Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The son of an Iowa civil rights attorney in the midst of a civil trial against a former governor has been arrested in the courtroom where his mother’s trial is taking place. Polk County Sheriff records say 50-year-old James Barton Conlin, the son of lawyer Roxanne Conlin, was arrested during break in proceedings Monday and charged with interference with official acts. He claims he was testing air in the courtroom, but officials asked him to leave because he was not a certified vendor.

OSKALOOSA , Iowa (AP) — A southeastern Iowa woman has been sentenced to two years’ probation and ordered to pay more than $14,000 in restitution and penalties for insurance fraud. The Iowa Insurance Division said Wednesday in a news release that 39-year-old Brandy Voss, of Oskaloosa, received the deferred judgment Friday. Investigators say that in February 2018, Voss made an insurance claim stating that she had lost valuable property. A month later, Voss sold that same property.

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines woman has won a $300,000 scratch ticket lottery prize The Iowa Lottery says Patricia Inman won the sixth of 10 top prizes available in the Iowa Lottery’s “Colossal Crossword” scratch game. She bought the winning ticket at a convenience store in Des Moines and claimed her prize on Monday at lottery headquarters in Clive. Colossal Crossword is a $30 scratch game that features overall odds of 1 in 2.29.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado man has pleaded guilty to killing a father and daughter in a car crash. The Coloradoan reported Wednesday that 20-year-old Marcos Orozco pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder Tuesday. Authorities say 38-year-old Nicole Nees of Fort Collins and 55-year-old John Nees of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, died in the November 2018 crash in Fort Collins. Authorities say Orozco was driving a stolen truck during the multi-car accident that killed the Neeses on Thanksgiving.

The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education, Wednesday night, approved several matters on their agenda, including a 2019-2020 contract for Superintendent Steve Barber. After previous discussions between the Board and Mr. Barber, it was decided there would be no change of language in his contract, and a 2% salary increase. Board member Dr. Keith Swanson indicated that was not sufficient.

Swanson said, “I think we’re being chintzy, ok? I sat with this Board and we approved a $5,000 raise to a person who had resigned. And this doesn’t come out near that, ok? And I think we have an excellent Superintendent and if we don’t pay him adequately, we aren’t going to keep an adequate Superintendent.” Barber has taken up many extra duties, including mowing for the District on the weekends. When it came time for a vote, Swanson paused, but then voted yes, along with the rest of the Board.

The Board also voted to approve a 2019-2020 Sharing Agreement with the CAM School District, with regard to the services of Atlantic’s Business Manager Sarah Sheeder. It will be the second year for the agreement, the costs of which are split 70-30 between the Districts.

In his report to the Board, Superintendent Barber said the District has received a Volkswagen Settlement Grant to replace two of the diesel buses with propane buses. Each grant is worth $28,150, for a total of $56,250. The District received $20,000 for their last bus purchase, and converting the two buses to propane from diesel will bring the propane-powered fleet from seven-to nine. He also reminded citizens that the Washington Parking lot and lane parking areas are closed until further notice, due to construction. Parking is available in the Middle School/Schuler parking lot, and surrounding street parking.

Cass County EMA Director Mike Kennon

The Atlantic School Board heard from Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon, Wednesday. He spoke with regard to working on an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). Kennon said he’s worked closely with Superintendent Barber to update Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) information, and there’s been a lot of things happening behind the scenes that are not widely known.

He said also, that “The expectations of people, when they talk about the school, they expect the school to be ‘Fort Knox’ for ‘bad people,’ they’re not going to get in. But the reality is really much different. The school is exposed to many threats, hazards and vulnerabilities. The purpose of the Atlantic Community School District [EOP] is to outline the responsibilities and duties of school employees, students, parents, and guardians, in an emergency.”

Kennon said “Development of this plan has been done in collaboration with community response partners, to ensure coordinated stakeholder participation in the best utilization of available resources. The planning effort,” he said, “along with training and exercises, empowers everyone involved in an emergency to act quickly and knowledgeably.” The plan is similar to one in use by Cass County, but on a smaller scale. It’s still an “all hazards” approach, covering a full spectrum of emergencies and disasters, not just an “Active shooter” scenario.

The Iowa Dept. of Transportation reports mobility between Omaha and Council Bluffs should be easier, now that when Interstate 29 between I-680 near Crescent and N. 25th Street in Council Bluffs and I-680 from I-29 to the Nebraska border has re-opened to traffic. The roads officially re-opened at around 3-p.m., Wednesday.

