(Washington, D-C) – An Ankeny man convicted of assaulting police officers, and on other charges associated with his role in the Jan. 6th riot at the U-S Capitol, may spend a little more than seven years in federal prison. That’s what prosecutors in the Salvador Sandoval, Jr, are pushing for. Sandoval, Jr. was convicted of all 12 counts he was with in connection with his role in the Jan. 6 attack.

Prosecutors say the man was in the Capitol for roughly 15 minutes and tried to take riot shields from two officers and pushed two more. They suggest he spend 88 months in prison and receive three years of supervised release, along with $2,000 in restitution.

Sandoval and his mother were both charged in the Capitol attack and were scheduled to be tried together back in December. His mother, Deborah Sandoval, pleaded guilty to a single charge and is already serving her five-month prison sentence in a facility in Alabama.

Salvador Sandoval’s attorney says he will file his sentencing memorandum in two weeks, as they are due by July 24, according to court records. Salvador will face sentencing on Aug. 7th.

(Radio Iowa) –  Repeated Mississippi River flooding is threatening prehistoric burial mounds that comprise Iowa’s only national monument, and the U-S Army Corps of Engineers is looking for public input on plans to protect the area. Kim Warshaw, the Corps’ project manager, says the Effigy Mounds National Monument in Harpers Ferry is being placed at risk by the lock-and-dam system, climate change, land use changes and altered hydrology.

Warshaw says shoreline erosion is causing “irreparable and unacceptable damage” to the ancient mounds, believed to have been built during the first millennium. The Corps is looking to use river sand and rock to stabilize the shoreline to ensure the rare mounds aren’t lost forever.

Marching Bear mounds at Effigy Mounds. (National Park Service photo)

(Red Oak, Iowa) – An accident Sunday night on the east side of Red Oak claimed the life of a man from Stanton. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Wednesday night, reported 21-year-old Jacob Brenner Helberg died at the scene of the crash at 200th Street and J Avenue. The accident happened at around 11:45-p.m. Sunday. Authorities say Helberg was unresponsive and trapped in a 2011 Mitsubishi Endeavor, when rescue crews and deputies arrived on the scene.

Due to the severity of the crash, medical personnel had to extract Helberg from the vehicle in order to try and save him. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – The host of an Iowa event that will feature six of the candidates running for the G-O-P’s next presidential nomination says the race is wide open. Bob Vander Plaats — president and C-E-O of The Family Leader — has hosted Donald Trump at two of the group’s previous summits in 2013 and 2015.

“I think the former president has a 20-30 percent self-inflicted ceiling,” Vander Plaats says. “I think that’s going to be his top, which means there’s 70-80% of people still willing to be moved. I think people are intrigued by DeSantis, by Scott, by Haley, by Ramaswamy, by Pence. There’s a lot of them — Asa Hutchinson. There’s a very good field there.” The candidates Vander Plaats just mentioned are the six who’ll speak tomorrow (Friday) at the Family Leadership Summit he’s hosting in Des Moines.

Trump turned down an invitation to join the group. Vander Plaats, an influential leader in the evangelical Christian movement, endorsed Republicans Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum and Ted Cruz prior to their victories in the last three competitive Iowa Caucuses. Vander Plaats says he’s concerned about having Trump as the G-O-P’s presidential nominee in 2024.

“You can thank him for all the good things that he’s done and he’s done a lot of good things, but I’m too concerned that America has made up their mind on the former president and they’re kind of exhausted about all the issues of the past when they want to have a compelling vision that will win for the future.”

The Family Leader’s Bob Vander Plaats on “Iowa Press” set (RI file photo)

This week Vander Plaats has said it was not very smart for Trump to go after Governor Kim Reynolds for remaining neutral and not endorsing a candidate before the Iowa Caucuses. To avoid the 2016 scenario that saw Trump emerge from a field of 16 Republican candidates, Vander Plaats says he’s encouraged this cycle’s dozen or so candidates to evaluate their chances and step aside if it’s not their time.

