(Mt. Ayr, Iowa) – Sheriff’s deputies in Ringgold County arrested three men following a call about a disturbance, in Mount Ayr over the weekend. The incident happened a little before 2-a.m. Saturday, at Still Smokin BBQ in, Mount Ayr. Authorities say 21-year-old Tucker Wyatt Eugene Darrah, and 39-year-old Vincent Lee Fletchall, both of Mt. Ayr, were arrested for Disorderly Conduct- Fighting/Violent Behavior, and 23-year-old Devan L Jackson, of Grant City, MO., was arrested for Criminal Mischief in the 3rd Degree.

Darrah and Fletchall were being held in the Ringgold County Jail on cash bonds amounting to $600 and $2,300, respectively. Jackson’s cash bond was also set at $2,300. All three men were being held until appearing before a Magistrate.

Wyatt Darrah

Vincent Fletchall

Devan Jackson

Andrew Kerwin

(Lenox, Iowa) — Sheriff’s officials in Taylor County report a man was arrested Tuesday for Domestic Abuse Assault. Deputies called to the 500 block of W. Michigan Street in Lenox ended-up arresting 31-year-old Andrew Kerwin, of Lenox. Kerwin was being held without bond in the Taylor County Jail, pending an initial court appearance.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a man was arrested on an Assault charge Tuesday night, in Villisca. Deputies responding at around 9-p.m. to the 100 block of West 6^th Street in Villisca for an assault in progress, arrested 38-year-old Douglas Ray Kirsch, of Villisca, on two counts of Domestic Abuse Assault/1^st Offense, and Interference with Official Acts. Kirsch was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail.

Red Oak Police and the Villisca Fire and Rescue assisted Sheriff’s deputies at the scene.

(Radio Iowa) – The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors is joining other counties in requesting that the Iowa Utilities Board deny the use of eminent domain for two proposed carbon-dioxide pipelines. Plymouth County Supervisors Chairman, Don Kass, explains the supervisors’ position. “Frankly, the precedent set by granting eminent domain for projects like this would mean that eminent domain could be used for any number of projects for which it never was intended,” according to Kass. “We respectfully ask that the I-U-B deny these permits to these two entities — and in the future consider only projects that actually served the actual public good.”

Kass says the letter addresses both proposed pipelines, Summit CO2 Solutions, and Navigator Ventures Heartland Greenway Systems which will run through Plymouth County. Kass says the supervisors feel there are good uses for eminent domain. “You know, things like roads, and bridges, and schools and police stations and fire stations — that is what eminent domain was for — for the public utility. In recent decades it has bled over into other things that are profit centers,” Kass says.

He says electric lines and natural gas pipelines are another example of something that is needed to serve everyone. Kass says the C-O-2 pipelines are not the same thing. “This is nothing more than a profit center for their investors that has to do with C-O-2 sequestration. Which would be of a benefit to the ethanol industry, but it’s not necessarily a public utility,” Kass says. “I am all for people investing and making money — that’s great. But they shouldn’t be able to use the inherent power of the government to be able to take the things that they want for this nature.”

Dickinson, and Kossuth Counties have one of the pipelines running through them and have made the same request to the Iowa Utilities Board. Kass says his discussions with other counties indicate they may do the same.

A woman from Red Oak was arrested at around 3-a.m. today (Wednesday), for Operating a vehicle without the Owner’s Consent. 22-year-old Harley Renea Strutton was arrested in the 1200 block of N. 3rd Street and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where her bond was set at $2,000.

(Anamosa, Iowa) – A near head-on collision in Jones County Tuesday evening resulted in one person’s death and injuries to another person. The Iowa State Patrol says the accident happened at around 5:20-p.m. at Highway 64 and 140th Avenue, in rural Anamosa.

The report says a 2004 Toyota Corolla crossed into oncoming traffic and struck a 2016 Jeep Cherokee. The car came to rest in the center of the road, while the Jeep came to rest in the north ditch. One person died after being flown to the University of Iowa Health Center by LifeGuard Air Ambulance. The other person was transported by Anamosa Ambulance to UPH St. Lukes Hospital.

Authorities were withholding the crash victims’ names, pending notification of family. The accident remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says she’s working on legislation that would set parameters for local school officials to follow when parents object to books in the school library. “If a parent has a concern about what’s in there, there should be a process where they get answers and they should have options,” Reynolds said. “…I’m telling you what some of the parents brought forth to me is concerning.”

This fall, two Republicans in the state senate proposed charging teachers and school librarians with a crime if students have access at school to certain books. Reynolds instead suggests that parents be given easy access to a list of books in the school library and the books are being used in the classroom as well as a process to follow in their local district if they object to certain books.

“I don’t want to paint this as a big, broad problem,” Reynolds says, “because we’ve got educators out there that are doing their best every single day and I’m proud of what they do — my daughter is a public school teacher — and they’ve been there through some really tough times.” Senator Amy Sinclair of Allerton is chair of the Senate Education Committee. Sinclair says there’s a difference between a public library and the library inside a public school and, while she’s not one to support banning books, Sinclair says parental consent could be required for certain titles.

“You know, if parents don’t want their 12 year old child checking out a book that might have inappropriate, not age appropriate, potentially obscene material, they should have an opportunity to reject that prior to their student getting their hands on it,” Sinclair says. Sinclair is drafting a “Parents Bill of Rights” and she says its passage is her highest priority in the 2022 legislative session.

“Parents have the right to know what their kids are being taught,” Sinclair says. “Parents have the right to access curriculum materials.” Sinclair says those are the kind of tools parents need to be actively engaged in their child’s education. “Parents should know the results of student assessment data or scores or grades,” Sinclair says. “Parents should have immediate and open understanding of what their kids are learning. how they’re learning it and what is actually being graded and measured.”

Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls says he’s thrilled the discussion has moved away from putting teachers in jail, as that likely discouraged teachers from taking or staying in jobs in Iowa schools. The governor and lawmakers made their remarks Tuesday during a statehouse forum sponsored by the Iowa Capitol Press Association.