Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

EAGLE GROVE, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa school superintendent says students were released all week because of the heat. Eagle Grove Superintendent Jeff Toliver says the window air conditioners in the 1920s-era school simply couldn’t keep up with this week’s high temperatures. Students are scheduled to be back after the Labor Day holiday weekend.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Fire crews have spent hours pouring water onto a blaze in a warehouse near downtown Des Moines. Thick black smoke rose from the warehouse and stretched above much of Des Moines’ eastside. The building on Scott Avenue was less than a mile southeast of the state Capitol. There were no reports of injuries. The Register reports the same building caught fire in July.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Officials at Clarke University say the school’s annual blessing of cadavers for anatomy study reminds students that the bodies once belonged to loving people. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports faculty and students gathered Wednesday to bless the 10 cadavers as well as the school’s new $13 million science facility.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say an Oklahoma woman barred from being near the band Hanson was arrested after showing up at their events in Des Moines. Police say 25-year-old Alexandra Martin of Tulsa, Oklahoma was arrested Wednesday night after she was spotted in the crowd at the band’s downtown concert. Local television station KCCI reports all three Hanson brothers have a protective order against Martin.

Two people were found dead in a dark blue van that crashed Thursday evening in Atlantic. The accident was reported at around 9:53-p.m. It occurred on a curved road leading to the Cass County Memorial Hospital’s Emergency and Rehabilitation Services entrance off of east 10th Street. The vehicle appeared to have gone over an embankment and crashed into a tall  grass ravine.

Accident scene (Ric Hanson photo)

Atlantic Police Lt. Dave Erickson told KJAN News it was single vehicle accident and he confirmed that there were two elderly victims, who were not wearing their seat belts. No other information could be released because their families had not been notified late Thursday night, and the accident remained under investigation. Cass County 1st Deputy Medical Examiner Angela Weppler was on the scene trying to determine how the victims died. Additional information is expected to be released by the Atlantic Police Department, sometime Friday morning.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports an Underwood man was sentenced Tuesday to 8-years in prison for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. U-S District Court Judge John A. Jarvey sentenced handed down the sentence against 35-year old Christopher A. Morresi, who is also required to serve 3-years of supervised release following the completion of his sentence.

Morresi plead guilty on June 7th to being in possession of a firearm as a felon. The charge was the result of an investigation conducted by Council Bluffs Police, after they responded on Dec. 6th, 2012, to a report of a motor vehicle with a passed out driver. Morresi, who was determined to be the driver of the vehicle, had in his possession, a firearm that was reported stolen out of Nemaha County, NE. Prior to Dec. 6th, 2012, Morresi had been convicted of felony offenses in New Jersey and in Iowa.

The recent hot and dry spell has prompted the U.S. Drought Monitor to list nearly a quarter of Iowa in “severe drought.” A week ago, none of the state was in that category. State Climatologist Harry Hillaker says it’s clearly very dry across Iowa, but he disagrees with some of the U.S. Drought Monitor’s new assessment. “Right along the Nebraska border, there was actually a fairly good rain there about a week-and-a-half ago. So, I would have left out Harrison and Pottawattamie Counties (from the severe drought category). They’re still plenty dry, but certainly not as dry as the rest of that area,” Hillaker says.

In far northeast Iowa, a section of Allamakee County is labeled as being in “moderate drought.” Hillaker believes that area shouldn’t be listed in that category just yet. Overall, the U.S. Drought Monitor calls all of Iowa at least “abnormally dry,” compared with 82 percent last week. Sixty-percent of Iowa is in moderate drought and 22.4 percent is in severe drought. Hillaker says the lack of moisture and this week’s extreme heat will likely hurt the development of Iowa’s corn and soybeans.

“The worry with most of the corn and soybeans is it’s going to decrease the yield and the corn kernels themselves won’t fill very well with the lack of moisture, which is going to be worsened by the heat…same with the beans,” Hillaker says. This month is on track to enter the record books as Iowa’s 7th driest August. Last month was the state’s 9th driest July on record.

Hillaker says the two months combined have produced the 4th lowest precipitation total in 141 years of records. “The only ones lower were all a long time ago with 1947 being the most recent one. The other two were back in the 1800s,” Hillaker says. The dry spell, which started back in June, follows Iowa’s wettest ever spring. Over the months of March, April, and May, Iowa received a statewide average of nearly 17.5 inches of rain. That was over two inches above the previous record, which was set in the spring of 1892.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A growing season that began unusually wet and cold in the Midwest is finishing hot and dry, renewing worries of drought and its impact on crops. Experts say corn and soybeans may not have enough moisture in dry areas to develop to full weight, which could reduce this year’s harvest.

