IOWA (IRN) – Influenza spread and severity is building in Iowa, as the Iowa Department of Public Health reported four new influenza-related deaths today: an elderly female and older adult female in Southeast Iowa; an elderly female in Northeast Iowa; and an elderly male in Northwest Iowa. Since October 2017, a total of six influenza-related deaths have been reported:

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Police found 40 pounds of marijuana in a truck bed after a truck crashed into a yard in Iowa City in June of last year. KCRG-TV reports 30-year-old Benjamin Brewer of Cedar Rapids was driving at a high speed when he failed to stop at a stop sign. Two people were in the bed of the truck and one was thrown from the bed while Brewer was driving. He then crashed into a yard, tried to run from police, and was then hit by a car. While charged in June, Brewer wasn’t taken into custody until yesterday.

WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Firefighters in West Des Moines, Clive and Urbandale battled an early morning fire at the Valley West Inn near the Valley West Mall this morning. KCCI-TV reports the motel was evacuated safely, and no one was injured. The fire started in a second floor unit.

IOWA (IRN) – Iowa will lose two Kmart stores and one Sears store this year, according to the Des Moines Register. The Kmarts in Urbandale and Red Oak will close in April. The Sears department store in Waterloo’s Crossroads Mall will also close in April. It’s one of the mall’s largest anchor stores. The closures are part of a previously announced effort by the struggling retailer to shutter more than 100 underperforming stores nationally. The once mighty retail giants are failing due to competition from online sales.

AMES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State University researchers are developing a vaccine that could protect the world from the flu. WHO-TV reports the nanovaccine is made of nanoparticles three to five hundred times thinner than a human hair. The particles go inside the body and release proteins that will help the immune system recognize the flu pathogen and neutralize it.

IOWA (IRN) – Iowa has the best drivers in the country. That’s what the website Car Insurance Comparison dot com reports. The website takes a look at how many fatalities there were last year per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. It also looks at traffic violations, drunk driving, speeding, and careless driving. Iowa ranked number one and Minnesota ranked second. The nation’s worst drivers? They are in Montana.