The just-concluded 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa has been both exhausting and exhilarating for one Iowa delegate. Sixty-seven-year-old Ruth Long of Creston has dreamed of being a national convention delegate for years. “It was on my bucket list,” Long said Thursday. Long has been diagnosed with stage four breast cancer and it has spread to her bones.

Negotiating the bus system and the vast convention hall was tiring, but Long’s fellow Iowans and Florida-based volunteers helped, plus Long used a wheelchair so she didn’t have to stand for long periods of time. Long was beaming Thursday morning when she talked with Radio Iowa and reflected on her convention experience. “It’s my very first national convention. My first trip to Florida. My very first experience with a hurricane which came close but, praise the Lord, it went the other way,” Long said, laughing. Long is a certified public accountant and she’s intrigued by House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan, the G-O-P’s vice presidential nomineee.

“I am so impressed with that young man and his intelligence,” Long said. “He just seems to have it together on what we need to do in this country.” Long believes Ryan and Mitt Romney are a “formidable” team. Long’s been part of the Republican Party’s local team in the Creston area for about 15 years. “My dad was real active and I didn’t get active until my children were grown and I started to realize, ‘Hey, there are some things out there that need attention,’ and I can’t say to others, ‘You go take care of that’ all the time,” Long said. “Some time the buck has to stop here and you’ve got to get with the program.” Long’s treatment program had included chemo and radiation and now Long’s just taking what she refers to as “a little pill.”

“You know you have a good day when you go to see your oncologist and he says, ‘I am thrilled,'” Long said, laughing. “You know, if you can thrill your oncologist, it’s a super day.” Long is scheduled to meet with her doctor next week, on Tuesday. Long had hoped to be called to Florida last week, before the national convention started, to serve on the platform committee. “I have a lot of experience at the state level on the platform committee, however as an alternate delegate, I was not eligible. I guess I’m going to have to put this back on my bucket list and come again four years from now,” Long said, laughing.

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

The Clarinda Police Department reports a Blair, Nebraska man was arrested Thursday, on a felony theft charge. 18-year old Tristan Lee Bartlett was wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant out of Nebraska, for felony theft by unlawful taking. Bartlett was being held in the Page County Jail pending extradition to Nebraska.

And, the Clarinda P-D is investigating the theft of about 15-gallons of gasoline from a vehicle owned by a person in the 600 block of west Lincoln Street. The gas was siphoned from the vehicle sometime between August 26th and 29th. No arrests have been made in connection with the theft.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Department says only minor injuries were reported following an accident Wednesday evening in Hamlin. Officials say a vehicle driven by 68-year old Connie Lola Nissen, of Hamlin, was traveling west on Highway 44 at around 6-p.m., and had stopped at the intersection with Highway 71 before proceeding west. As Nissen entered the intersection, the 2002 Ford Windstar van she was driving was hit by a 1993 Oldsmobile traveling south, on Highway 71.

The driver of the car was identified as 32-year old Angel Marie Siepker, of Audubon. Two people in her vehicle were transported by Audubon Fire and Rescue to the Audubon County Memorial Hospital, for treatment of minor injuries. Damage from the crash amounted to $14,000. The accident remains under investigation, and charges are pending.

One person has died in a fiery crash along Interstate 80 in far northeastern Cass County, this (Friday) morning. The accident happened at the 72-mile marker. Firefighters from Anita, Adair and Wiota responded to the scene at around 10:30-a.m. Anita Fire Chief Duane Murphy told KJAN News  the vehicle was traveling on Interstate 80 when it went off the road between two overhead bridges to 770th Street and landed next to a guardrail, off to the side of 770th.

The vehicle crashed and erupted into flames, trapping the victim inside. Murphy said it was impossible to tell what kind of vehicle it was, because the damage was so extensive. Authorities say it may have been a rental car. The accident remains under investigation by the Iowa State Patrol.