Iowa’s toss-up status in this year’s presidential election is nerve-wracking for top officials in both major parties — and for the rank-and-file voters. Kimberly Penning of Ankeny voted for Mitt Romney four years ago. She’s undecided about the presidential race this year and plans to make a final voting decision the day before the Election — just in case there’s some last-minute revelation. “I’m looking for somebody that’s going to basically do something good for the country and isn’t going to send us down a rabbit hole,” she says. She describes the campaign as a “roller coaster.”

Irene Wesley of Ames is a Democrat who has already voted, for Hillary Clinton. She says this election is “mind boggling.” “I have never seen a bigger circus in my life,” Wesley says. “It rivals elections in Latin America. It rivals elections in Italy.” Iowa Republicans held their annual fall fundraiser Saturday night. The party’s top leaders condemned what Donald Trump said on a vulgar recording that was replayed over and over this weekend, but remain committed to voting for Trump rather than Hillary Clinton.

Governor Terry Branstad told reporters Iowa Republicans “are not going to abandon” Trump. “We need to look to the future and we need to look at what kind of a leader we’re going to have for this country and I think that the vision that Trump and Pence has is much better for the future of America than what Hillary Clinton offers.” A Des Moines Register Iowa Poll conducted last week — before the video was released — found Trump ahead in Iowa by four points.

That prompted former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack to ask a crowd of Democrats on Sunday in Ames why Iowa is the only battleground state in the country where Clinton’s trailing Trump. “We always knew this was going to be a very tough race and a tight race in Iowa, but I think it is important for Iowans to understand what’s at stake here,” Vilsack told reporters. “…There’s a stark difference between these candidates on the issues that matter to Iowans.”

Vilsack decided to fill out his absentee ballot last night, with his young grandchildren in the room to mark the occasion. One Republican member of the Iowa House went on Facebook this weekend to announce he would NOT vote for the G-O-P nominee. Representative Ken Rizer, of Cedar Rapids, says Trump’s recently revealed remarks about women illustrate an “arrogant lack of character.” Rizer, who backed Jeb Bush in the Caucuses, says as a husband and the father of two college-aged daughters, he cannot hold his nose and vote for Trump.

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

Iowa Workforce Development has won a grant from the U-S Department of Labor to do some system upgrading. I-W-D spokesperson, Courtney Greene, says the grant is for one-point-one million dollars. “That will go to upgrade our integrated case management system. And basically what that will do is help us do a better job of providing services to dislocated workers,” Greene says. “Those workers who maybe the plant closes or the company decides to relocate and leaves those workers out of a job — this will help manage those cases.”

She says the change involves the systems used by state employees. “It’s really a more internal system. It allows our Iowa work staff to track clients to make sure that people are receiving the services they need, when they need them,” according to Greene. Greene says the upgrade will help them get more real-time data. She says it will make the system more efficient and should save money and reduce duplication. Greene says they will be working on the system during the next year.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal appeals court has opened the door for construction to resume on a small stretch of the four-state Dakota Access pipeline while it considers an appeal by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The ruling came Sunday. The tribe had asked the U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to continue work stoppage on the pipeline within 20 miles of Lake Oahe in North Dakota. The court earlier ordered work to stop while it decided the motion.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad has highlighted extra benefits under Iowa’s new Medicaid program to show the privatized system functions better than the former state-run setup, but the agency overseeing Medicaid acknowledges it does little tracking of the benefits. Known as value-added services, they range from waived gym membership fees to free cellphones. The Iowa Department of Human Services says it’s not required to track the services.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — The remains of a Navy chaplain have been buried in his home state of Iowa nearly 75 years after he died during the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. A funeral was held for Chaplain Aloysius Schmitt on Saturday. He was aboard the battleship USS Oklahoma when the Dec. 7, 1941, attack happened. The Telegraph Herald reports Schmitt helped other sailors escape the sinking ship before he died. The Navy announced in September that Schmitt’s remains had been identified.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Mason City police say bicycle thefts are on the rise this year as more thieves seek cash for drugs. There have already been 175 bikes reported stolen this year, which is more than all of last year. Police say the stolen bikes are often found in pieces in bicycle chop shops around town.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Mason City police say bicycle thefts are on the rise this year as more thieves seek cash for drugs. The Globe Gazette reports there have already been 175 bikes reported stolen this year. In all of 2015, only 132 bikes were stolen. Mason City Police Lt. Rich Jensen says stolen bikes are often found in pieces in “little clandestine bicycle chop shops.” Jensen says the thefts are often linked to people seeking money for drugs.

