Des Moines, Iowa – Seventy Iowa students took top honors at the State Historical Society of Iowa’s state history contest Monday and will represent Iowa at the National History Day national contest in June.

The 70 students emerged from a total of 474 competitors in the National History Day in Iowa state contest at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. The state winners now advance to the national contest, where they will compete virtually against nearly 3,000 students from the United States and around the world.

“National History Day is a wonderful program that gives students an opportunity to learn about history and develop skills that will last a lifetime,” said Susan Kloewer, administrator of the State Historical Society of Iowa. “We congratulate our state winners and wish them well as they represent Iowa at the national contest.”

This year’s national qualifiers include students from 24 different schools:

• Abraham Lincoln High School
• Akron-Westfield Middle School
• Akron-Westfield Senior High School
• Bettendorf Middle School
• Carroll Middle School
• Clarinda High School
• Gerald W. Kirn Middle School
• Harding Middle School
• Johnston Middle School
• Johnston Senior High School
• Le Mars High School
• Le Mars Middle School
• Marshalltown High School
• Nashua-Plainfield Junior-Senior High School
• Nevada Middle School
• North Scott Senior High School
• Okoboji High School
• Oskaloosa Christian School
• Prairieview School
• Southeast Valley High School
• St. Benedict School
• Storm Lake High School
• Sudlow Intermediate
• Unity Christian High School

National History Day is a year-long academic program that challenges students to research, develop and present papers, exhibits, documentaries, websites and performances about historical topics related to an annual theme. This year’s theme is “Debate and Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences.”

More than half a million middle and high school students around the world participate in the program each year. In Iowa, thousands of students participated in the program, which includes a Junior Division (grades 6-8), Senior Division (grades 9-12), and a non-competitive Youth Division (grades 4-5).

“National History Day in Iowa is one of the strongest programs of its kind in the country,” said the new state coordinator, Hanna Howard, who worked at Living History Farms before joining the State Historical Society of Iowa staff earlier this month. “Over the years, National History Day in Iowa has inspired a generation of young Iowans to pursue further studies and even careers in history, and I look forward to building upon that success.”

As part of the program, students learn important literacy skills and how to conduct research using primary, secondary, community and statewide resources. Working individually or in groups of two to five, they develop the following attributes that are essential for future success:

• critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• research and reading skills
• oral and written communication skills
• presentation skills
• self-esteem and confidence
• a sense of responsibility for and involvement in the democratic process

The National History Day in Iowa program has been coordinated by the State Historical Society of Iowa, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, since 1994 and is sponsored by the State Historical Society, Inc., A More Perfect Union by the National Endowment for the Humanities and Bravo Greater Des Moines.

(Harlan, Iowa) – Officials with the Harlan Police Department report two arrests over the weekend. On Sunday, 38-year-old Ronald Anthony Leal, of Harlan, was arrested following a traffic stop. Leal was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with operating while intoxicated and interference with official acts.

And, on Saturday (April 23), 28-year-old Gunnar Michael Blum, of Kimballton, was arrested on active Audubon County warrants.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Police said Tuesday (Today), the intersection of 6^th Street and Sunnyside Lane has been temporarily made into a four-way stop intersection due to increased traffic in the area from the bridge repair on the Iowa 83 bridge over the East Nishnabotna River.

The Atlantic Police Department has worked in conjunction with the Iowa DOT and Atlantic Street Department in making this decision. These traffic control signs will remain in place throughout the duration of the bridge repair project.

