The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office today (Friday) announced residents of Carroll County have the opportunity to attend FREE weapon’s classes that are needed to provide you with certification for your Permit to Carry, and which acts as a permit to purchase a firearm. If you already have a permit to carry, you do not need to take a refresher course unless you feel it would be of value.

Sheriff Kenneth Pingrey says the class is available to residents of Carroll County, ONLY, and will be held on the following dates/times:

• Saturday, Jan. 19th at 8-a.m.
• Tuesday, Feb. 12th at 7-p.m.
• Saturday, March 2nd at 8-a.m.
• Thursday, April 4th at 7-p.m.

Persons wanting to attend one of the classes must present a current driver’s license or ID card. For more information, see the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page or call the non-emergency line at 712-792-4393.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A Dubuque financial cooperative is finalizing plans to spend about $37 million to redevelop an iconic building in the city’s historic Millwork District. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports that Dupaco Community Credit Union wants to acquire and transform the property widely known as the “Voices building” into the cooperative’s new operations center. Dupaco officials are also proposing office space for additional tenants and amenities for the community.

The five-story building once served as a local manufacturing hub but has remained vacant and underutilized for decades. Dupaco Chief Marketing Officer David Klavitter says the project would allow the cooperative to honor its origins. He says the building sits in the same neighborhood where 10 meatpackers started the group in 1948. Dupaco officials say the restoration project could begin early this year.

Firefighters from Kimballton, Elk Horn and Audubon responded to a barn fire Thursday afternoon, a couple of miles east of Kimballton. Former Kimballton Fire Chief Bill Allen told KJAN News the call came in at around 3:38-p.m., from the farmstead at 1170 Highway 44. Allen said the home owner was conducting a controlled burn in a pit, when some of the embers apparently flew up and caught the roof of the barn on fire. Kimballton crews arrived first on the scene and were able to obtain a quick knock down of the flames.

They then entered the barn and put out some smoldering hay that was in the loft. Allen says there really wasn’t much structure damage, thanks in part to the slow start the fire had. Crews were on the property for about two-hours. No injuries were reported.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday for the trial of a man accused of a Davenport slaying. Scott County District Court records say 37-year-old Deondra Thomas has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and weapons possession by a felon. Officers sent to check a report of gunshots on the morning of June 9 found 46-year-old Jason Roberts suffering from bullet wounds. He was pronounced dead later at a hospital. Police say witnesses identified Thomas as the shooter.

(Radio Iowa) — An unusually warm weekend is ahead for Iowans with forecasters calling for high temperatures in the mid-40s to mid-50s. For some cities, that’s 25-degrees above normal. State climatologist Justin Glisan says it’s a continuation of the weather we had during December, which averaged about five-degrees warmer than normal statewide. Glisan says it was a wetter month, too. “Statewide precipitation averaged about 2.09 inches and that’s about three-quarters of an inch above normal,” Glisan says. “Most of that precipitation fell as rainfall not snow. In terms of snowfall itself, we were much below average, around three inches on the ground statewide. Typically, we see about eight inches.”

Some Iowans haven’t even fired up their snow blowers yet, nor have they had to toss one shovelful of snow. Looking ahead, Glisan says it’ll likely remain warmer and wetter for several more days. “Getting into the first full week of January and into the second week, we’re slated to have temperatures well above average, which we don’t typically see in January,” Glisan says. “On the flip side of that, we do have an increased probability of precipitation over that time period.”

Any precipitation that does fall over the upcoming 10 days or so will likely come down as rain, he says, not snow.

Officials with Windstream Communications report the company has deployed fixed wireless technology to deliver broadband speeds up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps) to homes in Audubon and Greenfield.
Windstream says it is using fixed wireless technology as part of its participation in the FCC’s Connect America Fund initiative, which is designed to support network upgrades in rural areas that would otherwise not be economically feasible. Fixed wireless is not a mobile service. Pole-mounted antennas transmit a broadband signal to receivers at each eligible customer’s home or business. The performance of a fixed wireless connection is comparable to wired solutions.

