LANSING, Mich. (AP) – State lawmakers and governors are trying to distance themselves from the federal government shutdown in case angry voters decide to hold politicians everywhere responsible. State officials in Michigan, Iowa, Missouri and other states are pointing out how they completed budgets and resolved partisan differences without paralyzing state government. Republican lawmakers were especially outspoken in the Midwest, where the party depends on the support of moderate independent voters.

After the government shutdowns during Bill Clinton’s presidency, many voters blamed Republicans and punished the party in the next election. The shutdown began last week after tea party congressmen tried to block funds for President Obama’s new health care program.    Govs. Rick Snyder in Michigan, Terry Branstad in Iowa and Jay Nixon in Missouri say they resolve conflicts without such tactics.

A teen on his way home from a dance in Griswold escaped injury early this (Sunday) morning, after he swerved to miss a deer and rolled the vehicle he was driving. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports Jordan Vetter was behind the wheel of the vehicle owned by Gary Vetter, when a deer appeared on 100th Street just off of Highway 48, at around 12:04-a.m.

The vehicle entered the north ditch and rolled over before coming to rest on its wheels. Authorities say the teen had been traveling at about 45-miles per hour when the vehicle went out of control. It skidded for about 111-feet before entering the ditch, where it traveled another 84-feet before coming to a stop. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $7,000. No citations were issued.

An event held in Clarinda, Saturday, whittled a pool of 50 bands down to one, with the Creston Marching Panther Band being named the “Best Overall Band” at the end of the day. The Panthers took top honors in the 58th Annual Southwest Iowa Band Jamboree.

Tri-Center, Red Oak and Harlan won the middle school divisional competition, while Lenox, Underwood, Creston and Lewis Central took home divisional championships.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — An emergency management official says tornadoes destroyed nearly two dozen farmsteads in northwestern Iowa’s Woodbury County, and some 60 more have been damaged. County Emergency Management Director Gary Brown said yesterday that 20 farmsteads were destroyed in Friday night’s powerful storms.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The National Weather Service says as many as nine tornadoes hit an area covering northeast Nebraska and northwest Iowa Friday evening. Meteorologist Mike Fuhs in the service’s Sioux Falls, South Dakota office says it appears there were tornadoes north and south of Sioux City, as well as those west and north of Hinton, east of Moville, at Quimby and one south of Cherokee.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — The Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office says a man shot in August by Council Bluffs police was attempting suicide by cop. Officers Aaron Gutierrez and Jason Burleigh found 52-year-old Michael Hannum on August 4th in a Wal-Mart construction site bleeding from his hands. They say he brandished a sharp instrument before he was shot.

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court is on the road for a visit to Fort Dodge this week where justices will visit area schools and the community college and hear arguments in two cases. On Wednesday evening the court will hold a special session in the new Fort Dodge Middle School auditorium to hear arguments in a case in which the Iowa Farm Bureau is challenging the validity of new water quality regulations in Iowa.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A National Weather Service meteorologist says Friday evening’s tornado-spawning storms in northeastern Nebraska and northwestern Iowa were unusual for this time of year.  Meteorologist Mike Fuhs in the service’s Sioux Falls, S.D., office says it’s unusual to get “not just this many tornadoes this late, but tornadoes this strong.” As many as nine tornadoes hit the area from 6 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Friday, and some “were quite powerful,” according to Fuhs.

Fuhs says a couple of the tornadoes are estimated to have been one-quarter to one-half mile wide. He says it’s too early to estimate where the tornadoes will rank on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which ranges from the weak EF0 to the top-of-the-scale EF5.

A medical clinic in Villisca sustained $8,000 damage Saturday morning, after it was hit by an out of control pickup truck. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says a 1998 Dodge 1500 pickup driven by 88-year old Gerald Raymond Maxwell, of Villisca, was pulling into a parking spot on the south side of the 300 block of East 4th Street at around 8:20-a.m., when Maxwell pressed on the gas instead of the brake.

The pickup jumped a curb and slammed into the Villisca Medical Clinic. No injuries were reported. Damage to the truck was estimated at $500. No citations were issued.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County say no injuries were reported following two separate accidents Friday, in Villisca. Just after 11-a.m., a pickup driven by 16-year old Blake Michael Haidsiak-Riggle, of Villisca, collided with a car driven by 16-year old Whitney Joyce Bales, of Prescott. The accident happened as Haidsiak-Riggle was traveling west on Depot Street, and was unable to make the turn due to the road conditions. The 1995 Ford F-150 he was driving slid into a southbound 2002 Chevy Impala driven by Bales, causing a total of $2,000 damage. No citations were issued, due to the road conditions.

The second accident happened at around 1:45-p.m., Friday in the 2900 block of 265th Street, in Villisca. Sheriff’s officials say a 2007 Kenworth semi tractor-trailer driven by 57-year old Ricky Charles Lukehart, of Red Oak, had been been pulling away from a stop sign and didn’t see a 2002 Chevy 1500 pickup being operated by 61-year old Allan Ernest Olson, of Griswold. The semi hit the right rear side of Olson’s eastbound truck, causing a total of $2,100 damage. Authorities say Lukehart was cited for Failure to Obey a Stop sign.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Videos and photos taken by the public and posted online show the extensive damage wrought by tornadoes in northeast Nebraska and northwest Iowa.

The images show a number of businesses, including a farm implement showroom and a grain elevator at Wayne, Neb., destroyed. Many other businesses and homes stretching from Wayne to Cherokee, Iowa, are missing roofs and sections of walls. Windows in buildings and vehicles have been smashed. A semitrailer and tractor can be seen overturned in some photos.

The National Weather Service says at least six, but as many as nine tornadoes ravaged the region as a powerful storm cell moved through the area Friday night. No deaths were reported, but 15 people in and around Wayne were treated for injuries.

“The talk” about the birds and the bees isn’t something most parents look forward to having with their kids, but October is the month when parents are urged to have conversations with their teens about pregnancy prevention. Bobbie Jo Sheridan is a training and education coordinator at Eyes Open Iowa, an advocacy and education group based in Des Moines. Sheridan explains the goals of “Let’s Talk Month.”

“To encourage parents and their children to talk about healthy relationships, family values and sexual health,” Sheridan says. “We often find that kids want to hear this information from their moms and dads but moms and dads are uncomfortable sharing this information with their kids.”

Sheridan says communication is the name of the game in these important conversations. “We always encourage parents to just give the facts,” she says. “There’s lots of websites, EyesOpenIowa.org is one of them, where parents can find tons of information so they can provide medically-accurate information for their kid.” Sheridan says there is good news as a result of pregnancy prevention efforts.

“We are very fortunate in Iowa that we have a low teen pregnancy rate, but when we look at high school kids, about 43.9% of high school kids have had sexual intercourse, so that number is still quite high and we’d like to see it lowered.” Learn more at www.eyesopeniowa.org.

(Radio Iowa)