Google maps

The Atlantic Police Department is urging drivers to follow the DOT designated detour route that utilizes Glacier Road, Echo Road, 620^th Street, Olive Street, U.S. 6 and Iowa 83. Permitted oversize loads are prohibited. A 12-foot lane width limit will be in effect. There will be increased traffic enforcement in this area and drivers found driving on roadways that are not rated for their vehicles may be cited/fined.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Tuesday), said Deputies on Monday arrested 55-year-old Jeffrey Allen Rowland, of Omaha, NE, on a Cass County, IA warrant for various counts of Theft, Forgery, Unauthorized Use of Credit Card and Ongoing Criminal Conduct.  Rowland was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

And, on Sunday, Deputies arrested 37-year-old Robert Lawrence Tisdale, of Atlantic, on Cass County, IA warrants for narcotics related offenses.  Tisdale was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports three people were arrested on drug charges over the past week. At around 1:35-a.m. Sunday, 38-year-old Adrian Lonell Beverly, and 29-year-old La-Quetta Renee Flood-Drummond, both of Omaha, were arrested at Highway 34 and 195th Street, for two counts Possession of a Controlled Substance and two counts of a Drug Tax Stamp Violation ($12,000 bond each). And, at around 5:35-p.m. on April 20th, 33-year-old Charles Alezander Nelson, of Omaha, was arrested at Highway 34/284th Street, for Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drugs. ($1,000 bond).

Late Sunday morning, Thomas Oscar Anderson, of Red Oak, was arrested at the Mills County Courthouse, for Disorderly Conduct ($300 bond). On April 21st, 30-year-old Jayce Danielle Hale, of Red Oak, was arrested at 370th St/Highway 34, for Driving Under Suspension ($300 bond). And, 39-year-old Michelle Lee Szymarek, of Omaha, was arrested at the Douglas County, NE Jail, on a Mills County warrant for Violation of Probation. ($10,000 bond).

(Radio Iowa) – Former Newton assistant football coach pleads guilty to federal wire fraud for a mortgage scheme. According to the indictment, Ryan Arguello started a business by buying properties at a discount, fixing them and then selling at a profit. The indictment further states that Arguello offered mortgages on property he did not own for collateral on loans and received more than 600-thousand dollars in loans from individuals. Most of the money was wired to him from out of state.

(Radio Iowa) –  The Iowa legislature has approved a bill that is estimated to require that the majority of Iowa gas stations sell gasoline with a 15 percent ethanol blend. Governor Kim Reynolds was speaking with reporters in West Des Moines when she learned the vote tally in the Senate.

The governor initially proposed an Iowa Renewable Fuels Standard last year. An adjusted plan passed passed the House this February. This week, Senators made changes that are expected to let an estimated 30 percent of smaller gas stations opt out of the requirement to sell E-15. Senator Waylon Brown, a Republican from Osage, says it’s a way to push back against the oil industry and federal regulators who’ve resisted using ethanol as a gasoline additive.

“This does tell the state, it tells the nation, it tells our region that E15 is important in Iowa and we are going to be the leader in the E15 market,” Brown says, “in production and in selling it.” Republican Senator Dennis Guth, a farmer from Klemme, says the mandate violates the principles of free enterprise. “I do support E15 in every way that I can,” Guth said, “but I don’t think it’s the government’s job to use their big club to make things happen.” Senator Todd Taylor, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says the bill will be an economist boost for rural and urban Iowa.

“It’ll help with clean air and clean energy,” Taylor says, “and renewables for the future are what we need for growing our economy, creating jobs and sustainable jobs.” Republican Senator Adrian Dickey of Packwood, who has owned fuel stores, voted for the bill, but Dickey says retailers who install new systems to pump higher blends of ethanol will make zero profits from that investment.

“I think when we get done with this bill we should pass another bill that’s a ‘Green Tractor Mandate,'” Dickey said. “…We should mandate that every farmer uses a green tractor, a green planter, a green combine to put their crop in and take their crop out and the first response would be: ‘Well, I’m not going to make any more money doing that. I’m not going to have any more yield doing that.’ Well, exactly. It’s the same scenario, but ‘Green Tractors’ are good for Iowa. We make ’em and we sell ’em in Iowa.”

