Creston Police report today (Wednesday), 40-year old Crystal Huddleson, of Creston, was arrested at around 3-a.m. today, for Domestic Abuse Assault, and Disorderly Conduct. Huddleson was booked into the Adams County Jail and held while awaiting a bond hearing. And, at around 7-p.m. Tuesday, 39-year old Matthew Auten, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on a charge of Theft in the 4th Degree. He was later released on a $1,000 bond.

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

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CRESTON, Iowa (AP) — Funeral arrangements have been scheduled for an Iowa couple and their children who died at a Mexican resort. A visitation is set for Friday at the Powers Funeral Home in Creston for 41-year-old Kevin Sharp and his wife, 38-year-old Amy Sharp, and their children, 12-year-old Sterling and 7-year-old Adrianna.

A Mexican prosecutor says a gas leak in a water heater is suspected of killing them inside their rented condominium in Tulum. Their bodies were found Friday. The Des Moines Register reports that a memorial service is scheduled for Saturday afternoon in the gymnasium at Southwestern Community College in Creston, where Amy and Kevin Sharp took classes. The burial will be closed to the public.

Sheriff’s deputies in Montgomery County, arrested 18-year old Charles Lee Shadbolt, of Villisca, late Tuesday night. He was arrested on a valid Montgomery County bench warrant for Failure to Appear on an original charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance. Shadbolt was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

A collision in Red Oak Tuesday evening caused an estimated total of $12,500, but no one was injured. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the accident happened at around 5:30-p.m. in the 1200 block of E. Summit Street, in Red Oak, as a 1985 Chevy Blazer driven by 19-year old Christian Cole Terry, of Red Oak, was backing out of a private driveway. The SUV hit an eastbound 2015 Toyota Tundra, driven by 70-year old Roger Lee Shaw, of Red Oak. Deputies cited Terry for Failure to Yield upon entering a through highway.

Republicans and many Democrats in the legislature have voted for a bill they say will help Iowans who buy individual insurance policies get cheaper options. One part of the bill would let the Iowa Farm Bureau sell “health benefit plans” from Wellmark. The other part gives small businesses more latitude to form “associations” to buy group insurance. The plans would NOT be subject to Affordable Care Act regulations.

“Our people at home are really desperate to have some options for health insurance at this time.” That’s Representative Dawn Pettengill, a Republican from Mount Auburn. Republican Senator Dan Zumbach, of Ryan, says “ObamaCare” regulations have made insurance policies too expensive for many Iowans who don’t qualify for federal subsidies.

“Nearly 30,000 people cannot get insurance,” Zumbach said. “…This bill is about getting those people insured.” Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen of Des Moines says the plans are not insurance. “This legislation does not ensure that there would be maternity coverage or any other types of coverage that Iowans are looking for when they purchase insurance,” Petersen says. Representative Marti Anderson, a Democrat from Des Moines, was a “no” vote, too.

“It leaves an awful lot of room for questions and consumer problems,” Anderson said, “and I cannot support and I cannot vote for the unknown.” Senator Bill Dotzler, a Democrat from Waterloo, opposed the bill because it does not require tracking what kind of coverage is offered and how many Iowans choose these options. “We’re going to try something that hasn’t been tried here in Iowa before and I believe we need to, as legislators, understand how this program works and if there are problems with it,” Dotzler said.

Representative Chip Baltimore, a Republican from Boone, says the bill is necessary BECAUSE OF Affordable Care Act regulations. “When you can’t underwrite for pre-existing conditions,” Baltimore says. “…When you cannot sit here and deny anybody, regardless of their condition, from any coverage and you basically just let them in and as soon as they can get treatment they can leave, without paying the premiums, it’s a disaster.”

The SENATE gave the bill final legislative approval yesterday (Tuesday) with a 37 to 11 vote.

(Radio Iowa)

Council Bluffs Police and the Emergency Services Team, along with Police negotiators, were dispatched to 114 S. 7th Street in Council Bluffs, late Tuesday evening, for a wanted party who has been reported to be armed and in possession of body armor. Officers developed information to believe the subject, 21-year old Ozzie Palen, of Council Bluffs, was inside of an apartment.

Shortly after 8-p.m., Officers secured the apartment and the Emergency Services Team was activated, along with police negotiators. After a short negotiation, Palen surrendered to police without incident. Seven other people inside of the apartment were questioned and released.

