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

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A prosecutor has asked a judge for a psychological examination of a man accused of setting a fatal Sioux City fire. Woodbury County court records show the prosecutor filed a motion Tuesday regarding 51-year-old Robert Mahoney. He’s pleaded not guilty to charges of arson and involuntary manslaughter in the Feb. 4 fire that killed 51-year-old Wanda Blake.

Mahoney’s attorney has filed notice that she may use a defense of diminished capacity. The prosecutor’s motion says Mahoney has been examined by a mental health expert on behalf of the defense and says that state law therefore entitles the prosecution to have Mahoney examined by a state expert.

The records didn’t say when the judge might rule on the motion. Mahoney’s trial is scheduled to begin Tuesday in Sioux City.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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MURRAY, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man from northern Iowa died in an accident involving a tractor in eastern Nebraska. The accident occurred Tuesday evening, about 3 miles southeast of Murray. The Cass County (NE) Sheriff’s Office says the man became pinned between a tractor tire and a machine he was trying to attach to the tractor. The sheriff’s office says the man already was dead when deputies and medics arrived. He’s been identified as 61-year-old Richard Kruse. He lived in McIntire, Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) — A delegation of Iowa farmers is in Washington D-C for the National Farmers Union Fly-In, underway through tomorrow (Friday). Iowa Farmers Union president Aaron Lehman (LAY-mun) says getting a new Farm Bill through Congress is their first major goal. “We want to see a Farm Bill taken care of here in the dwindling days of the session,” Lehman says. “We need a strong safety net in place. We need some certainty for our farmers. Negotiations are ongoing but we need to see that work pushed through to a good conclusion.”

He says trade disputes on multiple fronts are costing agricultural producers billions. “Our folks are extremely concerned about the trade situation,” Lehman says. “They want to talk to both administration officials and to members of Congress and let them know how dire the situation is an how we need a long-term solution that’s going to bring some real results to the marketplace.” Lehman says they’ll also be talking to our elected leaders about issues like market concentration in the agribusiness industry. “And we’ll also be talking with folks about our concerns as a lot of farmers in Iowa are impacted by pesticide drift,” Lehman says. “We want to be sure that’s going to be handled in the right way as well.”

Lehman says the best lobbyists for rural America are farmers themselves and that’s why this Fly-In is so important.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A new survey report says the Iowa farmland average values have dropped 1.7 percent in the past six months. The report from the Iowa Chapter of the Realtors Land Institute says the decline over the past six months left the values at a little over $6,800 an acre. But the report issued Tuesday also says the values climbed 1.2 percent higher over the past 12 months.
Values went up in the past six months only in northeast Iowa, rising 0.7 percent. The report blamed the state decline in part on tariffs that affected crop prices and on rising interest rates.

Police in Creston say a teenager driving a 2007 Dodge Caliber suffered from a possible medical condition that caused her car to hit a parked vehicle Wednesday morning. 16-year old Heylee Marie Shields, of Creston, complained of pain after the collision, and was transported by her parents to the Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston. The accident that happened as Shields was traveling east on W. Spencer Street at around 8-a.m., Wednesday. Her vehicle hit a legally parked and unoccupied 2004 Ford F-150 pickup.

The vehicles sustained a total of $7,000 damage, with the Dodge totaled in the collision. No citations were issued.

(Radio Iowa) — The senior legal counsel in Republican Governor Kim Reynolds’ office is telling voters the future roster of the Iowa Supreme Court is at stake in the governor’s race. Sam Langholz cites recent Iowa Supreme Court decisions that legalized same-sex marriage and overturned a mandatory waiting period for abortions — and he suggests the justices Reynolds would pick in the future could steer the court in a more conservative direction.

“Someone who is going to follow the law and not make up the law,” Langholz says. “Someone who is going to apply statues as they’re written.” Langholz made his comments during an appearance before the Westside Conservative Club in Urbandale. Langholz predicted the next governor could appoint as many as four new justices to the state’s highest court. If Roe v Wade were to be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the legal battle over laws that restrict or forbid abortions would be waged in state courts.

Langholz says that’s why he “cannot over-state enough” how important this election is in determining which governor gets to fill openings in the state court system. “The Iowa courts, although they don’t get as much attention as the federal courts, are just as important to our life and to the issues that we all care about,” Langholz said.

