CLARINDA, Iowa (AP) — A dog is being credited with saved a Clarinda family from a house fire. Clarinda Fire Chief Roger Williams tells the Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil that firefighters were called just before 3:30 a.m. Tuesday to the home in southwest Iowa.

Williams says the family dog awoke a 17-year-old girl, who was then able to get her mother and a man out of the house. Williams says there were no smoke alarms in the rented house. The teen was treated at a health center for smoke inhalation. No one else was injured.

Williams says the fire started in a living room couch, but the exact cause of the fire remains under investigation.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State University says a postdoctoral researcher from Iran has returned to campus after he was temporarily blocked following President Donald Trump’s new restrictions on immigration. The university said Tuesday that a visiting scholar from Iran who was expected to start this week has decided not to come to Ames at this time.

Meanwhile, a graduate student from Iran who was turned away at an airport in Stockholm on Saturday was again rejected from a flight at a different airport. The student is now consulting with immigration attorneys to determine whether he should make further attempts to get to the U.S.

The university says it hasn’t received any more reports of students or employees impacted by Trump’s temporary ban on immigration from seven countries.

The Council Bluffs Interstate System Improvement Program today (Tuesday) released its 2016 Annual Report highlighting progress made on construction and design projects over the last year, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s District 4 Office.

Iowa DOT District 4 Engineer Scott Schram said “The program was very busy over the last year completing the railroad relocation project and building structures for the east system interchange. The annual report provides a high-level overview of all of the work and design engineering that occurred in 2016 to provide the public with a summary of how Iowa DOT is working to deliver this important highway improvement project.”

To view the annual report featuring information about completed and active projects, public outreach, program status, statistics for work completed in 2016, and 2017 key projects, visit http://councilbluffsinterstate.iowadot.gov/2016annualreport/. To request a hard copy of the report, or for general information regarding the program, contact the Council Bluffs Interstate System Improvement Program office by phone at 712-216-3339 or email info@CouncilBluffsInterstate.com.

The Iowa DOT is in the process of reconstructing interstates 29, 80, and 480 in the Council Bluffs metropolitan area. This comprehensive interstate redesign will modernize the highway system and improve mobility and safety of approximately 18 miles of interstate. Motorists are encouraged to allow for extra travel time while this interstate improvement takes effect.

The Audubon Police Department reports the arrest on Monday of 20-year old Kira Spring Eng, of Irwin, on a charge of Criminal Mischief in the 3rd Degree. Eng was transported to the Audubon County Jail and held pending an appearance before a magistrate.

And on Saturday, 27 year old Carl Joseph Musser, of Hamlin, was arrested in Audubon for Driving Under Suspension.  Musser was transported to the Audubon County Jail and later released on promise to appear in court.

GLENWOOD, Iowa (AP) – A pickup driver has been charged in the traffic death last summer of a Florida man who was participating in a cross-Iowa bicycle ride. Mills County Attorney Naeda Elliott said in a news release Tuesday that 34-year old Robb Philippus, of Glenwood, committed a misdemeanor traffic violation.

The Iowa State Patrol says 72-year-old Wayne Ezell, of Jacksonville, Florida, and his bicycle were hit from behind by Philippus’ truck while heading west July 24, 2016 on U.S. Highway 34. The Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa set out from Glenwood that morning.

Investigators found no evidence that Philippus was under the influence of alcohol or any drugs that day. Investigators say Philippus stopped immediately and rendered aid to Ezell.

A charge of “Actions Against Bicyclists” means Philippus could face up to 30 days in jail and a fine between $65-to $625.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two recent arrests. On Sunday, 55-year old Albino Sanchez, of Omaha, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. And, on Saturday, 26-year old Cory David Cleveland, of Glenwood, was arrested for Trespassing. Cleveland’s bond was set at $300, while the bond for Sanchez was set at $1,000.

The leader of the Iowa National Guard says the nine-thousand soldiers under his command are serving during the “longest, most challenging period of war and domestic emergencies” in the state’s history. “Nearly 40 percent of our currently-serving soldiers and airmen are combat veterans, the highest percentage in this organization’s modern history.”

Adjutant General Timothy Orr delivered his “Condition of the Guard” address this morning at the statehouse. Today, 425 Iowa National Guard soldiers and airmen are on active duty.  “Today’s evolving nature of warfare demands an evolving warrior,” Orr said, “one that is highly-educated, physically-fit, technologically-savvy and globally-aware.”

Eighty soldiers from two Iowa Guard units currently are serving in Afghanistan. Orr says guard units deployed to “more than a dozen locations around the globe” this past year. “We’ve executed every mission assigned,” Orr said. “We’ve served our state and our nation here at home and we’ve rapidly deployed wherever needed.”

Orr notes Camp Dodge — the Guard’s home base in Johnston — is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. More than 118-thousand World War One soldiers were trained at Camp Dodge.  “The one thing that has not changed is Camp Dodge’s reputation as a major training base preparing our soldiers and airmen for mobilization,” Orr says. “Today, Camp Dodge in Johnston is the third-busiest National Guard training base in the United States.”

Camp Dodge is undergoing a 20 million dollar upgrade. Orr says the importance of “rigorous training…cannot be overstated.” “We cannot afford to lose what we’ve worked so hard to achieve,” Orr said, “which is the best trained, equipped, led and battle-tested National Guard in our 178-year history in Iowa.”

Nearly 12-and-a-half million will be spent in Sioux City on a new structure to consolidate operations for the 185th Refueling Wing. “Readiness Centers” in Carroll and Fairfield will be remodeled this year. In late 2017, construction will begin on a new armory in Davenport. It will replace the oldest armory currently being used by the Iowa National Guard.  “Every armory and every wing in this state has been remodeled, refurbished or rebuilt within the last 25 years,” Orr says.

Ninety-seven percent of the Guard’s budget is financed by federal tax dollars. Orr used his annual address to thank legislators and Iowans for their “steadfast” and “phenomenal” support of the Iowa National Guard.

(Radio Iowa)

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports an Underwood man was arrested Monday afternoon, for Driving While Barred. 34-year old Brian James Hiltabidel was taken into custody following a traffic stop. And, 41-year old Angela Dawn Noel, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Monday night for OWI/1st Offense, following a traffic stop for an unreadable license plate.