Frost covered roads contributed to numerous accidents this morning in the listening area, most of which were reported in Pottawattamie County. A rollover accident was also reported in Mills County, and a non-injury accident in Guthrie County, occurred near the Adair-Casey Community Schools. Details on those incidents are currently not available.

In Cass County, Chief Deputy Sheriff John Westering told KJAN News frosty roads caused an accident this morning on the A-T&T curve north of Lewis. The accident happened at around 6:50-a.m. at the intersection of Whitepole Road and 582nd Street. Westring says a 2005 Chevy Impala driven by Austrid Cohrs, of Lewis, was traveling northbound around the curve when Cohrs lost control of the vehicle, which then went into a ditch, traveled 12-feet down an embankment, and landed upright, wedged  in a concrete culvert. No injuries were reported to either Cohrs or her two young children. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $6,500.

LE MARS, Iowa (AP) — A northwest Iowa Sheriff’s deputy is mourning the loss of his K-9 partner.  Plymouth County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Dorhout’s partnered with his German shepherd named “Sabot” when the dog was just a puppy, in 2002. Sabot retired from the Sheriff’s Office in April 2010, about the same time Dorhout, a member of the Iowa National Guard, was called to his third overseas deployment, this time in Afghanistan. Dorhout, with C Troop, 113th Cavalry, in Le Mars, was going away for a yearlong deployment. He says the time away from his best friend and partner made the loss of Sabot, who died last month at the age 9, all the harder for him to accept.

Blinking back tears as he spoke with a reporter, Dorhout said “Every time I would come home he was always happy to see me. He always greets me and wants to be by me.” He says he and Sabot had many conversations while riding in their patrol car. The pair met in February 2002 when Sabot was received by the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department.

Sabot was a dual-purpose canine partner: He was trained and certified by the U.S. Police Canine Association as a drug detector dog in 2003 and a patrol dog in 2004. Along with finding drugs and the bad guys, Dorhout said Sabot also enjoyed meeting children and working with them during community and school programs. Since the pup grew up with Dorhout’s own children, the deputy said he never had to be concerned when the dog met children in the public.

It was decided that Sabot would retire in 2010 because the hard work of being a detector and patrol dog had taken its toll on the animal. For Dorhout, it was odd coming back to the Sheriff’s Office after returning from Afghanistan this past summer without his retired canine partner. Dorhout said he hasn’t discussed getting a new canine partner with the sheriff, but it’s probably something he will do down the road. For now, he’s content to just remember his friend.

Home sales continue to climb in Iowa. Dale Gross of Atlantic is president of the Iowa Association of Realtors (IAR), which is reporting an increase in home sales from October to November. “This is the fourth month in a row that we’ve seen that happen,” Gross said. Home sales last month increased by 12-point-two percent (12.2%) compared to November of 2010 with 261 more sales. The IAR reported 2,395 homes sold last month. Prices in November held steady compared to the previous year.

“In November 2011, we were at $138,800 as the average sale price of a home in Iowa. That’s compared to a price that was only $900 above that last year. So, it’s not down a whole lot,” Gross said. He attributed the uptick in sales to the strong farm economy and low interest rates around four-percent (4%). Gross said home sales tend to decline during the winter months of December, January and February – making it a good time to buy.

“The sellers are anxious because they want to get the house sold. They don’t want to heat it anymore and want to make a deal,” Gross explained. “If someone is thinking of home ownership, with the low interest rates, this is the time to get off the couch and get out there and find something to buy.” The IAR report shows statewide home inventory at the end of November was 21,431, which includes 3,112 new active residential listings. The average days on the market in November was 109 days, up three days compared to November 2010.

(Pat Curtis/Radio Iowa)