All lanes of I-29 are open, but traffic will not be allowed to continue north of I-680 on I-29.  For I-680, both westbound lanes are open, and one eastbound lane is available for traffic.

Those areas had been closed since late May due to flooding in the area for a second time this spring. Part of the repairs from earlier flooding included adding stabilizing elements to the ditches on I-680 to minimize future flood damage. Those elements have proven their worth in that there is minimal damage from this second round of flooding to the roadway/shoulder and slope areas where the repairs were completed.

Other segments of I-29, as well as U.S. 34, Iowa 2, Iowa 275 and Iowa 333 remain closed. Travelers should check 511ia.org, the Iowa 511 mobile apps or call 511 (within Iowa) or 800-288-1047 (nationwide) for up-to-date closure information on state-owned roadways across Iowa. Closures due to flooding can be viewed by turning on the incident layer on the online map and mobile app.

Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer, Wednesday, said a man was arrested on numerous charges following a traffic stop that escalated into a pursuit, Tuesday night, with speeds of the suspect vehicle reaching over 100 mph at times. At around 11:18-p.m. Deputies from the Page County Sheriff’s Office attempted to stop a 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by 26-year old Robert Castillo, of Bedford, for an equipment violation. The incident began near the intersection of P Avenue and 220th Street, about one-mile west of Clarinda.

The vehicle is owned by Damien & Joleen Most of Corning, IA.  Joleen Most was a passenger in the vehicle. As the Deputy initiated the traffic stop, the vehicle sped up and continued west on 220th. The vehicle went into a field of planted corn and made a wide “U” turn, causing approximately $1000.00 damage to the crops. The vehicle then re-entered 220th continuing west until O Avenue where it turned north. The car continued north on O Avenue to the intersection of 200th Street, where it turned east, with Deputies still in pursuit. Deputies continued to pursue the vehicle on gravel and dirt roads until a tire on the Pontiac had been lost due to the vehicle running over controlled tire deflation tools, otherwise known as Stop Sticks.

James R. Castillo

Deputies detained Most and arrested Castillo on a Page County District warrant for Probation Violation with a bond of $20,000. Additional charges resulting from the pursuit include: Criminal Mischief 3rd degree (aggravated misdemeanor); Possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) 3rd or subsequent offense (class D Felony); Reckless driving (simple misdemeanor); Possession of drug paraphernalia (simple misdemeanor); Eluding (class D Felony), and Driving while barred / habitual offender (aggravated misdemeanor).

Castillo was also being held on a Montgomery County Warrant for Probation violation. His combined bond on the charges and warrants is $50,000. Joleen Most was released from the scene and has no charges at this time as a result of the incident.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Clarinda Police Department Officers and Clarinda Police Department K-9 Raiko.

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines woman has won a $300,000 scratch ticket lottery prize The Iowa Lottery says Patricia Inman won the sixth of 10 top prizes available in the Iowa Lottery’s “Colossal Crossword” scratch game. She bought the winning ticket at a convenience store in Des Moines and claimed her prize on Monday at lottery headquarters in Clive. Colossal Crossword is a $30 scratch game that features overall odds of 1 in 2.29.

Since the lottery’s start in 1985, players have won more than $4.3 billion in prizes, and the lottery has raised more than $1.9 billion for a variety of state programs that help military veterans, schools, tourism and others.

(Radio Iowa) — Scientists predict the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico will be bigger than usual this summer, between the sizes of Massachusetts and New Jersey. The oxygen in the area is depleted because of nitrogen and phosphorus running off Midwestern farm fields and going down the Mississippi River. Gene Turner, with Louisiana State University, is part of the annual dead zone forecast team.

“What it continues to say every year is that we’re not making any progress on improving water quality in the Mississippi River,” Turner says, “which means all the states that are contributing to it also don’t have really any improvements in their water quality.” Turner and his team will collect data in late July. He says the dead zone could be smaller than predicted if there are tropical storms that month.

The nitrogen and phosphorous nutrients trigger algae blooms that deplete oxygen, threatening fish and shrimp. Chris Jones, a University of Iowa researcher, says there’s been some progress in cutting phosphorus runoff from Iowa, but much remains to be done to curb nitrogen. “We need more cover crops on our farm fields, for example,” Jones says. “We need more edge-of-field treatment practices to be implemented, things like wetlands, and we need to very carefully manage our manure.”