When police searched an apartment last month, they found drug paraphernalia, two complete bikes, a pile of bicycle frames and dozens of bike parts. Adam Ochoa says he couldn’t believe it when his bike was recently stolen for the second time in five years.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad has highlighted extra benefits under Iowa’s new Medicaid program to show the privatized system functions better than the former state-run setup, but the agency overseeing Medicaid acknowledges it knows little about how the so-called value-added services are working for patients. The services range from waived gym membership fees to free cellphones.

After more than six months of the privately run system, there is limited data about how many people have used the value-added services and no information about whether the services are effective. The Department of Human Services says it’s not required to closely track them.

The setup highlights limitations in what the state must share about Iowa’s new Medicaid system. It also adds a layer of work for the public to access information about the services.

A traffic stop early this (Sunday) morning near the Stringtown Cemetery in rural Adams County, resulted in the arrest of a Lenox man on an OWI charge. Adams County Sheriff’s officials say 27-year old Christopher David Mackey, of Lenox, was pulled over at around 1:40-a.m. near the intersection of Highway 34 and Sycamore Avenue, and subsequently placed under arrest for OWI/1st offense after failing Standardized Field Sobriety Tests. Mackey was being held in the Adams County Jail on $1,000 bond.

A traffic stop Saturday night in Red Oak resulted in men from Cass and Montgomery Counties being issued citations for Possession of Alcohol under the legal age. Red Oak Police say officers conducted a traffic stop for an equipment violation at around 11:30-p.m. at the Cubby’s parking lot. Officers discovered alcohol inside the vehicle.

As a result, 18-year old Jerry Carr, of Anita, and 19-year old Elias Guerra, of Red Oak, were cited for Possession of Alcohol under the age of 21. Both men were released with their citations.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Montgomery County office will host an Aquatic, Forest and Right-of-Way Continuing Instruction Course (CIC) for commercial pesticide applicators on Wednesday, Oct. 19th, 2016. The program can be seen at office locations across Iowa through the ISU Extension and Outreach Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) team.

The local attendance site for the Oct. 19th CIC is the Montgomery County Extension and Outreach office located at 400 Bridge St. Red Oak, Iowa. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. followed by sessions from 9 to 11:30 a.m. The registration fee is $35 on or before Oct. 12 and $45 after Oct. 12. To register or to obtain additional information about the CIC, contact Angela Silva at the ISU Extension and Outreach Montgomery County office at 712-623-2592.

The course will provide continuing instruction credits for commercial and public pesticide applicators certified in categories 2 (Forest Pest Control), 5 (Aquatic Pest Control), 6 (Right-of-Way Pest Control) and 10 (Research and Demonstration). Topics to be covered are: recognition of sensitive areas impacted by pesticide applications; restricted entry intervals; pesticide labels for aquatic, forest, and right-of-way products; controlling honeysuckle; poisonous weeds; and long-term thistle management.

Additional information and registration forms for this and other courses offered through the PSEP Program can be accessed at www.extension.iastate.edu/PSEP.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:24 a.m. CDT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Iowa firm has won a $1.9 million contract for work on a section of the Missouri River in southeast Nebraska. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently awarded the contract for work in Nemaha County.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Fitting tribute to Iowa football or Hawk-eyesore? That’s what a judge must decide. Angry neighbors have filed a lawsuit against the Iowa City Board of Adjustment for allowing a couple to proceed with their plan to build a 7,500-square-foot home that will resemble the University of Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium. Cedar Rapids television station KCRG reports that the lawsuit was filed Wednesday.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The trial of a man accused in shooting death of an Iowa City landlord will not move forward until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether the case should be reviewed. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that District Judge Sean McPartland granted a stay Friday in Justin Marshall’s trial. Marshall was convicted in the 2009 shooting death of Iowa City landlord John Versypt, but his conviction was overturned and a new trial ordered.

NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa (AP) — North Liberty police say a 25-year-old man has been charged with animal torture, accused of hurting a cat. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that Gibson Neblett was released Friday from the Johnson County Jail. Police say Neblett abused a cat named Melvin in August and September. An Iowa City phone number listed for him appeared not to be working Saturday.