(Elk Horn) – Members of the Exira-EHK School Board, Monday evening, approved several new hires to fill vacancies in the District, including a Middle School/High School Principal to succeed current Principal Nate McDonald, who accepted a similar position at Missouri Valley.

The Board selected Erika Van Cleave for the position. She currently serves as the Assistant Principal/Special Education Director at Riverside. Prior to that position, Van Cleave was a teacher and Instructional Coach for the AHSTW School District.

In addition, the Exira-EHK Board, Monday, approved the hiring of:

Brandon Baggett – HS English Teacher
Maria Hughes – Asst. JH/HS Track Coach
Carme Prunera – Spanish Teacher
Waylon Salinas – 4th Grade Teacher
Amanda Warnaca – MS Special Education Teacher.
Paula Yates – Food Service.
They also approved the resignation of Sarah Marshall – Cheer Coach.

In other business, the Board approved a bid from PCS for concrete work on the north side of the Exira building.

CENTERVILLE, Iowa — Authorities in southern Iowa report a man who eluded them for about three days following the assault of a sheriff’s deputy in Appanoose County, was apprehended Tuesday afternoon following the execution of a search warrant at the residence of the suspect’s wife. 33-year-old David Boley faces a dozen charges including assault and sex abuse. Police said Boley had been on a crime spree since Thursday. His wife, Cristina Boley, faces charges of child endangerment and aiding and abetting burglary in the 3rd Degree.

According to the Appanoose County Sheriff’s Office, David Boley hit an officer in the head Saturday in the 1700 block of Iowa Highway J18, sending that deputy to the hospital with head trauma. The deputy Boley allegedly hit on the head, Deputy Gary Buckalew, suffered multiple facial fractures. Buckalew was taken to a local hospital.

On Sunday, authorities report that Boley committed a burglary at 17578 Highway J18. He allegedly kicked in the door to the residence. At that time the homeowner confronted Boley with a firearm. Boley then fled the residence traveling westbound on foot.

(Radio Iowa) – A young child was run over and killed near Baxter in rural Marshall County. Investigators say the accident happened shortly after 9:00 a.m. Tuesday. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a vehicle was backing from a residential garage when the driver backed over a young child who was riding a tricycle. An initial report filed by the patrol indicated that the driver had carefully checked behind the vehicle before backing from the garage, but did not see the child. The child was pronounced dead at the scene.

So far, no names have been released and the accident is under investigation.

A traffic stop at around 6-p.m. Tuesday in Montgomery County, resulted in the arrest of a man from Adams County. Sheriff’s officials say 33-year-old Christopher Adam Fannon, of Corning, was arrested for Driving While Revoked. His bond was set at $1,000.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report a woman from Cass County was arrested Tuesday evening following a traffic stop, and a Red Oak woman was arrested Tuesday afternoon, on fraud charges.

A traffic stop near W. 5th and B Streets, Tuesday, resulted in the arrest of 50-year-old Lisa Leraine Carlson, from Griswold. She was taken into custody after a records check determined Carlson had a suspended license through lowa. She was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $491.25 bond. Carlson was also cited for failure to provide financial liability.

And, Red Oak Police arrested 25-year-old Daisy Adelle Walker, of Red Oak, for 58 Class-D Felony counts of unauthorized use of a credit card. Walker was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $100,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – A small group of legislators will return to the statehouse today (Wednesday) and begin negotiations among Republicans on the spending plan for the state fiscal year that starts July 1st. Republican Governor Kim Reynolds says there’s no real impasse on the state budget and differences will be resolved quickly.

“We’re not going to shut the state down. We’re not Washington, D.C. and we’re never going to be,” Reynolds told reporters. “We know how to sit down and have a conversation and move things forward.” House Republicans have drafted and passed budget bills for all state agencies and operations. Senate Republicans have not, passing only the D-O-T budget out of the Senate Appropriations Committee on April 13th.

Senate G-O-P leaders say their overall spending target of about eight-point-two BILLION dollars matches the governor’s proposed budget plan. House Republicans are proposing spending about 70 million dollars more than that.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says she is not giving up on her bid to get the 2022 Iowa legislature to provide state scholarships for students in private schools.  “We’ve had a lot of different things that we’ve looked at: narrowing it, doing a smaller number, limiting the number of schools that it would apply to, the percentage of poverty level,” Reynolds says. “I mean, we’ve talked about a whole host of things.”

In March, the Republican-led Senate passed the governor’s plan to provide state scholarships to 10-thousand students in low and moderate income households who enroll in private schools. Reynolds says some parents don’t feel their public school supports their values and a private school would be a better fit.

“The parent should have that choice to decide where is the right place for their child to get a quality education and the support system that they need,” Reynolds says. The plan has stalled in the House, as many House Republicans worry the proposal will hurt small, rural schools and benefit urban areas like Des Moines where there are dozens of private schools.

The governor’s plan for private school scholarships a year ago stalled, too. It was smaller and only for students transferring out of 34 public school buildings flagged for failing federal standards.