A reminder: The Cass County Democratic Party is holding their 6th Annual School Supply Drive. School supplies collected will be divided among the three county school districts to serve those children who are in the most need.

Supplies can be taken to the Cass County Democratic Party’s booth at AtlanticFest on August 12th. You can also drop off supplies at Democratic Party Chair Sherry Toelle’s home, located at 10 East 13th Street in Atlantic until the start of the school year (August 23rd). Needed supplies include everything from backpacks to pencils and pens to notebooks to personal supplies such as facial tissue.

Toelle says “We want to provide the children of Cass County with needed school supplies that they might not otherwise be able to afford. This is part of our Democratic mission–to serve those in the community who need our help.” She added, “Later in the year we will also be sponsoring a Food Drive and perhaps a winter clothing drive.”

Toelle stressed that “While the Democratic Party is sponsoring this drive, it is open to all members of the community. It is a non-partisan event for our children.”

One person was injured during a single-vehicle accident at around 6-p.m. Tuesday, in Harrison County. The Iowa State Patrol says 73-year old Lynda Bugg, of Crescent, Oklahoma, was traveling south on Interstate 29 at mile marker 78, when for reasons unknown, the 2006 GMC 1500 pickup she was driving, entered the median, re-entered I-29, and went out of control in the southbound lanes. The pickup came to rest on its top in the southbound west lane, facing northbound.

The pickup was hauling a bumper hitch camper that came to rest in the west ditch of I-29, still attached to the pickup. Bugg – who was wearing her seat belt – was transported by Missouri Valley Rescue to the hospital in Missouri Valley.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:50 a.m. CDT

BALTIMORE (AP) — A U.S. Supreme Court decision triggering new sentences for inmates serving mandatory life without parole for crimes committed as juveniles has had a far greater effect. The ruling is prompting lawyers to apply its fundamental logic _ that it’s cruel and unusual to lock teens up for life _ to a larger population, those whose sentences include a parole provision but who stand little chance of getting out.

CHARLES CITY, Iowa (AP) — A trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 12 for a man suspected of shooting another man to death in northern Iowa. Court records say Antoine Williams pleaded not guilty Monday in Floyd County District Court to a charge of first-degree murder. Authorities say he shot Mason City resident Nathaniel Fleming several times in Charles City on June 30 before pulling Fleming out of a vehicle and fleeing the scene.

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — An Oct. 18 trial start has been scheduled for a man accused of killing another man in central Iowa’s Jasper County. Online court records say Randy Linderman pleaded not guilty Monday to first-degree murder. Authorities say he killed 61-year-old Jose Ramirez Berber in Newton.

FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) — Court records say a man accused of killing another inmate at the Iowa State Penitentiary plans to assert self-defense during his trial on a murder charge. The records say Lha Southideth-Whiten has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the slaying of Michael Whitworth during an Oct. 20 altercation in the Fort Madison prison’s cafeteria. The Hawk Eye newspaper in Burlington reports that Southideth-Whiten’s trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 29.

An accident involving a skid loader resulted in the death of a man Tuesday afternoon, in Fremont County. The Sheriff’s Office reports deputies were notified at around 2:30-p.m., about a single-vehicle accident involving a skid loader near the intersection of 370th Ave and 200th Street, which is near Farragut.

Deputies determined 56-year old Timothy Henry Shirley, of Thurman, was operating a John Deere 333D Compact Track Loader, removing trees from a ditch located southwest of the intersection, off 370th Ave.  The skid loader overturned coming to rest with its cab facing down, near the bottom of the ditch.

Upon arrival of rescue personnel, they found Shirley deceased inside the enclosed cab of the loader. An exact cause of death is unknown at this time.  Deputies are awaiting results of an autopsy.  The skid loader was not damaged.  Farragut Fire and Rescue, Shenandoah Fire and Rescue and the Fremont County Medical Examiner’s Office assisted the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office with the call.

Officials say those Moscow Mules could have a sickening kick if you’ve been repeatedly drinking the cocktail in a completely copper mug. The Moscow Mule contains non-alcoholic ginger beer along with a shot of vodka and a very generous splash of lime juice. Dave Werning is with the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals.

“The problem with the copper mugs is that copper is a heavy metal and as such it can become toxic, if not fatal, over a period of time, so it’s not an immediate danger,” Werning says. “If we find the use of copper mugs in an establishment we inspect, it’s cited as a violation of the food code and then the establishment is given time to correct it.”

The bar or restaurant has the option of taking any drink served in a copper mug off the menu — or getting new copper mugs, which have a nickel or stainless steel lining inside and a “food-safe” lacquer finish on the outside. Werning says he can’t recall an Iowa bar or restaurant being cited for the use of SOLID copper mugs.

Federal guidelines state the food or drinks with a pH balance below six are not to come into contact with copper — as that can cause food-borne illnesses. “When the pH of the, in this case, beverage is lower than 6.0, the copper leaches into the beverage and then it’s consumed by the person,” Werning says, “and then, over time, it can become fatal.”

Werning says there’s a major reason why most if not all bars and restaurants in the state use the appropriate copper mugs with a lacquered exterior and a stainless steel or nickel lining. A SOLID copper mug is far more expensive.

(Radio Iowa)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A monthly survey of business leaders suggested a drop in business conditions but still indicated the economy will pick up over the next few months in nine Midwest and Plains states. A report released Tuesday says the Mid-America Business Conditions Index dropped to 56.1 last month from 62.3 in June. The May figure was 55.5.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says it “points to solid growth for both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing for the second half of 2017.” The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth in that factor. A score below that suggests decline.

The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.