A Pottawattamie County man was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison, for being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports 22-year old Newberry Winfield Wright, of Oakland, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge James Gritzner to 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release after the term of imprisonment, for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

On February 6th, Wright pled guilty to the charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm which was the result of an investigation by law enforcement into a report of shots being fired at the Farm Creek Wildlife Area near Carson. Wright was located a short distance from the Farm Creek Wildlife Area by deputies with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department. He was found to have in his possession a Smith and Wesson .50 caliber handgun and .50 caliber ammunition. Wright was prohibited from possessing a firearm after he pled guilty in 2012 to a felony controlled substance violation.

The investigation was conducted by the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3 percent in April as the state added more than 5,000 jobs. Iowa Workforce Development reported Friday that the rate was down from 4.5 percent in March. Last year, the April rate was 4.7 percent. The national unemployment rate was 6.3 percent in April.

Iowa’s rate declined as the state added 5,600 jobs, bringing the total nonfarm employment to 1,544,400.
The state had an estimated 73,700 unemployed residents in April.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office says three people were arrested recently on separate charges. Today (Friday), 22-year old Christian Joseph Newman, of Pacific Junction, was arrested on Interstate 29 at around 2:25-a.m.. Newman was charged with OWI/2nd offense. His bond set at $2,000.

On Thursday, 39-year old James Lee McFerrin, of Glenwood, was arrested for violating the terms of his probation. His bond was set at $2,000 also. That same day, 35-year old Nicholas Mark Brule, of Malvern, was arrested in Malvern on a charge of OWI/1st Offense. His bond was set at $1,000.

The Harlan Community School District’s Board of Education approved 128 seniors as the graduating class of 2013-2014. In a board meeting Thursday, the board approved the final list presented by Superintendent Justin Wagner and High School Principal John Connell. The senior class will graduate at commencement ceremonies on Sunday afternoon.

In addition, the board heard from four seniors in regards to their Legacy Project. Every year, the senior class at Harlan Community has tried to leave a lasting impression on the school. This year a group of ten individuals from Mr. Swanson’s business class decided to undertake a legacy project. The class decided to create a portrait made up of all the communities representing the Harlan Community School District.

Legacy Project

The four seniors at the school board meeting were Taylor Leinen, Nate Gettys, Rhiana Chickering and Savanna Scheffler. The students hope the Legacy Project becomes an annual project by the graduating class. The class designed six different portraits that are hung up in various areas in the school district with three in the high school and one in each of the outlining school building.

The eight communities in the school district Corley, Defiance, Earling, Harlan, Jacksonville, Panama, Portsmouth and Westphalia are represented by different pictures in each portrait. The other students participating in the Legacy Project were Elizabeth Blum, Shelby Gettys, Broghan Kelly, Morgan Meyer, Sidney Mills and Jordan Schaben. Superintendent Justin Wagner said the students worked hard to make each design unique.

“That was the other thing that took a lot of time. That was good, attention to detail and taking the extra time to put in different pictures for each one. So if you have seen one, you haven’t seen them all. Great project and appreciate all the time you put into it and Mister Swanson as well.”

In other business, the board approved the 1 to 1 computer purchase of 170 laptops for the upcoming freshman class in the fall of 2014. Lisa Swanson said the purchase was under budget by $24,000 through Riverside Technologies. The purchase price for the new laptops was $157,096.40.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

An Anita man was arrested Thursday on a Cass County Sheriff’s warrant for Violation of a No Contact order. According to the Atlantic Police Dept., 29-year old Ehren Mardesen turned himself-in, and was booked into the Cass County Jail.