Two Council Bluffs residents came home late Sunday night to find a woman and a man had broken into their apartment. According to Bluffs Police, officers responded at 11:50-p.m. to an apartment complex at 35 Bluff Street, following a report an armed subject had just broken into one of the apartments. The victims, 31-year old Anastaschia Hughes, and 50-year old Shannon Hughes, found 26-year old Jennifer Malone, of Council Bluffs, and a male subject, inside the home.

When the residents confronted the two intruders, the male produced a knife and allegedly attempted to slash Shannon Hughes, who was not injured. The two suspects fled area on foot, but Malone was found and arrested on a charge of Burglary in the 1st Degree. The male suspect was not located.

An investigation into the incident continues. Anyone with information about the crime is asked to contact the Council Bluffs Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division at 712-328-4765.

Police in Red Oak say a local man was arrested on drug charges early this (Monday) morning. 33-year old Anthony David Smith, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 1:30-a.m. at E. Oak and N. 6th Streets. Smith was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His bond was set at $1,000 cash.

About 90-minutes earlier, 47-year old Harry Lee Barnum, Jr., of Red Oak, was arrested near N. 6th and E. Oak Streets. Barnum was taken into custody at around midnight, on a charge of OWI/2nd offense. His cash bond was set at $2,000.

Memorial Day observations and ceremonies and related events are slated to take place today across the State and nation. Locally, services are scheduled to begin at 10-a.m. in the commons area at the Atlantic High School (Updated 6:45-a.m.) This is a change of location from the Atlantic Cemetery. KJAN will broadcast the service live.

In Anita, Memorial Day observances will be held at the CAM High School at 10:30am. (Updated 8:10am) This is a change of location from the Anita Evergreen Cemetery.

Audubon’s Memorial Day services will be held at Arlington Cemetery, beginning at 10-a.m.  In Brayton, the service will be held at the Brayton Town Hall beginning at 10-a.m.

In Elk Horn, American Legion Post 322 services will be held beginning at 9:30-a.m., at the Clay Township Cemetery; There will also be a 10-a.m. service at the Monroe Methodist Cemetery, and a church service at the Elk Horn Lutheran Church at 11-a.m. will be followed by a Military service at the cemetery. In Exira, services will take place at 9:45-a.m. in the Rec Center (Updated 9:20-a.m.), with a patriotic interlude by the Exira Community Band.

In Grant, services will be held in the Grant Cemetery at 11-a.m, followed by the Grant United Methodist Church’s annual Memorial Day Dinner from 11:30 am – 1 pm on May 25th for a free-will offering. The menu includes: sloppy joe or ham sandwich, baked beans, assorted salads, pies and desserts, and coffee, tea or lemonade. All money raised by the dinner supports the Grant United Methodist Women and their work for mission projects and the Grant church.

In Kimballton, AMVETS Post 51 will hold services at Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery at Jacksonville, beginning at 9:30-a.m.

In Lewis, there will be a Pancake Breakfast serviced by the Lewis Town & Country Boosters and The Pancake Man. The event takes place at the Lewis Community Center from 7:30-a.m. until 10:30-a.m., with pancakes, sausages, juice and coffee all for your free will donation.

And in Walnut, Memorial Day services will be held in the Layton Township Cemetery beginning at 10-a.m.

It was one year ago on Memorial Day that Governor Terry Branstad signed the “Home Base Iowa” bill into law. The law creates several benefits for veterans in an effort to get them to live in Iowa once they leave the military. Casey’s General Stores C-E-O Bob Myers, and former Iowa Congressman Leonard Boswell are the co-chairs of the Home Base Iowa effort. Myers says a lot has happened since the program got going.

“We do know that at this point the number of hires is over 13 hundred,” Myer says. He says in the year since the signing of the legislation, Iowa moved from a “veterans unfriendly state, to a veterans friendly state.” Myers says his company has hired veterans through the program and they have worked out very well. Myers says he is a member of the Iowa Business Council and its 20 members have pledged to hire 25-hundred veterans over the course of the next five years. “So, many of those 13-hundred hires are part of the Iowa Business Council partnership, so we should all be proud of the fact that we’ve hired that many veterans,” according to Myers.

Myers and Boswell are both Vietnam veterans. Boswell says they understand what it means to veterans to be able to get a job and contribute to society once they get out of the military. “The whole idea behind this Home Base Iowa was the fact that 250-thousand or plus men and women are being pushed out of the service. They are there, they are volunteers. The preponderance of those have been there 10 or more years, they are not qualified to retire or do anything like that,” Boswell says. He says the program takes advantage of the skills and training the soldiers got in the military.

“They’ve got a lot of talent, they’ve got a experience, they are motivated, so we extended out this program to bring them to Iowa,” Boswell says. Boswell says the effort is not done. “If it stopped today it would be a success story, but it’s not going to stop, it’s got momentum,” Boswell says. Myer says the cut back in U-S forces continues, and while that may turnaround sometime, he doesn’t see that happening in the immediate future.

“We still have a need if you will, to employ veterans who are leaving the services until that changes,” Myers says. “And it may not change, and it won’t change for the next couple of years. That’s what I see going on right now.” Some of the provisions of the law eliminate state income taxes on military pensions for soldiers and their surviving spouses. It also makes it easier for soldiers to earn academic credit for their military training and experience, if they decide to seek a degree at an Iowa college or university.

In addition, state boards are required to take into account a soldier’s military skills when the soldier applies for a professional license. Those interested in the program can find out more information at: www.homebaseiowa.gov.

(Radio Iowa)