(Radio Iowa) — A bill to make it illegal for motorists to drive with a smart phone in their hand has emerged in the Iowa legislature again this year. Susan Daemon is a lobbyist with the Iowa Sheriffs and Deputies Association — a group that’s been supporting this move for years.

“We appreciate the step that was taken a few years ago, but it really is hard to enforce,” Daemon says, “and this would make our laws more enforceable and, we believe, make our roadways safer.” A bill that would establish a 30-dollar fine for those caught using a cell phone while driving has cleared a Senate subcommittee.

A bill setting up a 100-dollar fine for smart phone use behind the wheel stalled in the senate last year.

The CAM school board has announced they would like to invite the community to discuss the current facilities and to begin gathering community input for future improvements. There are three meetings scheduled for February 9th, 10th and 11th to share information with the community of the process the board has started to study with Boyd Jones and Alley Poyner Macchietto.

The Sunday, February 9th meeting will be held in Cumberland at the Cumberland Community Building starting at 1:00 p.m. A light lunch will be served prior to the meeting. The Monday, February 10th meeting will be held in Anita at the high school commons starting at 5:00 p.m. The Tuesday, February 11th meeting will be held in Massena at the middle school commons starting at 5:00 p.m.

The CAM school board would like to encourage everyone to attend one of these three informational meetings. All three meetings will share the same information. Officials say as the district moves through this process, input from the community is vital for the district to make sound decisions for students’ future education. The improvements to [the] facilities will play a big part in the educational process.

(Left-to-right): Deb Frazee, SW IA Regional STEM Manager; Shelly Miller; Stacy Uhl, w/Kemin Industries. (Ric Hanson/photos)

A Business Education Instructor for the CAM School District was presented today (Monday) with a 2020 I.O.W.A STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Teacher Award for the Southwest region, sponsored by Kemin Industries. The award was presented to Shelly Miller in a surprise ceremony at the CAM High School.  She is one of only six teachers across the state to receive the award this year. As part of the award, Shelly Miller received $1,500 to use in her classroom, and $1,500 for personal use.

Deb Frazee, Southwest Iowa Regional STEM Manager presented Mrs. Miller with a Tiara, as part of the big surprise.

In 2014, the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council (established in 2011 by Executive Order) created the I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award in partnership with Kemin Industries. Kemin’s Stacy Uhl said the the award celebrates STEM teachers who are Innovative in their methods, Outstanding in their passion for education, Worldly in how they teach their students STEM is all around them, and Academic in engaging students both in and out of the classroom. Each of the six regional award winners will be honored in a special ceremony with Governor Kim Reynold held during STEM Day at the State Capital in Des Moines, on Feb. 19th.

Mrs. Miller told KJAN the award and ceremony took her by “pleasant surprise.” She said she feels completely humbled by the honor and that “A lot of other people would have been very deserving as well.” She has 30 students in her Technology program, which began last year.  The program size more than doubled, requiring a classroom that was bigger, too.

Mrs. Miller said their students are very active in numerous projects, both current and those that are in the planning stages. She said also, that they just received an additional $10,000 grant that will be used to upgrade the drone program, purchasing more computers and video editing software, and much more. Miller has been teaching for the past 10-years. She says her students are thriving in the program and in some case, teaching her new things.

Most of the Miller family was on hand for the special event.

The I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award was created to honor the hard work Iowa teachers do to help inspire student interest in and awareness of science, technology, engineering and math. It celebrates STEM teachers who go above and beyond to give their students a quality STEM education. And in addition to helping students learn to love what they do, these teachers are also preparing their students for some of the most in-demand jobs in Iowa.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests took place, Saturday. Authorities say at around 3:04-a.m., 31-year old Justin Kaiser Mials, of Decatur, GA., was arrested for OWI/1st offense, following a traffic stop on Highway 34. His bond was set at $1,000. And, a little after 4-p.m. Saturday, 24-year old Russell Logan Barker, of Council Bluffs, was arrested following a traffic stop at 210th & 221st Streets in Mills County. Barker was charged with Driving While Barred, and Speeding. His bond was set at $2,000.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports five arrests over the past week, including two people who were arrested on separate drug-related charges. On January 22, 2020, 41-year old Aaron Joseph Moore, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Sheriff’s Office warrant for (Felony) Possession with Intent to Deliver. Upon arrest for this charge, Moore was additionally charged with Possession of Marijuana 3rd/Subsequent offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Moore was taken to the Cass County Jail and held there. On January 24th, Moore was additionally charged with a Felony Sex Offender Residency Violation/2nd or Subsequent offense, and an additional Felony charge of Possession with Intent to Deliver/Marijuana. Moore remains held at the Cass County Jail on $22,300 bond.

