NEW HAMPTON, Iowa (AP) — A trial has been delayed again for a northeast Iowa man whose dead 4-month-old son was found in an infant swing, his body infested with maggots. The delay in the trial of Zachary Koehn was granted Tuesday. Lawyers for both sides wanted more time to prepare. The trial in New Hampton had been scheduled to begin March 28 after being delayed from a Jan. 3 start. The new date is June 11.

Koehn and the baby’s mother, Cheyanne Harris, have pleaded not guilty to murder and related charges in the death of their son, Sterling Koehn. Her trial starting date also is June 11. They’re having separate trials. Authorities say deputies and medics called to the couple’s Alta Vista apartment on Aug. 30 found Sterling dead in the swing.

Republicans in the Iowa House have approved a plan to address an expected deficit in the current year’s state budget. Cuts are necessary because of lower-than-expected state tax collections. Representative Pat Grassley, a Republican from New Hartford, guided the plan through House debate.”We’re not Washington, D.C. We don’t print money,” said Grassley, whose grandfather is U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley. “We have to have a balanced budget at the end of each year, so we have to go in and make decisions, which they’re tough decisions. There’s a lot of decisions in here that are extremely tough. We have to try to do the best we can with our priorities.”

More than 40 percent of the cuts will fall on the state university campuses in Ames and Iowa City. Administrators will be asked to cut nearly 11 million dollars from the University of Iowa and Iowa State University budgets. “Yes, our universities take it on the chin and they deal with it, but at what cost to the students?” That’s Representative Vicki Lensing, a Democrat from Iowa City. Representative Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, a Democrat from Ames, calls the cuts to the two public universities “simply irresponsible.” “We’re not going to stay top-of-the-line unless we invest in the universities,” she said. “Our students, our faculty and our staff can’t live on the bare bones.”

The University of Northern Iowa — the other state-supported university — will NOT be forced to make mid-year budget cuts. There are a little more than three months left in the current state budgeting year. Administrators in the Department of Human Services, the state’s prison system and the state’s court system also are being asked to make significant spending cuts. Senate Republican leaders have signaled they’ll support the plan House Republicans approved late Tuesday afternoon.

(Radio Iowa)

Former Texas Congressman Tom Delay — the former majority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives — was among the speakers at a hearing in the Iowa Capitol Tuesday night. Delay is now part of a coalition of 120 groups pressing for bills — like the one pending in the Iowa House — that would ban abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected.  “I am very proud of Iowa taking the lead on passing a heartbeat bill because it is time,” Delay said. “Ladies and gentlemen, it has been 45 years…Something has to change.” Delay is an opponent of the 1973 Roe v Wade decision that legalized abortion and he told Iowa legislators public attitudes are changing because of what people can see on a sonogram. “It’s not a piece of flesh. It’s not a bug. It’s not a parasite,” Delay said. “It’s a little baby.”

Delay resigned from congress in 2005 shortly after being accused of campaign finance irregularities. He spoke briefly with Radio Iowa after the hearing, suggesting his travels to Iowa and other states are a bit of penance for inaction during his 15 years in congress.  “I regretted all this time that I was in congress and, frankly, had the strength of power, that I didn’t get rid of abortion,” said Delay. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland C-E-O Suzanna de Baca testified immediately after Delay.  “We are once again being forced to plea for women’s basic reproductive rights,” de Baca said. “How insulting for women who remember what life was like before Roe v. Wade.”

According to de Baca, before 1973 — one in six deaths among pregnant women “were the result of an illegal abortion.” “If you advance this legislation, Iowa will be dragged back into the back alley days,” de Baca said. De Baca and others were cheered by a large contingent gathered outside the hearing room, watching the hearing on a large monitor. Dr. Amy Bingaman, an obstetrician and gynecologist in Des Moines, called the six-week abortion ban an attempt insert politics into the practice of medicine. “I am fighting for my patients, your wives, your sisters, your children,” she said.

The Iowa Senate passed a six-week abortion ban at the end of February. A similar ban attached to another abortion-related proposal and is now eligible for debate in the full House.

(Radio Iowa)

Creston Police say three people were arrested on separate charges, Tuesday. At around 1:20-p.m., officers arrested 29-year old Caleb Fredrickson, of Lorimor, at the Union County Law Enforcement Center. Fredrickson was arrested on a Union County Warrant for Interference with Corrections Official. He was later released from the Union County Jail on a $1,000 bond  Just before 5-p.m., Tuesday, 26-year old Tyler Elmore, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Suspended. He was later released from the Union County Jail on a $300 bond. And, at around 10:30-p.m., Tuesday, 24-year old Thompson Lee Jones, of Creston, was arrested for Domestic Assault. Jones was being held in the Union County Jail while awaiting a bond hearing.

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

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Audubon Police Chief Matt Starmer reports that on March 15th, 23-year old Tray D Anderson, and 20-year old Adam Richard Finley, both of Audubon, were arrested for Disorderly Conduct.  Both were transported to the Audubon County Jail to appear before a magistrate

The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office reports 21-year old Carlos Cortez was arrested Tuesday in Lenox, on a warrant for Failure to Appear (on an original charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance). Cortez was being held in the Taylor County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

Spring is here, and tomorrow (Thursday, March 22nd) will mark the 2nd Produce in the Park planning meeting of 2018. The meeting will be held at 4:30-p.m. in the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce meeting room at 102 Chestnut Street, Atlantic. Anyone interested in this community event is invited to attend, especially those interested in selling locally grown produce and handmade crafts. The market is always looking for fresh ideas for entertainment and kids activities as well.

The opening date for Produce in the Park is May 31 and it will be held every Thursday night, 4:30 to 6:30 in Atlantic City Park. The vendor fee is $60 for the season. Funding and budget will be discussed as well as volunteer opportunities and a discussion on sampling goods at the market. Decisions are made by attendees of the meeting. The mission of Produce in the Park is promoting local food production and consumption, and building community to enhance the health and well-being of residents. Produce in the Park provides opportunities for direct marketing for producers, access to fresh local foods for consumers, social networking and educational opportunities for all participants.

For more information contact Emily Paulsen, Susan Retz, Emily Krengel, LaVon Eblen or the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The House has approved more than $35 million in mid-year cuts to Iowa’s $7.2 billion budget. The Republican-controlled chamber voted 59-41 Tuesday along party lines for the reductions, which impact the budget running through June. The GOP-majority Senate must OK the cuts before Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds can give final approval. The reductions affect various government agencies. Funding for the board that oversees Iowa’s three public universities is reduced by more than $10 million, making it the largest cut. The University of Northern Iowa’s funding is spared in the bill.

A budget panel estimated last year that incoming state revenue was below projections. GOP legislative leaders have been at odds over the extent of the reductions, though a compromise has been reached. State revenue has been up recently, though GOP lawmakers say the cuts will give the budget a cushion.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst is asking the Defense and Justice Departments to explain how they handle student-on-student sexual assaults at K-12 schools the Pentagon runs on military bases worldwide. The Iowa Republican wrote Defense Secretary James Mattis and Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday asking a dozen questions based on issues raised in an ongoing Associated Press investigation.

In stories published last week, the AP found that reports of student-on-student sexual assaults or rapes often languish, and that administrators do not accurately track them. The 71,000 students who the schools educate have fewer protections than public school kids if they are sexually attacked by a classmate on campus.

Ernst, who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joins colleagues who last week demanded answers and promised a public hearing.