Republican Congressman David Young has developed a new plan for distributing a block of federal dollars reserved for water quality improvement projects. Young hopes to tack his idea onto the next Farm Bill and change the way money in the U-S-D-A’s already-existing “Environmental Quality Incentive Program” is distributed. “You’ve heard of precision agriculture. I see this as precision conservation,” Young says. “What it does is it targets funds in a new way, a new approach from this EQIP account, to watersheds.”

Young got input from a variety of groups that are often at odds — including the Iowa Farm Bureau and the Iowa Farmers Union as well as the Des Moines Water Works and the Iowa Department of Agriculture. “We’ve had the debate in Iowa about water quality and so I thought to myself: ‘What is there that maybe I could do or congress could do at the federal level to help with this issue?'” Young said. “…There’s a way to target existing federal funds.”

Young envisions communities, farmers, researchers and other stakeholders developing a “precision conservation plan” for watersheds in order to qualify for any federal EQIP grants in that area. Young says states should provide matching funds and the projects should be monitored to find out which conservation methods are most effective.

(Radio Iowa)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Officials say Iowa’s 2017 composite ACT score dropped to 21.9 from 22.1 for the class of 2016. Score reports released Wednesday from Iowa City-based ACT also say 24 Iowa students scored a perfect 36 in tests taken in spring, compared with 10 last year. Two-thirds of Iowa students who graduated in 2017 took the college entrance exam, compared with 60 percent nationally.

ACT says 56 percent of the Iowa students indicated they plan to attend college and earn bachelor’s degrees, and 27 percent said they’ll seek graduate or professional degrees. Nationally, 41 percent said they’ll seek bachelor’s degrees and 34 percent graduate or professional degrees.

Police in Red Oak, Wednesday evening, arrested 53-year old David Allen Welch, of Red Oak. Welch was taken into custody at around 5:50-p.m. for an alleged Violation of a No Contact Order. He was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $300 bond.

(re-posted 9/7, w/corrections to Montgomery County candidate summary)

Patrons of area school districts will be heading to the polls Tuesday, Sept. 12th, to cast their ballots for school board members and, in some cases, bond issues. Here’s a look at some of the Counties where elections are being held….

In Adams County, there are three positions to fill for At-Large Director seats on the Corning Community School District Board of Education. Two candidates have filed nomination papers: Howard Anderson and Scott Shuey. The polls will be open from Noon until 8-p.m. If you have questions as to where you will be voting, call the Adams County Auditor’s Office at 641-322-3340.

In Montgomery County,there are three vacancies on the Red Oak School Board. Candidates include incumbents, Bret Blackman and Kathy Walker, along with newcomer Roger Carlson. Four candidates are running for three vacancies on the Stanton School Board: Incumbents Brian Bates and Mark Lindgren, along with Travis Taylor, and Amy Tibben. In the Villisca School District, incumbent Leland Shipley and Terry Dalton are looking to fill two vacancies on the Board.  Voters in Montgomery County also get to decide the fate of a Public Measure that calls for the renewal of a 6-cent per thousand dollar Instructional Support Levy on assessed property value, for each of the next 10-years. The levy would begin July 1st, 2018, and is with regard to instructional equipment for Southwestern Community College, Merged Area 14.

And, in Audubon County, there are no contested races. Sarah Asmus and Heath R. Hansen are unopposed for two, At-Large seats on the Audubon School Board. And, Tamie Fahn, Patrick Greving, as well as Kevin Petersen, are unopposed in their bid for three, At-Large seats on the Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton School Board.

In Shelby County, five people are running for two At-Large Board of Educations seats in the IKM-Manning School District. The candidates include Kathleen Blake, Mike Blum, Sam Hansen, Brandi Perdew, and Lucas Potthoff.  Ron Reischl is unopposed in the Director of District 2B, but in Director District 1B, Larry Blake and Amy Fermeding are vying for one open seat on the Board. Jim Knott is unopposed for DMACC Director District 3, and Randy Pash is the lone candidate for IWCC in District 9.

No contested races will take place in the Harlan Community School District election, where: Al Hazelton is running for Director District number 1 seat; Amy J. Rueschenberg is running in District 2; Lonnie Muxfeldt is the lone candidate for Director/District 3, and Jessica Anderson in on the ballot for Director/Distrcit 4.

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

CRESTON, Iowa (AP) — A southern Iowa high school says it has disciplined several students who appeared in a photo on social media wearing white hoods and waving a Confederate flag next to a burning cross. At least one of the five people pictured is holding what appears to be a gun. A school official declined to provide details of the discipline.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A western Iowa man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography. The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Iowa says 56-year-old James Lee Palmer, of Missouri Valley, was sentenced Tuesday in Council Bluffs. A search of his home last year by police turned up computers that contained more than 300 images of child pornography.

SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a woman died after being shot in a police station parking lot in northeast Nebraska. The shooting occurred around 8:10 a.m. Wednesday in South Sioux City. Police say she’s died later at a Sioux City, Iowa, hospital. A man’s been taken into custody, but it’s unclear whether he’s been arrested. Police say no officers have been injured.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Officials in northwest Iowa are scrambling to line up an emergency ambulance service after a nonprofit announced it’ll cease assistance at the end of the year. The Sioux City Journal reports that Siouxland Paramedics Inc. officials announced last month it’ll cease 911 services in Sioux City and North Sioux City as it tries moving toward a more sustainable model. Sioux City officials are considering absorbing future 911 services into the department or contracting with another private company.

