in Boone, but it was cancelled after none of the candidates agreed to participate. Carson has begun airing campaign ads in Iowa.

On Sunday morning he’ll speak at a church in Osceola, and on Sunday afternoon he’ll hold another “Family Festival” outdoors in Council Bluffs.

(Radio Iowa)

The Stuart Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying a female theft suspect. A woman wearing a white “Hard Rock” shirt, is wanted for questioning with regard to repeated thefts from a local grocery store. The most recent theft occurred Friday afternoon in Stuart at Hometown Foods. The suspect left the store driving a white older model Chevrolet or GMC pickup truck with a black cover over the bed.

If anyone has information regarding the identity of this person please contact the
Stuart Police Department at 515-523-1896 or Guthrie County Dispatch at 641-747-2214.

Suspect in theft cases

Suspect’s vehicle

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

A summertime fad that’s gaining ground through social media is known as “sunburn art,” and it makes an Iowa doctor who treats skin cancer cases cringe. People deliberately place stickers on their skin, go outside and get burned, then peel off the stickers and take selfies for Facebook to show off the contrasting red and white skin. Doctor Leslie Christenson, a dermatologist in Ames, calls the practice ridiculous.

“I think it’s very sad,” Dr. Christenson says. “We know that sunburns increase your risk of subsequent skin cancer. They advance aging and we can do so much to prevent skin cancer, so it’s hard for me to watch people promote it.” Damage to the skin by the sun’s harmful rays can add up. Christenson says if you get five sunburns early in life, it can raise the risk of developing skin cancer later by 80-percent.

“We know that 1 in 5 Americans will develop a skin cancer in their lifetime,” she says. “One in 65 will develop a melanoma, which is the most agressive form of skin cancer. We can prevent a lot of these skin cancers by just protecting ourselves from the sun.” Some “sunburn artists” use sunscreen in select locations to create the patterns while others may go so far as to cut out sections of their clothing. The melanoma form of skin cancer can be fatal. Christenson isn’t recommending you stay inside, but use your head when you go out.

“We do strongly recommend that you wear sun screen, not expose yourself to sunburns, but actually wear sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher, blocking UVA and UVB rays,” Christenson says. “Wear protective clothing and a hat but that you do enjoy being outside. Just be smart about it.”

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A U.S. Air Force Boeing 757 has made an emergency landing at the Des Moines International Airport after a windshield cracked during the flight. Airport Director of Operations Alan Graff says the plane landed safety Friday morning and all nine people on board left the jet safely.

The white unmarked jet landed around 9:30 a.m. after making a distress call seeking to divert its flight plan to land at the airport. Airport officials referred further questions to the Air Force. A public affairs officer at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. couldn’t immediately provide further details on where the flight originated, where it was going or what caused the windshield to crack.

The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency reports Wildwood Road will be closed beginning Monday, Aug. 10th, for a bridge rebuilding project. The bridge, located over Indian Creek, is in the 700 Block of Wildwood Road, between Jackson Township Sections 35-36. Construction is expected to last approximately 8 to 10 weeks.

Residents in the area and emergency responders to plan to take alternative routes until the project is completed. If you have any questions about the project, call the Shelby County Engineer’s Office at 712-755-5954.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – State education officials have approved new science standards and have taken a significant step toward replacing the Iowa Assessments with other tests. The Iowa State Board of Education unanimously voted on Thursday to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards, which sets learning expectations in classrooms for grades K-12.

Learning will focus less on memorization and put more emphasis on the scientific process, such as analyzing data, developing a model and constructing a logical argument. The board also voted to start the rule-making process that would allow for the adoption of the Smarter Balanced exams. The tests give students harder or easier questions based on if they answered previous correctly, which better pinpoints their ability.

Iowa and Nebraska, the nation’s two largest ethanol-producing states, are launching a joint effort to “rebrand” gasoline pumps nationwide with stickers promoting the American Ethanol brand. Kelly Brunkhorst, executive director of the Nebraska Corn Board, says the project stems from the past five years of partnership with NASCAR and the pro stock car racing circuit’s use of E-15 fuel.

“This American Ethanol brand has really started to stand out as a very recognizable brand within NASCAR,” Brunkhorst says. “As states work in partnership with NASCAR through this, we thought this was a great opportunity to continue that brand awareness, now on pumps.” The plan is for stickers with the red-white-blue and green logo to be placed on gas pumps nationwide that offer the ethanol blends. Brunkhorst says this initiative will help provide consumers with a consistent experience at the pumps, whether they choose E-10, E-15, E-30 or E-85.

“As consumers pull up to the pump, they can see that American Ethanol brand and that American Ethanol label and understand the value it brings to them,” he says. “As they travel across the United States, they’ll be able to consistently see this label on blends, especially in states that require labeling such as Nebraska and Iowa, and they’ll know the consistency of a home-grown, renewable-based biofuel that’s grown right here in Nebraska and Iowa.” Brunkhorst says the stickers are already going out to hundreds of retailers.

“For those retailers who haven’t submitted their requests for those new, updated American Ethanol labels, they can just go to Nebraska-Corn-dot-org,” he says, “and there’s a form they can fill out and submit to us and we’ll get them sent out.” Iowa is the nation’s leading ethanol maker, producing 3.8 billion gallons a year, while Nebraska is second with more than two-billion gallons a year. Iowa has 42 ethanol plants and Nebraska has 24.

(Radio Iowa)

A man from Pottawattamie County was sentenced Thursday in U-S District Court to 75-months in prison for possession a firearm after a felony conviction. In addition to the nearly six a a-half year prison term, 50-year old Timothy Andrew Frieze, of Council Bluffs, was ordered to serve a term of three years of supervised release when he completes his imprisonment.

On August 14th, 2014, Frieze pled guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a convicted felon. The charge was the result of an investigation being done by the Southwest Iowa
Narcotics Task Force into drug trafficking in Council Bluffs. On October 11th, 2013, he was seen leaving a residence that was under law enforcement surveillance for suspicion of narcotics trafficking. Frieze was stopped by law enforcement and found to be carrying a Raven .25 caliber handgun. The man was prohibited from possession of the firearm based on several prior convictions for felony offenses.

The investigation was conducted by the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, the
Council Bluffs Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Sheriff’s officials in Mills County say no injuries were reported after two semis collided south of Malvern Wednesday morning. A 2014 Kenworth semi driven by Norman Bebout, of Thurman, was traveling north on 310th Street at around 11:10-a.m. and rounding a curve, when Bebout fell asleep at the wheel. The truck crossed the center line of the road on a curve, where the road becomes Mahr Avenue, and struck a 2002 Freightliner semi driven by Luann Kahl, of Hastings. Kahl told authorities she wasn’t able to move too far to the right and avoid the collision because her trailer was loaded with rock. Both rigs collided on their left front sides.

Following the collision, the Kenworth went into the north ditch off Marh Avenue. The Freightliner came to rest on the shoulder of the road near the intersection with 312th Street.