The Mills County Sheriff’s Office today (Thursday), said two people were injured during separate accidents that happened Tuesday. The first occurred at around 9:40-a.m. Officials say Renae Gaver, of Glenwood, was driving a 2002 GMC eastbound on Highway 34, when she came upon an eastbound tractor. Gaver swerved onto the gravel shoulder of the road and turned to the left, causing gravel to be sprayed on the driver of the tractor. Her vehicle then crossed the median and nearly collided with a westbound cement truck before rolling over and coming to rest on its wheels in the north ditch. Gaver was transported by Glenwood Rescue to Jenny Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs.

The other accident happened at around 5:35-p.m. Tuesday near the Tabor City limits. Sheriff’s officials say Teresa Orme, of Shenandoah, was driving a 2008 Hyundai eastbound on Waubonsie Avenue, when for reasons unknown, her car crossed the road and went into the north ditch. The vehicle continued through a fence and finally came to rest in a field. Orme was transported by Tabor Rescue to the hospital in Shenandoah.

Iowa Senator Brad Zaun is making a push for votes in the final two weeks before the June 3rd Primary. Zaun, a 20th District House of Representatives Republican from Urbandale, has been hitting the campaign trail hard since the Senate adjourned earlier this month. He’s running for the 3rd District Congressional seat being vacated by Congressman Tom Latham, who announced in December he would not be seeking re-election.

Senator Brad Zaun, (R-IA)

Zaun, who has served in the Iowa Senate since 2004, stopped by the KJAN studios Wednesday afternoon. He’s the leader among candidates seeking the 3rd District seat, according to a recent poll by Loras College. Even thought he doesn’t get into following the polls, Zaun says they’re helpful because it shows he needs to work harder to get name recognition, especially with so many voters undecided. Zaun says he “Has a lot of work to do,” because out of 300 likely voters polled, Zaun collected 17.4-percent of the vote, which is still well below the 35-percent required for nomination.

The polls indicated the other candidates, including Robert Cramer, David Young, Matt Schultz and Monte Shaw, all received between 5.3 and 8.3 percent. Just over half of those polled indicated that they were undecided in the upcoming race. Zaun says the reason he is running, has to do with how the national debt will affect his kids. He says he will not pass the debt and spending onto his kids or any other young person.

He says when he gets to Washington, the three areas he won’t touch in terms of cutting spending, are those affecting services for seniors, the disabled and military veterans. Any other subsidies are fair game. Zaun says he is in favor of term limits, and abolishing the Department of Education in Iowa and nationally. He says a bill he’s proposed would give parents the choice of how to educate their children, whether it in a private school or home-school setting.

He says he also has a bill to shut down the “Common Core” curriculum, and create an Education Savings Account that could be used for competent non-public instruction whether that is a private school, homeschooling or online education. On the subject of term limits, Zaun says it’s not up to him to decide how long is too long to stay in office. He says “It’s in God’s hands…if it’s one term, so be it.”

The 3rd Congressional District Zaun is running for, covers an area in the southeastern corner of Iowa. Polk, Dallas, Guthrie, Warren, Madison, Adair, Cass, Pottawattamie, Mills, Fremont, Page, Montgomery, Taylor, Adams, Union and Ringgold counties are also included in the district.

(This is an update to our May 16th story, with a change in location for the Greenfield event)

Senator Chuck Grassley will hold six town meetings in Iowa during the week of May 26 as part of his annual 99-county tour. Grassley has held a meeting in each of Iowa’s 99 counties at least once every year since he was first elected to the U.S. Senate.

On May 28th, 29th and 30th, Grassley will be in Greenfield, Atlantic, Mount Ayr, Chariton, Pella, and Bloomfield. On Wednesday, May 28th, Grassley will hold Town Hall meetings:

• In Greenfield from 9:45-to 10:45-a.m., in the cafeteria at the Adair County Memorial Hospital (NOT in the courtroom at the Adair County Courthouse, as previously announced.)
• In Atlantic, from Noon-to 1 p.m. at Iowa Western Community College
• And in Mount Ayr, from 5-to 6-pm, in the Assembly Room at the Ringgold County Courthouse.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, set July 2nd as the date for a public hearing on the implementation of a City-wide Tax Abatement program. City Administrator Doug Harris said Mayor Dave Jones and the Community Development Committee recommended the council approve the program as described in the city’s Urban Revitalization Plan.

A Nebraska man was transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, following an accident Wednesday evening in Council Bluffs. According to Bluffs Police, 54-year old Brian P. Loye, of Omaha, was driving his 2004 Harley Davidson motorcycle westbound on Interstate 80 at around 8:20-p.m., when he lost control as he was about to cross the state line into Nebraska.  The cycle crashed into the southbound median. Loye, who was wearing a helmet, suffered incapacitating injuries during the crash and was last reported to be in critical condition at the hospital.

Witnesses told accident investigators Loye was traveling at a high rate of speed when something fell off his cycle. They said when he turned his head to look back, he lost control of the motorcycle.

The Iowa State Patrol says a teenager from southwest Iowa was injured during an accident Wednesday evening between his motorcycle and a pickup. 16-year old Payton Montana Casteel, of Coin, was flown by Mercy One helicopter to Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha following the collision, which happened at around 6:25-p.m. in the Page County town of Coin.

Authorities say a 1998 Dodge pickup driven by 47-year old Patricia Cherie Wray, of Coin, was traveling eastbound and slowing to turn left into a residential driveway at 608 Main Street. When Casteel attempted to pass on the left side, the 1989 Honda motorcycle he was driving hit the left side of the pickup. He told authorities he was not wearing a helmet.

Page County Sheriff’s Deputies and Coin Fire and Rescue assisted the State Patrol at the scene.

Iowa has dropped a few spots in an annual ranking of the states on the health of adults aged 65 and older. The United Health Foundation’s report places Iowa 13th in the nation for senior health, down from 7th last year. Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) medical director Dr. Patricia Quinlisk says there’s plenty of positive news in the report, such as Iowa’s best-in-the-nation influenza vaccination rate among seniors.

“This means we do a pretty good job at protecting our seniors against one of the top 10 causes of death and that’s influenza and pneumonia,” Quinlisk says. The report shows just over 70-percent of Iowans 65-and-older got the flu vaccine last year. Nearly 30-percent of Iowa seniors are listed as being obese, placing the state as one of the worst in the nation in that category.

“This is an issue, obviously, because obesity can lead to other issues like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and other things that can very significantly impact our seniors and their health,” Quinlisk says. She notes the IDPH has several programs in place that are designed to improve older Iowans’ health. “We have quite a few programs that are trying to encourage people to get out there and move,” Quinlisk says. “Movement is basically anything that gets you up and off the couch, so you’re moving. It could be anything from walking around the block to gardening. It doesn’t necessarily mean going to the gym, wearing workout clothes, and things like that.”

Volunteerism among Iowa seniors ranks 6th in the nation, according to the America’s Health Rankings Senior Report. You can view the report in its entirety at www.americashealthrankings.org/senior

(Radio Iowa)