The weekly Drought Monitor report released Thursday shows that lack of rain has caused drought conditions to expand in parts of Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, and most of Minnesota and Wisconsin. It also shows that abnormally dry conditions have expanded in eastern Iowa and South Dakota. Rain eased drought in portions of northern Nebraska, but much of the western half of the state remain in extreme drought.

But the drought monitor showed improvement in some states, including Kansas.

Police in Atlantic report the arrest on Wednesday of 25-year old Joseph Fredericksen. He was taken into custody on a charge of Criminal Trespassing, booked into the Cass County Jail, and later released on bond.

The P-D reports also, no one was injured during an accident that happened Wednesday afternoon in a parking lot off of west 3rd Street. A vehicle driven by Marsha Borders, of Atlantic, was traveling west out of the lot directly south of 15 w. 3rd. A vehicle driven by Todd Friesleben, of Atlantic was in a parking stall in the same lot and backing out, when it hit Borders’ car. Damage from the accident amounted to $6,000. Friesleben was cited for Unsafe backing.

Four Harlan Firefighters returned home this week following a deployment to Idaho to help battle wild fires. Jason Wickizer, Shelby County Emergency Management Operations Officer, said a crew of 4 firefighters, including himself, was called by the forester in Idaho to help with some local fires. He says before reaching Idaho, the crew saw action in Utah at a fire called the Millville fire. “Once we went there, they broke us away and sent us over to Idaho for a fire. We started our travel on the 11^th of August and headed to Idaho and we assisted with the initial suppression of the Placer fire that was threatening Idaho City.”

He says the area they were had seen major damage from past fires. “We could see fire scars that took 45 minutes to drive through where you could see no living trees in both directions to the horizon. So hundreds of thousands of acres of trees gone from past fires.”

Along with Wickizer, Harlan Firefighters Chad Kroger, Brent Kiesel went out to Idaho and Andrea Syrstad was deployed to Alaska to work on fires as a paramedic. Wickizer says all the members who were deployed had the same training except Syrstad has paramedic training. “She has responded out as a paramedic twice and then she went out and assisted on Hurricane Sandy as a type two firefighter. Yes she has those paramedic skills and there sought after.”

He says one other member of the Harlan Fire Department is still out on deployment. “That’s Jordan Saunders and he is out in Montana for a fire. He is qualified as a fire fighter one trainee. He was working with a sawyer, so using a chainsaw and falling trees on a fire for a twenty person type 2 IA crew out there.”

Wickizer said the lack of communication; clean clothes and missing his family are the most difficult things while out on the mission. All the firefighters out on deployment are gaining quite the experience which he says really benefits the department when they return. “So when you look at the experiences they get, if we are ever caught off or deal with a devastating event, these folks will have experience in something similar and put those skills to use to benefit the residents of Shelby County.”

Wickizer’s crew, minus Saunders, was out west for 18 days.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

A North Sioux City company that provides customer management and financial services to clients is adding 75 new jobs. Alorica site director, Mike Freeman, says the new employees need to have light computer skills. “They are not technical in nature, really geared toward accuracy and attention to detail, and great customer service,” Freeman says. Alorica already employs 700 people and would like to grow that number to one-thousand. Freeman says the new jobs will get them closer to their goal.

He says the area is seeing a lot of good expansion and they are happy to be able to add to that. People interested in the jobs can stop by the company, or go on-line to Aloricajobs.com.

(Radio Iowa)

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest on Wednesday of 53-year old Mark Daniel Dormer, of Audubon. Dormer turned himself-in to authorities, after a warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with an incident which occurred at the Audubon County Jail on August 4th. Dormer was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, 3rd offense, and 2 counts of Possessing Contraband. He was released after posting bond, and is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 9th.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports four people were arrested over the past week and a-half. On Tuesday (Aug. 27th), 26-year old Ashley Renee Dewitt, of Casey, was arrested after she turned herself in to the Cass County Jail on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Dewitt was released later that day on $1000 bond.

On Sunday (Aug. 25th), deputies arrested 23-year old Shane Michael Suhr, of Anita,  on charges of Aggravated Domestic Assault and Obstruction of Emergency Communications. Suhr was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released later that day on his own recognizance.

The Sheriff’s Office says 19-year old Kameron Nicholas Burg, of Atlantic, was arrested August 21st, on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Burg was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released later that day on $1000 bond.

And on August 19th, 48-year old Tab Norman Rasmussen, of Exira, was taken into custody on a District Court charge of Failure to Appear (Child Support). Rasmussen was brought to the Cass County Jail where he was held for seven days per District Court.