(Mitchell County, Iowa) – One person died and two others were injured Thursday, during a collision between two trucks in northern Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol says a 2024 Mack truck was traveling south on Kirkwood Avenue west of Staceyville (in Mitchell County). A 2012 Peterbilt semi was traveling east on 465th Street. The Patrol says the driver of the Mack truck, 43-year-old Senika Range, of McDonough, GA, failed to yield the right of way from the stop sign and entered the intersection, where the truck was struck on the passenger side by the semi. The Peterbilt rolled over and spilled a load of corn as a result to the crash, which happened at around 12:35-p.m., Thursday.

A passenger in the Mack truck – 60-year-old Eric Mitchell, of Atlanta, GA – was ejected from the vehicle following the impact and died from his injuries after being flown to a hospital in Minnesota . He was not wearing a seat belt. Senika Range, and the driver of the semi, 24-year-old Christo Vander Linde, of Staceyville, were injured. Both were transported to a local hospital.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by crews with the Staceyville Fire Dept., St. Ansgar Fire & EMS, and the Mitchell County Ambulance service.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa is the first stop this weekend on the national tour of what’s known as the Banned Wagon, as publishing giant Penguin Random House offers free books that are the focus of court battles and controversy. Jan Danielson Kaiser, spokeswoman for Beaverdale Books in Des Moines, says they have a long list of speakers who will use the vehicle as a backdrop for addressing censorship, and the importance of protecting the freedom to read. “It is a 20-foot bookmobile and it’s going to be parked right smack in front of the store,” Danielson Kaiser says, “and they are going to be giving away 20 different titles of banned books.” The Banned Wagon is scheduled to make stops in multiple cities and states that are being impacted by book banning, and they chose Iowa to start the venture.

“We’re just happy to be able to help them spread the word, spread some great titles,” she says, “some wonderful books that you might even know, like, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” “The Color Purple,” “The Fault in Our Stars,” “The Outsiders,” even “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” Danielson Kaiser says the American Library Association tracked instances of book banning during the first half of the 2023-24 school year, and reached the highest level ever documented.  “There were 4,240 unique book titles that were targeted for censorship in the last year, and there’s been 1,247 demands to censor library books,” Danielson Kaiser says, “so there’s a lot of pressure on libraries, a lot of pressure on schools.”

Penguin-Random House image

Sunday’s event will run from noon to 4 P-M, while a Banned Book Fair is planned for September 29th at the Franklin Events Center in Des Moines. Other cities the Banned Wagon will visit include: Milwaukee; Chicago; Indianapolis; Cleveland; Richmond, Virginia; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Gainesville, Florida and Austin, Texas — all places with a high volume of book bans and challenges.

(Radio Iowa) – A report from the state auditor’s office has identified a costly error in a small northeast Iowa town’s utility billing system. About 500 people live in the town of Elma. Staff in the state auditor’s office reviewed the city’s financial records for the 2022 fiscal year and found the city had deficits of over 441-thousand dollars in its Enterprise, Sewer and Water Funds. The review by auditors discovered the sewer and water bills for Elma residents and businesses hadn’t been raised, as required by a city ordinance.

Starting in 2019, the utility rates were to go up three percent every July 1st.

The state auditor’s report says the rates in the billing system have not increased as required. The report did not indicate whether the error was made in just one year or over several years.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston arrested a man Thursday night, for Failure to Appear on a Probation Violation charge. 43-year-old David Junior Richman, of Creston, was arrested at around 8:15-p.m. at a residence in the 500 block of W. Montgomery Street. Richman was taken to Union County Jail and held without bond until he makes an initial appearance before the magistrate.

(Radio Iowa) – Artists from communities across southwest Iowa will be featured in a multi-city showcase this weekend, starting this (Friday) afternoon. The Southwest Iowa Art Tour is in its 11th year with displays in Page, Fremont, Montgomery, Mills, Pottawattamie, and Shelby counties. Tour coordinator Rebecca Castle Laughlin says there’s a wide range of art, including: painting, sculpture, photography, pottery, wood carving, jewelry and more. “It seems like every year there’s at least one art form that I didn’t know about,” Laughlin says. “For example, we’ve got up in Council Bluffs, there’s an artist who combines fiber art with her painting. So, she does quilting but she paints on the fabric also.”

Laughlin says the event allows artists to spotlight their work while also providing an economic development opportunity for the participating communities. “It was very grassroots-oriented and we tried to get some excitement around the local arts venues and artists that are in our area,” she says. “We want to get them some more sales, obviously, but also bring awareness to the fact that you can make a viable living off the arts in southwest Iowa.” Laughlin says they’ve been handing out brochures with maps at various locations, and they’re also available online for the self-guided tour.

“You can really just plan out your route,” Laughlin explained. “You might say, ‘I’ve got a youth football game tomorrow in Oakland, so I can hit Avoca, Neola, and Macedonia real quick.’ So, really just building it around your schedule. And hit as many spots as you can, because there are some really great artists.” A sneak peak of the tour runs from 4 to 7 p.m. today (Friday), while the main tour is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

The art will be on display at 20 locations in 13 communities on this year’s tour, including: Harlan, Avoca, Neola, Council Bluffs, Macedonia, Glenwood, Malvern, Red Oak, Essex, Clarinda, Shenandoah, Sidney, and Thurman.

(More on the web at swiarttour.com)