Law enforcement officers from throughout the state will join their comrades across the nation beginning this Thursday, in an effort to crack down on impaired drivers, leading into the Labor Day weekend. The Special Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) runs August 25^th through September 7^th, and will be an intensive crackdown on impaired driving and other offenses.

Across the country, it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 (point-oh-eight) or greater. According to the latest data, nearly one-third of the fatalities in motor vehicle crashes involved a driver or motorcycle rider with a BAC above the legal limit, or an average of one fatality every 48-minutes.

Officials say while the number of alcohol-related fatalities dropped from 2008 to 2009, the number of fatalities related to impaired driving, are still too high. In Iowa, 92 out of the 371 fatalities recorded in 2009, were the result of an alcohol-related crash. Nationwide, the age group with the highest percentage of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities, were those who were 21-to-24.

During last year’s Labor Day STEP period, there were seven fatalities in Iowa, two of which were alcohol-related. And, nearly 35,500 traffic violations were recorded by law enforcement officers throughout the state, during the reporting period.

For more information on the STEP program, or how to stop an impaired driver before they get behind the wheel, log on to www.stopimpaireddriving.org.

SAC CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Nebraska woman has pleaded not guilty in a 2001 shooting death in Iowa. A trial was ordered for 45-year-old Tracey Richter-Roberts, of Omaha, Neb., although no date has been set. Richter-Roberts is charged with first-degree murder in the 2001 shooting death of 20-year-old Dustin Wehde.

Richter-Roberts shot Wehde – a family friend – multiple times in her home on Dec. 13, 2001. She had told authorities at the time that she and her three children were in the home when Wehde and another man broke in and attacked her. No charges were brought against Richter-Roberts at the time but the investigation was reopened in 2009.

Richter-Roberts was arrested last month and is being held in the Sac County jail on $1 million bail.

Bryan Jensen, with his custom biplane

An Atlantic native with more than 23,000 hours of flight time experience, died over the weekend at an air show in Kansas City, Missouri. 50-year old Bryan Jensen, of Ponte Vedra, FL.,  was killed, when the biplane he was flying crashed into the runway at the Wheeler Downtown Airport. The accident happened at around 1:45-p.m., Saturday.

Jensen grew up on a farm near Atlantic, and took his first flying lesson when he was 13, according to his website www.beastairshows.com The website says he soloed on his 16th birthday and as an adult flew jumbo jets for Delta Air Lines. Jensen, who graduated from the Atlantic High School in 1979, lived in Florida, and had been a stunt pilot the past 15 years. The accident which claimed his life took place in front of a stunned crowd of thousands, on the first day of the Kansas City Aviation Expo Air Show.

According to eye-witnesses, Jensen’s custom-built, red biplane was performing aerobatic maneuvers, such as loops and spiral stunts, when it did a downward spiral but failed to pull up. The plane crashed nose-first into the pavement and burst into flames.

The Kansas City Star says as the crowd went silent, emergency crews headed for the wreckage, and the show immediately was closed. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the accident.

Air Show director Ed Noyallis read a brief statement in a hangar after the crash. “Our hearts go out to Bryan’s family and loved ones.” He went on to note that aerobatic flying can be very dangerous, although the public was never in danger. Air show officials said they spoke with other pilots after the crash and all agreed the show would continue today (Sunday). Funeral services for Bryan Jensen are currently pending at the Hockenberry Family Care Funeral Home, in Atlantic. (www.hockenberryfamilycare.com)