A man and a woman from Red Oak were arrested on assault charges early this (Friday) morning. According to Police, 29-year old Billy Lyn Leeper and 24-year old Tarah Jasmin Hoffman, both of Red Oak, were taken into custody at a residence in the 100 block of B Street, at around 12:10-a.m. The pair were charged with Domestic Abuse Assault and brought to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center where they were being held without bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa is getting $3 million from the U.S. Department of Education to help turn around low-achieving schools. U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that provides funding for the School Improvement Grants program, says improvement in the quality of education centers around focusing resources on schools with the greatest need. Iowa was one of nine states selected for the funding announced Thursday. Nine states received more than $71 million.

The grants are awarded to state educational agencies and they in turn make competitive grants to school districts that demonstrate the greatest need for the funds and the strongest commitment to provide adequate resources to substantially raise student achievement in their lowest-performing schools.

Authorities in Fremont County said Thursday a 66-year-old man from Sidney was arrested Wednesday following an investigation into allegations he sexually abused a 5-year-old girl. In a Press Release, the Sidney Police Department says Roger C. Kissel was arrested on charges of second-degree sex abuse, lascivious acts and indecent exposure.  Kissel was being held without bond in the Fremont County Jail.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee, Illinois and Iowa are receiving a grant to increase public safety by sharing criminal justice information. According to a news release from the National Governors Association, state-level reforms aimed at reducing recidivism, lowering corrections costs and improving safety may not work as well if states don’t have a good way of sharing corrections information with each other.

The states receiving the grant will get guidance and technical assistance from the National Governors Association and experts in the private sector, research organizations and academia. The program is called the Cross Boundary Corrections Information Exchange Policy Academy. It is made possible through a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha-based economist says a survey of bankers in Nebraska, Iowa and eight other Midwest states suggests that economic growth is slowing down. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the overall index’s decline shows that “areas of the nation highly dependent on agriculture and energy are losing economic steam.”

AMES, Iowa (AP) — The Ames Public Library is scheduled to re-open today after a norovirus sickened 30 employees earlier this week. The illnesses caused the library to close its doors on Wednesday and Thursday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials in Des Moines say recent runoff caused by warmer weather has affected the taste and odor of water. Des Moines Water Works says extra runoff in the water supply has caused the utility to use more chlorine in its finished product. The change has been going on for three weeks. The utility says the water is safe to drink and use.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A lawyer for a Minnesota man charged with killing his wife in Iowa in 1997 says the man has prostate cancer and only a few months to live. John Bloomfield’s attorney asked an Iowa judge to release Bloomfield from custody so he can live his final months at home in St. Paul, Minnesota. Prosecutors oppose the request saying Bloomfield is receiving excellent medical care at a prison hospital. Judge Paul Miller in Iowa City says he’ll rule soon.