Authorities in southwest Iowa’s Ringgold County are asking for the public’s help in finding a woman missing from her home in Mt. Ayr.

74-year-old Shirley Mae Martin

Sheriff’s Officials say 74-year-old Shirley Mae Martin, left her residence at 1894 270th Ave of Mt. Ayr sometime between the hours of 12:30 and 4:30pm on Friday had hasn’t been seen since.  The woman, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, was last seen wearing a pair of blue jeans, t-shirt and a sweatshirt, color unknown.

Volunteers have banded together to aid in a search for the woman.If you have seen her, or know where she is,  contact the Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office at 641-464-3921, or your local authorities.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa has set a record for early voting, reflecting a push by the major political parties to lock in votes from supporters. As of Friday, nearly 584,000 Iowans had voted, already exceeding the 2008 record of 545,000 early votes.  About 70 percent of the votes were absentee ballots sent by mail to the voter’s home. Another 20 percent were cast at county auditor’s offices and about 10 percent at satellite locations designated by local election officials.

A significant number of ballots remain in the hands of voters and could still be returned. Nearly 700,000 voters have requested ballots. They can be returned in person by 9 p.m. Tuesday. If they’re mailed, they must be postmarked by Monday.

State and local officials are investigating a structure fire that occurred this (Saturday) morning near Sidney, in Fremont County. The Sheriff’s Department says they received a call about the fire at 3061 170th Street, just before 2-a.m.  No one was in the home at the time. Firefighters from Sidney Fire and Rescue, were assisted in battling the blaze, by crews from Randolph, Tabor and Riverton. The home sustained extensive fire and smoke damage. No injuries were reported. Firefighters were on the scene for about 90-minutes. The fire is under investigation by the State Fire Marshall’s Office, with assistance from the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office.

(9-a.m. News)

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Events across Iowa this month aim to raise awareness about the thousands of Iowa kids in foster care and the hundreds who are eligible for adoption. Corinne Sills is a post-adoption support specialist in Mason City, part of Iowa Kids Net. Sills says more than 400-thousand children are in foster care nationwide due to abuse, neglect, abandonment and other family issues. “There are approximately 6,100 Iowa children in foster care and that includes those that are in foster homes, relative homes, group care institutions and pre-adoptive homes,” Sills says.

Also, some 750 children in Iowa are legally eligible for adoption. As part of National Adoption Month, she says there will be candlelight vigils held at a locations across Iowa. “It’s to raise awareness of the 104,000 children in the United States waiting to be adopted,” Sills says. “There’s about a dozen locations around the state to bring that awareness about. It represents a bright future and bright possibilities for every child who has a permanent connection to a caring adult.”

The candlelight vigils will be held in: Ames and Davenport on November 9th, Cedar Rapids on November 13th, Council Bluffs on November 8th, Creston and Des Moines on November 6th, Webster City on November 7th, Pella on November 10th, Sioux City on November 5th, Urbandale on November 20th, and Winterset on November 8th. Sills says one of this month’s moving ceremonies is the “Adoption Saturday,” which is set for November 17th, with events in several communities, including Webster City. At those events, judges sign off on multiple adoptions over several hours with photos taken with the new families, gifts for the adopted children and other special elements — she calls it “really an exciting day.”

Similar Adoption Saturday events will be held in Des Moines, Council Bluffs, Sioux City and Ottumwa. Learn more at: www.iowakidsnet.com

(Radio Iowa)

WASHINGTON (AP) – It’s finally time to reclaim that hour of sleep you lost last spring.  Most of the country will turn back the clocks this weekend for the annual shift back to standard time. The majority of folks will do the switch before hitting the sack Saturday night, even though the change doesn’t become official until 2 a.m. Sunday local time.

Residents of Hawaii, most of Arizona and some U.S. territories don’t have to change since they do not observe daylight-saving time. Public safety officials say this is also a good time to put a new battery in the smoke alarm, no matter where you live.    Daylight-Saving Time (DST) returns the second Sunday in March.

