Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa (AP) — Nearly 500 vehicles are expected to join the Great Eastern Iowa Tractorcade this year. The three-day event begins Monday at its home base in Mount Pleasant. Monday’s destinations include Danville, West Point and New London. On Tuesday the tractors will roll into Salem, Keosauqua and Houghton before returning to Mount Pleasant. And Wednesday’s lone destination is Wayland.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in western Iowa are investigating the death of a Texas woman found near her dead dog and a burning car. Sgt. David Dawson of the Council Bluffs Police Department says 43-year-old Paula Arnett was found early Monday near a burning pickup truck parked at a local Days Inn. Arnett had a gunshot wound to the head. A handgun was found underneath Arnett. Dawson says police are investigating the death, but they do not suspect foul play.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa agriculture officials are reporting an additional farm infected with bird flu in Sioux County. It’s the 18th case in the county and was found in a flock of 3,800 birds of various species. An Iowa Department of Agriculture spokesman says he can’t be more specific about what type of farm is infected or what species of birds are involved. It is the 73rd case of bird flu in Iowa. The outbreak has cost the state more than 29 million birds.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Officials say cameras are needed to help enforce an Iowa law that increased penalties for drivers who illegally pass by school buses whenever they’re stopped. Under the state law, commonly referred to as Kadyn’s Law, driving privileges are suspended for 30 days for a first conviction. It increases to 90 days for a second conviction and 180 days for a third conviction. The law was prompted by the 2011 death of 7-year-old Kadyn Halverson, who was hit by a vehicle as she crossed a rural road to board a school bus.

Two motorcyclists were hurt during separate crashes last weekend, in Mills County. The Sheriff’s Office says Richard Deboodt, of Bellevue, NE, was transported by Glenwood Rescue to a hospital in Council Bluffs, after Deboodt crashed his 2014 Harley Davidson at around 8:20-p.m, Saturday. The accident happened as the cycle was traveling north on 221st Street and entered a curve too fast. The Harley entered the east ditch and went over Elrod Avenue before going back into the ditch. Deboodt suffered minor injuries to his face during the accident, which required stitches.

The second accident happened at around 3:10-p.m. Sunday, when a 2005 Honda traveling south on 230th Street in Mills County, went out of control on loose gravel. The bike apparently just fell over, according to authorities. The driver, Harry Mount, of Glenwood, suffered severe injuries and was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Omaha.

Two people were arrested last week on drug charges, south of Malvern, while a third person was picked up on a warrant. The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports 20-year old David Jesse McConahey, of Thurman, 21-year old Shelby Lynn Conn, of Glenwood, and 21-year old Dakota David Kempton, of Glenwood, were taken into custody at around 10:45-p.m, Friday, near the intersection of Marh Avenue and 315th Street.

McConahay faces charges that include Possession of Contraband, Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His bond was set at $6,300. Conn was charged with Unlawful Possession of a Prescription Drug. Her bond was $1,000. And, Kempton, who was wanted on a warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault, was being held in the Mills County Jail on $1,000 bond.

Arrested at a separate time and location last Friday, was 23-year old Taner Michael Schoening, of Glenwood, who was wanted on a warrant for Violation of Probation. His bond was set at $1,000. Saturday evening, Mills County Deputies arrested 33-year old Melissa Sue Alley, and 43-year old Bret Phillip Samuelson, both of Randolph. The pair were charged with Providing False ID information. Alley was also charged with Driving Under Suspension, and Speeding. Her bond was $600. Samuelson’s bond was set at $300.

And, four people were arrested Sunday, in Mills County on various charges, including 29-year old Brandy Nicole Strange, of Randolph, and 30-year old Jacob Michael Eugene Gill, of Farragut, both of whom were charged with Public Intoxication. 38-year old Michael Raymond Carver, of Omaha, was arrested Sunday for Driving Under Suspension and Speeding. And, 33-year old Joshua David Morrison, of Glenwood, was arrested on a warrant for Violating Probation.

