A woman from Oakland died and another person was injured during a single-vehicle accident Saturday, in Pottawattamie County. Sheriff Jeff Danker says 21-year old Nicolla Emge died from injuries she suffered during the crash that occurred about three-miles east of McClelland. Danker says deputies were dispatched to the scene near 290th and Idlewood, at around 6:50-a.m.  When they arrived, they determined a 2002 Ford Taurus had gone out of control and rolled into a ditch. It’s not clear when the accident actually occurred.

Emge was ejected from the car. She was flown to Creighton University Hospital in Omaha by Lifeflight helicopter, and later died. A second person in the car, 21-year old Newberry Wright, of Oakland, was injured and also flown to Creighton Hospital. His injuries were serious, but not believed to be life threatening. It’s not clear which person was driving the vehicle.

The accident remains under investigation.

Around 150 postal workers and supporters held a protest in the snow on Sunday, rallying against the planned shutdown of Saturday mail service later this year. In front of the Des Moines Main Post Office, the crowd lined the streets, urging passing cars to honk in support, part of a nationwide effort. Jerry Stake works at the Pleasant Hill branch of the post office and says they’re busier than ever.

“Six days a week, we hardly have enough time to even catch up,” Stake say. “I don’t know how they expect to move the mail in five days. We can’t hardly keep up with six days delivery.” Stake says the plan to end most service on Saturdays would back up delivery for days, while having a negative impact on rural Iowans and the elderly.

Thomas Dawlins, a letter carrier from De Soto, says he’s protesting proposed cuts to his own hours and wages, in addition to cutting services to those who depend on it.”My folks live out in the country and if you stop delivery out there, there’s nobody else that’s going to take that stuff out to the country because UPS and the Fed Ex guys don’t deliver out there,” he says.

Dawlins says it isn’t just about paper mail, either. “I deliver to the south side to a lot of veterans in the trailer parks over there and they absolutely rely on the post office to give them their medications,” Dawlins says. “I call it my medical route, because every time I go over there, there’s 30-to-40 parcels of medication going out to those folks on a daily basis.”

Along with the well-publicized end of Saturday delivery in August and consolidating major mail centers, another move that’s hitting home in rural America is the plan to cut staff and hours at about 13-thousand post offices.

(Radio Iowa)

Legislators are considering a bill that would help Iowans who are a bit competitive about the beer they brew in their own home. It is illegal for Iowans to enter their home brews in exhibitions or competitions because state law says beer brewed at home is for personal consumption only. Senator Liz Mathis , a Democrat from Robins, says that means the judges in a competition can’t sample home brews made in Iowa. “What the new bill shows is that you could be able to take some of your home-brewed beer and leave your home and take it to this exhibition or festival and allow judges to sample it,” Mathis says. “What it doesn’t allow for is for that home-brewed beer to be sold in mass quantities.”

Alabama is the only state in the union where brewing beer at home is illegal. Home brewing is a growing hobby in the United States. Membership in the American Homebrewers Association has quadrupled in the past seven years. “I think even President Obama has talked about home brew beer,” Mathis says. The White House chefs have bottled an ale and a porter, using honey harvested from the White House garden. A long time ago, Mathis wanted to try her hand at beer brewing.

“Back in 1976, there were five of us in a bio chem class and we were wondering if we might be able to try something like that, but were deterred by our teacher saying, ‘You probably shouldn’t try that.’ You know the drinking age was 18 back then,” Mathis says, laughing, “so we were very inquisitive and curious but, no, we didn’t go ahead with the plans.”

The bill to let home brewers enter their beers in competitions has unanimously passed both the Iowa House and the Senate, but senators made a slight change that must be approved by the House before the legislation can go to Governor Branstad for his signature.

(Radio Iowa)

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports one person was injured during an accident last week, near Shenandoah. Eligah Newkirk, of Red Oak, was transported to the Shenandoah Hospital, after the 1993 Ford Explorer he was driving went out of control and left Highway 59 south of Shenandoah, before hitting a tree. The accident happened March 19th, as Newkirk was traveling southbound.

Sheriff’s officials in Fremont County report the arrest last week of a Nebraska man on drug charges. 33-year old Derrick Edward Traub, of Stella, NE, was arrested March 19th on Possession with the Intent to Deliver/Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Interference with Official Acts charges, along with a charge of Failure to affix a drug tax stamp and No Valid ID.

That same day, 22-year old Andrew Ryan Lemrick, of Hamburg, was arrested for allegedly violating his probation associated with a charge of Criminal Mischief in the 3rd degree. And, on March 21st, 38-year old Azure Lee Miller, of Sidney, IA, was arrested for Driving Under Suspension, and on a Red Oak Police Department warrant for a parking violation during a snow emergency.

w/ Ric Hanson

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U.S. Democrat Senator Tom Harkin,  Friday, announced that three council of governments in Iowa have received a total of $166,500 from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) to provide continued support for their economic development planning within their regions. The Region XII (12) Council of Governments (COG’s) received $54,900 to serve the  counties of Audubon, Carroll and Crawford, along with Greene, Guthrie and SAC.

The other two entities were Mid-Iowa Development Association Council of Governments and Southern Iowa Council of Governments, Inc which serves Adair and other counties. Harkin is a senior member of the Appropriations Committee that funds the initiatives.  Harkin  said he hopes the funds will help those Council of Governments “Continue their economic development efforts, giving a boost their communities.

w/ Ric Hanson

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A Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy has claimed the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB) Award for “Outstanding Performance as a Drug Recognition Expert” (DRE). A DRE has the training to help identify drivers impaired by drugs other than alcohol. Deputy Ben Bartholomew, a more than five-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department, won the award for the second consecutive year in a row. “Bart,” as he’s known, received a certificate along with the recognition at an event held last Wednesday, in Altoona.

Bartholomew performed 27 evaluations last year on drivers suspected of being impaired. While he normally works at night, his fellow deputies and other law enforcement officers can call on his expertise anytime it is needed. He says he dealing with those who are drug impaired is not limited exclusively to the nighttime hours. Bartholomew says they deal with many people who abuse prescription drugs, and drug use has evolved from a party atmosphere to addicts who use them anytime of the day, and put the public at risk when they drive.

Bart says all of the DRE’s are well trained in multiple techniques to identify and test for impaired drivers. A couple of months ago, an ARIDE (Advanced Roadside Impairment Detection Enforcement) class was held in Atlantic, to help area law enforcement officers identify potentially impaired drivers, before they call a DRE. He says it’s his job to determine which drug is impairing the driver.

Bartholomew says there are no specific age groups or genders of people he typically identifies as driving while impaired by drugs. And, he says people need to understand DRE’s are not there to pick on impaired drivers. He says it’s a DRE’s responsibility to make sure an impaired driver doesn’t injure themselves or other drivers.

Police in Council Bluffs are looking for two men suspected in the attempted murder Sunday, of 36-year old Thomas M. Campbell, of Council Bluffs. Sgt. Dave Dawson, with the Council Bluffs Police Department, says Campbell was shot in an apartment at 817 2nd Avenue, at around 8:17-p.m., Sunday.The man suffered a single gunshot wound to the chest. He was transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where Campbell was reported to be in critical, but stable condition.

Dawson said an investigation into the shooting determined two black men in their 30’s arrived at Campbell’s apartment and attempted a home invasion. One of the suspects wore a ski mask, a light gray sweatshirt, jeans and black gloves. A more detailed description of the second suspect is not available.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 712-328-7867.