The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday evening, heard an update from City Code Enforcement Officer Kris Erickson on the new “SeeClickFix” phone management system for calls to City Departments. The system went into use on August 1st, but a full system roll-out to the public won’t be until sometime next month.

Erickson pointed out a reporting page that tells anyone in City Government about issues. She said there have been 111 issues reported thus far by citizens, such as barking dogs, trees or debris on the road, etc. Of those, 37 have been addressed by various City Departments and personnel. Others were in queue.

The barking dog issue, which came up Wednesday, would not normally be reported to the SeeClickFix system, instead it would go to the Atlantic Police Department, but a system warning sign during an entry prompt didn’t flag it as it should have. The call ended-up going to City Clerk Barb Barrick, when it shouldn’t have.

That’s just one of the quirks of the system that needs to be worked out. The system shows which active issues citizens have called about, and are in-line to be taken care of. Anything not active, will be archived and available for reference for up to 10-years. One the best features Erickson likes, is with regard to property issues that need to be address, such as mowing, clean-up or snow removal. The system will allow simple changes to disputed due dates and other matters.

Unfortunately Erickson said the SeeClickFix app for citizens of Atlantic to use on their smart phones, isn’t ready yet. If it were available, you could take pictures of issues in your neighborhood and submit them with your complaint, or handle other matters by simply texting the appropriate department.

Once it is available, the public will be notified through the media. In other news, the Council approved a Resolution accepting the work of the 2016 Street and Alley Improvements, which closes out the projects. The final contract price was a little over $1.925-million. And, in his report to the Council, City Administrator John Lund discusses a complaint he received with regard to sidewalk sales. A citizen was concerned with the way the sidewalks are being cluttered with signs and merchandise. The matter will be discussed further in a Community Development meeting.

Lund said also, there is a proposal from a person interested in purchasing the old YMCA building and renovating it into a multi-residential housing unit. That, and any financial/economic incentives, will be discussed in a meeting of the City’s Personnel and Finance Committee, with a recommendation to come before the Council at a future meeting.

A board of experts assembled to give advice for implementing Iowa’s expanded medical marijuana law met for the first time today (Wednesday), with one member saying the task ahead is “overwhelming.” Legislators voted this spring not only to let doctors prescribe cannabis oil for a wider variety of medical conditions, but to set up a state-sanctioned system for growing and dispensing it. Sarah Reisetter, the deputy director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, briefed the board on its duties. [Note: click on the left side of the audio bar to hear the comment]

The board will meet again on September 22nd to review the guidelines that agency staffers have developed for choosing up to two “manufacturers” of medical marijuana.

The advisory board will meet three more times yet this year to review the department’s plans for rolling out the state’s distribution system for medical marijuana. The group cannot meet more than four times a year. Iowans may petition the advisory board to recommend that other cannabis products be made available to patients. The Iowa Board of Medicine, however, would make the final decision on any expansion in the “form and quantity” of medical marijuana that’s legally dispensed in Iowa.

(Radio Iowa)

A western Iowa man was sentenced Tuesday in U-S District Court, to serve 10-years in prison for possession of child pornography. 56-year old James Lee Palmer, of Missouri Valley, will also be subject to ten years of supervised release following his incarceration.

On April 20, 2017, Palmer entered a guilty plea to a federal indictment charging Palmer with possession of child pornography on or about May 11, 2016. The charge was the result of an investigation into the posting of an image depicting child pornography upon a cloud based storage service. Law enforcement followed up with a search warrant of Palmer’s residence and located computers that contained over 300 of images of child pornography.

The investigation was conducted by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Missouri Valley, Iowa Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports that on Tuesday, September 5th, 65-year old William Henry Adkins, of Council Bluffs, was sentenced to 30-years in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and firearms offenses. Co-defendant, 40-year old Windy Marie Hannon, also of Council Bluffs, was sentenced on August 9th, to 12-1/2 years in prison for her role in the conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

On April 17, 2017, Adkins proceeded to a jury trial and was found guilty on all counts — conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Co-defendant Hannon previously entered a plea of guilty on April 4, 2017.

Evidence at trial proved Adkins was responsible for conspiring to distribute over 2,300 grams of methamphetamine. Upon his arrest on federal charges in January 2017, Adkins was found in possession of methamphetamine, scales, baggies, drug ledgers, a loaded .40 caliber handgun, and deposit receipts totaling over $32,000.

The investigation was conducted by the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, which consists of the Council Bluffs Police Department, Mills County Sheriff’s Office, Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, and Iowa Department of Public Safety Division of Narcotics Enforcement. The United States Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted with the investigation. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) — Police in St. Cloud have released the name of an Iowa man who was fatally stabbed during a visit. Authorities on Wednesday identified the victim as 22-year-old Andre Tirrel Reaves of Deloit, Iowa. That is the same city where the 22-year-old suspect lives.

Police say Reaves and the suspect traveled together to the home in St. Cloud to visit and stay for the weekend. Officers were called to the home Tuesday morning after Reaves was stabbed during an argument. The victim died at St. Cloud Hospital about an hour later.

The suspect was arrested and remains in jail, pending charges.