Authorities in Creston say no injuries were reported following a collision Friday morning. According to the officer’s report, a 1997 Ford Ranger pickup driven by 71-year old Douglas John Lee, of Creston, was traveling westbound on Howard Street at around 9-a.m., and approaching a stop sign at Lincoln Street. Lee stopped and pulled away from the stop sign, then paused before proceeding into the intersection. He didn’t see a 2013 4-door Ford driven by 53-year old Mark Eugene Chubick, of Creston, that was traveling north on Lincoln. Chubick had the right-of-way.

Chubick told authorities Lee failed to stop. He tried to steer to the right to avoid a collision, but was unable to do so due to the snow on the road. The left front side of Chubick’s vehicle made contact with the left rear side of the pickup. An investigation resulted in Douglas Lee being given a verbal warning for Failure to Yield the Right-of-Way from a stop sign. Damage from the collision amounted to $10,000.

Dozens of Iowa schools are now offering students an option to quench their thirst that doesn’t involve a sugary soft drink. Through a program called “Rethink Your Drink,” qualifying schools are replacing old water fountains with bottle refilling stations that dispense optimally-fluoridated water. Jeff Russell is the president and C-E-O of Delta Dental of Iowa, which is sponsoring the effort.

“We’ve been working with 54 schools throughout Iowa in 26 counties to retrofit their water fountains into bottle filling stations so kids can fill up water bottles and drink water throughout the day,” Russell says. “As well, for these 28,000 students, we gave them each a water bottle and a toothbrush and a bookmark to remind them about the importance of drinking water.”

Russell says Delta Dental has been involved in various projects over the years designed to improve the health and wellness of Iowans, but this is a new venture. “This is the first time we’ve done the water bottle filling stations and it was a huge success,” he says. “We had 170 applications from around Iowa. We were able to fulfill 54 this time and we’re going to do another round of grant applications this year.”

He says 100-thousand dollars was allocated for the program initially but there was such a demand, the company decided to spend 230-thousand. He explains how they narrowed down the 54 schools. “We were focused on schools that had a high percentage of free and reduced lunch students and that didn’t have a water bottle filling station,” Russell says. “Certainly, we wanted to also do those in communities that had fluoride in their water.”

Studies find more than half of children and teens in the U-S aren’t properly hydrated during the school day, which can impact cognitive function and energy levels. Russell says drinking optimally-fluoridated water provides needed hydration and also protects tooth enamel and makes it more resistant to cavities. Plus, having a water bottle filling station in school encourages students to refill their personal water bottles and provides a low-cost way for kids to stay hydrated.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Department of Revenue estimates individuals and corporations in Iowa will pay 33 MILLION dollars MORE in state taxes this year due to federal tax law changes. That estimate — released Friday — is three times higher than the department’s January guess. It’s welcome news for officials struggling to ensure the CURRENT state budget remains in the black. Dave Roederer is the governor’s budget director. “It’s positive,” Roederer says, ” but we also need to be very cautious.”

Iowans are projected to pay one-point-eight BILLION dollars LESS in federal taxes this year. However, the estimated INCREASE in STATE tax revenue is due to a deduction Iowans get on their state income taxes. It’s a deduction for what they’ve paid in FEDERAL taxes. The Iowa House and Senate are considering budget-cutting plans to deal with lower-than-expected tax revenue in the current year before starting to develop a state spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1st. Roederer helped draft the state government spending proposals Governor Reynolds submitted to legislators in January.

“It should give us all some confidence that the numbers aren’t going to drop from what the governor’s budget was looking at in January,” Roederer says.

Courtney Kay-Decker — director of the Iowa Department of Revenue — says the report is a “good sign” that Iowans ARE seeing more tax-home pay because of the FEDERAL tax law changes. “We’re continuing to gather data every single day as tax returns come in, we get another little tidbit of data,” Kay-Decker says. “…I think the economic signals out there are generally good, so hopefully that will mean that incomes are going to continue to increase.”

Governor Reynolds and Republicans in the legislature have signaled they want pass a tax cut package yet this year. It would affect the income taxes Iowans pay the state in 2019.

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Council Bluffs are investigating an assault that took place late Friday night. Authorities say Police and Medical Units responded at around 11:26-p.m. to the victim of an assault in the alley behind 162 W. Broadway. A male subject had been assaulted by another male. The unidentified victim was transported by rescue squad to an area hospital with serious injuries. The Council Bluffs Police Department is requesting anyone with information in reference to the assault contact the Council Bluffs Police Criminal Investigation Division at (712) 328- 4728 or Crime Stoppers at (712) 328 – STOP (7867).

One person died and two people were injured during separate accidents Friday night in northern Iowa’s Worth County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 65-year old Johnnie Lee Waslick, of Mason City, died in a crash that took place at around 9:30-p.m. on southbound Interstate 35, just north of Highway 9. Authorities say Waslick was driving a 2011 Ford Focus in the southbound inside lane. A 2017 Chevy Tahoe Police SUV was stopped on the inside shoulder-lane providing advance warning of a traffic accident ahead, when the car struck the SUV from behind. The Ford came to rest on the shoulder of the road, while the Tahoe was pushed into the median, facing east. Waslick, who was wearing a seat belt, was transported by Forest City Ambulance to Mercy Hospital, where he died from his injuries. Injured in the crash was 30-year old Deputy Zachary Schrupp, who was treated and released. Mercy Air Med, Hanlontown and Fertile Fire Department assisted the Patrol at the accident scene. The crash remains under investigation.

And, at around 7:50-p.m., a semi traveling southbound on I-35 near mile marker 207 in Worth County, entered the median and continued in the median until it became stuck on the bridge supports at the 203 Interchange, in the median. The driver, 70-year old Thomas WIlliam Torkelson, of New Hampton, was injured, and transported by Life Flight to Mercy Hospital in Mason City. The Patrol says he was wearing his seat belt.