“Being a former accounting teacher, I understand the power of division and so the more candidates that are in, the more likely it is that Trump will be the nominee,” Vander Plaats says. “…Whenever I have a chance to visit with them, most of them will tell me God has called them to run for president and then I use scripture and I say:’God also tells us in scripture that there’s wisdom in a host of counselors’ and so if your counselors aren’t approving that call, then you need to make a tough decision.”

Vander Plaats made his comments during a recent appearance on Iowa Press on Iowa P-B-S.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Community School District’s new Superintendent spoke with the School Board Wednesday evening. Wednesday marked the seventh full day on the job Dr. Beth Johnson officially took over for former Superintendent Steve Barber on July 1st.

ACSD Superintendent Dr. Beth Johnson

Dr. Beth Johnson said all the people she’s met so far, “have been wonderful.” She said on her agenda, she’s trying to set-it up so that it addresses the three Board Priorities: Academic Excellence; Team Culture, and District Operations.

Dr. Johnson said one of the things she is working on with administrators, is the security and safety practices and protocols for the district. “One example,” she said, “Is to add or upgrade some new security cameras at Washington Elementary. They’re very old. They’re antiquated…”  Last year, a Safety Audit of the District’s facilities was conducted, which resulted in the exploration of getting new cameras and monitoring systems.

New ACSD School Business Official/Board Secretary Lisa Jones spoke about the people she works with and the district’s financial situation. Jones said July is the start of the new fiscal year. She’s been reviewing the district’s financials from the past three months, and what she’s seen so far is “really good.”

Jones said she’s “happy” there have been no surprises she’s encountered since she took over for former SBO/Board Sec. Sarah Sheeder on July 1st. The financial reports must be closed-out and submitted to the State by Sept. 15th. Jones said also, Auditors are coming at the end of next month, as previously scheduled, to review the 2022-23 financial report. She she’s pleased with the people she works with in the main office, who have a great work ethic. Jones added, “I’m just excited to be here.”

During the Action Item portion of the Board’s agenda, Board Vice-President Kristy Pellett administered the Oath of Office to Lisa Jones, and she was officially appointed to the aforementioned positions.

SBO/Board Sec. Lisa Jones is swore-in by Board VP Kristy Pellett

During their meeting, the ACSD Board, Wednesday, discussed their Legislative Priorities, four of which must be submitted by August 11th.

Their initial discussion focused on three top priorities: Student Achievement; School Safety; and Mental Health. The priorities will be discussed further during the Board’s regular meeting in August.

In other business, the Board approved the issuing of contracts, during the Consent Agenda portion of their meeting. Contracts were approved for Laurie Fell, Washington Elem.Teacher; Jordan Zarbano, HS Custodian; Jennifer Weisenborn, WA Elem. PE Teacher; Julie Van Maanen, Schuler Title 1 Teacher, and Steve Andersen, Transportation  Director.

(Radio Iowa) –  The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa and two abortion providers have filed a lawsuit challenging the fetal heartbeat bill the Iowa legislature passed Tuesday in a special session. A Planned Parenthood official says hundreds of Iowans will be impacted when the governor signs the bill Friday, because it immediately goes into effect. The law bars doctors from performing abortions after an ultrasound detects cardiac activity, which happens around the sixth week of a pregnancy.

ACLU of Iowa legal director Rita Bettis Austen (RI file photo)

The same groups filed a lawsuit that blocked a similar law passed in 2018 from taking effect. Doctors say the policy is a functional ban on abortions in Iowa, since many women don’t realize they’re pregnant at six weeks, and those who do get early confirmation of a pregnancy face waiting periods and other hurdles in scheduling an abortion.

Governor Reynolds says the voices of Iowans and their elected representatives cannot be ignored any longer and justice for the unborn should not be delayed.