COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – Oct. 26, 2017 – The Iowa Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting Thursday, Nov. 2, from 5 to 7 p.m. to discuss the proposed improvements and right of way needs of the Interstate 29/480/West Broadway interchange area in Council Bluffs from just north of the Union Pacific Railroad’s crossing to just south of the 25th Street interchange. The area also includes the I-29 and I-480 interchange.

All interested persons are invited to attend this meeting at the Council Bluffs Interstate Program Office in the Mall of the Bluffs, 1751 Madison Ave., in Council Bluffs. The meeting will be conducted utilizing an open forum format. Iowa DOT staff will be available to informally discuss the proposed improvements anytime between 5 and 7 p.m. No formal presentation will be made.

The meeting space is accessible for persons with disabilities. However, if you require special accommodations at the meeting, please notify the Iowa DOT contact listed below by Oct. 30.

For general information regarding the proposed improvements or public information meeting, contact Scott Suhr, transportation planner, Iowa DOT District 4 Office, 2210 E. Seventh St., Atlantic, Iowa 50022, phone 712-243-3355 or 800-289-4368, email scott.schur@iowadot.us.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has outlined priorities for combating opioid abuse in the state, but she stopped short of offering specifics on future legislation or whether there will be additional state money available.

Reynolds told reporters Thursday she will prioritize existing initiatives in Iowa that aim to prevent and treat opioid abuse, including increasing participation in a prescription monitoring program and expanding education on decreasing opioid prescribing.

A Reynolds spokeswoman says the governor is still formulating her 2018 legislative package. Reynolds’ comments come on the same day that President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a national public health emergency. Trump’s declaration includes no new money, and a state health official says it’s not immediately clear how it will impact Iowa.

ALTA VISTA, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have charged a northeast Iowa couple with murder in the death of their 4-month-old son, whose maggot-infested body was found in a baby swing in the family’s home.

Twenty-year-old Cheyanne Harris and 28-year-old Zachary Koehn were arrested Wednesday on charges of child endangerment and first-degree murder in the death of their son, Sterling Koehn. Their preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 2.

Authorities say in court records that deputies and medics called to the couple’s Alta Vista apartment on Aug. 30 found Sterling dead in the swing. A medical examiner found maggots in his clothing and skin that indicated he hadn’t had a diaper change, bath or been removed from the seat in over a week.

Police in Sac City report a man who allegedly tried to break into an apartment was shot twice by a man who lives there. Authorities say Bendji Joseph, of Fort Dodge, was breaking into the apartment at 211 S. 5th Street, around 4 a.m. Wednesday when he was shot. Joseph, who allegedly intended to commit a serious or aggravated assault, was shot with a .9mm pistol by Miguel Alcantara.

Joseph was transported to Loring Hospital in Sac City, for treatment, and was later life-flighted to Mercy Hospital in Sioux City, where he is believed to be in stable condition. The man faces Felony charges of Burglary in the Third Degree, and Burglary in the First Degree. Assisting the Sac City Police Department during the incident, was the Lake View Police Department, the Sac County Sheriff’s Office, and the Sac County Attorney’s Office.

The investigation is ongoing.

KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) — A prosecutor says a gender-fluid Iowa teenager was kidnapped, suffocated and executed by two cousins who believed the teen was a cute girl. Prosecutor Christopher Perras detailed the 2016 death of 16-year-old Kedarie Johnson in opening statements Thursday at the trial of Jorge Sanders-Galvez. Perras said Johnson “was a friendly high school student with a bright future” who sometimes dressed as a girl. Relatives say Johnson identified as both male and female.

Perras says Johnson was wearing a pink headband and hair extensions when Sanders-Galvez and his cousin saw the teen at a store. Perras says the men followed Johnson in their car, then took the teen to a Burlington home. He says a struggle ensued during a sexual encounter, and the men suffocated Johnson, shot the teen and dumped the body in an alley.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former Iowa State University administrator is suing the school, saying it gives students accused of sexual assault more protection than victims. The lawsuit filed by Robinette Kelley alleges the university blocked her attempts to properly investigate sexual assault complaints and stopped her from ensuring the university was Title IX compliant.

The Des Moines Register reports Kelley was the university’s equal opportunity director and federal Title IX coordinator for more than two years. The lawsuit is requesting that the university be required to develop a strategic plan for sex discrimination-related cases and to allow the Title IX coordinator to act independently from other university officials. A university spokesman denies that Kelley was treated “in any way that was retaliatory, discriminatory, or otherwise illegal.”

Kelley was fired in October 2015. She now works at North Carolina State University.