The Red Oak Police Department says no injuries were reported following a collision Saturday morning at the intersection of N. Broadway Street and Alix Avenue. The accident happened at around 10:23-a.m., when a 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix and a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee, were traveling north on N. Broadway.

Officials say the Jeep, driven by 32-year old Heather Jean Noel Diekmann, of Shenandoah, was making a right turn onto Alix Avenue, when her SUV was struck on the passenger side by the Grand Prix, which was driven by 16-year old Cole Ray Magill, of Red Oak. Both vehicles came to rest in the intersection. Damage from the collision amounted to $4,000. No Citations were issued. Both drivers were wearing their seat belts.

(In an update to our earlier report) The Iowa State Patrol says two people from western Iowa died and a third was injured during a head-on collision Friday night between Logan and Missouri Valley, in Harrison County. Both drivers in the crash died. They were identified late Saturday afternoon as 18-year old Cody A. Wills, of Logan, and 16-year old Syler J. Haase, of Missouri Valley. A passenger in one of the vehicles, 17-year old Dalton Anderson, of Missouri Valley, was injured in the crash.

The Iowa State Patrol says a 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse driven by Haase was westbound on Highway 30 at around 10:48-p.m., at the same time a 2013 Ford Focus driven by Wills was traveling eastbound. For reasons unknown the Ford crossed the centerline of the road and struck the other vehicle head-on, just east of Niagra Trail. All of the victims were wearing their seat belts.

According to reports, Haase was a Junior at the Missouri Valley High School, and a member of the 2017 Missouri Valley Big Reds Soccer Team.  Wills was a 2017 graduate of the Logan-Magnolia High School. The accident remains under investigation.

MELVIN, Iowa (AP) — The National Weather Service is confirming two tornadoes struck Friday night in northwestern Iowa. Sioux Falls meteorologist Matthew Dux says an EF-1 tornado with sustained 90 mph winds touched down in cropland around the Iowa-Minnesota border just south of Bigelow, Minnesota, around 7:50 p.m. Friday. He says another tornado hit about an hour later around Melvin, damaging crops and at least one farm.

Dux says no one was injured. Dux says a weather service survey team was at Melvin on Saturday to gather more information about the strength of that tornado.

A nationally-recognized speaker will make an appearance in Iowa next week to talk about the problem of online bullying. Keith Deltano says he’ll share important information with parents about the things they need to know about the risks of cyberbullying. Deltano says, “I give parents the tools they need to help their kids make good decisions with social media and to protect their kids online and to create kids that can function in a society that can be hostile to positive behaviors.”

He says Iowa parents can’t be lulled into thinking that just because they’re in Iowa, they’re immune to the troubles of big cities. “I swim in youth culture and people may think, ‘This is Iowa, we don’t have this,’ but you have it, all right? This is there, sexting, tweeting racist comments,” Deltano says. “All of these behaviors are in Iowa, I’ve been there.”

Deltano lives with his family in North Carolina. He’s presented assemblies on topics including drug awareness, mental health and hazing. Deltano will be in Webster City on August 24th, next Thursday, for a 7 P-M appearance at the Prem Sahai Auditorium. Learn more at: www.dontbullyonline.com

(Radio Iowa)

Two people died as the result of an accident Friday night, in Harrison County. The Iowa State Patrol says a 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse was westbound on Highway 30 at around 10:48-p.m., at the same time a 2013 Ford Focus was traveling eastbound. For reasons unknown the Ford crossed the centerline of the road and struck the other vehicle head-on, just east Niagra Trail.

Both drivers died from their injuries. No names were released, pending notification of family. The accident remains under investigation.

Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports deputies responded early this (Saturday) morning to the 800 block of Elizabeth Street, in Thurman, following a call about a noise complaint. As a result of their investigation, four people were arrested, and multiple minors were issued citations.

Among those taken into custody, was: 22-year old Nicholas Benedict, of Sidney, for Possession of a Controlled Substance; 19-year old Devon Goodman, of Thurman, for Disorderly Conduct, and, 44-year old Shon Goodman, also of Thurman, for Public Intoxication.

A juvenile male was transported to the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office with unspecified charges.

