(Radio Iowa) — What’s being called a “sober living home” will open soon in Sioux City to help men who are struggling with addiction who may also be homeless. Hope Street of Siouxland has five bedrooms and ten beds, a kitchen, living room and showers, and staff members want to add a pool table. Program Director Sara Johnson says the goal is for people to feel at home while on the road to recovery. “And we’re really intentionally choosing to create a family for those individuals who are going to live here,” Johnson says.

Clients will have access to a case manager and nearby addiction treatment services in downtown Sioux City. “If you’re coming out of prison, if you’re detoxing from the hospital and you don’t have a space to come,” Johnson says, “we’re able to take those individuals.”  She says Hope Street will try to help combat the addiction cycle — where people tend to go back and forth between living on the streets and going to the hospital or going to jail. “We’re going to be another option for them to have some safe living space and hopefully, help change that cycle and really address what their basic needs are, whether it’s mental health, addiction, employment,” she says.

The facility is scheduled to open in the next couple of weeks. People will have to apply for a place in the home.

(Thanks to Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

Red Oak Police, Sunday night, arrested a man from Nebraska, following a reported family dispute. Officers arriving at a home in the 100 block of E. Corning Street, a little after 8:20-p.m. arrested 57-year old Terry L. Studey, of Papillion, NE., for Disorderly Conduct and Public Intoxication. Studey was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa farmers soon may have the option to grow industrial hemp. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has been working on the issue for the past three years. Senator Kapucian, a farmer from Keystone, says the effort got “extra momentum” after the new Farm Bill effectively legalized hemp again in the U.S. “Let’s let our Iowans do what they do best. They’re innovative, entrepreneurial,” Kapucian said. “They will take it to the next level, they will develop the processing and let them see how far they can go.”

A bill approved by the Senate designates two state agencies to oversee the crop and would let Iowa farmers grow up to 40 acres of hemp, starting in the 2020 , growing season. Senator Tom Shipley, a farmer from Nodaway, says “That 40-acre limit is there so lots of people can take advantage and participate in this program rather than just a handfull.”

The hemp plant is a cousin of marijuana. Smoking it does not make you high, but for decades it’s been illegal to grow it under FEDERAL law. Senator Dan Zumbach, a farmer from Ryan, says hemp can be part of a new era in agriculture. “This is something we haven’t seen since World War II, but it’s better,” Zumbach said, “…and 45 years from now, this will be a normal crop in our fields with assets we can’t imagine.”

Senator Kevin Kinney, a farmer from Oxford, says hemp could become a leading commodity in Iowa, behind corn and soybeans. “I have been contacted by many future hemp farmers who are ready to start producing,” Kinney says, “and see the market for hemp products.”

The plant’s seeds and its stalks can be used to make fabric and paper as well as oil and building materials. The bill that passed the Senate last week is scheduled for debate in the Iowa House this week according to Representative Jarad Klein, a farmer from Keota. “It’s a very labor intensive crop,” Klein says. “I think there’ll be some niche market availability there. If somebody can make a profit at it and be successful, in agriculture, I’m all for it.”

Under the bill, farmers must get a state license to grow hemp. Officials from the Iowa Departments of Agriculture AND Public Safety are to oversee hemp production, to ensure its not being grown as cover for marijuana.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines police say a man is facing several charges after he allegedly threatened to kill everybody at a QuikTrip station. The Des Moines Register reports Gerald Evans Jr., of Davenport, was arrested Saturday and is being held in the Polk County jail facing charges including terrorism. Court documents say Evans called 911 several times to say he was driving to the QuikTrip to kill everybody inside _ including his girlfriend _ and then himself.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Some Waterloo residents are asking the Iowa State Auditor’s Office to conduct complete or partial audit of the city’s financial transactions. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports 148 residents signed a petition earlier this month asking for additional auditing work. The state office will meet with RSM, which conducted the city audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, to determine whether the firm looked at issues raised by the petitioners.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The federal Natural Resources Conversation Service is providing money to plant cover crops on damaged farmland. The aid is aimed at recovery work on cropland directly affected by the severe weather in March. Producers are encouraged to apply by May 17 or June 21 at their local U.S. Department of Agriculture Service Center. Information also can be obtained online.

