A teenager was killed in a traffic crash Wednesday morning in central Iowa’s Jasper County. It happened shortly after 7:30 a.m. when a car and truck collided at an intersection in Kellogg. The truck caught on fire, but the three people inside were able to escape. The driver of the car, 16-year-old Trenton Brady of rural Kellogg, died at the scene. A passenger in the car and three occupants of the truck, were taken to hospitals.

(Radio Iowa)

Traffic safety officials are looking at possible changes to a construction zone on Interstate 80 in eastern Iowa. Jim Schnoebelen, the Iowa DOT’s District 6 engineer, says around a half-dozen semis have crashed in the work zone near Ladora within the last week. “I can confirm there’s been at least five and maybe as many as six or seven,” Schnoebelen said.

Ladora I-80 construction area wreck

The Department of Transportation is fixing decking on a bridge, which is forcing traffic to use temporarily shifted lanes in both eastbound and westbound directions. The speed limit on I-80 in the construction zone is reduced to 55 miles an hour. There’s a narrow shoulder in the right lane in both directions and, apparently, it’s causing problems for semi drivers in particular.

“We’re looking to see if we may even have some camera footage that would allow us to review the accidents,” Schnoebelen said. “It seems like most of them appear to be (semis) just slipping off the side of the road. I’m not sure about the cause of that…whether it’s just distracted driving or not enough margin of error for the room available there.” So far, there have not been reports of serious injuries in the crashes. Since there is a narrow shoulder, the DOT installed signs telling truck drivers to use the left lane.

“It may be an issue, at times, where trucks don’t have that opportunity to get over to the left lane. So, we’re taking a look at whether there needs to be more advanced warning to make sure they’re aware of that upcoming work zone,” Schnoebelen said. The construction work in the area started last week and is expected to last until September.

(Radio Iowa)

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

LAWTON, Iowa (AP) — A northwest Iowa city clerk has been fired after police say he tried to meet an underage boy in Nebraska for sex. The Sioux City Journal reports that city council members in Lawton unanimously voted Tuesday to remove City Clerk Douglas Furlich. He was arrested Thursday and charged with sexual assault through the use of an electronic device.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Patty Judge opened her general election campaign against one of the most-entrenched senators in Washington by making a trip to Washington herself _ Washington, Iowa, that is. One day after the former lieutenant governor defeated three other Democrats for the nomination, she met with local supporters there over lunch. Democratic activists say that kind of ground-level politics is the only way she can pull an upset against Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who ranks fourth in Senate seniority.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A judge has ruled that a Des Moines teenager accused of fatally shooting a 17-year-old boy will face trial in adult court. The Des Moines Register reports that District Associate Judge Joseph Seidlin chose to transfer 15-year-old Marvin Holmes’ first-degree murder trial from juvenile to adult district court Wednesday. Holmes is accused of shooting Kendall Foster in the back April 29.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A former employee of The Swiss Colony catalog sales company has pleaded guilty to an elaborate fraud scheme in which he stole and sold its merchandise online for years. Chad Saeugling faces a possible prison sentence after entering guilty pleas Wednesday for mail fraud and making false statements to financial institutions.

The City of Atlantic issued a notice for residents that they will begin annual spraying for mosquitoes on Thursday, June 9the and Friday, June 10th.  Spraying will be done between 4:00am-7:00am, weather permitting.  Spraying will continue every Thursday and Friday throughout the summer until further notice.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Preliminary figures show the number of voters to cast ballots in the primary election is the lowest in more than a decade. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says 187,969 voters cast ballots in the U.S. Senate primary on Tuesday, the only statewide race on the ballot. That represents 9.7 percent of the 1.9 million active registered voters. It’s the lowest number since 164,404 voters cast ballots in 2004, a year with no federal or statewide primary challenges.

Since 2000 statewide turnout has ranged from 16.6 percent in 2002 when there was a highly contested governor’s race to 9.5 percent in 2008, another year with no statewide primary races. Pate says the reason for low turnout this year may be voter apathy centered on frustration with government.

In a correction to our earlier posts and reports: Incumbent Republicans Todd Nelson and Rick Thompson received the most votes in the three-man race for the At Large seats on the Audubon County Board of Supervisors. Thompson received 711 votes (36.4%), while Nelson received 658 votes (33.7%). Doug Sorensen garnered 572 votes (29.3%).  (Earlier we had stated Nelson lost his bid for re-election. We apologize for the misunderstanding and error!)