Palen was arrested on a warrant for Domestic Abuse, an aggravated misdemeanor. The scene was being processed by the Criminal Investigation Division. The incident took about 1 and ½ hours to peacefully resolve.

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An elections panel says Ron Corbett, the sole Republican challenging Gov. Kim Reynolds in Iowa’s gubernatorial race, failed to qualify for the primary ballot because of paperwork. The State Objection Panel concluded Tuesday that Corbett didn’t submit enough valid signatures to be on the June 5 ballot. The panel agreed duplicative signatures put Corbett below the 4,005-signature threshold by eight names.

MIAMI (AP) — A Miami Republican Congresswoman is defending a well-known Florida school shooting survivor from another lawmaker who attacked her for wearing a Cuban flag patch as she advocated for gun control in Washington. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said Tuesday that she spoke to activist Emma Gonzalez’s father about a comment by Iowa congressman Steve King on Facebook questioning the teenager’s guns stance and her use of the communist-run island’s flag.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A judge declined to order a new trial Tuesday in an Iowa medical malpractice case, saying an investigation turned up no evidence to support an anonymous letter that claimed a juror was bribed. Judge Chad Kepros says he believes the letter was likely a hoax written by a juror who dissented from the 2016 verdict. He says an investigation turned up no evidence any bribe was offered, and ordering a new trial based on an anonymous allegation would be “contrary to the fair administration of justice.”

TIPTON, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa faces up to 240 years in prison when he’s sentenced for producing child pornography involving a prepubescent child and for trading child pornography. A jury convicted 40-year-old Christian Hansen, of Tipton, on Friday of multiple child sexual exploitation and child pornography counts. Prosecutors say Hansen was already a registered sex offender for crimes in Nebraska when he took photos of a child’s genital area last year and emailed the photos to other people.

Legislators have sent the governor a bill that would let Iowa schools offer American Sign Language to students as an option to fulfill their foreign or “world” language requirement. Representative Jon Jacobson of Council Bluffs says there is an “acute need” for a new generation of sign language interpreters.

“Not only is it a United States language, but in all continents across the world they use ASL,” Jacobson says. “It is the third-most requested interpreted language that is requested in our court system.” Representative Ruth Ann Gaines of Des Moines says as a high school teacher, she had many deaf students. “It was a profound experience for all of us,” Gaines says, “and I think it’s important that we include Sign Language as a world language (in schools).” Representative Art Staed of Cedar Rapids is also an educator.

“It also gives an opportunity for all of us and all of those young children who are not deaf to be able to communicate with their classmates,” Staed says. Senator Mark Lofgren of Muscatine, says it will help deaf students meet the foreign language requirement for graduating from high school. “This bill also expands opportunities for other high school students by providing more options for languages,” Lofgren says. “Considering American Sign Language a world language may encourage students to engage more in the deaf community. According to a study by the University of Vermont, American Sign Language is the fourth most-used language in the United States. Because of this, it is important to provide more opportunities for students to learn American Sign Language.”

The bill cleared the Iowa House unanimously earlier this month and the Senate gave it unanimous approval yesterday (Monday).

(Radio Iowa)

Tens of thousands of Iowans are at risk of having their utility services disconnected next week when a winter heating moratorium comes to an end. Christine Taylor, with the Iowa Department of Human Rights, oversees the state’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP.

“We’ve had approximately 73,000 people approved for the program, so once the moratorium is over, all of those people are at risk,” Taylor said. Under Iowa law, utility customers approved for LIHEAP cannot have their natural gas or electric service cut off due to unpaid bills between November 1 and April 1. Taylor is encouraging those customers to contact their local community action agency if they’re unable to catch up on their utility debt.

“They may be eligible for crisis assistance, which might help them stay connected,” Taylor said. LIHEAP is a federally funded program. Iowa households that qualified this winter received an average payment of $450 to help them pay for utilities. According to Taylor, Iowans who qualify for LIHEAP could also avoid losing gas and electric service with a note from their doctor.

“If they have a medical condition that would cause a serious issue, they can certainly contact their utility company and possibly get a note from their doctor that explains how detrimental it would be to turn off their utility service,” Taylor said. All utility customers in Iowa, including those who don’t qualify for energy assistance, can often maintain their service by entering into a payment agreement with their provider to pay accumulated debt over time.

(Radio Iowa)