Runners participating in the largest tribute to our nation’s fallen military heroes and their families, will be making their way through Lewis tomorrow (Friday). Jody Ranisate), Run Captain for Iowa Run for the Fallen and Director of Iowas Honor and Remember Chapter, says Iowa is part of a 19-State, five-month, 6,100-mile journey to honor over 20,000 fallen heroes every mile. In Lewis, there’ll be a free-will donation dinner beginning 6-p.m. Friday at the Lewis Fire Station, with the ceremony at 7-p.m. The event is open to the public. The public is also invited to line the streets as the runners enter Lewis. Ranisate says once the dinner and ceremony is complete, they will hand out “Honor and Remember” flags to a few Gold Star families.

They include a widow, and the daughter of a fallen hero. There is also a Gold Star family coming in whose son died in action and who will be re-presented with a flag. The run begins in Omaha 7-a.m. Friday. After they stop in Lewis, the group will stay overnight in Atlantic. She says they are looking for financial donations to help with lodging and food, volunteers to stand stand at the Hero markers, and as transportation hosts.

For more information, or to volunteer for the event, call Jody Ranisate at 701-520-5998 or e-mail ranisatejody@gmail.com. You can also track the runners and their journey at https://www.runforthefallen.org

SABULA, Iowa (AP) — Officials plan to offer ferry service across the Mississippi River while crews work to replace a small bridge that has forced an extended detour for travelers between Iowa and Illinois. Bob Younie is the maintenance director for the Iowa Department of Transportation. He says ferry services between Sabula, Iowa and Savanna, Illinois will run for about 12 hours a day beginning Tuesday. It could cost the department about $1.2 million.

Younie says a bus service will also be provided twice daily during peak hours beginning next week. The Transportation Department may also install a pontoon-type bridge. An 85-year-old bridge north of Sabula was declared unsafe and closed in February. The Transportation Department has accelerated a project to replace the bridge, which officials expect to be completed in September.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Appeals Court has overturned a man’s conviction because the fake money he tried to use was too unreal to believe. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that 48-year-old James Scott, of Waterloo, offered a $100 bill marked “For Motion Picture Use Only” and “This note is not legal” in April 2016 when he tried to buy a cellphone in Waterloo. A store clerk rejected it, and Scott eventually was convicted of forgery. Scott argued in his appeal that there wasn’t enough evidence to convict him.

The appellate court Wednesday cited Iowa court rulings from 1859 and 1869 that say that if a document isn’t capable of deceiving, its use doesn’t constitute forgery. Consequently, the court said, “There is insufficient evidence to support Scott’s conviction.”

It turns out, the turnout at the polls on Tuesday did NOT set a record for a June primary election. Almost 280,000 Iowans voted on Tuesday. Secretary of State Paul Pate says more than 300,000 voters took part in primary elections in 2002 and 2010. Some media reports on Wednesday stated THIS YEAR’s election was a record-breaker. Not so. “I was hoping to make it the big one, but going back and looking at the archives, it looks like it’s in the top three,” Pate told Radio Iowa.

Participation in the DEMOCRATIC primary — which featured contested races for governor and the state’s three congressional seats — DID set a record for THAT party. “The count I last saw puts Democrats at a pretty significant number – I think it was 176,529,” Pate said.  Just over 13-percent of Iowa’s roughly two-million registered voters cast a ballot in Tuesday’s primary election. Provisional ballots are still being counted and will affect the overall numbers. They could also impact the Republican nomination for Iowa Ag Secretary. For now, it appears Mike Naig (rhymes with ‘egg’) finished just short of the 35-percent support he needed to earn the nomination. According to Pate, Naig could still get there. “We can’t answer that until we’ve gotten all of the provisionals counted and the counties have the chance to do their preliminary canvassing,” Pate said. “So, election night isn’t over – still some totaling going on.”

If Naig DOES end up below that 35-percent threshold, delegates at the Republican Party’s state convention will choose between Naig and four other candidates to decide who will appear on the November ballot.

(Radio Iowa)