Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An effort to improve teen drivers’ road safety by limiting their number of passengers is having little impact, because most parents are signing waivers to opt their 16- or 17-year-olds out of the requirement. For the first six months of an intermediate license, drivers can’t have more than one unrelated minor passenger when driving without adult supervision. But the 2013 law allows parents to make the decision on whether to exempt the child. The Iowa Department of Transportation says about 90 percent of parents signed waivers in 2014.

MOLINE, Ill. (AP) – Officials say a towboat operator inadvertently pumped about 50 gallons of an oil and water mix into the Mississippi River, but the spill has been cleaned up. Moline Fire Department Captain Brian Vyncke tells the Quad-City Times the U.S. Coast Guard determined that oil somehow got mixed in water that was being pumped out of a towboat owned by the Celebration Belle excursion boat Friday afternoon.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Summers will be a steamier in neighborhoods across the country as crews cut down millions of trees in an effort to stay ahead of a small, shiny bug. In cities like Waterloo, Iowa, workers are in the midst of taking out 4,000 ash trees that tower over homes and shade city streets.

ALGONA, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa couple is donating $5 million to build Algona High School’s new performing arts center and auditorium. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports Ed and Betty Wilcox agreed to donate the money over the next five years.

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343 AM CDT MON MAR 16 2015

RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 7 PM FOR EXTREME FIRE CONDITIONS….

MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-MONTGOMERY-FREMONT- PAGE…RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 8 PM FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR PARTS OF EASTERN NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING FOR EXTREME FIRE CONDITIONS…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING.

* TIMING…HIGH FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL DEVELOP IN THE EARLY AFTERNOON AND PEAK BY MID AFTERNOON.

* WIND…WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 20 TO 25 MPH ACROSS THE SOUTH WITH GUSTS ABOVE 30 MPH AT TIMES THIS AFTERNOON.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY…WILL DROP AS LOW AS 15 TO 20 PERCENT BY EARLY TO MID AFTERNOON.

* FUEL…90 TO 100 PERCENT CURED.

* IMPACTS…ANY FIRES THAT DEVELOP WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO SPREAD MORE RAPIDLY DUE TO WINDY AND DRY CONDITIONS. ANY OUTDOOR BURNING IS HIGHLY DISCOURAGED AND SHOULD BE AVOIDED TODAY. COOLER CONDITIONS WITH HIGHER RELATIVE HUMIDITY RETURN BY TUESDAY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW…OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS…LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY…AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.

A brush pile that had been burning for a couple of days was fanned by high winds Sunday afternoon near Lewis, destroying about 40-50 acres of corn stalk rubble. Lewis Assistant Fire Chief Tim Pope said firefighters from Lewis and Atlantic were called to the area off Indian Creek Road between Lansing Road and Highway 6 at around 5:24-p.m., Sunday. No injuries were reported.

(In an update to our earlier online story), Five people were injured during a crash involving a semi and two other vehicles Sunday morning, in Pottawattamie County. The Iowa State Patrol says 24-year old Xinyao Li, 26-year old Gao Tianxiang, 45-year old Bo Yang, and 25-year old Shuo Yang, all of Ames, and 32-year old Juanita Kern, of Grimes, were injured in the crash that took place on I-80 eastbound near the 48.5-mile marker, at around 10:55-a.m.

Officials say a 2007 Toyota Camry driven by Xinyao Li, was traveling westbound in the left lane as a semi was passing her in the right lane. The Toyota went out of control and entered the median into eastbound traffic and sideswiped a 2013 KIA Sorento, driven by Juanita Kern. The KIA came to rest on the ditch, while the Toyota spun around in the eastbound lane and was hit by an eastbound 2015 Freightliner semi, driven by 32-year old Daniel Koller, of Mt. Pleasant.

The Toyota ended up in the median. Four people in the vehicle suffered severe injuries and were transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital, in Atlantic, by Medivac Ambulance. Kern suffered minor injuries, and was also transported to CCMH for treatment. Yang, who was  one of the passengers in the Toyota, was later transported by helicopter to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha.

