SABULA, Iowa (AP) — Iowa highway crews had to plow a bridge crossing the Mississippi River because of ankle-deep mayflies that swarmed the span.

On Saturday night the insects  swarmed to the Savannah-Sabula bridge, connecting Iowa and Illinois.  

The bugs covered the bridge so thickly, and caused such slick conditions, that crews plowed the bugs off the lanes and then applied sand for traction. Officials plan to keep bridge lights turned off for the next few weeks in hopes that the insects will be less attracted to the structure.

Mayflies, also known as fishflies and shadflies, emerge from freshwater and spend lives as short as 24 hours flying around and reproducing.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Lawrence city commissioner vented about leaving “flaming bags of poo” in Topeka after the city’s third recent release of raw sewage.

Matthew Herbert says he had a “little tirade” on Facebook after finding out that Topeka spilled 55,000 gallons of raw sewage into the Kansas River.  Topeka also released sewage into the river in April and again earlier this month. Topeka’s sewage releases head downstream toward Lawrence.

Herbert said in a letter to Topeka on Facebook that he’d leave the excrement-filled bags “on your city steps” until the city solves its sewage issues.

Herbert said Wednesday his remarks were tongue-in-cheek, and he’s aware the releases were within state limits. He says he has no intention of leaving flaming bags of anything in Topeka.

In a follow-up Tweet, the city commissioner offered this explanation:  “It seems I caused chaos today. I take my job as commissioner VERY seriously but sadly it took comedy to draw attention to a very real issue.”

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Health officials in Boone County says seven suspected cases of mumps have been reported in the Columbia area.

The University of Missouri said in a release Wednesday that the university is helping health officials notify people, including University of Missouri students and visitors, who may have come in contact with people displaying symptoms of mumps.

Mumps, a contagious viral illness, often starts with fever, fatigue and body aches.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says mumps is no longer common in the United States since routine vaccination programs began, though outbreaks do occur.

MERRIAM, Kan. (AP) — Two people have been charged on suspicion of leaving their 2-year-old niece inside a sweltering car at a shopping center parking lot in Merriam.

Twenty-four-year-old Mylesha Anderson and 23-year-old Marques Anderson were charged Wednesday with aggravated child endangerment. They are being held on $25,000 bail.

According to authorities, a shoe store employee alerted her manager on Saturday that she had seen a child in a car, covered in sweat and crying. The two attempted to smash the vehicle’s passenger window until someone showed up with a truck hitch and got her out. The effort to rescue the girl was caught on cellphone video.

Police and paramedics arrived on the scene, and the child’s vitals were checked before she was released to other family members.

It was not immediately clear if the Andersons have an attorney.

HARRISONVILLE, Mo. (AP) — Four juveniles who escaped from a western Missouri detention facility have been apprehended.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says in a release that the four juveniles assaulted staff Tuesday night and escaped from the Cass County Juvenile Detention Facility. Three fled in a vehicle belonging to a staff member, while a fourth fled on foot.

Police found the juvenile on foot about 10 minutes later.

The other three were apprehended an hour later about 50 miles away in Bates County after they crashed the vehicle they were in.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A summer camp counselor suspects recent flooding may have helped unearth or carry to Lincoln a baseball-sized tooth believed to belong to a baby mammoth.

 

Wilderness Park Nature Camp counselor Colleen Zajac discovered the tooth lying on a muddy bank while leading young day-campers during a Tuesday exploration along Salt Creek.

Camp leaders say they had paleontologists verify the tooth belonged to a baby mammoth. Camp director Ted Hobrich says it hasn’t been decided yet if the tooth will be offered to researchers for further examination.

Around 60 children ages 7 through 9 participate in the program and are divided into six groups. The camp started in June.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A group of tanning salon owners is suing the Nebraska Cancer Coalition, accusing it of making false, defamatory statements about tanning that have hurt the businesses.

The business owners operate 30 tanning salons in Omaha and Lincoln and said Wednesday they will file the lawsuit in Douglas County District Court.

The lawsuit says the coalition’s anti-tanning campaign called “The Bed is Dead” included inaccuracies and misleading elements, violating the Nebraska Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

The Nebraska Cancer Coalition, according to its website, is a statewide partnership of 350 people representing 200 public and private organizations working to prevent and control cancer.

Coalition President Alan Thorson, a colon and rectal surgeon in Omaha who is also named in the lawsuit, did not immediately return a message Wednesday seeking comment.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Scientists have developed a vaccine strain that is 100 percent effective in protecting chickens from bird flu and testing is underway to see if it protects turkeys.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told the House Agriculture Committee at a hearing on Wednesday that the agency plans to quickly license it for widespread production if it is effective for turkeys.

The USDA is seeking federal funding to stockpile vaccine nationally.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to get a lot of folks working collaboratively together and we stockpile enough so that if this does hit and hits us hard we’re in a position to respond quickly,” Vilsack said.

The vaccine targets the H5N2 virus that killed 48 million birds in 15 states this spring. Development is part of the USDA’s preparation for a possible outbreak recurrence.

Scientists believe the virus was spread by droppings of wild birds migrating north this spring. They’re concerned it could return this fall when birds fly south for the winter or again next spring.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The man accused of slaying of nine black church members in Charleston last month has been indicted on dozens of federal charges, including 12 hate crime counts.

Documents released Wednesday show a federal grand jury indicted 21-year-old Dylann Roof on the charges. The indictments include a dozen allegations of obstructing someone’s religious practice, a charge that can potentially carry the death penalty in the federal system.

Federal charges have been expected since Roof was arrested following the June 17 shootings at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston. Roof, who is white, appeared in photos waving Confederate flags and burning or desecrating U.S. flags, and purportedly wrote of fomenting racial violence.

Prosecutors haven’t said if they’ll seek the death penalty against Roof on state charges including nine counts of murder.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansans who owe back taxes to the state will be able to pay the debt without also paying penalties for six weeks, beginning in September.

The Department of Revenue will accept payments for back taxes from individuals and businesses between Sept. 1 and Oct. 15. Those participating in the amnesty program will not be required to pay interest or penalties, if the entire debt is paid.

The Wichita Eagle reports the Legislature approved the tax amnesty program during the last session, after estimates it could bring in $30 million to the state. However, some lawmakers were skeptical the program would raise that much revenue. If the estimates fall short, the state might face more budget cuts.