Iowa governors make appointments to the court from a slate of candidates they get from the state’s judicial nominating commission. Earlier this year, Reynolds appointed her father to the commission.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:45 a.m. CDT

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a former church treasurer in northwestern Iowa has pleaded guilty to defrauding the church of nearly $500,000 over 13 years. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Northern District of Iowa says 65-year-old Andrew Matheason pleaded guilty Wednesday in Sioux City’s federal court to one count of wire fraud. Matheason faces up to 20 years in prison when he’s sentenced at a later date.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — President Donald Trump has declared a major disaster exists in Iowa following severe storms and tornadoes in July. Trump issued the declaration Wednesday, making federal funding available to state and eligible local governments as well as certain private nonprofit groups on a cost-sharing basis. The declaration applies to damage from storms and tornadoes on July 19 in the counties of Lee, Marion, Marshall, and Van Buren.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court has heard arguments in a lawsuit filed by a group of landowners who claim construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline on their property violated the Iowa Constitution. Their land was taken through eminent domain approved by the Iowa Utilities Board, which concluded the pipeline carrying crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois provides a public convenience and necessity, something required under Iowa law to justify taking private land.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Associated Press review has found that Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds received approval from a state regulator to fly for free to Iowa State’s bowl game on a jet owned by a company that is a longtime state vendor. That’s despite a law barring public officials and their relatives from accepting gifts. Reynolds’ office received approval from the state ethics board director to accept the flight for herself and her family as a campaign donation from Sedgwick’s CEO.

The Atlantic Board of Education elected new officers during their meeting Wednesday night, at the High School. During their regular Board session, Josh McLaren was selected as Board President for the 2018-19 School Year. He succeeds Allison Bruckner on the top Board seat. Kristy Pellett was re-elected as Vice President. Sarah Sheeder was re-appointed and sworn-In as Board Secretary/Treasurer.

Atlantic Superintendent Steve Barber went over the 2017-18 Annual Report for the Board. He said the graduation rate was 94.23-percent, versus the State average of 90.98.  The dropout rate was a little bit higher, increasing from seven-to 12-percent, and the post-secondary enrollment went down a little, but 99-percent of the students completed a core program. The ACT results are not yet in. On the Iowa Assessment, with regard to Proficiency in grades three-to 11, the percentages were exceeded in 24 out of 27 date points (nine data points per subject in reading, math and science), when compared to the AEA, and 23 out of 27 when compared to the State. The Iowa Assessments will not be taken next year. The District will instead be taking Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress.

Barber said also, although the official school count is not taken until Oct. 1st, some preliminary numbers show that the Atlantic School District will be serving fewer students. He said “As of [Wednesday], it appears our Certified Count will be down about 12 ½ kids.” The count was 1,352 last year, and as of Wednesday, the number was 1,339. “The difference between our Open Enrollment Out’s to In’s also decreased by 12.” There was a three-student increase in the home school assistance program and dual enrollment, six tuitioned-out, mainly due to foster care placement.

Barber said also, “Since we were unable to secure a [qualified] Industrial Technology teacher, we did have an opportunity to get Mr. [Roger] Warne for a short-term. He is instructing our Drafting and Woods 1 classes.” There is a shortage state-wide in Industrial Tech Teachers, and Barber said they are making a concerted effort to get the District’s information out to college and other interested individuals.

The School Board, Wednesday, approved the first reading of 14 new or revised Policies, including one dealing with service animals, assistance animals, therapy animals and emotional support animals on District Property, by students, staff and community members. That would include service dogs and even miniature horses, so long as the animals are house broken, current on their vaccinations, and under control at all times. It also means those animals will not be allowed if they are deemed to pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others, if they are uncontrollable, and not house broken. Washington Elementary Principal Stacey Hornung said they learned at during a program this summer, that “Under Federal Law, miniature horses and dogs are the only two animals that are truly allowed to be service animals.” But miniature horses are rarely ever seen.

In other business, the Atlantic School Board approved an Athletic Training Services Agreement with the Cass County Memorial Hospital providing an Athletic Trainer. The cost to the District is $5,000 for the 2018-19 School Year. And, they approved the Oct. 2018 FFA Leadership Conference in Indianapolis, IN., as well as a Summer 2020 Costa Rica Trip for certain Spanish students to enrich their learning opportunities.