Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County report the arrest on Monday morning, of 33-year old Zachary Thomas Scheffler, from Council Bluffs. He was taken into custody at the Shelby County Jail, on a Pottawattamie County warrant for Violation of Parole, and transported to the Pott. County Jail.

DES MOINES – Thousands of students will vote for their preferred candidates for President, U.S. Senate and U.S. House during Secretary of State Paul Pate’s Iowa Youth Straw Poll one week from today (on Tuesday, October 29th). This will be the first Iowa Youth Straw Poll since a change in Iowa law that allows 17-year-olds to register to vote and participate in primary elections. Next year, they can vote in the Iowa Caucuses and the June primary if they will be 18 by November 3, 2020. Secretary Pate said “We’re very excited about 17-year-olds having the opportunity to vote in the primaries, and with the Iowa Youth Straw Poll coming up, it’s an opportunity for young people to let these candidates know that their opinions count and their voice is important.”

The Iowa Youth Straw Poll is a hands-on educational experience designed to inspire civic engagement. Every public school, private school, homeschooling student and youth group in the state is invited to participate. Presidential and congressional candidates were asked to provide a short video with a personalized message for Iowa students. The videos are available on the Elections 101 website and on Secretary Pate’s YouTube page.

The Iowa Youth Straw Poll has the support of the Iowa Department of Education and the Iowa Council for the Social Studies and has received national recognition for outstanding leadership in voter education. The Iowa Youth Straw Poll directly engages students in understanding how democracy works while preparing them to become active citizens,” said Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise, a former social studies teacher.

The Youth Straw Poll is one component of Secretary Pate’s Elections 101 curriculum that is available for any school or civic organization to utilize. It is written by Iowa teachers for Iowa teachers. Two new components of the curriculum are lesson plans on the history of women’s suffrage and women in politics. The curriculum is available for free at Elections101.org.  Students, teachers, and organizations can register for the Iowa Youth Straw Poll by clicking here. A full list of schools that have already registered is available at this link. Teachers and students are encouraged to post photos of their Youth Straw Poll activities on social media, utilizing the #BeAVoter hashtag.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say they’ve identified two suspects in the slaying of a man whose body was found in a homeless camp near downtown Des Moines. Police say they’ve charged 46-year-old Des Moines resident Yancy Freland and 26-year-old Bryan Norris, also of Des Moines, with first-degree murder. Their attorneys in unrelated cases didn’t immediately return Associated Press messages on Tuesday.

Freland already was in custody on a probation violation. Norris has been in custody since Sept. 13, charged with assault on a police officer. The remains of 23-year-old Marshal Johnson were found Oct. 8 in a wooded area behind an abandoned manufacturing plant. Police say Freland and Norris shot Johnson sometime after July 26, and say Norris cut Johnson’s neck. Police also say the two tried to burn his remains and then buried them.

JAMAICA, Iowa (AP) — The former mayor of a central Iowa community has been given two years of probation after pleading guilty to marijuana charges. Guthrie County court records say former Jamaica Mayor LaDonna Kennedy was sentenced and given a deferred judgment Friday. Under a deferred judgment, her conviction can be removed from her record if she were to successfully complete the terms of her probation.

Kennedy and her husband, 59-year-old Randy Kennedy, were arrested Jan. 16 on various drug charges after Guthrie County sheriff’s deputies searching for a suspect in a separate crime knocked on their door. The suspect wasn’t found, but deputies called for a search warrant after smelling an “overwhelming odor of raw marijuana” coming from the home. Investigators say 18 marijuana plants, several bags of marijuana and drug paraphernalia were found. She resigned after her arrest.

Court records say Randy Kennedy pleaded guilty as well and was given 10 years in prison, suspended, and two years of probation.