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — One of the hottest names in the Democratic presidential primary _ and one of the most difficult to pronounce _ is Pete Buttigieg (BOO’-tuh-juhj). Whether the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, can build an effective national campaign to maximize the sudden interest in his presidential bid remains a question. Buttigieg expects to expand his paid staff in Iowa and New Hampshire and hire staff in South Carolina, Nevada and California.

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports a man was arrested last week on an assault charge. 39-year old Mario Colin-Rojas, of Stuart, was arrested April 17th for allegedly assaulting his wife, by placing his knee on her throat at a residence in Stuart, causing her to be deprived of oxygen. He was charged with Domestic Abuse Assault by Impeding Air and/or blood flow.

Colin-Rojas was released the following day on a $2,000 cash or surety bond, with 10% acceptable.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Some Waterloo residents are asking the Iowa State Auditor’s Office to conduct complete or partial audit of the city’s financial transactions. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports 148 residents signed a petition earlier this month asking for additional auditing work.

The state office will meet with RSM, which conducted the city audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, to determine whether the firm looked at issues raised by the petitioners.

Jennifer Campbell, a manager at the auditor’s office, said she could not discuss specific concerns raised by the petitioners. Resident Forest Dillavou, who helped collect signatures, said the main question concerns transfers of money between various city operating funds.

Mayor Quentin Hart said the auditor’s office hasn’t explained the exact concerns presented by the petitioners.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines police say a man is facing several charges after he allegedly threatened to kill everybody at a QuikTrip station. The Des Moines Register reports Gerald Evans Jr., of Davenport, was arrested Saturday and is being held in the Polk County jail facing charges of making a threat of terrorism, intimidation with a weapon, operating a vehicle while intoxicated and eluding.

Court documents say Evans called 911 several times to say he was driving to the QuikTrip to kill everybody inside — including his girlfriend — and then himself. He told police he had two guns and planned to drive his car into the building.

Police say Evans was under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time. He was arrested near the QuikTrip after a short pursuit.

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline surged 13 cents a gallon over the past two weeks, to $2.91. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey says one of the reasons for the spike is an increase in crude oil costs.

Lundberg says Sunday that prices at the pump have jumped 25 cents over the past month and 60 cents over the past 14 weeks. The highest average price in the nation is $4.04 a gallon in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The lowest average is $2.45 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The average price of diesel rose 4 cents over the past two weeks, to $3.14.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:15 a.m. CDT

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Lottery says a $1 million Mega Millions ticket has been sold in northwestern Iowa. The ticket was bought at Fleet Farm Fuel in Sioux City and came within one number of winning Friday’s $175 million jackpot. No one matched all six numbers to win the jackpot, so the top prize climbs to an estimated $192 million for Tuesday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A physician assistant in northwestern Iowa has agreed to give up his license for a year after admitting to having sex with a patient and other ethical violations. The Sioux City Journal reports that the Iowa Board of Physician Assistants on Wednesday approved the order in the case of Anthony Peters. The order says Peters, who had worked in Primghar, Iowa, acknowledged sending sex-related text messages to a patient and having sex at least twice with a patient.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Omaha says it has awarded a $12 million contract to repair a Missouri River levee near Hamburg, Iowa, that broke during catastrophic flooding last month. The Corps says the breach repair should provide temporary flood protection of critical infrastructure. Project manager Jeremy Szynskie says initial repairs will stop the flow of water through the levees so repairs can be made to Interstate 29 and the city of Hamburg.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs will host the 11th Annual Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day next month. The ceremony will be held the morning of May 7 at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Lottery says a $1 million Mega Millions ticket has been sold in northwestern Iowa. The ticket was bought at Fleet Farm Fuel in Sioux City and came within one number of winning Friday’s $175 million jackpot. The Sioux City ticket matched the first five numbers but missing the Mega Ball number. Fleet Farm will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $1 million-winning ticket.

No one matched all six numbers to win the jackpot, so the top prize climbs to an estimated $192 million for Tuesday. Friday’s winning numbers were: 18-25-43-44-57 and Mega Ball 25. The Sioux City ticket was the only one in the country to win a $1 million prize in Friday’s drawing.