DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – American Red Cross units from Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Fort Dodge, Sioux City, and Waterloo are preparing to leave for Colorado to assist with flood relief.  Leadership in Colorado has asked for all five regional emergency response vehicles from Iowa to respond as soon as possible.  Units from Cedar Rapids and Waterloo are leaving Monday and a team from Des Moines expects to depart Tuesday. Departure times for the others are not yet determined.

Red Cross volunteers are staffing shelters or evacuation centers throughout Colorado. The Red Cross says about 1,250 people stayed in 26 shelters Saturday night. Of those 10 were operated by or with the support of the Red Cross. The organization also is helping other organizations plan for recovery which includes assessing damage and providing cleanup supplies.

Residents of Massena will be heading to the polls Tuesday during a special election, to cast their ballots for Mayor. The position of Mayor was left open by the death on May 27th of Don McCunn. Since then, Linda Reineke has served as Mayor Pro-Tem.

Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman said absentee ballots may be cast in the Auditor’s Office at the Cass County Courthouse until 5-p.m. today (Monday), and again on Tuesday from 8-a.m. until 11. The polls will be open Tuesday from Noon until 8-p.m.  The only polling site is at the Massena Public Library.

Sunderman said since no one has filed nomination papers to run for the office of Mayor in Massena, the person having the most write-in votes will be elected. The elected individual will serve until the end of December. The office of Mayor will appear again on the ballot during the November 5th, 2013 General Election. The person who is nominated at that time will serve a full, two-year term, beginning on January 1st, 2014.

AMES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Department of Transportation is selling sponsorships of the state’s rest areas as a way to raise money. The DOT officially began soliciting bids for rest area sponsors this month. Bids must be received by Oct. 9.  The minimum bid accepted for sponsorship of a rest area is $7,500 for a three-year contract.   Businesses may sponsor one or more of the state’s 37 interstate rest areas.

In exchange for the money a sponsor gets a business name or logo placed on a sign with a blue background. A signs will be posted at a highway entrance to the rest area and inside the facility.  The DOT says the money will help maintain rest areas, modernize outdated facilities and for other state highway purposes.

An Adair County man was injured during an accident this (Monday) morning on Interstate 80, about 2-miles east of Adair. The Iowa State Patrol reports 25-year old Nicholas Standley, of Greenfield, was transported by Adair Fire and Rescue to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic, following the crash on I-80 near the 78-mile marker westbound, at around 6:35-a.m.

Officials say a 2003 Chevy Impala driven by 25-year old Tyler Davis, of Des Moines, was traveling west in the right lane of I-80, while a 2003 Chevy Cavalier driven by Standley was also in the right lane. After Davis’ car ran into the rear of Standley’s car, both drivers pulled their vehicles onto the right shoulder. Standley suffered minor neck and back injuries during the collision. Officials say he was wearing a seat belt.