(Griswold, Iowa) – Griswold School Superintendent Dave Henrichs reports the District reacted to a social media “Threat event,” Monday.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

On the topic of school security, Dave Henrichs says the Griswold School Board, during their regular meeting Monday evening, discussed the January facilities walk-through, and identified issues that are “quick-fixes,” and those that are bigger, more long-term issues. That resulted in a prioritization of the 12 most pressing issues.

Funding for the measures will come from the District’s SAVE/PPEL fund.

In other business, the Griswold School Board, Monday evening, approved resignations and new hire contracts.

The Board rejected the chemical bids and tabled action on those and mowing bids, so they those items may be combined and acted on during their next meeting. They also tabled approval of the Board’s 2023-24 Goals Action Plan, because after further discussion about the District’s Open Enrollment situation, outside resources are needed to help conduct strategic planning.
Superintendent Henrichs will obtain the necessary information and incorporate it into a presentation during their meeting in March.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston are reporting two recent arrests. Monday night (8:44-p.m.), 24-year-old Jeffrey Allen Arnold, of Creston, was arrested at his residence on a charge of Criminal Mischief in the 2nd Degree (Damage $1,500-$10,000). Arnold was transported to the Union County Jail and later released on a $5,000 cash or surety bond.

Early today (Tuesday, 12:05-a.m.), 27-year-old Heather Marie Madison, of Creston, was arrested at the intersection of Adams and Division Streets. She  was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance 1st Offense. Heather Madison later released from the Union County Jail on a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

(Clarinda, Iowa) –  The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is investigating the death of a Page County Jail inmate. Authorities say an adult male inmate was found unresponsive in his jail cell, Monday afternoon. Jail staff performed life-saving measures, and the Clarinda Ambulance Service transported him to the Clarinda Regional Health Center, where the inmate was pronounced dead.

Policy requires the DCI to investigate the death. The name of the deceased inmate was being withheld pending the notification of family, and the completion of the investigation.

Sac City, Iowa  [KCCI]— An Iowa mother is suing the East Sac County School District school officials for allegedly failing to protect her son from a teacher’s sexual abuse. Former East Sac County Schools special education instructor Stefanie Kelsey was arrested in 2022 and accused of having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student. Kelsey was employed by the district at the time of the arrest.

In February 2023, Kelsey pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse and sexual exploitation by a teacher and was later sentenced to 10- and five-year sentences in prison to run concurrently. The student’s mother, identified as “Jane Roe” in court documents, alleges that in early 2022, then-East Sac High School Principal Kevin Litterer and then-superintendent Jeffrey Kruse asked Kelsey about rumors involving the teacher and underage student. The lawsuit says that when Kelsey denied those rumors Litterer and Kruse failed to follow up with her son.

The boy admitted to police that he had sexual contact with the teacher after nude photos of Kelsey were found on his phone. Litterer and Kruse are no longer with the East Sac County district. Both are also named in the lawsuit.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Senate has approved a bill that would let the governor and the state executive council bypass the State Auditor’s Office and hire private C-P-As to audit all state agencies. Senator Mike Bousselot, a Republican from Ankeny, is the bill’s sponsor.

“The bottom line is that Iowans deserve better,” Bousselot said. “…Efficiency can occur by leveraging national firms, CPA firms that have extended expertise (and)…independent, non-partisan certified public accountants.” All 31 Republicans present voted for the proposal — the first bill to pass the Senate this year. All 16 Democrats in the Senate voted against it. Senator Tony Bisignano of Des Moines says the bill means State Auditor Rob Sand, the only Democrat serving in statewide office, would not be able to investigate state agency spending.

“He was elected by the people of Iowa, just like your governor,” Bisignano said, “and then you have the audacity to…try to neuter the auditor so the people Iowa cannot see the daylight on the budgets and the expenses that’s happening in this state.”

The bill now goes to the Iowa House for consideration.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Senate has approved Governor Kim Reynolds’ proposal to extend pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage for 12 months rather than just 60 days after a baby is born. Senator Mark Costello, a Republican from Imogene, says it’s a way to help new mothers in low income households who need care.

“We’ve found that not all the difficulties or medical needs that happen with pregnancy happen within the first two months,” Costello says, “so we want to enable those women to get the coverage for the full year.” The bill got the backing of 31 Republicans and three Democrats. Governor Kim Reynolds says extending postpartum care to 12 months for women with the greatest need helps them recover from childbirth, access family planning services, manage chronic health issues, and address mental health.

Thirteen Democrats opposed the bill because it also would lower income limits for the coverage, so the state would spend about the same amount of money in Medicaid for postpartum care. Senator Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, says it means about a thousand Iowa women each month who’d get pregnancy care under current income guidelines won’t get it.

“This is not a time to step backwards on maternal health care,” Petersen says. “…The budget process hasn’t really gotten started yet. There’s still time to do right by pregnant women and their babies in this state.”

The maternal mortality rate represents the number of women who die during pregnancy or within a year of giving birth and that rate has been rising nationally and in Iowa.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The Adair-Casey CSD Board of Education is set to meet in a regular monthly session 7-p.m. Wednesday evening, in the AC/GC High  School Media Center, in Guthrie Center. Their agenda is as follows:

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The Guthrie Center Community School District’s Board of Education is set to meet in a regular monthly session 7-p.m. Wednesday evening, in the AC/GC High  School Media Center, in Guthrie Center. Their agenda is as follows:

(Elk Horn, Iowa) – The Exira-EHK School Board will hold a Public hearing Tuesday, Feb. 20th, at 6-p.m. The hearing takes place in the Exira-EHK Conference Room at the High School, in Elk Horn. The agenda follows below:

(Marshalltown, Iowa) – Officials with the Marshalltown Police Department report a man charged in another man’s murder, was convicted today (Monday, Feb. 19th), of Murder in the 1st Degree, a Class-A Felony. The verdict was handed-down in Marshall County District Court, against 21-year-old Amarrion Demeir Isom, after a trial that lasted just under a week.

Authorities say on March 17, 2023, at 4:03pm, law enforcement responded to 618 West Boone Street in Marshalltown, after receiving a 911 call reporting someone had been injured at this location and was not breathing. Upon arrival, officers found a 27-year-old male deceased. The victim was identified as 28-year-old Isaiah Montell Forest, of Marshalltown. On March 18, 2023, an autopsy of the victim was performed by the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner. The autopsy revealed the victim died as the result of a gunshot wound. On March 19, 2023, law enforcement arrested Isom, who was 20-years old at the time.

Amarrion Isom

Following Isom’s trial, Marshalltown Police Chief Michael Tupper stated, “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Isaiah Forest. This was a senseless crime. We are pleased with the jury verdict and we thank the jurors for their time and work. I am also thankful for the hard work of the law enforcement officers, detectives, prosecutors, and crime scene investigators involved in this case. These dedicated professionals work tirelessly to ensure violent criminals are brought to justice.”

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Marshall County Attorney’s Office, and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office assisted with this investigation.