WASHINGTON (AP) – A pro-Republican group says it’s spending $8 million on new TV ads attacking President Barack Obama for sustained unemployment. The ads will air in Iowa and several other states. Crossroads GPS is launching the ads on the heels of recent government figures showing the economy added just 80,000 jobs in June.

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – Fort Dodge police have arrested a man in the 2011 shooting of another man who died months later under his family’s care in Florida. Police say 26-year-old Derrick McElroy of Fort Dodge was charged yesterday with first-degree murder. He’s accused of shooting 19-year-old Brandyn Preston on May 8th, 2011, during a backyard party in Fort Dodge.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – A 19-year-old has been given five years of probation for the crash death of a 17-year-old during a party at a bonfire near Davenport. Cody Lantau was charged with vehicular homicide for the death of 17-year-old William Schwener last December.

OTTAWA – Drought conditions across large swaths of the Midwestern United States and parts of Europe are causing concern about a food price shock later this year.  But while consumers brace to pay higher prices for everything from corn flakes to beef, many Canadian farmers hope to reap rewards from historically high grain prices.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts that U.S. farmers will see just a fraction of the corn they expected in the spring when the ground was seeded.

MOORHEAD, Iowa (AP) – A horse named Chara is back at the stable after being recused from a ravine in western Iowa. The Omaha World Herald reports the drama unfolded on Monday when the horse was found in the 15-foot-deep hole near Moorhead, Iowa. Three hours later, Chara was led out of the hole. She wasn’t seriously hurt.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – A group of Iowa residents is going to court to require the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate emissions from livestock operations. Some Winneshiek County residents filed a federal lawsuit this week in Cedar Rapids. It claims the EPA’s failure to regulate pollutants commonly found in the air around the operations endanger public health.

Chances for relief from the drought conditions plaguing much of Iowa remain slim, but National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Deitsch says showers and thunderstorms are possible late tonight into tomorrow.

“We have about a 40 to 50 percent chance going across much of the state,” Deitsch says. “Anything that falls will most likely be rather isolated and light, however there is an isolated chance of a severe storm which would obviously drop a little bit heavier amounts of rain.” A slight chance for showers and storms is forecast for Saturday as well. Temperatures, meanwhile, are expected to climb through the weekend.

“We’re looking for highs in the low to mid 90s for the weekend and then approaching the mid 90s for much of the state as we head into Monday and Tuesday,” Deitsch said. After Saturday, chances for rain drop off significantly.

“Drought concerns are really going to ramp up here as we head into next week,” Deitsch said. The new U.S. Drought Monitor map, released this morning (Thursday), shows all of Iowa is considered at least “abnormally dry” – while parts of eastern Iowa are placed in the “severe drought” category.

Two Atlantic women have received an award from Governor Branstad for their volunteer work.

Jan Burmeister and Marilyn Burmeister, who are both of Atlantic, each received a 2012 Governor’s Volunteer Award from Branstad during a special recognition ceremony held June 5 in Pleasant Hill.

The Governor’s Volunteer Awards (GVA) program was created in 1982, honoring several hundred volunteers from across Iowa in different categories each year.

The manager of Cass County Home Care Denise Coder says both Jan and Marilyn have provided many years of service helping seniors the community and that their contributions have been extremely valuable.

Jan and Marilyn have been involved with the Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) for 10 years.  They were individually nominated for a Length of Service Award by Cass County Home Care for assisting seniors with their Medicare questions.

Jan Burmeister with Gov. Branstad

Marilyn Burmeister with Gov. Branstad

Governor Branstad has ordered all flags in Iowa to be flown at half staff in honor of a western Iowa Sergent killed in Afghanistan.

Flags will be flown at half staff starting tomorrow at 5 PM until Monday at 8 AM in honor of 25-year-old Sgt. James Skalberg of Emerson.  The governor’s directive applies to all U.S. and state flags under the control of the state.

Skalberg was killed on June 27 by an IED (improvised explosive device) in Afghanistan near the vehicle he was driving.  Another soldier was also killed in that attack.

The funeral service for Sgt. James Skalberg will be held on Saturday at 10 AM the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Red Oak.  Sgt. Skalberg is survived by his wife, Jessica and his son, Carter.  The U.S. flag flown over the state Capitol on the day of the funeral will be presented to Sgt. Skalberg’s family at a later date, along with a proclamation honoring him.

Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect.

The Humane Society of the United States is threatening to sue 51 swine operations in Iowa, North Carolina and Oklahoma — 28 of those are here, in Iowa. Peter Brandt, an attorney for the Humane Society, says the practice of confining large numbers pollutes the environment with ammonia. Brandt says while there aren’t any guidelines for just how much ammonia a facility can emit, federal law does require transparency.

“These facilities have got to take their responsibilities under the federal laws seriously,” Brandt says. “The companies that operate these facilities have got to recognize that when you have a golf-course-size lake of manure decomposing, you’re going to be emitting a lot of ammonia and you need to report that.” According to Brandt, the farms the Humane Society is targeting are not filing those reports.

“It’s not a limit on how much ammonia you can emit, but you have to tell people,” Brandt says. “You can’t keep communities in the dark. You can’t keep emergency responders in the dark.” The attorney says because of the Humane Society’s petition, the farms have 60 days to report their emissions. If they don’t, Brandt will file a lawsuit. The Humane Society’s lawyer points to an Environmental Protection rule that requires reporting from any facility that released more than 100 pounds of ammonia within a 24-hour period, and according to Brandt the 51 operations threatened with legal action exceed that.The National Pork Producers Council is reviewing the Humane Society’s notification, but a spokesperson for the group suggests this is an allegation of a paperwork violation rather than a specific allegation of environmental harm.