The House approved Senate adjustments in the plan early this (Tuesday) afternoon and sent the bill to the governor on an 81-to-13 vote.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Police Department reports three people were arrested and multiple individuals were cited, over the past week. The arrests include:

• on April 21st, 26-year-old Troy Bird, of Atlantic, who was arrested for OWI/1st Offense.
• and on April 24th: 24-year-old K One Moses, of Warrensburg, MO., and 25-year-old Seker Weneity, of Atlantic, were both taken into custody for Disorderly Conduct and Public Intoxication. Weneity remained held in the Cass County Jail, as of today (April 26th).

Atlantic Police said 45-year old Jeffrey Ponton, of Atlantic, was cited into court April 23rd, for Driving While License Revoked. And three people from Atlantic were cited into court for Unlawful Passing of a School Bus: 37-year-old Amber Rhodes, 30-year-old Nigel Newbury, and 85-year-old Charles Templeman.

(Radio Iowa) – The legislature has sent the governor a bill that would give more medical professionals authority to recommend patients be permitted to park in handicapped spaces. Under the bill, licensed physical therapists and occupational therapists would be able to recommend the Iowa D-O-T issue license plates for Iowans with permanent disabilities or permits that hang on a rear view mirror for those with temporary disabilities. Representative Dennis Bush of Cherokee says “These therapists have the training necessary to determine if a person needs special parking privileges in order to better function independently.”

Bush said also, under current law it’s only doctors, physicians assistants and nurse practitioners who can recommend Iowans with a disability get special parking privileges.  “House File 2259 makes it easier for a person with a disability to access the health care professionals who can help them get the special license plates or parking permits they need,” Bush says.

The bill also lets health care professionals in other states issue the recommendations to the Iowa D-O-T for plates or temporary permits that allow a vehicle to park in designated handicapped spaces. The bill passed the House unanimously in February and the Senate gave it unanimous approval Monday.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) –  Connections Area Agency on Aging has teamed-up with OATS (Older Adults Technology Services) and its flagship program Senior Planet, from AARP, to harnesses technology to enhance the way we age. Officials say the OATS courses, programs, and activities help seniors learn new skills, save money, exercise to get in shape, and make new friends.  If you or someone you know is an older adult, join others for FREE class sessions on health & wellness, technology, socialization, and much more.  Sessions concentrate on user-friendly tools and resources and are designed to enable older adults to learn to utilize technologies to improve their daily lives.

Among the topics being offered this quarter, is (Date/Time/Location/Topic):

May 4th 4pm Garden Grove Library– Protecting Your Personal Information Online
May 5th 4pm Atlantic Public Library—Smart Phones
May 11th 10am Lenox—Graphic Design Tools
May 11th 4pm Harlan Community Library— Smart Phone Photography
May 13th 2pm Lied Public Library Clarinda 2pm-3:30—Online Shopping
May 18th 4pm Garden Grove Library—How to Spot Fake News
May 19th 4pm Atlantic Public Library—Internet of things
May 24th 1pm Ida Grove Public Library—The internet of things
May 24th 3:30pm Stubbs Library Holstein—The internet of things
May 25th 11am Greenfield Public Library—Benefits of Connecting to the Internet
June 1st 10am Lenox—Cloud Storage
June 10th Lied Public Library Clarinda—Smart Phone technology

Detailed class information can be found on the Connections AAA website at: https://www.connectionsaaa.org/about-us/news_events/

If you would like more information on the OATS programming, would like to attend or host a class, or would like to be trained as an OATS coach please contact Aubury or Nikki at 800-432-9209.  **Connections Area Agency is one of six Area Agencies on Aging in Iowa, and part of a nationwide network. With a mission of enhancing the quality of life for elders in 20 counties through education, planning and coordination of services, Connections Area Agency on Aging is the premier agency for assisting elders, caregivers, and their families to access the information and services needed for independence and life transitions. Offices are located in Council Bluffs, Creston and Sioux City. For more information, contact Connections AAA at 800-432-9209 or at www.connectionsaaa.org.**