A public hearing will be held during this evening’s meeting of the Exira-EHK School Board. The hearing, which will take place shortly after the start of the meeting at 6-p.m. in the Conference Room at the Elk Horn Building, is with regard to the 2019-2020 District Budget. Separately, a Habitat Trip Presentation will take place in the Cafeteria. In other business, the Exira-EHK School Board will discuss and/or act on several administrative matters, including (but not limited to):

• Approval of the 2019-20 Budget
• Approval of a 6th through 12th grade Principal candidate.
• Approval of Certified Teachers’ salaries.
• Approval of Staff and Administration salaries.
• Approval of the Wrestling Program for 2019-20.
• And approval of an Outfield fence for the Baseball field.

(Radio Iowa) — The Canadian comedian known globally for his role as the quirky handyman “Red Green” is planning to visit five Iowa cities for performances this month. Steve Smith, who created the character and the T-V program that ran for 15 seasons, says his one-man show isn’t a stand-up act, but follows the familiar antics of members of the fictional Possum Lodge in the deep woods of northwestern Ontario. “It’s supposedly a lodge meeting so it starts with the salute and the oath,” Smith says. “I like telling stories and giving advice and some news. I don’t consider it in the standup field at all, especially this one. I’ve actually shot some new video and stuff for it which I refer to, so it’s more of an audio-visual presentation.”

Steve Smith as Red Green

Smith calls this his “This Could Be It!” tour, hinting it’s likely his last. The 73-year-old says he’s made a lot of mistakes in his long life, but adds, he knows when it’s time to go. “I ended my TV series when I felt that it would only get worse if I kept doing it and I’ve made several changes like that,” Smith says. “My sense now is that it’s time to hang up the touring hat. Ticket sales are the best they’ve ever been. People are excited to come say me, so I think that’s the time to say, ‘Thank you and adios!'”

Smith says he feels very at home in Iowa and has a kinship with Midwesterners, our feet-on-the-ground attitude and our rock-solid morals. After 300 episodes of the television show, a feature-length movie, several books and four comedy tours, Smith recognizes he’s incredibly fortunate his brand of humor became so popular. “You’ve gotta’ admit, my program is very odd and I’m doing a very odd kind of comedy. Maybe it’s a throwback to the ’50s,” Smith says. “The thing is, if you like it, there’s almost nowhere you can find it. Everybody seems to be either angry or obscene or both and I’m not any of those things and people that enjoy that don’t have too many stores to go to.”

While the finale episode of “The Red Green Show” aired in 2006, it’s lived long in reruns on P-B-S. In an interview with Radio Iowa, Smith was asked if he still runs across people who don’t realize the T-V show is no longer being produced. “Yes, I do,” Smith says, laughing. “I also find, this is my fourth tour and the average age of our audience has gotten younger with every tour, which is really odd, but what it is, it’s YouTube. There are kids who come out and they don’t know the show was ever on television. They only know it from the internet, so it’s a new world.”

This U-S tour has 35 dates scheduled and promoters say 11 are already sold out. Smith will play the Adler Theatre in Davenport on Saturday (April 13th), Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines on Sunday the 14th, Five Flags Center in Dubuque on the 15th, the Bridge View Center in Ottumwa on the 16th, and Stevens Auditorium in Ames on the 17th.
RedGreen.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a 65-year-old woman whose body was found inside an Iowa City home was a homicide victim. Police released the woman’s name Sunday: Joellen Browning. Emergency responders who were called to the house Friday morning found Browning dead inside. Police haven’t released other details about the case. No arrests have been reported.

Red Oak Police, Sunday, arrested 31-year old Nicholas John Henry Strait, of Red Oak. Strait was taken into custody at around 6:12-p.m. on a Carroll County warrant for Failure to Appear on an original Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 2nd offense, charge. Strait was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) — This past weekend Iowa Democratic Party leaders ratified their new plan for conducting and tabulating the results of the 2020 Iowa Caucuses — and two of the party’s high-profile presidential candidates made a dozen campaign appearances in the state.

About 300 people gathered on the William Penn University campus in Oskaloosa to see Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Sanders said Americans were swayed by Donald Trump’s false promises in 2016. “I understand that people in their frustration, in their pain, voted for Donald Trump,” Sanders said. “I would just ask people to check the record and see what if he did what he said he would do.” Later Sunday afternoon in Malcolm, Sanders joked he was nervous about coming back to Iowa because Trump said the noise from wind turbines causes cancer.

“I think it is not a healthy thing for this country that we have a president who is a pathological liar,” Sanders said, “who lies all of the time.” Former Texas Senator Beto O’Rourke told an audience in Iowa City there’s a basic fix to the nation’s thorny disagreements. “Resist the temptation to be divided by our differences by a president who excels at doing just that,” O’Rourke said, “who seeks to make us angry, keep us apart and make us afraid of one another.” O’Rourke says the nation’s democratic institutions need to be revived and he called for passage of a new Voting Rights Act.

“In every county in every state, without exception, same-day voter registration and automatic voter registration,” O’Rourke said, “so that when you turn 18, you are ready to vote.” O’Rourke and Sanders are raising millions from tens of thousands of donors, putting them at the top of the campaigning fundraising leaderboard with California Senator Kamala Harris. As for who’ll be the leader next February on Caucus Night, Iowa Democratic Party officials for the first time will release a raw vote total and have “virtual” Caucuses beforehand for people who can’t attend the Caucus Night precinct meetings. The Iowa Democratic Party state central committee approved those details during its meeting on Saturday.

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

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in West Des Moines are investigating the death of a woman there. The Des Moines Register reports that police were called late Friday night to an area west of Interstate 35 near a busy retail district for reports of a woman lying in the road. Arriving officers found the woman, identified the woman as 18-year-old Sakira Kezia Tamara Bonner of Des Moines. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she died.

