The Atlantic Police Department reports a woman from Anita was arrested last week on an assault charge. 34-year old Nicole Williams was arrested last Thursday for Assault causing bodily injury. Williams was booked into the Cass County Jail. And, on April 20th, 35-year old Chad Wilcox, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI and Interference with Official Acts. Wilcox was also booked into the Cass County Jail.

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

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Shelby County Emergency Management Agency Operations Officer Jason Wickizer said today (Wednesday), at around 7:30-p.m. Tuesday, the Shelby County EMA received a report from the Walnut Fire Dept., of damage to buildings from severe weather that produced high winds, which were verified by Shelby County Sheriff Neil Gross, who was patrolling in Elk Horn at the time. Wickizer and Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Seivert responded to the area and verified no one was injured or displaced. Contact was made with the National Weather Service, and a preliminary damage report was made.

Emergency Management employees will make a damage assessment this morning. Wickizer advises area residents to “Please make sure you have a storm plan, and notification system like “Alert Iowa.” If you need assistance registering for this free storm notification system, call 712-755-2124, and an on-duty dispatcher will help you register, so you can receive a call on your home, office or cellular phone.

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

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The Commander of Atlantic VFW Post 3415 reports college scholarships are available to students in grades six through 12. Dean Barber says every year they offer college scholarships, and in the past 10-years he’s been a member of the Veterans organization, he knows of just three students who have applied for it. The scholarships are designed to help with the rising cost of tuition. Scholarships of up to $30,000 are available to students in high school, and $5,000 to middle school students.

For more information on application requirements, go to https://www.vfw.org/community/youth-and-education/youth-scholarships

The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office reports a Union County man was arrested on drug charges, Tuesday. 47-year old John Leroy Pace, Jr., of Creston, was arrested in the 400 block of Front Street in Sharpsburg. He was charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance (marijuana and methamphetamine) and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia. Pace, Jr. was is being held at the Taylor County Jail on $2,000 bond.

JEWELL, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a man’s body was discovered after a fire that heavily damaged a garage, a house and three cars at a salvage business in central Iowa. Firetrucks were dispatched early Monday morning after explosions were reported at the site about 3 miles (5 kilometers) southwest of Jewell in Hamilton County. Jewell Fire Chief Duane Hendrickson says firefighters from two other departments helped bring the blazes under control by 5 a.m.

The man’s body was found in a bedroom of the home. His name hasn’t been released. An autopsy was ordered. The cause of the initial fire hasn’t been determined.

Severe storms that ripped through Nebraska Tuesday evening brought hail the size of baseballs, tornadoes and funnel clouds. When the storms entered Iowa, they caused damage to a machine shed and grain bin near Walnut, according to KETV. The National Weather Service says at around 4:30-p.m., marble-size hail was reported two-miles east/northeast of Yale, while penny-size hail was reported a few minutes later near Jamaica, in Guthrie County.

In northwest Iowa, the Pocahontas County community of Laurens saw golf ball-size hail fall at around 5:45-p.m., and half-dollar size hail fell twice, at around 5:30-and 5:54-p.m.  A spotter near Charter Oak reported marble size hail at around 7:40-p.m., and 45-mile to 50-mile per hour winds blew near Bayard, in Guthrie County, at around 8:40-p.m., along with pea size hail.  One-inch diameter (quarter-size) hail fell near Nevada (IA) at around 5:45-p.m., and ping-pong ball size hail fell near Napier, in Story County, at around 5:30-p.m. The same size hail was also reported to have occurred near Boone. Golf ball size hail was reported north of Madrid, a little after 5-p.m., as well. Other sites saw heavy rain cause minor street flooding, and in some places, hail covered the ground, making it look more like snow.

Another round of severe weather is possible late this afternoon into this evening, with large hail and damaging wind gusts being the greatest risks, though a tornado cannot be ruled out completely. Thunderstorms are expected to develop by later in the afternoon to our southwest over Kansas and then move northeast into the state. A localized heavy rainfall threat may develop, especially in areas that see repeated rounds of thunderstorm activity.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 21-year old Amilee Mylie Squires, of Villisca, was arrested at around 10-p.m., Tuesday. Squires was taken into custody for Violation of Probation. She was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 cash bond.

Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate have voted for what would be the country’s most restrictive anti-abortion policy if the governor signs it into law. After nine hours of debate, 51 Republicans in the House approved a bill that bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, about the sixth week of a pregnancy. Representative Shannon Lundgren, a Republican from Peosta, acknowledges the bill is designed to challenge Roe v Wade, the decision that legalized abortion. “The science and technology have significantly advanced since 1973,” Lundgren said. “It is time for the Supreme Court to weigh in on the issue of life.”

Lundgren says the bill draws an important line.  “A heartbeat is that logical line that is now backed not only by what people understand as a recognizable sign of life, but by the advancement of science,” she said. Twelve hours after Lundgren’s remarks, Republican Senator Rick Bertrand of Sioux City celebrated as Republicans in the Iowa Senate were poised to pass the same bill at about 2:20 this (Wednesday) morning.

“My God, doesn’t it feel good when Republicans vote like Republicans?” Bertrand asked. “…My friends, today we will make history. Today we will begin this journey as Iowa becomes ground zero now, nationally, in the life movement and the starting line back to the Supreme Court.” Democrats like Senator Joe Bolkcom of Iowa City predicted the state will waste millions in court defending a law that’s been overturned in several other states. “This extreme bill is the new form of GOP coersion of Iowa women,” Bolkcom said. “It’s time for you to quit playing doctor.”

Senator Matt McCoy, a Democrat from Des Moines, called the bill “anti-woman.”  “This is unconstitutional and this will not stand,” McCoy said. “….All you have done is disenfranchise more women, as if you need to give them one more reason to vote against you this fall.” Representative Sandy Salmon, a Republican from Janesville, says the bill “thrusts Iowa to the right side of history” in challenging Roe v Wade. “With this bill, we make Iowa one of the safest places for the baby in the womb in the entire nation,” Salmon said.

Representative Amy Nielsen of North Liberty is among the many House Democrats who spoke against the bill Tuesday evening, arguing it basically bans nearly all abortions in Iowa since few women realize they’re pregnant at week six.  “I and every woman in this state deserves to have someone stand up for them and say: ‘Your choice is worth saving,'” Nielsen said.

Representative Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, a Democrat from Ames, says if the bill becomes law, women with the resources will travel to another state, like neighboring Illinois, to get an abortion.  “These restrictions do nothing to reduce or eliminate abortion,” Wessel-Kroeschell says, “but put roadblocks between a woman and her physician and making the best medical decision for her.”

And Wessel-Kroeschell suggested House Republicans passed the bill because they’d been “backed into a corner.”  “You see no way out of this legislative session until this bill passes,” Wessel-Kroeschell says. “The Senate is holding you hostage with their extreme agenda and you are willing to take this extreme vote, just to get out of here.”

A handful of Republican senators threatened to block progress on budget bills if the House failed to pass this bill. A spokeswoman for Governor Kim Reynolds says the governor is “100 percent pro-life,” but Reynolds “will not comment on any bill until she sees it in its final form.” The bill would allow abortions AFTER the sixth week of pregnancy in limited circumstances, such as a medical emergency, a fetal abnormality or if the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest. The bill also would ban selling or donating fetal tissue from abortions or still births for medical research.

(Radio Iowa)