While Turner’s team predicts a near-record-sized dead zone this summer, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasts it will be smaller.

(Thanks to Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) — The Republican state senator who is challenging Republican Congressman Steve King’s bid for reelection is giving up a powerful legislative chairmanship to devote more time to the primary race. Republican Randy Feenstra of Hull has been chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee since 2017. In a written statement, Feenstra cited the panel’s work since Republicans took control of the Senate three years ago — most notably the 2018 bill that cut state income taxes. Feenstra said he had “worked productively” with other Republicans in the statehouse. Feenstra has sought to contrast his legislative record with King’s.

In January, Republican leaders in the U.S. House removed King from congressional committees to signal the G-O-P “won’t tolerate” white supremacy. King has said his comments have been taken out of context and he’s been lobbying to be reassigned to House committees. ANNOUNCER OUT: King faces Feenstra and two other Republican challengers in next year’s primary in Iowa’s fourth congressional district. Yesterday, C-N-N and Bloomberg Politics reported King asked, but was not allowed to fly to Iowa with President Trump on Air Force One. Trump, while speaking at an Iowa G-O-P fundraiser last night, acknowledged several elected officials and party leaders in the audience — but didn’t mention King.

The Montgomery County Fair Queen, sponsored by the Montgomery County Fair Board, will be crowned on Tuesday, July 16, at 7:30 PM at the Fairgrounds Auditorium. To qualify, contestants must be at least 16 years of age and not more than 21 years of age on August 8, 2019 (the first day of the State Fair), have not been married, be enrolled in school (or be a high school graduate), and be an active member of at least one worthwhile organization in her community.

The Montgomery County Fair Queen Contest Judging will be held on Sunday, July 7 at 4 PM in the Conference Center on the Lower Level of the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital in Red Oak. The judging will begin with the introduction of the sponsors and candidates with light refreshments being served, followed by individual interviews.

If you are interested in running for this honor, stop by the Extension Office at 400 Bridge Street for the application form, or you can also download the information at www.extension.iastate.edu/montgomery . Please be sure to access all information if you do so online, including the information letter, rules, and entry form. Applications are due at the Extension Office by noon on Wednesday, July 3rd.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines woman accused of binding her children’s hands and feet to keep them under control has been sentenced to two years of probation. Court records show that 38-year-old Jessica Henderson also was fined $625 during her sentencing last week. She had entered Alford pleas to three counts of child endangerment. In an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a likely conviction had the case gone to trial.

School officials contacted police in August about a photograph taken in March 2018 that showed the children tied up on a floor. Henderson has said a friend bound the children when she was in another room. Authorities haven’t said who took the photograph. Police say the children, ages 9, 5 and 4, were taken to a hospital but hadn’t suffered significant injuries.

(Radio Iowa) — A dairy farm in northwest Iowa is hosting an open house today (Wednesday) to show off a unique series of robots that keep the operation running smoothly. Scott Schroeder, executive director of the Western Iowa Dairy Alliance, says the farm of John and Sharon VanderWaal near Sioux Center is one of the most technologically advanced in the state. “Rather than seeing a milking parlor, you will see four robots in the pen with the cows,” Schroeder says. “The cows can go in up to seven times each day. They’ll walk into the pen with the robot and a gate will shut so no other cows can interrupt the cow being milked, and the milking unit will attach itself to the cow and milk the cow.”

Long gone is the three-legged stool and metal bucket, as the robots work quickly to do their job in the pen. “While the cow is in there, they also get some candy-treats, that’s the incentive that draws the cows into the robot,” Schroeder says. “When they are finished in about seven minutes, the machine will detach and the cows are let out and the next one is ready to come in. Once they’ve been trained, they come in on their own. You don’t ever have to try and force them to go in. They freely are able to go in to the robot.”

Besides the robotic milking system, Schroeder says the VanderWaal’s have implemented several other other robotic advances. “They also have some robotic pen scrapers so you can see how they keep the pens clean,” Schroeder says. “They also have a robotic feed pusher to make sure when John feeds his cows, that the feed is fresh and it gets rotated so they always have feed and water.”

Schroeder says the VanderWaal’s started using the robotic method in 2017. The farm has about 250 cows and is one of the smaller dairy farms in the area. He says Sioux County has the most dairy cows in Iowa, with each cow representing an economic benefit of 23-thousand dollars. The J & S Dairy Farm in Maurice is hosting the open house from 4 to 8 P-M.