Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Legislation aimed at reducing school bullying in Iowa has advanced in the Legislature, though it remains unclear if it will have enough support to get to Governor Terry Branstad’s desk. A three-member House education subcommittee gave unanimous approval yesterday for a version of the bill. It now heads to a full committee for consideration.

ELDRIDGE, Iowa (AP) — A Davenport soldier accused of abandoning his U.S. Army post has been arrested after the car he was in went off the road in eastern Iowa. The Eldridge Police Department tells the Quad-City Times 23-year-old Joseph S. Gipson Junior was taken into custody early Tuesday morning on a U.S. Army warrant. Online court records did not list an attorney for Gipson yesterday.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say they arrested a West Des Moines woman accused of being drunk on hand sanitizer and kicking her daughter. The Des Moines Register reports 48-year-old Jennifer Olney was charged Tuesday with child endangerment and another crime. Olney’s daughter is now in her grandfather’s care.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City man has pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge in the shooting death of another Iowan. The Sioux City Journal reports that 29-year-old Timothy Schroeder entered his not-guilty plea Wednesday in Woodbury County District Court. He was arrested February 5th in connection with the slaying of 29-year-old Dustin Wilder of Sloan.

The owners of the Danish Inn in Elk Horn announced through e-mails and social media Wednesday evening, that the restaurant will close its doors for good next week, after more than 30-years in business. Owner Verne Kline said in an e-mail to the businesses customers, “It is with much sadness that we must announce that the Danish Inn, after over 30 years of operation will be closing at the end of next week. The high cost of providing quality food and service has made continuing impossible for us. Thank you for your loyalty, friendship and past patronage. Verne Kline, Jacqui and Jeremy Christensen.” Their last day of business is March 7th.

On the restaurant’s Facebook page, the comments ranged from shock and sadness, to anger and disappointment. The business said in response, “We are sad too we have tried everything to stay open, summers have been good but winter was brutal this year a real lack of business and decent weather rising food costs and wage increases we appreciate all of you and your business.”

The closing of The Danish Inn marks yet another loss for residents seeking family-owned and operated businesses in the area. A little more than two-years ago, Mikels Family Restaurant in Harlan closed after more than 60-years in business. In December 2012, The Farmer’s Kitchen, a family-owned restaurant in Atlantic, closed its doors after more than a dozen years in business.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office is issuing a warning about a recent scam. Officials say they have received a report of three men working together to reportedly fix lightning rods on a victim’s house. One person talked to the victim while two others went up on the roof. They then reportedly exchanged heavy cables that were on the roof with light-weight cables.

Victim paid the subjects $1,400 by check, and the scammers immediately cashed the check and were gone from the area. The Sheriff’s Office asks residents to “Pass the word around to prevent scammers from doing this to any of your friends or loved ones!”

Deputies in Cass County arrested an Anita man Tuesday. Officials say 53-year old Jeffrey Charles Dory was taken into custody on a charge of Driving While Barred. Dory was brought to the Cass County Jail where he was released later that day on his own recognizance.

When the temperature dropped 10-degrees in an hour this (Wednesday) afternoon, rain quickly morphed into heavy, wet snow. The first flakes began to fall at around 12:30-p.m.  As the snow accumulated, it didn’t take long for the accident reports to pile up. About an hour after the rain changed to all snow, an accident was reported on Interstate 80 in Cass County, between the 57 and 60 mile-markers eastbound.

The crash caused the roadway to be blocked while State Troopers, Cass County Deputies and emergency crews responded to, and worked to clear the wreckage. The road was re-opened to traffic at around 3-p.m.
Numerous other accidents were reported, as well. There was no immediate word on any injuries.

Towing services were being prohibited in Pottawattamie, Cass and Adair Counties late this (Wednesday) afternoon, because of the weather conditions. For the latest road report, go to www.511ia.org, or call 511 from any phone.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A top state official says turning over Iowa’s Medicaid program to private operators would save money and improve service, but lawmakers are questioning how the change would impact people in the program. Department of Human Services Director Chuck Palmer addressed a legislative committee Wednesday. He says the state is moving forward with a plan to shift the Medicaid program to one or more managed care organizations. That means the state would pay outside companies a fixed amount per enrollee to provide health coverage.

About 550,000 people are enrolled in Iowa’s Medicaid program, which is funded with $4.2 billion in state and federal dollars. Democratic Sen. Joe Bolkcom says lawmakers need to closely monitor the change, noting that he’ll hear from constituents if there are changes to quality of care.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Legislation aimed at reducing school bullying in Iowa has advanced in the Legislature, though it remains unclear if it will have enough support to get to Gov. Terry Branstad’s desk. A three-member House education subcommittee gave unanimous approval Wednesday for a version of the bill. It now heads to a full committee for consideration. On the Senate side, the education committee voted 9 to 6 Wednesday along party lines to approve the bill with some changes. The full Senate can now debate it.

The legislation would add language that supporters say will give educators more clarification on how to respond to bullying cases. Rep. Quentin Stanerson, a Center Point Republican, was on the subcommittee Wednesday. He says he’s still figuring out whether the legislation has enough support in the House.

A restitution hearing was held this (Wednesday) afternoon at the courthouse in Atlantic, in the case of an Atlantic woman who falsely claimed her 5-year old daughter had cancer and then raised money for her treatment. Fourth District Court Judge Greg Steensland presided over the hearing for 30-year old Leatha Kaye Slauson. Slauson herself was unable to make it to the proceedings due to the weather, but she was represented by her lawyer, Jay Mez.

During the nearly 50-minute hearing, a half-dozen persons testified, and provided evidence to the judge of how much they had contributed to Slauson, or the “Super Riley” fund set up for her daughter. Most presented photocopies of checks, but one woman presented credit card statements. The amounts claimed ranged from $200 to over $3,000. In all, about $10,000 in claims were presented by private individuals or persons representing organizations, such as the 1st United Methodist Men’s group in Atlantic, and Beta Sigma Phi.

Judge Steensland, Mez and Cass County Attorney David Wiederstein agreed to accept the claims. Now it’s up to the judge to determine how much each person or organization will receive. The total amount victim restitution is in the amount of $35,964. Three-thousand dollars has been returned in the form of an R-V that was used, leaving a balance of $32,964. The amount of funds available to distribute are $15,920.

The Judge said since the amount of claims exceed the available funds, it puts him in a “Bit of a predicament.”  He said “We’ve already had a situation where we’re trying to figure out what to do with money that shouldn’t have been given out in the first place. As a judge, I cannot exacerbate that by giving out funds that I can’t track.” He said he would reimburse those funds that he thinks are provable, in the form of a court order as soon as possible, barring an unforeseen circumstances.)

In January, the 30-year-old Slauson was sentenced to 5 years probation and was ordered to continue mental health treatment and not contact her five children unless requested by her therapist. In November, she plead guilty to two counts of child endangerment, one of administering harmful substances, one of theft and one of unlawful possession of a prescription drug.