The Adams County Sheriff’s Department reports a Corning man was arrested Tuesday evening for a violation of his driving privileges. 29-year old Choua Ly was taken into custody at around 6:50-p.m., after being stopped in Corning for a simple traffic violation. During stop, it was determined Ly’s license had been suspended. He was subsequently arrested for Driving Under Suspension, and brought to the Adams County Jail, where his bond was set at $566.

Governor Branstad is again putting “education reform” on his to-do list for legislators. “I think we need to focus on things that are going to improve student achievement,” Branstad said recently during an interview with Radio Iowa, “and having great teachers is an important part of motivating students to achieve at the highest level possible.” Branstad will reveal the details of his proposal next Tuesday, during his “Condition of the State” Address to legislators. But the governor already has outlined his primary goals.
“You want to attract top quality people to the profession. You also want a career ladder that makes it possible for talented teachers to stay in the profession, move up to leadership positions at an earlier age,” Branstad says. “Those are all things that I hope we can accomplish in the education reforms that we’re looking at.”

Those ideas were included in a teacher pay initiative Branstad’s education director unveiled in the fall of 2011, but the proposals were tabled as the governor said the state didn’t have the resources to finance those moves. The state now has a billion dollar surplus, but it’s unclear how much Branstad will commit to the teacher pay effort, as using that excess to provide commercial property tax relief is a higher priority for the governor. Senator Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs, the top Democrat in the legislature, says lawmakers are “open” to raising teacher pay. “The idea of paying teachers what they’re worth makes sense,” Gronstal says.

House Speaker Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha, the top Republican in the legislature, says legislators also need to ensure high-performing students don’t get bored in high school.  “A lot of that has to do with the high school years and the transition to college and how we smooth that, accelerate that, provide dual-credit opportunities — some of those different types of things,” Paulsen says. Senate Republican Leader Bill Dix of Shell Rock says legislators must address the shortage of math and science teachers, too.

“The private sector has offered better compensation packages and in order to maintain and attract quality people into the classroom, we may need to be more flexible in how some of those needs can be met,” Dix says. “Now whether it’s signing bonuses or flexibilities in how they are compensated, those skill sets clearly need to be accommodated at higher levels.” House Democratic Leader Kevin McCarthy of Des Moines expects Branstad’s education reform package to be in the range of 177-million dollars in additional spending.

“Increases in teacher pay, trying to find new efforts to recruit and retain the best and brightest teachers, and so at least thematically we will work with him in that regain and work with him in a bipartisan way,” McCarthy says. The Iowa legislature convenes Monday, January 14th.

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety have released additional details about the death of a Sac County woman whose body was found in a home during an investigation into a kidnapping and assault. Authorities say preliminary autopsy findings from the State Medical Examiner’s Office show that 45-year old Marilyn Schmitt died of sharp force injuries. Her death has been ruled a homicide.

Schmitt was found dead by law enforcement officials in an upstairs bedroom at her home located at 2242 Ira, Ave., Early, on Thursday afternoon, January 3rd, 2013. Preliminary investigative findings indicate Schmitt died earlier that morning. Schmitt’s son, 21-year old Kirk Riley Levin faces a felony charge of Murder in the 1st degree. Kirk Levin was arrested on January 3rd on charges unrelated to Schmitt’s death.

Levin allegedly admitted to authorities he was the only one who could have killed his mother, and that his choking her would have resulted in her death. The complaint filed against him alleges Levin stabbed his mother between the hours of 1:30-a.m. and 5:45-a.m. Jan. 3rd, in her upstairs bedroom. Levin is currently being held in the Sac County Jail.

The investigation is being conducted by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Sac County Sheriff’s Office.