A two-vehicle accident in Lewis Tuesday afternoon caused $5,000 damage, but no one was injured. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says the accident happened at around 1:50-p.m., at the intersection of 1^st and Walnut Streets, in Lewis. Officials say a 2006 Lincoln Town Car owned and driven by 73-year old Julia McNees, of Atlantic, was traveling northbound on 1st Street when it was hit by a 2007 Hyundai Accent, owned and driven by 55-year old Cynthia Jean Koontz, of  Lewis.  The collision occurred as Koontz attempted a left-hand turn from the southbound lane. Koontz was cited for Failure to Yield Upon Left Turn.

Four southwest Iowa people were arrested Tuesday on drug charges in Fremont County. The Sheriff’s Office says the residents of a Hamburg apartment, 40-year old Randall Larson and 22-year old Samantha Hull, along with 39-year old Adam Blackman, of Malvern, and 35-year old Clinton Robinson, of Hamburg, were taken into custody following the execution of a search warrant at 409 F Street, in Hamburg. Authorities say after an active methamphetamine lab was found in the apartment during their search, agents with the Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement processed the scene to secure the evidence, and remove hazardous materials.

Each of the four suspects were charged with Conspiracy to Manufacture 5 grams or more of Meth. They were being held in the Fremont County Jail on $100,000 bond each. Officials say additional charges are expected, as their investigation remains ongoing.

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An accident early this morning on Interstate 29 in Pottawattamie County resulted in one person being sent to the hospital with critical injuries. According to the Omaha World-Herald, the wreck happened at around 3:45-a.m., just north of Council Bluffs. The vehicle ended-up in a ditch. One person in the vehicle was transported to the Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha. No other information is currently available.

ORANGE CITY, Iowa (AP) – An Ohio-based company has told employees that its northwest Iowa meat plant in Orange City will close by the end of the year. Shuttering the AdvancePierre Foods plant will eliminate an estimated 300 jobs. Mayor Les Douma says the plant manager told him about the closing late Tuesday. Douma says the plant has “a great economic impact on the entire region.”  The company supplies meat products and sandwiches to food-service, school, retail, club store, vending and convenience store markets.

A message relayed through the Emergency Alert System Tuesday morning notified residents of Pottawattamie County about a phone outage that affected their 9-1-1 land line service. According to the Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Agency, the incident was caused by a phone company problem. Residents of Carson, Oakland, and Treynor were affected by the phone system outage that prevented them from dialing 9-1-1 for a little more than two-hours. Cellular phone customers were not affected by the outage.

Persons without a cell phone and in need of 9-1-1 service, were asked to go to their local fire station, where persons on-duty could contact the proper authorities. Land-line 9-1-1 service was restored by around 1:15-p.m., Tuesday.

HORNICK, Iowa (AP) – Residents in the western Iowa town of Hornick have returned to their homes after a fertilizer fire at a co-op building.  The fire at the Western Iowa Cooperative broke out Tuesday afternoon. The Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office was concerned about air quality and residents’ safety and urged the evacuation as a precaution.  Co-op general manager John Bender says a phosphorus-based fertilizer is stored in the building but the building was 90 percent empty, however. Fire officials say the fire was under control within an hour. No injuries were reported.  Hornick, which has about 220 residents, is around 30 miles southeast of Sioux City.

(Correction to earlier version of this story – updated 8:50-a.m. 5/2/12)

The Audubon County Board of Supervisors have set May 9th as the date to appoint an interim County Treasurer, to fill the vacancy created by the death Sunday, of Audubon County Treasurer Connie Johnson. Auditor Lisa Fredericksen told KJAN News, per Iowa Code section 69.3, the Treasurer’s Office was temporarily closed once officials learned of Johnson’s passing. Fredericksen came into the office and took possession of the keys and books, and count the money on hand.

The Board of Supervisors held a special meeting Tuesday to decide whether to hold a special election to fill the position, or to appoint. They chose to appoint a person to the job. The notice will be posted in Friday’s edition of the local paper in Audubon. Fredericksen says the notice needs to be in the paper no less than four days and no more than 20, so the soonest an appointment can be made is next Wednesday, May 9th, at 9-a.m.

In the meantime, Fredericksen said so she doesn’t handle both sides of money transactions, the Board approved Deputy Treasurer Deb Campbell and Fredericksen going to the bank together, to handle any financial transfers, so their is no appearance of impropriety. The Supervisors passed a resolution to allow Fredericksen to become bonded until an appointment is made next Wednesday. She has custody of the office until such time as an appointment is made.

All Audubon County offices will be closed on Thursday, May 3rd,  so that County employees who choose to do so, may attend Johnson’s funeral. Connie Johnson was 53-years old. Kessler Funeral Home in Exira is in charge of the funeral arrangements.

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