IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A judge blocked Iowa’s secretary of state Monday from enforcing an order that barred counties from sending absentee ballot applications to voters with their identification information already filled in. Judge Robert Hanson ruled in favor of state and national Democratic Party groups, who contended that Secretary of State Paul Pate exceeded his authority when he told counties that absentee ballot request forms must be blank when mailed to voters.

Hanson ordered Pate to put enforcement of his directive on hold. Local elections officials said they were studying the ruling to determine the impact, including whether they could take steps to mail ballots to thousands of voters whose requests were previously invalidated based on Pate’s directive.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have confiscated a 9mm handgun discovered by Transportation Security Administration workers at the Des Moines International Airport. WHO-TV reports that the gun, loaded with five bullets including one in the chamber, was in the man’s carry-on luggage when it was discovered Saturday. Police took the gun.

The man, a resident of Guam, was issued a weapons citation. The TSA says four guns have been discovered at checkpoints at the airport this year. That’s down from 2018 and 2019, when TSA officers discovered 12 guns through security screenings.

Atlantic, IA —Cass County Public Health’s Care for Yourself Program is celebrating Breast Cancer month by raising awareness of resources available to women in Cass County and Southwest Iowa.The Care for Yourself program is part of the National and State Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program that helps reduce risks from breast and cervical cancer by offering free or low-cost cancer screenings to eligible individuals throughout the state of Iowa.

Victoria Means, Care for Yourself Program Coordinator, says “The chance of a woman having invasive breast cancer some time during her life is nearly1 in 8 and every year over 2,000 women in Iowa are diagnosed with breast cancer.” Mean says also, “Just being a woman and growing older increases your risk, but having regular mammograms, in conjunction with breast self-exams and clinical exams, are critical for early diagnosis.”

The Care for Yourself program is a statewide program and can assist women from all of Iowa’s99 counties. Means says “We are able to assist women from any county in Iowa. Women who otherwise might not have access to life saving preventative care, could through the Care for Yourself program and many are able to see their regular primary care provider.”

Those interested in learning more about the Care for Yourself Program can contact Victoria Means, at Cass County Public Health, 712-243-7443.

Page County Deputies on patrol late Saturday night in the area of Nodaway Valley Park, came upon a parked vehicle not in the camping area. The vehicle drew their interest because the park, located about 1.5-miles northeast of Clarinda, is closed to persons not camping, at 10:30-p.m.

A Page County Deputy approached the vehicle and noticed the passenger compartment filled with smoke. When one of the occupants rolled down a window, the Deputy could smell the distinct odor of Marijuana smoke. The three male occupants then exited the vehicle when asked to do so by the Deputy. During the investigation 18-year old Ryan Robert Michael Wilson, of rural Clarinda, was arrested for Possession of a controlled substance/1st Offense.

Two 17-year old males, also from Clarinda, were taken into custody and released to parents. They were cited into Juvenile Court. Wilson was booked into the Page County Jail on $1,000 bond. He later bonded and was released pending further court proceedings.