(Atlantic, Iowa) – (Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports four recent arrests. Two men from Anita were arrested March 30^th on warrants charging them with Theft 2nd Degree and Unauthorized Use of a Credit Card. 48-year-old Kevin St. John and 22-year-old Matthew St. John turned themselves in to the Cass County Jail. Both were booked-in and later released on bond.

On March 24th, 2023, Cass County Deputies arrested 45-year-old Jessica Craddock, of Benton, IA, on a warrant for Violation of Probation.  Craddock was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held.

And on March 23rd, 26-year-old Sotonas Aten, of Atlantic, was arrested for Driving While Revoked.  Aten was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond.

(Oakland, Iowa) – The Riverside Community School District has a new Superintendent. Dr. Stephanie Anderson was selected to lead the District, effective July 1, 2023. Dr. Anderson is the Director of Elementary Education and Student Services, Fort Dodge Community Community School. Current Riverside Superintendent, Dr. Timothy Mitchell, announced his retirement in January and will be leaving the District at the end of the 2022-2023 school year.

Dr. Anderson said she “Is excited about this new opportunity and shared “I am honored and excited to have been chosen to be the next leader of the Riverside Community School District. The community cohesiveness, academic and extracurricular celebrations, and amazing people were the highlights from my research and interview experience. I look forward to continuing the great work you are already engaging in as a community and school district.”

Dr. Stephanie Anderson

Her bio reads: “Dr. Stephanie Anderson brings a variety of educational experiences to the superintendent position. She grew up on a farm outside of Newell, Iowa, graduating from Newell-Fonda High School and earning her BA from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. She started her teaching career as an elementary classroom teacher in Vermillion, South Dakota and then in Storm Lake, Iowa while earning her MA from the University of South Dakota. She attended the Iowa Principal Leadership Academy to earn her administrative endorsement, which led to her serving as the assistant elementary principal and early childhood principal in Spencer, Iowa. She then served as the head elementary principal in Fort Dodge, Iowa while earning her PhD from the University of Kentucky. Most recently she has held the position of director of elementary education and student services in Fort Dodge, Iowa while earning her superintendent certification from the University of Northern Iowa. These educational experiences have grounded her in her educational beliefs of being strengths-based, making decisions that keep students at the center, and the importance of building collaborative relationships within the school community and beyond, while leading with integrity every step of the way. She is excited about what the Riverside School District and communities have to offer, and she looks forward to the opportunity to serve the district and communities. Her husband, Chris, is a computer science teacher at the Fort Dodge Middle School; their daughter, McKaelyn, is a junior at Iowa State University majoring in special education; and their son, Carter, is a junior at Fort Dodge Senior High attending the ICCC Triton Academy simultaneously.”

The Riverside Board of Education will meet and offer a contract at their meeting 6:30-p.m. Monday April 17, 2023.

(Radio Iowa) – More than 100 members of the legislature have voted to get rid of the requirement that tattoo artists show they’ve completed high school in order to get a state tattoo permit. Republican Representative Hans Wilz of Ottumwa says if the bill becomes law, you’d still have to complete first aid training, pass health screenings and have reached the age of 18. “Let us remind ourselves that the average age of a graduate in high school is 18 years of age. Do we require farmers to have a high school degree?” Wilz asks. “…This skill is learned through apprenticeship, which is one to three years if not more, yet another of the many ways to be educated in your chosen field. It gives another path to choose a career.”

Representative Josh Turek, a Democrat from Council Bluffs, is among the 43 lawmakers who opposed the bill. “It erodes a basic standard of education. We’re just talking about a high school diploma here. We’re not talking about an associates degree or a bachelor’s degree,” Turek says. “I think that this is incentivizing a few individuals, however just a few individuals, to not get their high school diploma.”

The bill cleared the Senate in March. House Republicans made a minor adjustment this week, to account for changes included in the state government reorganization plan the governor signed into law Tuesday.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are seeing buildings lit up at night with blue lights, and gardens filled with blue pinwheels as part of an effort to raise awareness about April being Prevent Child Abuse Month in the state. Kylie Spies, spokeswoman for Prevent Child Abuse Iowa, explains the purpose of this month-long observance. “Child Abuse is preventable through things like social connections, building those really strong communities and strong families,” Spies says, “and we do that by getting to know our neighbors and learning the ways that we can be a positive force in the life of a child in the family.”

Studies show child abuse numbers dropped in Iowa during 2020, but rebounded in 2021, and Spies says there are a few theories about why. “One idea is that children in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, they spent less time around mandatory reporters like teachers, folks like coaches,” Spies says. “But there’s also been some research that’s come out since then that shows that there actually may have been a decrease in stress during that time, because there are also things like less emergency room visits for suspected abuse.”

A conference about child abuse prevention is scheduled for May 9th and 10th at the F-F-A Enrichment Center in Ankeny. “There’s an in-person conference in Ankeny or there’s a virtual option as well,” she says. “Our theme this year is called, ‘By Design, Creating Spaces Where Children Thrive.’ It’s a community issue. We can really build those spaces that are welcoming to families, that are supportive of families, and we’re going to have a lot of experts from all different fields, talking about ways that we can create those supportive spaces for families.”

To register and for more information, visit: pcaiowa.org.