Iowa has one of the strongest job markets in the country according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. Manpower spokesperson Karen Miller says 96-percent of the state’s employers that were surveyed plan to hire more employees or maintain their current workforce levels between July and September. “We’ve got 30-percent of the employers around the state that were surveyed saying they’ll be adding (employees),” Miller said. “Only three-percent said they would be decreasing staffing levels.”

The fact that so many employers intend to hire more workers means companies will face a lot of competition for top talent. “If they’re going to be hunting and trying to find the right talent to fill their open opportunities, they’re going to have to get aggressive,” Miller said. “They’re going to have to make sure they’re competitive with their salaries and benefit offerings.” In addition, Miller suggests employers consider hiring candidates with “transferable skills” who can be taught to fill needs within the company.

The 30-percent of Iowa employers who plan to add workers over the third quarter of 2015 compares to 22-percent in the survey conducted one year ago. Iowa, North Dakota, Michigan and Virginia were the top four performing states in the latest Manpower survey.

(Radio Iowa)

The dean of the University of Notre Dame’s College of Science is pedaling his bicycle across Iowa this week to raise awareness and money about a rare childhood disease that’s always fatal.

From the website http://blogs.nd.edu/gregcrawford/

Greg Crawford is about halfway through his cross-country Road to Discovery ride that’s taking him from New York to California. Crawford is educating people along the way about Niemann-Pick Type C disease, or N-P-C. It’s often diagnosed between the ages of three and five and progresses slowly.

“The child can’t process cholesterol properly or metabolize it, as we say,” Crawford says. “It starts to build up in all of your organs and your cells and ultimately, in the brain, and it becomes neurodegenerative. When that happens, the final days are in a wheelchair with a feeding tube, you can’t eat, you can’t walk, you can’t talk and kids typically only live into their early teens.” The genetic disorder claimed the lives of three of the four grandchildren of Ara Parseghian, the Notre Dame football coach from 1964 to ’74. Crawford will spend about four weeks making the two-wheeled trek across America, covering between 100 and 150 miles a day and a total of about three-thousand miles from coast-to-coast. After stops in Davenport and Iowa City, Crawford plans to be in Des Moines for an event on Wednesday. Another stop is scheduled in Omaha on Thursday.

“We have towns that are picked out from Long Island, New York, all the way to Pebble Beach, California,” Crawford says. “Those towns or cities have a lot of Notre Dame alumni and typically, alumni rally around this cause and we’ll have events like fundraisers, auctions, good times and we actually ask for money to support research into this rare disease.” This is the 5th year Crawford has biked across the country to raise funds and awareness for N-P-C and he says, it may be the last year. About a million dollars was raised during the first four trips and this year’s goal is another full million dollars.

“What happened over the past two years is that one of our professors at Notre Dame actually discovered a drug that was repurposed for this rare disease called NPC,” Crawford says. “The drug is now in clinical trials in phase one. We’re hoping to raise money with this ride to get it to phase two and phase three trials in the very near future.” Learn more and donate at the website: roadtodiscovery.nd.edu

(Radio Iowa)

Authorities in Council Bluffs say foul play is NOT suspected in the death of a woman and her dog, both of whom were found near a burning pickup truck in a motel parking lot, early Monday morning. Officials say Bluffs Police and Fire responded just before 2-a.m. to the Days Inn on south 7th Street, for a vehicle fire. When Officers arrived, they found a Ford F-150 parked on the northern edge of the motel’s parking lot, fully engulfed in flames. Located to the north of that vehicle, in a grassy area, was the body of a deceased female and a deceased dog. The dog and the female each had a single gunshot wound to the head. The female was identified as 43 year old Paula Arnett, of Ingleside Texas. A handgun was located under Arnett’s body and the burning F-150 was registered to her husband. Arnett was also the owner of the deceased dog. Arnett, her husband and her seventeen year old Stepson were traveling from Texas to Sioux City, IA. and were spending the night at Days Inn. The incident is being investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division. An autopsy will be conducted on Arnett tomorrow (Tuesday), but again, authorities say foul play is not suspected at this time.