SALIX, Iowa (AP) — MidAmerican Energy Co. intends to stop using ash ponds to dispose of ash from its coal-fired power plants, including the Neal North and Neal South Energy Centers near Salix in northwest Iowa. The Sioux City Journal reports that MidAmerican said Thursday that its ash ponds and landfills are compliant with federal regulation, but recent tests results require MidAmerican to take action. The company says no drinking water sources have been contaminated.

An ash pond is an engineered structure for the ash disposal. MidAmerican says it will find a better way to dispose of the ash. Federal regulators say coal ash contains contaminants such as mercury, cadmium and arsenic and pose a threat to public health if not properly disposed.

House Republicans Thursday, opened the public process of passing a tax cut package that’s fashioned after Governor Kim Reynolds’ proposal. Representative Peter Cownie, a Republican from West Des Moines, has been given the task of guiding the bill through the House. He indicated a committee vote won’t have until after March 16. “I believe that will give good time to take input from Iowans, stakeholders, constituents and legislators,” Cownie says.

The first hearing on the House plan started about 15 hours after Republicans in the Iowa SENATE passed their own tax bill. Drew Klein of Americans for Prosperity urged House members to pass “thoughtful and meaningful” tax relief. “There’s more than one tax proposal moving in this building right now and, at some point, you guys are going to come together with your colleagues on the other side of the building and start to iron these things out,” Klein said.

The House plan, modeled after the governor’s, would cut personal income taxes by about 300 million a year when fully implemented. The Senate plan calls for reducing corporate taxes, too, and would amount to a billion dollars in total tax cuts per year. Business groups are lobbying the House to consider cutting corporate taxes. Jennifer Kingland, a lobbyist for the Iowa Taxpayers, mentioned the U.S. News and World Report ranking released this week. “Iowa had the great honor of being named the number one state in the nation and we can’t help but also think we are number one in corporate income tax as well,” Kingland said, “which is not a good thing.”

Iowa Chamber Alliance executive director John Stineman says it’s not just big corporations, but small businesses organized as corporations that would benefit. “We’re hopeful that we can include them in this conversation and find a way to mutually achieve our objectives there,” Stineman said, “but we believe this bill’s a great start.” Groups representing teachers and unions registered their opposition to the tax cut plan, suggesting the state will be unable to meet its financial obligations and be forced to make drastic cuts in services.

(Radio Iowa)

House Speaker Linda Upmeyer says it is “certainly possible” legislators may draft a bill to address the safety concerns raised after the latest mass shooting in a U.S. school. “I don’t know what’s going to be included right now, today,” Upmeyer said, “but I think the conversations will be broad as we move forward.” Upmeyer is hoping legislators get feedback this weekend from Iowa school administrators. “I think this really needs to focus on school safety and the needs of every school could be a little different,” Upmeyer says, “so I want to hear from them as well.”

Governor Kim Reynolds convened a meeting of state education and public safety officials on Wednesday to review existing school safety measures in Iowa. Earlier this week, Reynolds attended National Governors Association meetings where the Valentine’s Day shooting deaths of 17 people in Parkland, Florida were widely discussed. “The existing system failed those students and those families and those educators on every single level,” Reynolds says.

Reynolds faults local Florida officials for missing warning signs about the student charged with murdering 17 in his school. Reynolds is willing to consider a so-called “red flag” law that would give Iowa police authority to temporarily seize guns from someone who’s a danger to themselves or others. However Reynolds says there would have to be adequate safeguards so the law doesn’t violate Second Amendment gun rights.

(Radio Iowa)

A traffic stop at around 12:05-a.m. today (Friday) in Montgomery County, resulted in the arrest of a man on drug and other charges. Montgomery County Deputies pulled over a vehicle operated by 29-year old Aaron Wade Opdyke, of Malvern, near 200th Street and Fernwood Avenue. Opdyke was subsequently arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 3rd or subsequent offense. He was also cited for Driving While Suspended, and Failure to Prove Security Against Liability Insurance (accident insurance). Opdyke’s bond was set at $2,000.

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

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man who was convicted nearly 20 years ago of threatening then-President Bill Clinton has been charged with attempted murder after officials say he tried to kill a fellow mental health center patient. The Courier reports that 44-year-old Terrance David Rooney Jr. was arrested Friday on charges of attempted murder, harassment and assault on a health care worker.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A top Republican at the Iowa Legislature plans to seek office for this year’s midterm elections in a nearby district with a larger GOP voter edge. House Majority Leader Chris Hagenow, the No. 2 Republican in his chamber, announced Thursday he will run as a candidate for District 19, which covers an area west of Des Moines. Hagenow, first elected in 2008, currently represents neighboring District 43. That district encompasses another area west of Des Moines.

CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Iowa prison officials say two staff members at the Iowa Medical Classification Center in Coralville have been assaulted by an inmate. The Iowa Department of Corrections says an officer and a nurse were performing their regular duties in a mental health unit of the center when an inmate became verbally aggressive, then attacked the officer after being told to return to his cell. The nurse and two other inmates helped subdue the inmate.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds has named Iowa’s Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig as the state’s new agriculture secretary. Reynolds made the announcement Thursday. Naig will replace Bill Northey, who was confirmed on Tuesday by the U.S. Senate to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services within the U.S. Agriculture Department.

The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest of a Stanton woman on Thursday afternoon. At 2:17pm Officers arrested 24-year-old Merri Lorynn Grayeagle of Stanton at 2010 Commerce Drive in Red Oak on two counts of Child Endangerment (Aggravated Misdemeanor). Grayeagle was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $2,000 bond.

The Iowa House has voted to give Iowa school districts with arrangements to share staff — like a superintendent — the authority to hire a licensed social worker who’d work with students in both districts. Representative Jacob Bossman, a Republican from Sioux City, was just elected to the House last month.

“There is a fiscal impact, however I believe that is a small price to pay to ensure our youth in Iowa public schools have access to the mental health services that so many desperately need,” Bossman says. The bill does not require that schools hire a social worker. “This isn’t something that every school district is going to pursue, but it provides one more option to that access and I thik that’s something that we all should strongly support,” Bossman says.

Representative Phil Miller, a Democrat from Fairfield who served on his community’s school board, is another first-year legislator who won his seat in a special election.  “Having a social worker in a school is a very good idea, especially today when we have lots of things that our students are faced with,” Miller says. Representative Marti Anderson, a Democrat from Des Moines, is a licensed social worker who served as president for the National Association of Social Workers chapter in Iowa.

“I have seen the wonderful work that school social workers do,” Anderson said, “and I urge the body to adopt this and make that good service available to more of our children.” The bill passed the House on a 96-to-zero vote. It now goes to the senate for consideration.

(Radio Iowa)

Another community in northwest Iowa is reporting the appearance of counterfeit cash. A bank and a business in Le Mars were both passed bogus bills in the past few weeks. Fakes have also turned up recently in Spencer, Storm Lake, and Graettinger. Le Mars Police Chief Kevin Vande Vegte, says everyone should know some key ways to distinguish real from fake currency.

“The bills will have a watermark so if you tip them, you should see a shadow of a different picture in there,” Vande Vegte says. “The bills will have a change of color, so looking straight on a particular point in the bill will be a constant color if you turn it at a 45-degree angle.” One of the recent incidents in Le Mars involved a fake 50-dollar bill, which was clearly a counterfeit, while the other case involved a 100-dollar bill that was marked “For Motion Picture Use Only.”

Unfortunately, he says that movie currency looks realistic and is readily available over the internet. The chief says anyone who handles money should keep a sharp eye out for the counterfeits. “A big one you can’t forget is just the feel of the bill,” Vande Vegte says. “How does it feel in your hand? Does it feel too heavy? Does it feel too light? When you hold a bill in your hand, you should feel ridges because the U.S. Mint puts raised ink on those bills.”

Magic marker-style pens that are made specifically for checking the authenticity of bills are a must for any business that takes in a lot of big bills. “You can buy these readily online and they’re inexpensive,” Vande Vegte says. “In fact, we looked yesterday and there was a 5-pack for $7, so you can jump right on the internet and buy them.” The chief says he believes the two recent cases in Le Mars are -not- connected as the types of fake cash passed were so different.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds has named Iowa’s Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig as the state’s new agriculture secretary. Reynolds made the announcement Thursday. Naig will replace Bill Northey, who was confirmed on Tuesday by the U.S. Senate to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services within the U.S. Agriculture Department.

Naig, who has been deputy agriculture secretary since 2013, will serve the remainder of Northey’s term, which runs through January. Reynolds says Naig has the “experience, knowledge and staff connections necessary” for the post.

Naig says he plans to build “on the momentum that has been created on water quality and accelerating our adoption of conservation practices.”

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports 23-year old Blade Allen Fox, of Creston, was arrested Wednesday (2/28) at his residence, and charged with committing Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree.  Fox was later released from the Union County Jail on $10,000 bond.

And, a rural Creston woman reported Tuesday, that sometime during the previous 24-hours, her mailbox was damaged.  The loss was estimated at $100.