Brad Hedrick, president of Windstream operations in Iowa, says “Fixed wireless technology is an alternative to traditional cable networks that enables Windstream to deploy broadband service more quickly and cost-effectively in rural areas.” Hedrick said also, “We know customers want faster speeds, and we are committed to delivering them.”  Across Iowa, Windstream has invested $28 million in infrastructure improvements so that households in a dozen cities and communities can now enjoy faster internet speeds.

To inquire about availability of fixed wireless, visit Windstream.com on the web.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office today (Friday), said man from Nebraska was arrested following a pursuit Thursday night. At around 11:40-p.m., Pott. County dispatch advised deputies Omaha Police were in pursuit of a 2001 Honda Accord just crossing into Iowa on Interstate 80. Omaha Police advised the driver of the car had active felony warrants in Nebraska. The vehicle entered Iowa and proceeded to travel east on 6th Avenue in Council Bluffs. The car went out of control and crashed at 2749 6th Avenue. The driver, 35-year old Shannon Michael Greenwood, of Omaha, fled on foot and was taken into custody by Pottawattamie County Deputies and Troopers with the Iowa State Patrol. Greenwood showed signs of being under the influence of methamphetamine and was charged with OWI 1st. Authorities say Greenwood also introduced 2.8-grams of cocaine into the jail, and was further charged with introducing contraband in a correctional facility. Greenwood has an active warrant in Pottawattamie County for Criminal Mischief 4th, and was being held also, for being a fugitive from justice for his active warrants in Nebraska.

The Sheriff’s Office says also, a man being held in the jail on drug charges, was served Thursday with a warrant charging him with a felony Controlled Substance Violation. 37-year old Jason Nicholas Feller, of Council Bluffs, was read the warrant and returned to his cell, where he was being held without bond. And, a traffic stop Thursday night in Council Bluffs, resulted in an arrest. A deputy initiated the traffic stop on a vehicle driven by 23-year old Deo Manirakiza, of Council Bluffs, for having a dealer paper plate. Manirakiza was subsequently found to have a barred driver’s license status. He was taken into custody at around 11:05-p.m. and transported to the Pott. County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) — During the late stages of the 2018 campaign, Republican Governor Kim Reynolds proposed letting Iowa women buy “the pill” without a prescription. She plans to press the 2019 legislature to pass a bill that would make birth control pills available in Iowa without a doctor’s prescription. “This is another opportunity for us to have bipartisan support in something that makes sense,” Reynolds says.  In 2016, Democrats in the Iowa Senate passed a bill to make this the policy in Iowa, but Republicans in the House tabled the proposal. Republican House Speaker Linda Upmeyer of Clear Lake says not all birth control pills are alike and legislators will have to seek input from the medical community. “There are reasons that a physician would prescribe one over another,” Upmeyer says. “If someone has a predisposition to breast cancer, you want to make sure you’re paying attention to your estrogen levels.

Upmeyer said also, “Maybe there is one that is incredibly safe that people could agree to put on the shelf. I don’t think we’re opposed to that, but I do think we want to make sure it’s safe for Iowans to have that access.” Democrats strongly criticized Reynolds for signing a bill last May to ban nearly all abortions and Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen of Des Moines says they are skeptical of this proposal, too. “Iowa is in a really sad state as far as women’s health care goes,” Petersen says. “It’s getting harder and harder for women to find places and providers to get family planning services.”

Petersen says many women want more effective long-term contraceptives rather than birth control pills and the Republican effort to “defund” Planned Parenthood clinics has reduced access to those long-term options, especially in rural areas. The outline Governor Reynolds sketched during the campaign called for keeping birth control pills behind the pharmacy counter, but letting women buy them without a prescription. Her proposal did NOT cover other birth control options.

A traffic stop this (Friday) morning in Creston, resulted in the arrest of a woman on drug and other charges. Creston Police say 38-year old Shea Lynn Woollums, of Creston, was arrested for Possession of a a Controlled Substance/Methamphetamine, and for Driving under Suspension. Her bond was set at $1,300.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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