Police in Red Oak Friday evening, arrested 35-year old Bobbie Jo Bruce, of Red Oak. The woman was taken into custody at around 5:50-p.m. in the 200 block of N. Broadway, on a valid Montgomery County arrest warrant for Failure to Appear (in court), on an original charge of Driving While License Suspended. Bruce was being held in the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on a $5,000 cash bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:30 a.m. CDT

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Cedar Rapids man who got a new trial after being convicted in the 2010 death of his 17-month-old daughter has been sentenced to probation. Station KCRG reports that 29-year-old Zyriah Schlitter was sentenced Friday in a Linn County court and will not serve more prison time in the case. Schlitter had been sentenced to 50 years after being convicted in 2012 of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment, but last year, the Iowa Supreme Court ordered a new trial.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Public Information Board has voted to keep private a detailed log of records compiled by law enforcement about a fatal police shooting. The Hawk Eye reports that the board’s 7-1 decision overturns an administrative law judge’s ruling that said the records from the Burlington Police Department and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation should be released.

WEST LAKE OKOBOJI, Iowa (AP) — A historic resort in northwest Iowa is up for sale, marking another turn for a property that has been owned by six financial institutions since 2013. The Sioux City Journal reports that The Inn at Okoboji Resort & Conference Center at West Lake Okoboji is being sold in an online private auction in September. Jon Hjelm is a broker for The ACRE Co. and will oversee the auction. He says the current owners are happy with recent improvements but that they feel like it’s a good time to sell.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s unemployment rate remained at 3.2 percent in July. The state’s Workforce Development agency reported Friday the rate remained steady amid a drop in the number of Iowa residents with jobs and an unemployment increase to 54,400 in July. The agency noted increases in manufacturing jobs as well as in hospitality and trade and transportation. There was a drop in construction jobs. Iowa’s July unemployment rate compares to a 3.7 percent rate a year ago. The national rate was 4.3 percent.

A state board, Friday, handed out financial assistance and tax breaks to five companies — and state officials say those companies pledge 62 new jobs will be created. Cambrex, a pharmaceutical company based in New Jersey, plans to expand its production facility in Charles City, Iowa. It’s getting 125-thousand dollars from the State of Iowa for the project. Company officials expect 29 more people will be added to the Charles City payroll once the expansion’s complete. The Iowa Economic Development Authority Board has extended tax breaks to four other companies that pledge to pay workers significantly more than the minimum wage.

A Waterloo company that’s adding new freezer space is one of the companies that has qualified for state tax breaks. Crystal Distribution Services plans to hire one more worker when the facility is done. Farmers Edge, a Canadian company, plans to build a soil testing laboratory in Grimes and hire five people to work at the lab. Highway Equipment Company plans to build new research and development facilities in Cedar Rapids and hire 14 people.

The other company getting state tax breaks is Legacy Manufacturing in Marion. It is planning a 12-million dollar expansion of its existing facility and is promising to hire 13 more people. The Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Board also provided a grant to the “StartUp Dubuque” program at Northeast Iowa Community College. A mentoring program in the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids area is getting a state grant, too. The “Startup Factory” at Iowa State University’s Research Park and a University of Iowa “hub” for entrepreneurs working on medical devices are each getting 200-thousand dollar state grants.

(Radio Iowa)

Rain has hopscotched through the state this week and Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey says the precipitation is coming at a make-or-break time for soybeans. This is the time when the beans are forming inside the pods on soybean plants. “(For) a lot of those beans, that rain could make the difference between 20-bushel beans and 55-bushel beans,” Northey says.

In 2016, the average soybean yield in Iowa was 60 bushels per acre. A U-S-D-A report issued Thursday, concluded seven southern Iowa counties are now in “extreme drought.” Overall, 70 percent of the state is considered to have some level of drought conditions. Northey says “most of the state” needs a soaking rain. “I’m sure roots are using every last drop of water there is out there,” Northey says. “…It’s a pretty amazing thing to think you’ve got a kernel of seed corn that was planted the end of April and now it’s got a 10 or 12 foot stalk out there…I’ve talked to folks who’ve found roots eight foot deep, going after that moisture that we had this spring.”

LaVerne Arndt farms near Sac City in northwest Iowa, one of the driest spots in the state. “That July hot spell really cooked our crops,” Arndt says. “I think we’re looking at on corn a 50-75 percent loss from last year, which I understand was a really great year.”

But Arndt says his soybeans still have the potential for good yields with timely rains. Kurt Olson farms near Grand Mound in east-central Iowa. He say his crops are doing well. “We’ve been getting moisture where other people haven’t,” Olson says. “(Compared to) anywhere else I’ve been in Iowa, we look really good.”

Olson farms in Clinton County. Much of northeast Iowa where heavy rains and flash flooding hit recently is out of the drought zone. However, portions of Clarke, Decatur, Lucas, Madison, Union, Warren and Wayne Counties are rated in “extreme drought” by the U-S-D-A’s latest report.

(Radio Iowa, w/Reporting by Ken Anderson of Brownfield Ag News)