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) — A Marshalltown group is delivering cards and letters to dozens of local businesses to raise awareness of human trafficking. The Times-Republican reports that the group Labor and Sex Trafficking Watch has joined with the Marshalltown Police Department and the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office in the new effort. The cards are aimed at helping train employees working with the public to recognize signs of human trafficking and provide guidance on what to do when human trafficking is suspected.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Less than two months into his second White House bid, no other declared candidate in the crowded Democratic field currently has amassed so many advantages as Bernie Sanders. He has a $28 million war chest, a loyal and enthusiastic voter base, and a clearly defined set of policy objectives. That puts Sanders on markedly different footing than during his first White House run, creating new challenges for a candidate whose supporters relish his role as an underdog and an outsider.

Three juveniles were taken into custody at around 6:50-p.m. Saturday, following an incident that took place in the 600 block of E. 9th Street, in Villisca. The youth, two of whom are 11-years old, the third 12-years old, were charged with Burglary in the 3rd Degree. The were later released to their guardians. Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies were assisted in the incident by deputies with the Page County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities in Ringgold County report a pursuit that began in Missouri late Saturday night, resulted in the arrest of a man from Mount Ayr. A little after 11-p.m., Worth County, Missouri authorities requested assistance from Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office with a vehicle pursuit that had entered Ringgold County on Highway 169 south of Redding, Iowa.

A-J Miller (Ringgold Co. Sheriff’s Dept. photo)

Taylor County Sheriff’s Office was also requested to assist with the pursuit. The Adam’s County Sheriff’s Office responded to assist as well. The pursuit ended one mile north of Delphos, Iowa at the intersection of 255th Street and 170th Avenue.

The suspected driver, 42-year old A-J Miller, of Mount Ayr,  was taken into custody following a brief foot chase after entering the ditch at the above location. The K9 “Heky” was deployed and alerted to a substance (methamphetamine) found in the mud where Miller was taken into custody. Heky was also deployed for a K9 sniff of the vehicle where he also alerted verifying the presence of drug paraphernalia.

Miller faces charges that include: (Felony) Possession of a Controlled Substance with the intent to deliver/methamphetamine; Felony Eluding, and a felony charge of Failure to Affix Drug Tax Stamp. He was being held without bond in the Ringgold County Jail, pending an appearance before the magistrate.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:10 a.m. CDT

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in West Des Moines are investigating the death of a woman there. The Des Moines Register reports that police were called late Friday night to an area west of Interstate 35 near a busy retail district for reports of a woman lying in the road. Arriving officers found the woman, identified the woman as 18-year-old Sakira Kezia Tamara Bonner of Des Moines. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she died.

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) — A Marshalltown group is delivering cards and letters to dozens of local businesses to raise awareness of human trafficking. The Times-Republican reports that the group Labor and Sex Trafficking Watch has joined with the Marshalltown Police Department and the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office in the new effort. The cards are aimed at helping train employees working with the public to recognize signs of human trafficking and provide guidance on what to do when human trafficking is suspected.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa couple is appealing a judge’s order to pay a lawyer $2.18 million more for representing them in talks that resulted in a $7.5 million settlement with Sioux City. The Sioux City Journal reports that Chad and Rosanne Plante, of Hinton, filed notice of the appeal earlier this week. District Judge Nancy Whittenburg ruled last month that attorney Stan Munger’s contingency fee contract with the Plantes was “reasonable and valid.”

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A 7-mile nature trail east of Cedar Rapids has been closed for repair following flood damage. The city of Cedar Rapids says in a news release that the Sac and Fox Trail is expected to be closed for several weeks because of the severity of the damage. The crushed rock trail follows Indian Creek and the Cedar River.

The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, Saturday said on March 29^th – James Rasmussen, of Guthrie Center, was arrested for Violation of a No Contact Order. Rasmussen had previously been arrested for Sex Abuse 3^rd Degree, Enticing a Minor Under Age 13, and (3) counts of Dissemination of Obscene Material to Minors in December of 2018. It is alleged Rasmussen violated his No Contact Order by contacting the victim in his previously alleged crime.

James Rasmussen

Upon being contacted by a Guthrie County Sheriff’s Deputy, Rasmussen resisted arrest and was forcibly arrested. He subsequently incurred a new charge of Interference with Official Acts.

The following day, Rasmussen appeared before the Guthrie County Magistrate and pled guilty to the Interference with Official Acts charge. Rasmussen pled not guilty to the No Contact Order Violation and was held on a $200.00 bond, which he later posted and was released.

The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reports that on April 1^st Bryan Bartley, of Guthrie Center, was arrested on a Probation Revocation warrant.  Bartley was held on $5,000 cash or surety bond by the Guthrie County Magistrate. The original charge was Operating While Intoxicated. That same day, Paul Palmer, Jr., of Des Moines was booked into the Guthrie County Jail on a Probation Revocation. The original charge was Willful Injury – Serious Injury. Palmer must serve 40 days before he is eligible for release.

On April 3^rd Jason Pflatzgraff, of Guthrie Center, turned himself into the Guthrie County Jail to serve a two-day mittimus for Operating While Intoxicated 1^st Offense. On April 4th, a juvenile male from Casey was referred to juvenile court services following a traffic stop on Highway 25 south of Guthrie Center, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Additional charges are pending at this time.

On April 5^th, Matthew Johnson, of Fontanelle, was transported to the Guthrie County Jail from the prison in Rockwell City for a sentencing hearing scheduled for April 8^th. The original charge was Theft 2^nd Degree.