You can turn back the clock one hour tonight (Saturday) before you go to bed. Fire officials are asking that you use that extra hour of time in the day to make a quick check of your smoke detectors. Cedar Rapids Fire Department spokesman, Craig Buelow (Byoo-low) says he’s seen how important the devices can be. “We have found that a working smoke alarm will reduce your risk of dying in a fire by nearly 50-percent. And unfortunately we’ve had 127 house fires in Cedar Rapids through October 31st, and in those house fires where we’ve checked to see if there’s a smoke alarm, only 26-percent of the time have we found that a working smoke alarm was present,” Buelow says.

He says his community is not alone. “The other fire departments tell me the same thing, that we have to continually put this with every media release that we send out, or every conversation that we have about a house fire or a commercial fire, just to underscore the importance of working smoke alarms,” Buelow says. It is recommended that smoke alarms that are 10 years old be replaced. Buelow says you should look at new technology when replacing a smoke alarm. “The state of Iowa now requires dual-sensor smoke alarms, so the fire departments throughout the state are advocating that people get a smoke alarm that has an ionization and photo-electric sensor in it,” Buelow says. “We are also really pushing for these smoke alarms that have a 10-year battery, or lithium power cell in them. Because again, the number one reason smoke alarms don’t work is that the batteries fail.”

Buelow says the 10-year batteries get rid of the need to replace batteries every year. “It’s especially for people who are busy and even elderly citizens so they don’t have to get up on the ladder or get some to help them replace those batteries every year,” Buelow says. He says they also recommend that you buy a carbon monoxide detector for your home, especially now that homes will be closed up and heaters turned on.

(Radio Iowa)

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports numerous individuals were arrested on drug and/or alcohol charges Friday night. At around 10:30-p.m., the following persons were arrested for Possession of Alcohol under the legal age: 18-year old Julie Marie Sheler, of Clarinda; 17-year old Kelsi Michelle Kling, of Villisca; and, 17-year old Edward Richard Ezekial Lockerby, of Prescott. Officials say 19-year old Katherine Joe Murren, of Villisca, was arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. The group was taken into custody following an incident which occurred in the 200 block of East 4th Street, in Villisca. Kling and Lockerby were charged and released to a guardian, while Sheler and Murren were cited and released.

About an hour earlier, 19-year old Nathan Andre Kier, of Clarinda, was arrested for Possession of Alcohol Under the Age. The arrest occurred in the 200 block of East 4th Street, in  Villisca.  And, at around 9:15-p.m. Friday, 23-year old Zachary Allan Colebank, of Villisca, was arrested in the same area, on a Possession of Drug Paraphernalia charge. Kier and Colebank were cited for the offenses, and released.

A national consumer advocacy group released a report Friday that claims Iowa’s shift to large-scale hog production has hurt the state’s rural economy. Wenona Hauter, executive director of San Francisco-based Food and Water Watch, says consolidation in the pork packing industry has forced thousands of small-to-medium size hog producers out of the business. “Over the past three decades, the number of hogs sold in Iowa has doubled, but the value of those hogs has actually declined,” Hauter said. “The number of hog farms dropped more than 80-percent and hog prices have plunged.”

The report claims the fewer, but larger processing plants have also resulted in a decline in wages for the plants’ workers. Hauter, in a conference call with reporters, said the prevailing wisdom has been that hog production and processing has become more efficient – which provides more economic punch to hog producers and cheaper food to consumers. But, the report found otherwise.  “The Consumer Price Index for pork has risen by almost 80-percent during the period we studied, while the real hog prices and the real packing plant wages have dropped,” Hauter said. “The decline in the value of hogs and wages have had a ripple effect through the entire economy as farmers and workers have less to spend at main street businesses.”

The study analyzed county-level economic, agricultural and demographic data in five-year intervals from 1982 to 2007. “Meat packer funded studies just look at the total economic output of the consolidated hog industry, but they ignore the damage to rural economies from the decline in the number of independent farms,” Hauter said. “Medium size farms are more likely to buy farm supplies locally and are the foundation of rural economies.” Larry Ginter, a former hog farmer in Marshall County and a member of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, also took part in the conference call. He said the four biggest packers in Iowa slaughter nine out of 10 hogs, so “independent farmers cannot get a fair price with that kind of stranglehold on the market.”

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press