From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
ANKENY, Iowa (AP) – Roxy the dog is more than a beloved family pet – she’s a lifesaver. WHO-TV reports that an Ankeny, Iowa, family is crediting Roxy with alerting them when the odorless gas carbon monoxide leaked into their home. It happened Dec. 13. Brad Harbert said Roxy is normally mild-mannered, but that night she was unusually active, jumping up and down on the bed. Harbert then heard the home’s carbon monoxide detector go off. He jumped out of bed and Roxy went to Hartbert’s son’s door and began scratching at it. Harbert gathered his son, father and the dog and left the home. The leak came from a fireplace.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A company that wants to build a pipeline to carry carbon dioxide from ethanol plants in Iowa and several other states to North Dakota where it would be stored underground is fighting Iowa regulators’ order to reveal the names of business and governments in the path of the $4.5 billion project. Summit Carbon Solutions has appealed to the Iowa Utilities Board and asked a court to intervene because it says the order would force it to identify many farmers who own land along the route because the land is often held by trusts or family corporations. Environmental groups argue that keeping the names secret will only make it harder to organize opposition to the project.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Cedar Rapids police are still searching for a driver who hit an officer with a vehicle before fleeing after a traffic stop. Police said Saturday that the officer fired at the fleeing vehicle after being struck by the vehicle shortly after 8:30 p.m. Friday. The confrontation began when the officer tried to pull the vehicle over in Cedar Rapids but the driver refused to stop. After a short chase the vehicle stopped when the road reached a dead end at a construction site. But when the officer got out to confront the driver, the vehicle spun around and accelerated toward the officer. Officials said the officer sustained minor injuries.
WINNESHIEK COUNTY, Iowa (AP) – Two teens died and three more were seriously hurt when the SUV they were riding in rolled three times. The Iowa State Patrol said the crash happened around 10:30 p.m. Friday in a rural part of Winneshiek County between Decorah and Cresco. According to an accident report, the driver of the SUV lost control and tire marks show the vehicle went sideways before veering into a ditch on the west side of the road. Investigators believe the SUV rolled three times before landing on its tires. Everyone inside the vehicle was under the age of 18, but their names were not immediately released.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The president of Planned Parenthood’s affiliate in the upper Midwest says she is stepping down from her position next year. Sarah Stoesz oversaw the organization for nearly 20 years and grew it into one of the largest Planned Parenthood affiliates in the country as it expanded from Minnesota and South Dakota to incorporate North Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported. The five-state organization provides health care to more than 100,000 patients each year. Stoesz does not plan to step down until October while the organization searches for her replacement.
