Obituaries

FAIRVIEW, Ill. (AP) ? A decorated U.S. soldier from Illinois and an Army civilian employee from Oklahoma who both had been deployed multiple times to support military operations in Afghanistan were killed in an attack this week in Kabul, the Defense Department said. Army Sgt. Douglas J. Riney, 26, of Fairview, Illinois, and Michael G. Sauro, 40, of McAlester, Oklahoma, died of wounds received when they encountere...

Election Day is nearing and absentee voting in Iowa starts Thursday.Ballots will be available from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. until Nov. 7 at the Jefferson County Auditor?s office, on the first floor of the courthouse.The auditor?s office will also be open until 5 p.m. Nov. 4, as well as until 5 p.m. Oct. 29 and Nov. 5., which are the two Saturdays before the Nov. 8 General Election.Those choosing to vote early can ...

DES MOINES ? (AP) ? Authorities in several Iowa cities were mobilizing resources today to handle flooding from a rain-swollen river that has forced evacuations in several communities upstream, while a Wisconsin town was recovering from storms now blamed for two deaths. More rain fell Thursday night and early today in the area, and the National Weather Service said the threat for more rain and flash-flooding ...

SAUGUS, Mass. (AP) ? The giant orange dinosaur seen by thousands of motorists a day on U.S. Route 1 in Saugus, Massachusetts, has been saved from extinction.Some feared the 20-foot dinosaur would disappear because the miniature golf course on which it has stood since 1958 was sold to a developer, who plans on building apartments, a hotel and retail space at the site.But project partner Michael Barsamian tells ...

With a trembling voice and teary eyes, Fairfield resident Maggie Ronan described her first-hand account of Hurricane Katrina ? one of the five deadliest storms in the nation?s history that tore through the Gulf Coast claiming more than 1,200 lives. A resident of Gulf Shores, Alabama at the time, Ronan traveled with her church to New Orleans, Louisiana, to reach out to the masses who were without the most basic ...

Jefferson County?s Special Response Team was called into action early this morning during a four-hour standoff with an armed subject believed to be dangerous. According to a press release from the Jefferson County Attorney?s Office, the incident began when the Jefferson County Law Center received a 911 call reporting a male subject, later identified as Kelley Robinson, age 45, at 2089 Libertyville Road had ...

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa paid a visit to Jefferson County Tuesday when she visited the Fairfield CoLab.Ernst met with the co-lab?s board of directors and other co-lab members. Fairfield Economic Development Association economic project coordinator Joshua Laraby guided her through a PowerPoint presentation detailing the co-lab?s history, explaining how it was renovated and what it is used for today. He said ...

The Fairfield Police Department reports the following incidents logged into dispatch: Tuesday8:18 a.m. ? A citizen advised of a theft occurring sometime between 5 p.m. Monday and the time of the call at the Landmark Inn on Main Street. Various tools were taken from an unlocked room that was being worked on. Officers have no suspects or leads at this time.9:41 a.m. ? A subject advised that a 2-year-old child ...

IOWA CITY (AP) ? A divided Iowa Supreme Court on Friday banned judges from imposing life prison sentences without the possibility of parole on juveniles convicted of first-degree murder. The court ruled 4-3 that the sentence amounts to cruel and unusual punishment under the Iowa Constitution. Even juveniles who commit the most heinous crimes should someday have the option of proving to the Iowa Board of Parole ...

NEWTON (AP) ? An Iowa couple faces child endangerment and drug charges after police say they were caught riding in a vehicle driven by a 13-year-old. The Newton Daily News reports that 51-year-old Paul Deaton and 48-year-old Jacqualine Deaton of Colfax were arrested after the vehicle was stopped around 2:15 p.m. Sunday. Authorities say a Jasper County sheriff?s deputy noticed a heavy odor of marijuana coming ...