A little more than 16 months after a groundbreaking ceremony was held for a new business in Audubon, a ribbon-cutting will take place Tuesday, featuring Iowa’s Governor and a Congressman. Waspy’s Truck Stop will hold the ceremony 9-a.m. Tuesday at their facility located on the south side of Audubon, at 2079 Highway 71. The $18-million dollar construction project, which spans nearly 16 acres, includes a restaurant that opened Sept. 4th, as well as two-story, 36-room inn and suites, is run by the Lawrence Handlos family. Later this fall, the Waspy’s Truck Service Center will be open and it will include four truck wash bays, tire repair and diesel repair.  The new location features a 140,000-gallon fuel storage capacity, with multiple fuel options.

Tuesday’s event includes appearances by Governor Kim Reynolds and Congressman Steve King. Visitors will receive a tour of the Blue Grass Inn and Suites from 10-a.m. Until Noon, and again from 4-until 6-p.m. Two Palms Grilling takes place beginning at 10-a.m., with 1,000 pork loin sandwiches being given away all day. If you stop by the convenience store you can register for some great door prizes as well.

(Iowa News Service; DES MOINES, Iowa) – Each year, 62 million Americans – 1 in 4 – volunteer in their communities, and Tuesday’s National Day of Service and Remembrance acknowledges what a difference those contributions make. The remembrance day began after the 9/11 terrorist attacks took the lives of nearly 3,000 people in 2001. Jeremy Barewin, associate state director of communications for AARP Iowa, says for many in the state, volunteering is a core value that allows them to show kindness by giving back. “If there’s any time of year to really be conscientious of that I think it’s Sept. 11 and then just the days surrounding that, so we use September really as a springboard for volunteerism in Iowa through AARP,” he states.

AARP provides advance training for volunteers who want to help seniors refresh their driving skills, file tax returns or learn how to protect themselves from fraud, including telephone scams and identity theft. General information about volunteering with AARP can be found at aarp.org/volunteer. Volunteering might seem like something retirees do, but people younger than 24 account for nearly 23 percent of all volunteers, nearly the same percentage as those who volunteer and are 65 and older.

Barewin says volunteers of all ages represent AARP as ambassadors at festivals or at the Iowa State Fair and serve as advocates for seniors on policy issues such as Medicare, Social Security and prescription drugs. “AARP is also one of the largest organizations in the country to help seniors to file their taxes,” he states. “We have Tax-Aide stations, about 20 of them, across the state. We need people to help staff those centers.” AARP Iowa will host happy hours in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids this month where prospective volunteers can learn about the many ways they can get involved.

For more information or to register for one of the events, call 877-926-8300.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A judge has refused to set a pretrial hearing for a man who says Iowa’s “stand your ground” law protects him from prosecution for a fatal bar fight in a Des Moines suburb. The Des Moines Register reports that Judge Scott Rosenberg ruled last week that Rodney Henricksen must wait until trial to show his actions were justified. Henricksen has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the Jan. 18 death of Joshua Sadlon, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Henricksen’s motion for the hearing says Henricksen was defending himself from an intoxicated and aggressive Sadlon at the Urbandale bar.

The law says a person doesn’t have to retreat before using deadly force if he or she reasonably thinks his or her life is being threatened. Rosenberg said in his ruling that the law doesn’t provide a procedure for determining when someone is eligible for immunity.

Red Oak Police called to a residence in the 900 block of E. Reed Street Sunday afternoon for a Welfare check, ended-up discovering approximately 38 grams of a substance suspected to be marijuana. 36-year old Brandon Dale Strunk, of Red Oak, was subsequently arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and five-counts of Child Endangerment. Strunk was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County say two cows on the road was struck by a semi Sunday night. The accident happened on Highway 34, just west of G Avenue, at around 9:48-p.m. Authorities say the semi, driven by Troy Allan Lande, was westbound when it struck the bovines, killing both of them. The semi sustained an estimated $6,000 damage. Lande was not injured during the collision. The owner of the cows was identified as Pat Wolfe, with Red Oak Livestock.

(Radio Iowa) — A driver who ran a stop sign is blamed for a fatal accident this weekend in northwest Iowa. The crash happened Saturday afternoon at an intersection southeast of Larchwood. A State Patrol crash report shows 74-year-old Kenneth Wulf was driving a pickup that went through a stop sign and hit another pickup driven by 31-year-old Benjamin Dieters. Both men are from Larchwood.

The Dieters pickup, which was pulling a trailer, rolled in a ditch and the trailer crushed the cab. Dieters died at the scene. Wulf suffered minor injuries.

(Radio Iowa) — The Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office has become the second in the state to use a full body scanner to check inmates into their jail. Sergeant Lee Blanchard says the SecurePass systems is faster and more efficient. “It allows us to see things you wouldn’t normally see — any kind of contraband anything somebody might have hidden on their person — a huge way to do it without having to physically do a strip search,” Blanchard says.

When a person is brought into the jail for booking, they undergo a quick low-level radiation x-ray. “All they have to do is stand on the pedestal there and hold still for about seven seconds. The platform moves through and does a full scan of their body,” Blanchard says. ” You can see basically anything that somebody has on them.” The scanner will detect metal and other foreign objects including narcotics.

Major Tony Wingert says the scanner proved its worth in its first days of use when a person turned himself in at the jail to begin serving his time. He says they saw something on the scanner that concerned them and the person’s demeanor immediately changed and he started sweating, his temperature went up and he gave off clues that he may’ve been trying to hide something on his body. Wingert says they refused the prisoner and he is going to turn himself in at a later date.

Sheriff Dave Drew says the funding of the 190-thousand dollar unit came from inmate room and board charges. Pottawattamie County was the first to purchase this type of scanner after a prisoner being transferred hid a lock pick in his hair to free himself from handcuffs and then shot two deputies, killing one of them.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:50 a.m. CDT

AMES, Iowa (AP) — The city of Ames’ plantings in beds and containers not only keep downtown looking lush, they also feed the hungry. For a second year, Ames Main Street has substituted edible landscaping _ including potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, squash, eggplant, cucumbers and okra _ for the flowers it used to plant. On Friday, volunteers harvested more than 200 pounds of sweet potatoes from 25 planters along the street.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A 27-year-old woman has died after a rollover crash on an all-terrain vehicle in eastern Iowa over the weekend. The Dubuque Telegraph-Herald reports the crash happened early Sunday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Democratic presidential prospect Cory Booker is planning to headline a state Democratic banquet in Iowa next month, raising the New Jersey senator’s profile on the heels of his spotlight role in Supreme Court confirmation hearings. A statement from the Iowa Democratic Party says Booker is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the Oct. 6 event in Des Moines. Booker would be the first among the party’s better-known national figures to visit the leadoff primary state this year.

ELDRIDGE, Iowa (AP) — Court documents say a 12-year-old Iowa boy pointed a gun at his teacher’s face and pulled the trigger, but the safety was on. The Courier reports that court documents say the boy entered a North Scott Junior High classroom on Aug. 31 with a .22-caliber handgun. The boy is charged with attempted murder.