DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Public Safety Commissioner Roxann Ryan is appointing her top aide to be the new chief of the Iowa State Patrol. Ryan announced Thursday that her executive officer, Jeff Ritzman, will be the patrol’s next colonel effective immediately. He replaces Michael Van Berkum, whose retirement takes effect Friday.

Ryan says in a note to troopers that Ritzman “is the right person for the job at this point in time.” She says Ritzman’s experience makes him “uniquely qualified” to address challenges in law enforcement and lead the force during a time of tight budgets.

Ritzman joined the Department of Public Safety as a trooper in 1982 and has served in several roles, including homeland security coordinator in the intelligence-gathering Fusion Center. Ryan also announced that she was appointing Lt. Randy Olmstead to replace Ritzman as executive officer.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A legislative effort by Iowa Republicans to outlaw abortion in the state has failed to advance past a legislative procedural deadline. The so-called personhood bill was kept off the agenda of a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting Thursday. The committee needed to vote on the measure for it to survive a deadline that requires certain legislative action on policy bills.

Republican Sen. Brad Zaun, committee chairman and co-sponsor of the bill, says he didn’t have enough votes to advance the legislation. Anti-abortion rights groups had rallied around the personhood bill this session amid new GOP control of the Legislature.

Republican lawmakers are still considering a separate bill that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. A House committee was meeting Thursday to vote on that bill.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says the Libertarian Party has obtained official political party status in Iowa. Pate says the status began effective Wednesday after state election officials determined the party’s presidential nominee, Gary Johnson, received 59,186 votes — or 3.8 percent of the vote — in the November 2016 general election.

That surpassed the 2 percent threshold required by Iowa law to obtain official political party status. The new status gives the Libertarian Party the ability to participate in primary elections in 2018. “Libertarian” will be included as an option for Iowa residents on voter registration forms.

The last time a third part gained political party status in Iowa was in 2000, when Green Party nominee Ralph Nader received 2.2 percent of the votes cast for president.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa state lawmaker says he didn’t mean to mislead anyone by claiming he had a business degree from a company that had actually awarded him a certificate for participating in a training program when he worked at Sizzler.

State Sen. Mark Chelgren’s biography on an Iowa Senate Republican website had noted he had a business management degree from Forbco Management school. The information was removed Wednesday after NBC News reported Forbco Management is a California company that operated a Sizzler franchise.

Iowa Senate Republicans spokesman Ed Failor confirmed Thursday that Chelgren’s biography was updated after the NBC report. He said Chelgren doesn’t have a college degree, but Chelgren later said he earned an associate’s degree from a community college.

The Audubon County Engineer’s Office has been notified that the contractor for a bridge project on Lark Avenue will begin about one week ahead of schedule, due to the nice weather. The contractor is ahead of schedule on their other projects, therefore work on the bridge in the 1900 block of Lark Avenue in Audubon County, will begin next Monday, March 6^th.

Lark Avenue will be closing just south of Audubon County Road F-32 while contractors replace a bridge located in Leroy Township, section 24. Construction is expected to last about 65 working days.

Members of the Atlantic School Board will gather at the Middle School Library at Noon Friday, for a Special Meeting to approve the hiring of a new superintendent. Approval of the contract is the only action item on their agenda.

Earlier this week, the Board sat down with three finalists for the position: Steven Barber, Superintendent at George-Little Rock Community Schools in George, Iowa; Dr. Joe Potts, Ph.D, an Iowa native who resides in Kent, WA., and serves as High School Principal for the Kent Community School District; and Dan Dierks, who has served Superintendent for the Oelwein Community School District, since 2015.

The person selected will succeed Dr. Michael Amstein, who is retiring at the end of the current school year, after having worked for the District since 2010.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says three, non-injury accidents occurred during last Friday’s snow/ice event. Just before 8-p.m., a 2001 Dodge Ram pickup owned and driven by 45-year old Robert James Bagshaw, of Massena, was eastbound on Tucson Road when the vehicle went out of control on the icy roadway. It crossed into the north ditch and rolled onto its top, sustaining an estimated$5,000 damage.

At around 6:15-p.m. Friday, a 2004 Chevy Express van driven by 29-year old Devon Andrew Bretey, of Atlantic, was northbound on Highway 71 when the vehicle went out of control on the slick roadway, entered the west ditch and came to rest on its side. The damage was estimated at $4,000.

And, at around 2:15-p.m., Friday, a 2006 Dodge Ram pickup owned and driven by 38-year old Troy Niehaus, of Carroll, was northbound on 750^th Street when the vehicle went out of control on the icy road. It entered the west ditch and rolling onto its top, sustaining about $10,000 damage.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports two people face drug charges following a recent investigation. On February 27th, Cass County Deputies arrested 18-year old Dominick Gene Gramkow, of Atlantic, on felony charges that include Distributing Drugs to Person Under 18 Years of age, Use of a Minor in a Drug Trade, Possession with Intent to Deliver/Marijuana, and Failure to Affix Drug Tax Stamp. Gramkow also faces a simple misdemeanor Possession of Drug Paraphernalia charge. He was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains held on $45,000 bond.

And, 17-year-old faces a felony, Possession with Intent to Deliver/Marijuana and Failure to Affix Drug Tax Stamp felony charges. The minor was taken to Juvenile Detention Center pending hearing.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports 46-year old Brian Donnell Taylor, of Des Moines, was arrested Wednesday evening at the Union County Law Enforcement Center. Taylor was taken into custody on a Union County warrant for probation violation.  He was being held in the Union County Jail without bond until being seen by a Judge.

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

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