AUBURN, Neb. (AP) — A southeast Nebraska man has pleaded not guilty to stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of brass from his employer. Nemaha County, NE., District Court records say 26-year-old Justin Heard, of Auburn, NE., entered the pleas Monday to 11 counts of burglary and three of theft. A trial date has not been set. A court document says surveillance shows Heard loading brass into a vehicle at Magnolia Metal in rural Auburn. Investigators say he sold the brass for nearly $14,000 to a recycler in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The records say the crimes began occurring in August.

The Harlan Police Department reports three arrests occurred last week. On Feb. 19th, 19-year old Juan Carlos Lara Juarez, and 24-year old Brett Allan Ballantyne, both of Harlan, were arrested following a call about a disturbance. Lara Juarez was arrested on assault, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia charges. Ballantyne was arrested for gathering where a controlled substance is unlawfully used.

And, 47-year old Wade Michael McFarland, of Harlan, was arrested on the 19th on an active Shelby County warrant. He was transported to the Shelby County Jail.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports 37-year old Jamie Lynn Opalia, of Council Bluffs, was sentenced Feb. 19th to three months in prison for Social Security Representative Payee fraud. United States District Court Chief Judge John A. Jarvey also ordered Opalia to serve three years of supervised release following her prison term and pay $100 to the Crime Victims’ Fund. She must also pay restitution to the Social Security Administration in the amount of $22,552.

On October 23, 2018, Opalia pleaded guilty to the charge and admitted she applied for and was granted Social Security benefits to support another person, but converted almost all of the funds from Social Security to her own personal use. This matter was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the Social Security Administration. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Members of the Griswold and Lenox Boards of Education will hold a Special Joint Meeting 7-p.m. Wednesday, in the Griswold Middle School/High School Library. On their agenda is discussion, with regard to Superintendent Sharing and an Individual Contract. The combined Boards will then consider entering into a closed session to evaluate the professional competency of an employee “Whose appointment, hiring, performance or discharge is being considered…”

The closed session will be followed by the resumption of an open session, whereby the Boards will consider approval of a Sharing Agreement and approval of a Superintendent Contract. Immediately after the Joint Meeting adjourns, the Griswold School Board will hold a Special meeting to consider approving an Open Enrollment request.

Members of the Atlantic School District’s Board of Education will meet during a Work Session 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27th, in the Middle School Media Center. During their session, the Board will discuss a “High School Academic Opportunity,” and discuss upcoming notable dates, including:

• Special Election (Bond-related) voting begins March 4th
• A Public Hearing for the 2019-2020 School Calendar (during the Board’s regular meeting on March 13th)
• Parent-Teacher Conferences (March 13-14)
• and a presentation by Aaron Thomas 10-a.m. March 22nd.

Following their session, the Atlantic School Board will hold a closed session (as allowed under the Iowa Code) for the Superintendent’s Annual Evaluation.

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) — Three people died in a fire that heavily damaged a two-story house in the eastern Iowa city of Muscatine, fire officials said. Firefighters dispatched around 6:40 p.m. Monday found flames coming from several doors and windows, the Muscatine Fire Department said. One injured person found outside the home was taken to Trinity Muscatine hospital in critical condition. The person’s name hasn’t been released. Firefighters found three bodies inside the home. Fire Chief Jerry Ewers declined to say Tuesday whether the three lived there. Their names were being withheld until relatives could be notified about the deaths. Autopsies were ordered. Ewers said one of his firefighters suffered a minor burn. A pet cat was rescued.

Two other departments sent units and off-duty Muscatine firefighters also were called in to help, he said. There was heavy damage throughout the first and second floors, and smoke and water damage throughout the basement. The house will likely be considered a total loss, the fire department said. Investigators have determined where the fire started but not what caused it. The house was equipped with smoke alarms, but it’s not certain whether they were working when the fire began, the department said.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — A southeast Iowa man acquitted of vehicular homicide but found guilty of operating while intoxicated has been imprisoned. The Hawk Eye reports that 58-year-old Bradley Wischmeier was sentenced Monday to two years. A jury delivered the verdicts on Dec. 17. The charges followed the April 17 death of 50-year-old Lisa Wischmeier. Deputies found the couple in a harvested cornfield not far from the Wischmeiers’ home near Burlington. Bradley Wischmeier was lying around 20 yards from a blazing vehicle and his wife was dead, near the car.

Court records say Bradley Wischmeier acknowledged driving around the field until the vehicle overheated and caught fire.

AMES, Iowa–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Workiva, the leading cloud provider of connected data, reporting and compliance solutions, was named one of the 2019 Training Top 125 Organizations by Training magazine. It’s the third consecutive year the Ames-based Workiva has been on the list that recognizes companies for innovative employee learning and development programs. Workiva was also recently named to FORTUNE magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For® and Best Workplaces in Technology lists.

The Training Top 125 ranking is determined by assessing many factors, including the scope of employee learning and development programs and the impact of those training programs on achieving business goals and objectives. The complete list of Training Top 125 Organizations can be found online at trainingmag.com.

Training is a 55-year-old professional development magazine written for training, Human Resources, and business management professionals in all industries that advocate training and workforce development as a business tool. Training also produces world-class conferences, expositions, and digital products that focus on job-related, employer-sponsored training and education in the working world.

(Radio Iowa) — A new documentary will begin airing next week on Iowa Public Television that highlights the many different landscapes and features of Iowa — from a bird’s eye view. Andrew Batt is the executive producer for the hour-long production called “Iowa Land and Sky.” He says they used drone-mounted cameras to do the filming, while the inspiration for the project was several years in the making. “We all have seen those social media posts of that one neat shot from a drone from someplace,” Batt says, “but we thought, what if we could put together an entire documentary of the entire state from those unique perspectives.”

A wealth of planning was involved in the project to determine which locations were not only going to be filmed but which shots would also make the final production. “We cannot have an hour documentary and be in every county, but we can be in the Loess Hills. We can be in cities along the western rim of Iowa. We can go up and down central Iowa, south-central Iowa and all along the Mississippi,” Batt says. “We wanted to have geographic diversity and some of these cultural icons that make us Iowa.”

He says the initial process involved learning how to use the equipment while also learning the project was at the mercy of Mother Nature. Shooting was often called off because of strong winds, rain and other foul weather. “It took about two years and most of that wasn’t necessarily all flying,” Batt says. “Most of the first year was preparing, training, getting certified, acquiring gear and getting our drone legs under us. Then, the second year we got around to a lot of the places, a lot of the seasons, and just hoped for some good fall color and a nice spring.”

The documentary will begin airing on IPTV on March 6th at 6:30 P-M.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — School officials in the Des Moines suburb of Norwalk say they will ask voters to approve $11 million for a new sports facility. The Des Moines Register reports the Norwalk school district plans to put the proposal before voters in February 2020. Two years ago, voters approved a $32 million bond referendum to pay for a new elementary school and renovations to three other buildings.

The proposed Norwalk Physical Education and Competition Center would be adjacent to the high school, with completion expected in 2022. The 80,000-square-foot addition would include two gymnasiums, a wrestling room, walking track, classroom space and locker rooms. A community group would raise about $3 million toward the project.

The plans reflect growth in the district, which has added more than 600 students in the last decade.