On January 16th, 48-year old Lisa Marie Shrimpton, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Felony charge of Possession with Intent to Deliver/Methamphetamine. Shrimpton was taken to the Cass County Jail where she remains held on $10,000 bond.  That same day, Cass County Deputies arrested 31-year old Justin Lee Cooley, of Atlantic, on a Cass County warrant for Failure to Appear. Cooley was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains held.

In an update to our earlier reports, that Cass County Sheriff’s Office says 38-year old Ryan Paul Elgin, of Casey, was arrested early SUNDAY morning, following a single-vehicle rollover accident northeast of Anita. Following an investigation into the accident, Elgin was taken into custody for OWI/offense. He was also cited for Failure to Maintain Control. The accident happened at around 1:04-a.m., Sunday on 760th Street, about one-half mile north of White Pole Road.

Elgin was driving a 2014 Ford F-150 pickup, and had attempted to back up and turn around at that location. In doing so, he backed into a ditch, causing the pickup to roll onto the passenger side. No injuries were reported. Damage to the vehicle is estimated at $1,500. Elgin was taken to the Cass County Jail and released later that day on his own recognizance.

UPDATE: The Ames Police Department announced Monday that 20-year-old Cedar Rapids resident Demarcus Stokes was arrested in Polk County, Missouri around 4:15 p.m. (Original story follows, below):

(Radio Iowa) – Ames police have issued a warrant for a man who shot out the window of a local fast food restaurant. Witnesses told police a man came into a McDonald’s around 10:47 last night (Sunday) — then went out to a car in the parking lot and got a shotgun and fired at a man and woman in the restaurant. A window was shattered — but no one was injured. Police say one of the targets of the shooting knew the man and identified him as 20-year-old Demarcus Stokes of Cedar Rapids.

Demarcus Stokes

Ames Police issued an attempted murder warrant for Stokes and say he should be considered armed and dangerous. The red car he was last seen driving was found in Story County and he may now be driving a gray Chevy Suburban with license plate number G-N-P-480. Anyone with information is asked to call the Ames Police Department at 239-5133 or the anonymous tip line 239-5533. You may also contact Crime Stoppers.

NEW YORK (AP) — Sen. Joni Ernst has a memoir coming out in May. The book is called “Daughter of the Heartland: My Ode to the Country That Raised Me.” According to her publisher, Threshold Editions, Ernst will tell of a journey from farm girl to first female senator from Iowa. Her book arrives as she faces what is expected to be a competitive race for re-election. Ernst is among a handful of Republican incumbents whom Democrats and pollsters have identified as vulnerable in 2020. The 49-year-old Ernst was elected to the Senate in 2014.

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is mustering governmental muscle as it tries to turn out Republican voters next month in early voting Iowa. With most of the attention focused on the battle for the Democratic nomination, Trump’s campaign is announcing what it is calling an “unprecedented” surrogate operation. It will include more than 80 supporters fanning out across the state the day of its kickoff caucuses on Feb. 3. Among them will be acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and much of Trump’s Cabinet, as well as elected officials, Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. and the inventor of “My Pillow.”

(Radio Iowa) — The state court system has released the first group in a series of free interactive court forms designed to assist you in accessing the state court system without an attorney. Judicial Branch spokesperson, Marissa Gaal, says the first forms are for people seeking a divorce who don’t have nay minor or dependent adult children.  “These were developed to kind of address an access to justice issue. We know that there are people out there that struggle to access our court system,” Gaal explains. The forms are free for anyone to use. “The process helps prepare those court forms based on user’s answers to step-by-step questions,” Gaal says.

She says all you have to do to get started is to go to the Judicial Branch website. “And they can navigate to ‘representing yourself’ and that will guide them tour divorce page where there are step-by-step instructions for accessing those interactive court forms,” according to Gaal. The webpage is at www.iowacourts.gov. Gaal says all the information you need to know should be on the site. “The interactive forms should have a section that will list off any important information for them to have on hand before they begin the process,” Gaal says, “and all that information is on our webpage as well.”

She says filling out the forms is the first step in the process. “Once they have gone through the interactive court forms — they will generate the forms that they will print off, sign and then file those forms with the court,” Gaal says.  Gaal says the court system saw there were five-thousand-430 (5,430) divorces in the state last year where there were no children involved.