w/ Ric Hanson

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ROCKWELL CITY, Iowa (AP) – A December trial has been scheduled for a 32-year-old Iowa man accused of killing a Rockwell City police officer. Corey Trott pleaded not guilty on Monday to a charge of first-degree murder. He’s suspected of shooting 37-year-old Jamie Buenting on Sept. 13, during an hours-long standoff with police at Trott’s house.

Trott’s trial is scheduled to begin Dec. 3. He’s being held in Webster County Jail.  Buenting was married and had two children.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The Creston Hy-Vee store and two vehicles were damaged by blasts from a shotgun early Sunday morning. According to the Creston News Advertiser, someone drove to the front of the grocery store at around 2:30-a.m. and fired at least one round from a 12-gauge shotgun. The slug damaged pumpkins and broke the glass on window near the store’s entrance.

The suspect drove-off and unloaded three more shotgun slugs near the 400 block of New York Avenue, where two unoccupied vehicles were damaged. No injuries were reported.

Anyone with information with regard to the incidents should contact Creston Police at 641-782-8402.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A new survey of business leaders in nine Midwest and Plains states suggests that manufacturing growth will help fuel the regional economy through the end of the year.  The overall Mid-America Business Conditions Index climbed for a second straight month in September, rising to 54.8 from 53.8 in August.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says growth among durable-goods manufacturers more than offset some pullbacks among nondurable-goods producers and value-added service firms. The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth, while a score below that suggests decline.

The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

Most Iowans are seeing new choices in fuel at their local gas stations. Many pumps will now have ethanol stickers above two handles instead of just one. Due to a national change in how gasolines are being refined, some premium blends will now contain corn-based ethanol. Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, says it’s been a quiet, yet monumental, change. “Premium gasoline without ethanol is very expensive and so by blending that 10% ethanol into the premium, they can lower that cost,” Shaw says. “Consumers are really going to have some options. To me, that’s a good thing. Let consumers pick the product and the price point they want, but it is different than what we’ve seen for 30 years.”

The change has taken place over the past week or so in Iowa and depending on the service station’s supplier, the premium blends may now contain ethanol. Shaw says you’ll need to pay attention when you grab the gas pump handle. “Most Iowans are going to chose an 87 octane E-10, so you’ve gotta’ look for the 87 sticker now with the ethanol sticker combined, that’s going to be your cheaper gas,” Shaw says, “and I think you’re really going to see the sales of the non-ethanol go way down.”

In recent years, about 80 to 83-percent of all gasoline sold in Iowa has been an ethanol blend. Shaw predicts that number will rocket to 95-percent once this change-over is complete. “There’s two ways it can be a boon for ethanol,” Shaw says. “Number one, we probably will see more people go to that E-10 blend, but also, as the E-zero sales, the non-ethanol sales go down, retailers will have to really look hard at whether or not to keep selling that fuel or to put E-15 in that tank. E-15, which is approved for all 2001 and newer vehicles, is going to be even cheaper than E-10.”

Iowa is the nation’s number-one producer of ethanol with 41 plants in operation and three cellulosic ethanol plants under construction. Triple-A-Iowa says the statewide average price for gas is $3.42 a gallon, two cents below the national average. Iowa’s current average price is down ten-cents from a month ago and down 40-cents from a year ago.

(Radio Iowa)

The federal government shut-down means federal offices will be closed, but Iowa’s governor says state government will be open for business. “We’re going to try to minimize any disruptions or any problems that could occur,” Branstad says. However, some Iowa National Guard soldiers and some workers at the Rock Island Arsenal will be furloughed.

The state-level health insurance exchanges that were created by the federal Affordable Care Act start taking applications today (Tuesday). Governor Branstad says some of the low-income Iowans who can start getting health care coverage through Medicaid can start enrolling on the state health care exchange today (Tuesday) — even though the state doesn’t have a federal waiver for some of the program requirements that are unique to Iowa.

“We’re going to continue to go forward on the assumption that the Department of Human Services is eventually going to approve this,” Branstad says. “We’ve been working with them since February.” The main sticking point for Iowa is the proposed monthly premium some of the new Medicaid recipients would be required to pay under the “Iowa Health and Wellness” plan. 

(Radio Iowa)

Two people were arrested in Red Oak overnight. Red Oak Police report 33-year old Peggy Sue Gurney, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 1:30-a.m. Tuesday (Today), at North 3rd and East Nuckols Streets. Gurney was charged with OWI/1st Offense, and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where she was being held on $1,000 cash bond. And, late Monday night, 22-year old Charlie Daniel Brooms, of Red Oak, was arrested near the intersection of North 3rd and Hammond Streets in Red Oak. Brooms was charged with Public Intoxication and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where he was being held on $300 cash bond.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report the arrest Monday afternoon of 20-year old Drew Dale Goodrich, of Corning, on a valid warrant for probation violation. Goodrich was taken into custody at the Adams County Sheriff’s Office and transported to Montgomery County Corrections, where he was being held on $7,500 cash bond.

An annual survey by State Farm Insurance on deer/vehicle crashes shows a mixed result for Iowa. State Farm spokesperson, Ann Avery, says they survey their claims and accident reports from federal officials to make an annual ranking of states where hitting a deer is most likely. “Iowa has moved up one spot to third this year,” Avery says. But the good news is the overall chance of hitting a deer in any state is down.

“We find that U-S deer/vehicle collisions have declined overall, and in Iowa the likelihood has declined as well, despite the fact that they have moved up one spot in the rankings,” Avery says. The likelihood of hitting a deer declined by nine-percent in Iowa. West Virginia topped the list of states where you are most likely to run into a deer for the seventh year in a row. Hawaii was again at the bottom of the rankings. Avery says they can’t say how the individual deer populations in each state impact the rankings — but does say efforts to let people know about the dangers of such collisions can help in any state reduce its collisions.

“We liked to think it’s due in part at least to the amount of attention that’s being drawn to this issue — because awareness is very important,” Avery says. “Especially in these coming months when the likelihood (of a collision) is at a peak.” She says avoiding collisions is important for safety reasons and it can also prevent costly repairs. “They average property-damage costs of these kinds of incidents during the final half of 2012 and the first half of 2013 was three-thousand-414 dollars — up three-point-three percent from the year before,” Avery explains. Avery has these tips for drivers to avoid hitting a deer.

“Deer generally travel in herds — so if you see one, there’s a strong possibility that others are nearby,” Avery says. She says be aware of the deer crossing signs as they indicate areas where the deer are known to roam. “And we also want you to remember that deer are most active between six and nine p-m.” State Farm estimates there were one-22-million deer collisions between July first of 2012 and June 30th of 2013, a three-point-five percent reduction compared to last year.

(Radio Iowa)