The driver of an SUV that rolled over Thursday afternoon in Page County, was transported by private vehicle to the hospital, for treatment of unknown injuries. The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports 25-year old Jacob Daniel Smith, of rural Red Oak, was driving a 2005 Jeep Liberty southbound on Highway 48 near 130th Street, when the vehicle crossed an icy patch of road and went out of control. The vehicle rolled once and came to rest on its wheels. The accident happened at around 4:11-p.m., Thursday, about four-miles northeast of Essex.

No citations were issued. Damage to Smith’s vehicle is estimated at $8,000.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court is letting the 2018 appointment of an eastern Iowa district court judge by Gov. Kim Reynolds stand, ending a three-year controversy over whether Reynolds had missed the legal deadline for appointing the judge. The court concluded in a ruling Friday that since former Iowa Supreme Court Justice Mark Cady deferred to Reynolds, who claimed she verbally appointed Judge Jason Besler by the legal deadline, the court shouldn’t intervene.

Attorney Gary Dickey had challenged the appointment, saying Besler was improperly appointed and potentially should be removed. In making its ruling, the Iowa Supreme Court dismisses the case.

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — A judge has rejected a motion to quash a subpoena seeking the bank records of a slain University of Iowa student. Prosecutors in the first-degree murder case against Cristhian Bahena Rivera made the motion, calling the subpoena by Behena Rivera’s lawyers for Mollie Tibbetts’ bank records a “fishing expedition.” Prosecutors accused defense attorneys of flouting the law by failing to notify prosecutors and the court of the subpoena until after it had already been served.

The Des Moines Register reports that the judge ruled the challenge was moot, as the subpoena had already been served and the bank provided no relevant information. Prosecutors say Rivera stabbed Tibbetts to death in 2018.

WELLSBURG, Iowa (AP) — (Updated) Authorities say a hazardous materials team was called to a fatal pileup on Interstate 20 in north-central Iowa that involved a semitrailer hauling sulfuric acid. The pileup happened Thursday afternoon near Wellsburg and involved 15 vehicles, including several semitrailers and a tanker carrying 5,000 gallons of sulfuric acid.

Officials say the Haz-Mat team was called to help contain a leak in the wreckage. The Iowa State Patrol says one person was killed in the crash, but had not released that person’s name or other details by late Friday morning. Authorities say at least two other people were injured in the pileup, which occurred as blizzard conditions swept the state. The injured include 66-year old Christopher Thomas Triplett, of Kahoka, MO, who was driving a Lincoln Navigator, and 25-year old Jacob Riley, of Keokuk, who was driving a 2017 Dodge Charger. Both men were wearing their seat belts.

The Iowa Department of Public Health’s Coronavirus dashboard, (as of 10-a.m. Friday), indicated there were 804 new, positive cases of COVID-19 in test results since 10-a.m. Thursday, for a pandemic total of 323,317. The IDPH said there had been 34 additional deaths recorded over the previous 24 hours, for a pandemic total of 5,067. In western and southwest Iowa, there was one additional death reported in each of Adair and Shelby Counties.

Long-Term Care (LTC) facility data, Friday, show there are 43 current outbreaks among those facilities in Iowa. Those facilities account for 1,326 of Iowa’s positive cases, while 835 LTC patients have recovered from the virus. LTC deaths make up 2,071 of the State’s total number of deaths.

COVID-19 hospitalization levels are at their lowest in Iowa since September. There are now 348 patients hospitalized with the virus, down from 360 the previous day. There are 66 patients in ICU and 31 patients on ventilators. In RMCC Region 4 (Hospitals in western/southwest Iowa),  21 are hospitalized with COVID symptoms, seven are in an ICU, one person was admitted since Thursday, and four people are on a ventilator.

Iowa’s statewide positivity rate continues to decline. The 14-day positivity rate dropped from 9.3% to 9.1%. The 7-day average dropped from 7.4% to 7.1%. Only three of Iowa’s 99 counties now report a 14-day positivity rate greater than 15%. During the spike in November, more than 90 counties reported a rate higher than 15%. Page, Howard and Clarke counties report the highest rates in the state. Worth County reports a 3.7% rate.

The Health Dept. reports also, 289,737 doses of the vaccine have been administered. Of those doses, 141,541 persons have received their first, or initial dose, while 74,098 have received their second dose.  A total of 291,531 Iowans have recovered from the virus.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} – if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:

• Cass, 1,202 cases; {+5}; 46 deaths
• Adair, 718; {+1}; 25
• Adams, 311; {+1}; 3
• Audubon, 440 {+0}; 9
• Guthrie, 1,064 {+3}; 27
• Harrison County, 1,627; {+3}; 67
• Madison County, 1,331; {+9}; 13
• Mills County, 1,418; {+4}; 20
• Montgomery, 932; {+2}; 32
• Pottawattamie County, 9,439; {+21}; 130
• Shelby County, 1,109; {+3}; 31
• Union County,  1,156; {+3}; 29

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers, Friday (today), said “With the weekend weather forecast predicting accumulating snow on Saturday and Sunday and winter weather advisory the Clarinda Police Department would like to remind the citizens of Clarinda about the snow ordinance. The ordinance states that; no person shall park any motor vehicle or other apparatus upon any street of the city that will obstruct the removal of snow when there has been an accumulation of two (2) inches or more. Any vehicle left parked on any street in violation of this ordinance may be impounded, and the registered owner of the vehicle will be subject to a $30.00 parking fine, and payment of all applicable towing and storage fee before the vehicle is released.”

The Chief says the parking ban remains in in effect until the snow ceases to fall and the streets have been plowed from curb to curb.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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WEST DES MOINES, Iowa –  An Atlantic woman was one of 106 lucky persons to win a $200 gift card for meat, during the “Fill your freezer” contest sponsored by the Iowa Farm Bureau and Fareway. Sheryl Buroughs won the Atlantic Fareway contest. She joins other winners from around western Iowa including (participating store/winner):

• Carroll – Nancy Lemker
• Clarinda – Jackie Meier
• Council Bluffs – Renee Anderson
• Creston – Karen Jones
• Denison – Shari Clausen
• Greenfield – Kim Bakerink
• Harlan – Sharon Gross
• Red Oak – Kaitlin Suchting
• Shenandoah – Jeremy Christiansen
• Winterset – Heidi Bindel.

The month-long contest was part of Iowa Farm Bureau Federation’s (IFBF) Real Farmers. Real Food. Real Meat. initiative, which showcases the nutritional benefits of meat and the innovation of Iowa livestock farmers who raise it.

(Radio Iowa) – Democratic Congresswoman Cindy Axne is sponsoring legislation that would exempt some unemployment benefits from income taxes.

The bill would waive federal income taxes on the first 10-thousand-two-hundred dollars of unemployment benefits someone received in 2020. Axne says a lot of people covered by unemployment insurance often don’t realize they have to pay taxes if they receive benefits.

In addition to traditional unemployment benefits managed by states, the federal government created two other unemployment programs during the pandemic and the bill covers all three forms of unemployment. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin is sponsoring a similar bill in the Senate. Axne says she hopes the proposal is added to the pandemic relief package that President Biden is negotiating on with congress.

Axne says it that route doesn’t work, the bill should get a hearing soon in the House Ways and Means Committee. The 10-thousand-two-hundred dollars cited in Axne’s bill is equal to the extra six-hundred dollars congress provided in weekly unemployment benefits last year — during a 17-week period.