Sheriff’s officials in Mills County have released a report on recent arrests. Authorities say21-year old Kenzie Marie Annin, of Council Bluffs, was arrested early this (Friday) morning following a traffic stop on Interstate 29.  Annin was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance and held in the Mills County Jail on $1,000 bond.

51-year old Stuart B. Starks, of Omaha, was arrested Thursday at the Sheriff’s Office on a warrant for Forgery and Theft in the 4th degree. His bond was set at $6,000. On Wednesday, 22-year old Gary Allen Schultz, of Bellevue, NE.,  was arrested on a Pottawattamie County warrant for Failure to Appear. His bond was set at $1,000. And on Monday, deputies in Mills County arrested 30-year old Joseph Michael Barnes, of Council Bluffs, for Theft in the 5th degree. His bond was set at $300.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A truck leasing company has plans to move its corporate office to Council Bluffs from neighboring Omaha in Nebraska.  The Daily Nonpareil says the Council Bluffs Planning Commission has approved a rezoning request by Wayne Hoovestol to build a 24,000-square-foot building along with an attached shop and nearby warehouse.

Hoovestol told the newspaper that the construction will allow him to move his 55-person Cresco Capital operation from Omaha and consolidate it with his Lone Mountain Truck Leasing operation, which has 15 employees who would move from Pacific Junction. Cresco is the corporate and financial portion of Hoovestol’s lease-to-own truck business.

He says the consolidated site will have an initial total payroll of $3.5 million. And he says he expects to add positions.

St. Patrick’s Day is an all-day celebration for many and, for some, it includes alcohol.  The Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB) reminds you to celebrate responsibly.  Police will be working overtime this weekend (March 14th-17th) strictly enforcing all motor vehicle laws as part of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau program. Remember “Click It or Ticket” & “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over”. Watch your speed & stop at all stop signs.

Iowa law enforcement will step up patrols this holiday weekend to prevent alcohol-related crashes.  Drunk driving violators often face jail time, the loss of their driver license, higher insurance rates and other expenses including attorney fees, court costs, vehicle towing or repairs, and lost wages due to time off from work.  An average OWI can cost close to $10,000.  A phone call or taxi is a less costly and a safer alternative.

The GTSB recommends you designate a sober driver before your party begins.  In recent years, two of every five traffic deaths that occurred on this holiday involved a drunk driver.  In Iowa, eight people lost their lives last March in an alcohol-related traffic crash with a double fatality during the St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

Don’t push your luck this St. Patrick’s Day.  Celebrate smart and stay safe.  To prevent a tragedy and possibly save a life, the Iowa GTSB says to follow these steps for a safe and happy St. Patrick’s Day:

• Before the festivities begin, plan a way to safely get home at the end of the night.

• Before drinking, designate a sober driver and leave your car keys at home.

• If you’re impaired, use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation to get home safely.

• If available, use your community’s sober ride program.

• Walking impaired can be just as dangerous as driving.

• If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact local police. You could save a life.

• And remember, if you know people who are about to drive while impaired, help them make other arrangements to get where they are going safely.

A new report from an Iowa City based research organization claims low-wage working parents in the state would be better served if reforms were made to Iowa’s Child Care Assistance program. Iowa Policy Project (IPP) Research Director Peter Fisher says Iowa’s eligibility ceiling for participation in the program is 145 percent of the federal poverty guideline.  “There are only seven states that have a lower ceiling than Iowa. Thirty states have a ceiling of 165 percent or higher and quite a few states are at 200 percent of poverty, so we’re well below the norm,” Fisher says.

Current rules provide a disincentive to families to earn more money, according to Fisher, because the loss of child care assistance can outweigh the increased income. “A single parent with one child, under the current program, is going to lose $4,890 in benefits when they hit that ceiling. A married couple, both working, with two children in child care will lose almost $9,000,” Fisher said. “That’s a pretty big hit and it happens all at once.” Fisher suggests lawmakers look at ways to reduce what has become a “financial cliff” for families, where the more they make, the further they fall behind because of the staggering cost of child care.

“There are other programs, the Earned Income Tax Credit and food assistance, where you don’t see a cliff. The reason is they do what we’re recommending here, which is tapering the benefits gradually, rather than cutting them all off at once,” Fisher said. Part of the problem, according to Fisher, is that federal poverty guidelines do not take into account the cost of childcare, which can become a severe strain on family budgets. The analysis recommends a graduated pay rate based on income, or raising the amount a working parent can make and still qualify for Child Care Assistance. Iowa’s Child Care Assistance program serves about 23-thousand (23,000) children each month.

(Radio Iowa)