Flags at half-staff ; D.O.T. driver's license practice test app available; more

Flags ordered at half-staff for soldier

DES MOINES (AP) ? Gov. Terry Branstad has ordered flags flown at half-staff to honor an Army soldier with Iowa ties who was killed in Afghanistan.

Twenty-five-year-old Sgt. Michael Ristau of Rockford, Ill., was assigned to a Washington state unit when he died July 13 after an attack in the Zabul province.

A memorial service for Ristau will be held Saturday in Cascade, where his parents live.

Branstad on Wednesday ordered all U.S. flags and state flags at state buildings and grounds be flown at half-staff from 5 p.m. Friday until 8 a.m. Monday.

Ristau?s funeral was held in Washington state.

D.O.T.?s driver?s license practice test iPad app just like real test

AMES ? The Iowa Department of Transportation has released a new app ? ?IA Driver Test for iPad? ? that serves as a practice test for the exam drivers must take to get their driver?s license.

Developed in partnership with Iowa Interactive, the iPad app was created to assist Iowans to be safe drivers and provide the foundation necessary for applicants to successfully complete the knowledge test.

The app generates 15 questions, randomly chosen from among 69 included in the real knowledge test given at any Iowa driver?s license station. Users can repeat the test as often as they like; each new test generates a different set of 15 questions. The app also tracks a user?s high scores.

The app is not just for teens. Experienced drivers can take the quiz for fun or as a refresher.

?It might not be as easy as you think,? said Mark Lowe, director of the Iowa D.O.T.?s Motor Vehicle Division. ?Iowa?s traffic laws are always changing, and it?s likely there will be a question or two that stump even the most seasoned driver.?

Lowe encourages people to use the app as a practice aide after studying the Iowa Driver?s Manual. Parents are urged to talk to young drivers about their test results to foster discussion about safe driving rules and behaviors.

The free app is available to download to an iPad through the iTunes Store; search for ?IA Driver Test for iPad.? The app will appear with an Iowa D.O.T. icon.

Currently, the app is only compatible with iPad and requires iOS 4.3 or later. However, the Iowa D.O.T. is already working toward making it accessible through other mobile platforms, including Android tablets.

Possible witness in Iowa girls? case comes forward

EVANSDALE (AP) ? Authorities say a man seen in a surveillance photo has talked to investigators and is not a suspect in the abduction of two Iowa cousins.

FBI spokeswoman Sandy Breault says the man and a white van had been seen at an Evansdale store about 2 p.m. July 13, two hours before firefighters found the bicycles of 10-year-old Lyric Cook and her cousin Elizabeth Collins, whose 9th birthday was Tuesday. The man talked to investigators Wednesday.

Earlier Wednesday, Capt. Rick Abben of the Black Hawk County Sheriff?s Office, said investigators were aware of a reported abduction attempt of a Cedar Rapids boy by people in a van. Abben says it?s impossible to tell whether the Cedar Rapids incident is somehow related to the missing girls.