Iowans who plan to do any traveling over the Fourth of July holiday weekend can expect to see a few more police officers on the road. Patrick Hoye, with the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, says a “drive sober or get pulled over” campaign is scheduled for July 1st through the morning of the 5th. “We provide additional overtime funding for officers, so you will see additional officers out during this holiday period,” Hoye says.

The focus of the campaign is to remove drunk drivers from the roads, but Hoye says he hopes all drivers will also obey speed limits and buckle up. He says last year was unusual as there were no fatalities over the three-day holiday weekend. “July Fourth is typically one of the most dangerous driving times for Iowans, so last year we were fortunate that there were no fatalities,” Hoye says.

But, in 2014, seven people were killed on Iowa roadways and one was alcohol related. And in 2013, six people were killed on Iowa roadways over the Independence Day holiday and three of those crashes were alcohol related. “Unfortunately, that’s typically what we see of the Fourth of July…that alcohol plays a large part in those fatalities,” Hoye said.

Nationwide, over the three-day holiday last year, 164 people were killed in crashes involving a least one driver who was legally drunk behind the wheel. That’s according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a 14-year-old boy faces a charge in what appears to be the accidental shooting of a girl in Des Moines. Medics and officers were sent to the scene around 9:45 p.m. Saturday. Police say several juveniles were mishandling a gun and it went off. The bullet struck the 14-year-old girl in the face. Sgt. Paul Parizek says the girl was taken to a hospital and is expected to live.

Parizek says the boy is being charged with reckless use of a firearm causing injury.

A teenager was injured and his father was killed in a wreck in northwest Iowa on Saturday afternoon. The Iowa State Patrol reports about 4:23 p.m.14-year-old Ryan Schneidermann, of Inwood, was driving a 1992 Ford pickup westbound on Highway 9, two miles east of Rock Rapids. According to the report, Schneidermann said he was tired from working outside all day. He said he briefly fell asleep. The pickup crossed left of center, entered the south ditch, struck a field drive and rolled.

The report says it then came to rest upside down in the south ditch. A passenger in the pickup, 46-year-old Brad Schneidermann of Inwood, died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash. The teenager was taken to the Rock Rapids Hospital by ambulance.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 1:27 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Two women challenging Iowa’s regulation on African-style hair braiding plan to drop a lawsuit they filed last year because of a change in state law. An attorney for the women says the lawsuit in district court against the state’s cosmetology board will be dismissed once new legislation goes into effect Friday. The pending law will allow the women and others to do natural hair braiding in Iowa without a cosmetology license.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Longtime Iowa sports broadcaster Bob Brooks, whose career covering athletics of every kind spanned seven decades, has died. He was 89. Brooks’ son, Rob Brooks, says his father died Saturday. Affectionately known as “Brooksie,” he worked for a variety of Iowa radio and television stations throughout his career. For the last 15 years, he covered sports for Cedar Rapids radio station KMRY.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — West Des Moines leaders say the city will spend up to $20 million to build a new public services facility to better serve neighborhoods on the city’s western edge. The Des Moines Register reports the new facility will house the city’s Public Works Department and Parks and Recreation maintenance division. Public Works Director Bret Hodne says his department has outgrown its current 30-year-old facility.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Sioux City Council is mulling a proposal for more than $60 million in upgrades to the Tyson Events Center. The Sioux City Journal reports the upgrades are aimed at helping the Sioux City venue better compete with event centers in Omaha and Lincoln in Nebraska and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The proposed upgrades include adding everything from smartphone charging stations to a 15,000-square-foot atrium at the main entrance.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports deputies responding to a possible domestic situation late Sunday evening, arrested William Bruce, of Corning, for Domestic Abuse. The incident was reported at around 8:47-p.m.

William Bruce