One of the bugs trying to find its way indoors for the winter was once thought to be an invasive species confined to eastern states. The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug was confirmed in Iowa last year. Iowa State University entomologist Donald Lewis says the stinkbug was found in Warren County, Des Moines, and Council Bluffs this summer.

Marmorated Stink Bug

“That spans the state. But so far we’ve only had reports from ten counties, more will probably show up. But this is how it starts, with these widely scattered reports and then we go back and we fill in the distribution in between,” Lewis says. Lewis says the brown, stinky bugs eat almost anything, destroying fruit and vegetable crops during the summer months, before trying to get into your home.

” It’s a double barreled threat, the brown marmirated stinkbug will feed on your crops in the summer, it’ll come into your house in the fall of the year,” according to Lewis. Lewis says you can take preventive measures to keep the bugs from coming inside when it gets cold, but once they’re in, insecticides aren’t always practical. So it’s probably best to go after them with a vacuum cleaner.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Memorial Hospital’s Board of Trustees are scheduled to meet Wednesday morning during a special meeting. During their 7:30-a.m. session in Conference Room 1, the Board will act on the offering of employment to a person selected as the hospital’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

The Board whittled down the selection from more than 100 applicants. Interviews with the finalists were conducted last week. The person selected will replace current CEO Pat Markham, who is retiring at the end of the year. Earlier this year, the CCMH Board of Trustees approved hiring an independent contractor to help with the CEO search.

The Iowa Firefighters Association reports the organization is now accepting applications for the 2014 Iowa Firefighters Association Scholarship. The scholarship is in the amount of $500 and will be awarded to a high-school or college student wishing to pursue educational commitment in the field of fire science.

The applicant must submit an application and an essay of 500 words or less about their goals, community service, hobbies and why he or she wants to receive a degree in fire science, by the application deadline. The applicant must be planning to attend an accredited Iowa College to obtain a degree in Fire Science. The application process will remain open from October 1st to December 15th.

The application can be found on the Iowa Firefighter Assoc Website at: http://www.iafireassn.org/

Applicants must send completed forms and essay to:

Iowa Firefighters Association

Executive Director

PO Box 67

Humboldt, Iowa 50548

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Nebraska man has been given probation and a suspended prison sentence for fondling a Sioux City girl around 15 years ago. The Sioux City Journal says 33-year-old Joshua Feenstra, of Norfolk, Neb., pleaded guilty on Monday in Woodbury County District Court to three counts of lascivious acts with a child. Prosecutors amended the charges from one count of second-degree sexual abuse as part of a plea agreement with Feenstra.

Judge Steven Andreasen suspended a 15-year prison sentence and placed Feenstra on five years of probation. Feenstra also must register as a sex offender and write a letter of apology to the girl.  Feenstra is accused of fondling the girl in 1997 or 1998, when she was about 8 years old and he was 17 or 18.

Authorities in Montgomery County say a woman has died after apparently jumping from a moving Amtrak train in Stanton.  Sheriff’s deputies were called to the vicinity of Broad and James Streets in Stanton at around 9:50 p.m.  When they arrived, deputies  located the woman’s body near the train tracks. The Montgomery County medical examiner declared the female dead at the scene.

The incident remains under investigation. Red Oak Police and the Iowa State Patrol assisted the sheriff’s office with the investigation.

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The suspect who was shot Monday morning by an Ames Police officer on the campus of Iowa State University has died. The man reportedly stole his father’s truck and trailer around 10 a.m., and when police spotted him, he led them on a chase that ended when he jumped a curb near the Campanile on the I-S-U campus. Ames Police Commander Geoff Huff says the truck became stuck, but the man continued to rev the engine, moving slightly forward and back.

“Officers were yelling verbal commands to stop, but he wouldn’t. They were really afraid that he was going to break loose again,” Huff said. “We had pedestrians in that area – it’s really a pedestrian area of campus, so one of our officers fired into the truck.”

The officer fired six rounds into the truck, hitting the suspect at least once. He was taken to an Ames hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Huff defended the officer’s actions, noting the suspect had previously put the truck in reverse and rammed the trailer into a patrol car. In addition, the truck had traveled the wrong way down a one way street and went through grassy areas of the ISU campus with people jumping out of the way.

“You know, I think (officers) did everything they could,” Huff said. “There were a lot of people that were put in danger by this and I think that was kind of the option that was left. When the vehicle backed up and backed the trailer partially up over the hood (of the patrol car), that was very dangerous for the officer. It was probably in our best interest to continue to pursue to try and stop this person before anybody else got hurt. Unfortunately, the result was he wouldn’t stop.”

The name of the suspect and the officer involved have not been released.

(Radio Iowa)

Authorities in Montgomery County say an accident Monday afternoon in Red Oak resulted in minor, possible injuries, but no one was hospitalized. Officials say vehicles driven by 72-year old Norman Rebitzke and 67-year old Sheryl Franzen, both of Red Oak, collided at around 3:30-p.m. at the intersection of East Valley and North Third Streets in Red Oak.

The accident happened when Rebitzke’s 2009 Subaru Forester was struck by Franzen’s 2005 Chevrolete, as Rebitzke was traveling south on North 3rd Street. Franzen pulled out from the intersection traveling west on East Valley Street, and struck the Subaru on the driver’s side door. She was subsequently cited for Failure to Yield. Damage from the crash amounted to $5,000.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa tourism officials are using the Internet to help determine the cover of the state’s next travel guide. The Iowa Tourism Office says people can vote between three cover options on the department’s Facebook page. The photos were chosen from more than 600 images submitted by people. The guide is Iowa’s trip-planning publication. It lists from more than 700 attractions, 750 hotels, 200 bed and breakfasts and 350 campgrounds.

The covers either show one destination or several. They range from an image of motorcycling in the Loess Hills to an image of tubing on the Mississippi River. People have until Friday to vote. The winning cover will be announced on Nov. 12. The new guide will be available in early 2014.