Two Audubon residents were arrested Friday on drug charges. According to Audubon Police, 44-year old Joel Brannan and 23-year old Desiray Elliott, both of Audubon, were taken into custody after a search warrant was executed at a residence in the 1100 block of North Division Street, in Audubon. Officials say both suspects have pleaded Not Guilty to a Serious Misdemeanor charge of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Brannon is also facing Felony charges of: Possession with the Intent to Deliver/Methamphetamine & Marijauna While in Possession of a Firearm, and, for being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Brannon was being held in the Audubon County Jail on $50,000 bond. His Preliminary Hearing is set to take place April 29th.

Elliott faces additional felony charges that include Possession with the Intent to Deliver Meth & Marijuana. She was released today (Monday) on a $50,000 recognizance bond. Her Preliminary Hearing takes place May 2nd. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation and arrests.

The Audubon P-D also reports two men were arrested April 10th, following a dispute at a local business. 57 -year old Cleo Barrett, of Audubon, was charged with Simple Assault, and 51-year old Randy Williamson, of Audubon, was charged with Disorderly Conduct. And, on Sunday, April 21st, 25-year old Alex Nolan, of Panora, was arrested in Audubon on outstanding warrants from Guthrie and Adair Counties. 

Members of the Elk Horn-Kimballton School District’s Board of Education will hold a Special Meeting Tuesday evening, at the High School in Elk Horn. During the 7-p.m. session, the Board will discuss and take action on: The appointment of a School Board member for District 1; The election a Vice President; The approval of a resolution calling for an election on the proposal to change the Method of Election of the five Directors of the EHK District, to “At Large,” and set June 25th as the date for the Special Election.

The appointment of a Board member to District 1 is necessary due to Board President Mark Smith’s move out of the District to another part of the District. In other business, the Board will also approve the list of Seniors for graduation, and contracts for Driver’s Education instructors. Their meeting takes place in the Family/Consumer Science Room at the High School.

Governor Terry Branstad is mum about a big economic development deal set to be revealed tomorrow (Tuesday). The Des Moines Register reports Facebook plans to build a one BILLION dollar data center in Altoona, a suburb just to the east of Des Moines.  “We don’t talk about economic development prospects until the people, the company that we’re working with is ready to announce it,” Branstad says. “We’ve been working on a project for about a year, but I think it can jeopardize the likelihood that these things will happen if they’re leaked prematurely and so we think that’s inappropriate and I’m not going to talk about it until the announcement is ready to be made — and I think Tuesday’s the day it’s going to be announced.”

Google has invested over a billion dollars on a “server farm” in Council Bluffs and Microsoft runs a data center in West Des Moines. Iowa is an attractive spot for the facilities, with its relatively cheap and available supply of electricity. The Des Moines Register reports the site Facebook is considering in Altoona is near a MidAmerican Energy power station. Governor Branstad was asked about the project this morning (Monday) during his weekly news conference. Branstad would only acknowledge it was a “big” project — and he would not say the company’s name.

“We have been working and negotiating with this project, I think, probably for the better part of a year, maybe even more than a year,” Branstad said, “but in a big and important project like that it’s important to maintain confidentialtiy and to work in good faith and our economic development people have done that with this, as they have on many other projects.” Branstad will not reveal what state incentives have been offered to Facebook. The governor told reporters to attend the announcement on Tuesday to learn those details.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – State auditors are investigating a southwest Iowa county sheriff’s office that swapped seized weapons to a firearms dealer in exchange for gun parts.  The Des Moines Register reports that the deal may violate a state law against selling, trading or giving away guns and ammo seized during investigations.  County records show the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office traded away as many as 47 shotguns, 36 rifles and 27 handguns.

Sheriff Kevin Aistrope told the newspaper that he’d done so as a way to augment his department’s arsenal without incurring any cost for taxpayers.  Representatives for the Iowa Public Safety Department and Attorney General’s Office say their departments aren’t investigating the swap.