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

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Forecasters say a major winter storm is expected to power through northeast and eastern Iowa. The National Weather Service’s winter storm warning issued Friday morning calls for snow and sleet accumulations of up to 10 inches or more (25-plus centimeters) through Saturday afternoon as the system moves east. The service says winds running from 15 to 25 mph will reduce visibility, imperiling people on the roadways.

Atlantic Police Chief Dave Erickson reports five people were arrested this past week. Early this (Friday) morning, 41-year old Ezra Sedina, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Assault causing Bodily Injury. On Thursday, 19-year old Kaitlyn Geib, of Atlantic, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense. On Tuesday, 18-year old Brayton Waldron, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Assault while Displaying a Dangerous Weapon. And, two people were arrested Monday: 37-year old Mangus Welch, of Creston, was arrested for Theft in the 5th Degree, and 30-year old Casey Sampson, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Violation of Probation.

All five subjects were booked into the Cass County Jail.

The Creston Police Department say a woman who resides in the 800 block of W. Jefferson Street reported Thursday, that someone had stolen a flagpole and flag sometime overnight Wednesday into Thursday. Those items were valued at $75. No arrests were reported.

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

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CLINTON, Iowa (AP) — Officials say an eastern Iowa power plant will be closed six years earlier than scheduled. Alliant Energy said in a news release its M.L. Kapp Generating Station in Clinton will stop operation June 1. The plant was converted from a coal facility to natural gas in 2015. Its 2024 closing date was announced at that time.

Company spokesman Mike Wagner says the plant was being used only during peak energy demand. Last year it generated power for just 11 days. He says two reviews showed it was in the customers’ best interest to move up the closing date. Wagner says the plant’s 21 workers were informed Wednesday of Alliant’s decision.

OSKALOOSA, Iowa (AP) — A man accused of killing a college basketball player in Oskaloosa says he was defending himself. Twenty-three-year-old Luke VanHemert is charged with second-degree murder, accused of stabbing to death 22-year-old Marquis Todd earlier this month. Todd played for William Penn University.

The Des Moines Register reports that VanHemert says in court documents that the stabbing of Todd “was an act of self-defense” but doesn’t provide more details.
Authorities think a car carrying Todd and two friends returned to the scene of a car crash outside VanHemert’s Oskaloosa house three times on the night of March 1, and that a fight broke out on the third trip back.

Police in Red Oak arrested a man at around 7:25-p.m. Thursday, for Public Intoxication and Urinating in Public. 56-year old Tony Joe Christensen, of Red Oak, was taken into custody in the 1300 block of N. Broadway, in Red Oak, and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where his bond was set at $300.

Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among kids between the ages of 10 and 14. It’s the second-leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15 and 34. Representative Tom Moore of Griswold, a retired teacher, says “We have got to do a better job of recognizing when we have children or adults…in crisis.”

A bill that cleared the legislature this week directs Iowa schools to adopt suicide prevention strategies. Teachers and other school staff are to undergo at least one hour of training every year so they may better recognize “toxic stress” and other signs of depression that may lead to suicide. “The only people who see our kids as much or more than we do as parents are our teachers,” Moore says. “This bill provides our teachers with necessary training to recognize signs of suicide in their students.”

The bill emphasizes that educators should be trained to identify a traumatic event in a student’s life that may have a lasting, negative effect on the student’s well-being. Representative Ras Smith of Waterloo says helping teachers recognize toxic stress in their students is a great step forward. “This is showing that once we know better, we choose to do better.” Representative Moore says teachers aren’t being called upon to be counselors, just to be on the look-out for signs their students may need help from a health care professional.

“This one hour annual training is a great start to a better informed public and will lead to lives being saved,” Moore says. Representative Timi Brown-Powers of Waterloo says 433 people died of suicide in Iowa last year. “On average, one person dies by suicide every 20 hours in Iowa,” Brown-Powers said. “This bill will help our teachers. It will help our students and it will save lives in Iowa.” The bill won unanimous approval in both the House and Senate and the governor is expected to sign the bill into law.

(Radio Iowa)

The Adams County Sheriff’s Department reports a man from Union County was arrested by Adams County Deputies a little before midnight, Thursday, following a traffic stop on Highway 25, near 272nd Street. Vincent Brown, of Kent, was taken into custody at around 11:58-p.m., for OWI/1st offense, and transported to the Adams County Jail.