A northwest Iowa woman suffered serious injuries during a crash between a motorcycle and a semi Sunday afternoon, in Adair County. The Iowa State Patrol says a 2007 Volvo semi driven by 40-year old Larry D. Fry, of Fredericktown, Ohio, was traveling east on Interstate 80 in the slow lane just east of the Highway 25 exit, and was unable to merge into the left lane.

A 2003 Harley Davidson motorcycle, driven by 44-year old Deborah Lynn Dirks, of Gilmore City, was merging from the ramp onto I-80 eastbound and collided with the side of the semi. The impact caused Dirks to lose control of the cycle, which came to rest in the south ditch.  The accident happened at around 4:15-p.m.

Dirks was flown by helicopter to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. According to her friends, doctors were forced to amputate one of her legs below the knee. She also suffered lacerations, broken bones, and a collapsed lung, but was expected to survive from her injuries.

Friends say the woman was riding with the “Freedom Riders” motorcycle club when the accident, which remains under investigation, took place.

(A-P) EMERSON, Neb. — Two people on a motorcycle have been killed in a head-on collision with a car near Emerson in eastern Nebraska. The Dixon County, NE,  sheriff’s office says that 20-year-old Christopher Oberg, of Mapleton, Iowa, and his passenger, 19-year-old Alexis Calfee of Bennett, Neb., died at the scene of Friday evening’s crash. The sheriff’s office says Oberg was heading westbound on the motorcycle when he encountered an eastbound car in his lane. He swerved but couldn’t avoid a crash. The driver of the car, identified as 55-year-old Robert Mahler, of Hubbard, Neb., was taken to an Iowa hospital. The crash is under investigatio

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – More recipients of government payments in the Midwest are signing up for direct deposit, but officials say 1.8 million people are still counting on paper checks. That could be a problem because the federal government plans to end paper checks for Social Security and other benefits in March 2013. The Treasury Department says 88 percent of the benefit payments in the Midwest are now being made electronically. That’s up from 85 percent seven months ago. Officials hope the number of people using direct deposit will continue to grow. So reminders will be sent to benefit recipients in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Anyone needing help with the change can call 1-800-333-1795 or visit www.GoDirect.org.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County said Sunday, a Shelby County man was arrested at around 9-a.m. Sunday on a charge of public intoxication. 20-year old Dustin William Martz, of Irwin, was taken into custody on Highway 71,  about one-half mile north of the intersection with Highway 34. Martz was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $300 cash bond.