Firefighters from Atlantic were called to provide mutual aid to the Brayton and Exira Fire Departments late Sunday afternoon, in fighting a large grass fire. Atlantic’s grass trucks were called out just after 4-p.m. to 3340 Goldfinch Avenue, about 1.5-miles north of Interstate 80 and a mile east of N-16 (Olive Street). Atlantic fire was told to disregard at 4:19-p.m., as the other crews had the fire under control.

No other information is currently available.

Traffic on Interstate 80 eastbound near the 46 mile marker was at a standstill late Sunday morning due to a three vehicle accident involving a semi. Rescue crews from Avoca and Walnut along with Medivac Ambulance from Atlantic responded to the scene. Some of the victims were said to have been trapped in their vehicle following the crash. At least four people were injured, with those known to have been hurt transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital, in Atlantic. Life Net helicopter landed at the hospital at around 11:40-a.m. and transported at least one of the victims to another, unknown hospital.

Additional information was not available late Sunday afternoon.

A few area school districts have their monthly Board of Education meetings set for Monday evening. In Anita, the CAM School Board will gather for a 6:30-p.m. session in the High School Media Center. During their meeting, the Board will discuss and/or act on: Open enrollment applications; Resignations; and, the 2013-14 Audit report. The CAM Board will also review their proposed budget for 2015-16 and set the date and time for a Public Hearing on the 2015-16 Budget. They’re also set to consider a tennis sharing arrangement with the Atlantic School District.

In Audubon, the School Board meets at 7-p.m. in their boardroom at the high school. During the meeting, the Board will act on: Approving a contract for renovation of the track; Setting the dates for Public Hearings on the Budget Plan and Budget Amendment; Approving Early Retirement applications and other administrative matters. And, prior to an exempt session for strategizing over collective bargaining negotiations, the Audubon School Board will discuss a School Board Election timeline, and receive a school finance update.

An in Elk Horn, the Exira-EKH School Board will meet in the Family and Consumer Science Room at the High School, beginning at 7-p.m. On their agenda, is approval of contracts for various coach/assistant coaches, and a Middle School para-educator. They’ll also discuss setting the date for a Public Hearing in April, with regard to approval of the 2015-16 Exira-EHK School District Budget.

A Red Oak man was arrested early this (Sunday) morning, on an OWI charge. Red Oak Police say 39-year old Michael Wade McFarland was taken into custody at around 3-a.m. at the intersection of east Nuckols Street and Highland Avenue. He was charged with OWI/2nd offense and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where McFarland’s bond was set at $2,000.

The National Weather Service says extreme fire danger conditions will be in place across the entire KJAN listening area from Noon today (Sunday) through late this evening, due to very low humidity (around 19-percent) and gusty southwesterly winds of 20-to 40-miles per hour. Outdoor burning is highly discouraged due to the fact fields and grassy areas are very dry and will create an effect of adding fuel to a fire.

Red Flag Warning for all of southwest & western Iowa Sunday afternoon and evening

Any controlled, outdoor burns that are started may quickly become explosive and out of control, spreading very rapidly, putting lives and property in danger. A Red Flag warning means the critical fire weather condition are occurring or will occur.

In addition, a Fire Weather Watch will be in effect on Monday afternoon and evening in the southwest part of the state (Pottawattamie, Mills, Montgomery, Fremont and Page Counties), meaning critical fire weather conditions are expected. The Watch could be upgraded to a Red Flag Warning tomorrow, so stay tuned for further updates.

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…EXTREME FIRE DANGER TODAY… THE GRASSLAND FIRE DANGER INDEX WILL BE IN THE EXTREME CATEGORY THIS AFTERNOON. EXTREME FIRE DANGER MEANS THAT FIRES START QUICKLY…SPREAD FURIOUSLY AND BURN INTENSELY. ALL FIRES ARE POTENTIALLY SERIOUS. ALL OUTDOOR BURNING SHOULD BE AVOIDED IN AREAS WITH EXTREME FIRE DANGER.