(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports three arrests took place this week. On Wednesday, 24-year-old Connor Nathaniel Burg, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for OWI 1st and driving under suspension.  Berg was transported to Cass County Jail and was later released on his own recognizance. Also arrested Wednesday, was 36-year-old Trevor Kyle Benge, of Stanton, who was taken into custody on a Cass County warrant for violation of probation.  Benge was transported to Cass County Jail and is currently being held on bond.

And, on Monday, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 26-year-old Edward Lee Roy Burton, Jr., of Atlantic, on a Cass County warrant for controlled substance violations.  Burton was transported to Cass County Jail where he was being held on bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Barbara Wilson took office Wednesday as the 22nd president of the University of Iowa, the third woman to hold the position. Wilson replaces Bruce Harreld, who retired after taking the office late in 2015. Wilson is a communications scholar and academic administrator who previously served as the second in command at the University of Illinois system. U-I Undergraduate Student Body President Regan Smock says she hopes campus mental health will be a priority for Wilson. “COVID illuminated a lot of what some people were living in silence about,” Smock says. “I really hope that we can try to push more funding towards mental health services in general. I think, especially for students of color, students of underrepresented and underserved backgrounds.”

Smock said she anticipates one of Wilson’s biggest challenges will be earning trust across a diverse range of constituents on campus. “There are students who will never think about who’s making decisions about stuff, but those who do, do not feel heard in what they need and what they want,” Smock says. “Part of that is that you have constituents with different demands and different things they need and that makes it difficult.”

Wilson has also spoken about her goals to expand diversity, equity and inclusion and improve graduation rates. Reports say Wilson received a five-year contract with an annual salary of 600-thousand dollars as well as a five-year deferred compensation plan with an annual contribution of 400-grand.

(By Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – Former Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to visit Des Moines and Sioux Center today (Friday), his first stops in the state since leaving office. Bob Vander Plaats is president and C-E-O of The Family Leader, the organization that’s hosting one of the events where Pence is scheduled to speak. Vander Plaats considers Pence one of a handful of front-runners for the G-O-P’s 2024 presidential nomination — if Donald Trump doesn’t run. “If Trump were to get in and secure the nomination, because he has a very vibrant base, all of a sudden it becomes: ‘Who is going to be the VP?'” Vander Plaats says. “Now you could see a Kristi Noem get raised, a Tim Scott get raised and even people who aren’t running for president, like Governor Kim Reynolds.”

Vander Plaats would NOT expect Trump to offer the V-P slot to Pence again, nor does Vander Plaats think Pence would accept it. A week ago during an appearance on Iowa P-B-S, Vander Plaats was asked if Pence did the right thing in certifying the Electoral College outcome in January. “The question I ask to people who push back on that is…’Do you want Vice President Harris in a few years to be able to do what Mike Pence was asked to do?’ And I think common sense would say: ‘No,'” Vander Plaats said.

Polls show a segment of Republicans, though, believe Pence should have refused to certify Joe Biden as the 2020 victor. At a recent conservative conference in Florida, chants of “traitor” rose from the some in the crowd as Pence started speaking. “He will not be booed at our event,” Vander Plaats says. “I read an article about when he spoke in Orlando…when he got heckled. When he spoke in New Hampshire, it was a sold out crowd and recorded eight standing ovations.” Vander Plaats suggests continuing to focus on the 2020 election outcome is unwise for the G-O-P. “We need to keep our focus on 2022 as well as 2024,” Vander Plaats said.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will also speak at today’s (Friday’s) Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines. Vander Plaats describes both as presidential candidates of the future, although, Noem has said she doesn’t plan to run for president. Pence is due to headline a midday fundraiser in Sioux Center for Congressman Randy Feenstra. Early this (Friday) evening, Pompeo will speak at a fundraiser in Ottumwa for Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks.