SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A 17-year-old student at Lawton-Bronson High School in Lawton in morthwest Iowa has been accused of bringing guns to school.   The Woodbury County sheriff’s office says he was arrested on Thursday after authorities received a tip. Officials say a handgun and rifle were found in a vehicle in the parking lot.  The student was charged with possessing a firearm on school property. He was taken to a juvenile detention center, where he remains in custody.

Sheriff’s officials in Cass County are investigating two separate, injury accidents. One occurred Thursday evening near Cold Springs State Park. Dispatch reports indicated two people were injured during the single-vehicle accident about one-half mile south of Lewis Lake. The accident happened at around 6:10-p.m. Lewis Fire and Griswold Rescue responded to the scene. One of the victims suffered a shoulder injury, the other a laceration to the head, when the car they were in went off the road and ended-up in a ditch. None of the injuries were believed to have been life threatening. Emergency responders reported the roads in the area, especially on the curves, were “like a skating rink,”  meaning very icy.

The second accident happened sometime early this (Friday) morning. The Sheriff’s Department says they received a call from the Emergency Room at the Cass County Memorial Hospital just after 2-a.m., indicating several teenagers had been in a vehicle which rolled over northeast of Anita, at about 760th and Boone Road. Officials say early reports were, that 2 teens were flown to Creighton University Hospital in Omaha, just after 3:30-a.m., while another was transported to a hospital in Des Moines. It appears at least 7 people were in the vehicle when it crashed.

Both accidents remain under investigation, and there are currently NO other details available.

A study finds about one in ten cars on Iowa’s roads is riding on at least one bald tire, creating a potentially-dangerous hazard when wintery weather arrives. Kim Webber, spokeswoman for the Rubber Manufacturers Association, says Iowans should closely inspect their tires for two things — wear and proper inflation.

“Check your tire pressure once a month and before every long trip and don’t forget the spare tire,” Webber says. “Check your tires when they’re cold. To determine how much air should be in the tires, look in the owner’s manual.” There may also be a white sticker on the driver’s side door jam, detailing proper inflation levels. Webber says tires that are out of alignment can wear unevenly and she says you should have your tires rotated by a professional.

“By regularly rotating your tires, we recommend every five- to eight-thousand miles or whatever your owner’s manual says,” Webber says. “By rotating your tires, you will maintain that even tread wear on all four of those tires.” Webber says use a penny to check your tires’ tread. Put the penny in the tire groove head-first and if you can see all of President Lincoln’s profile, it’s time to replace the tire. While replacing worn tires may not be in the budget, Webber says you need to put safety first.

“Bald tires are not being replaced most likely due to the vehicle owner putting off tire replacement due to tough economic times and, in turn, creating more dangers on the road,” she says. An on-line survey shows 64-percent of car owners didn’t know how to check tread depth, while nine-percent never checked their tread depth.

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)