COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Officials say the former Sears store in the Mall of the Bluffs will become the new home of the Council Bluffs Post Office. The Daily Nonpareil reports that maintenance concerns at the current post office building are prompting the move.

The former Sears building site will offer the same services, including three retail windows, nearly 900 post office boxes and several parcel lockers. Carriers also will work from the new location. Work on the new location is expected to be finished in late first quarter 2018.

DES MOINES, Iowa – The new White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci’s explicit tirade about his coworkers is seen as the latest example of an increasing use of vulgarities in public life. Perhaps we should have seen this coming when MSNBC anchorman Brian Williams was forced to apologize after a voter used the F-word during live coverage of the 2016 Iowa caucus, but etiquette experts point to a rash of examples, including from the president.

Diane Gottsman, who advises businesses on etiquette and protocol, says it’s clear there’s been a spike in cursing in public life, but that doesn’t make it acceptable. “It’s my politics not to talk politics, not to take one side or the other, but I think that it certainly paints a picture,” she states. Gottsman, the author of “Modern Etiquette for a Better Life,” says it’d be naive to think cursing won’t continue to happen, but it’s important in the workplace and public settings for people to focus on strengthening their ability to control their emotions and think intelligently.

Research on what cursing says about an individual’s intellect or trustworthiness is inconclusive. A 2017 study demonstrated a correlation between cursing and honesty, but other research has found those who cuss regularly are more narcissistic and less conscientious. Gottsman maintains the current political climate contributes to the spike in the public use of vulgarities, but says that’s no reason to go along with it.

“I don’t want to hear the profanity,” she stresses. “I think that we all have our own personal judgments. We need to make our decisions based on good judgment, responsible thinking and weighing both sides of the story.” Gottsman says Scaramucci’s rant (published in The New Yorker magazine) definitely paints a picture. She observes, however, that saying a curse word doesn’t make you a bad person – it’s simply not advisable when there are plenty of other ways to indicate anger, surprise or frustration.

(By Kevin Patrick Allen/Iowa News Service)

Iowa’s new distracted driving law is nearly one month old. It allows police to pull drivers over if they are spotted texting behind the wheel. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Alex Dinkla admits it can be difficult for law enforcement officers to see obvious signs of texting – especially on interstates and highways when vehicles are moving so fast. Dinkla says the ultimate goal is increasing roadway safety, so simply warning drivers about the dangers of texting and driving should go a long way.

“Our statistics already show that a person driving distracted, texting and driving, looks away from the steering wheel for approximately five seconds – that is the distance of covering a full length football field at 55 miles an hour,” Dinkla said. “So, that is a long time for a person to be looking away from their steering wheel that they could possibly have a really bad accident.”

The new law still lets people use an electronic device to talk or to navigate with some sort of GPS app. Dinkla said officers will need solid evidence if a driver wants to challenge a texting ticket in court. “All of our vehicles are equipped with video cameras, so anytime we would see a person who might be texting and driving, those things might be videotaped and offered as evidence,” Dinkla said. “Also, we will ask a driver, ‘were you texting and driving?’ Those admissions would be used as well.”

Recently, the State Patrol issued a warning that troopers may be disguising themselves in order to catch distracted drivers. Dinkla suggested that might involve plain clothes officers in unmarked vehicles or a trooper monitoring traffic from a bulldozer in a construction zone. The fine for a texting-while-driving ticket is $30.

(Radio Iowa)

(Update: Small electrical fire discovered. No report of damage. Units were returning to the headquarters at 5:30-a.m.)

Firefighters from Avoca and Shelby were dispatched to a possible residential fire this (Monday) morning, in rural Avoca. Shelby Fire was dispatched to assist Avoca Fire at around 4:45-a.m., for a blaze at 28959 410th Street, southwest of Avoca, where there was a report of smoke in the basement. The first crews arriving on the scene did not see any obvious flames. Shelby Fire was told to “Disregard” at around 5:10-a.m., meaning their services were not needed at the scene.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 2:00 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa corrections officials say all but three of Iowa’s 46 juveniles sentenced to life in prison without parole have been given new sentences with a chance for freedom. The Associated Press found after a 50-state examination of juvenile life sentence cases that in many states the chance at eventual release has been halting, inconsistent and often elusive. Iowa began resentencing juvenile lifers in 2012 after the U.S. Supreme Court concluded juvenile life prison sentences should be rare.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The University of Iowa has opened its newest and biggest residence hall to meet its student housing needs for the next few years. The Catlett Residence Hall officially opened Friday, in time to serve students for the fall semester. The 12-floor, 1,049-bed residence hall is named after world renowned sculptor and printmaker Elizabeth Catlett, a university graduate who was one of the nation’s first students to earn a Masters of Fine Arts degree

MCGREGOR, Iowa (AP) – A small city in northeast Iowa still shows the scars of a tornado that hit the community earlier this month, but businesses have reopened and visitors are shopping in local stores even as repairs continue. The Telegraph Herald reports that electric service has been restored to nearly all buildings in McGregor following the July 19 tornado that pummeled the city. The McGregor and Marquette Chamber of Commerce president estimates that at least 75 percent of businesses were operational this week.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Trees that suck up sunlight and groundwater at the expense of other plant life are creating new headaches throughout the Plains, including Nebraska, Iowa and the Dakotas. The eastern red cedar tree spreads rapidly, consuming huge areas of productive ranchland and threatening many of the area’s original prairies. Some landowners and conservationists are now working to try to address the problem.