The City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Board is expected to receive a letter of resignation, Monday, from Parks and Rec Director Roger Herring. Herring announced his intentions to retire back in Sept., 2014, and at that time requested the Board begin a search for his successor. In Dec., 2014, Seth Staashelm was hired as the Assistant Parks and Rec Director, with the idea being he would succeed Herring in the Director’s position. Herring’s last day will be June 30th. He began working as Parks and Rec Director in June, 2011.

Atlantic Parks & Rec Asst. Dir. Seth Staashelm (Left) & Director Roger Herring (right), at the Parks & Rec Board mtg. 12/14/15

In other business, the Board will receive updates on the Schildberg Rec Area Lake #2 Transportation Alternative Program (TAP) grant, and the Vision Iowa grant, along with other, regular park programs and various features updates, such as the Connector Trail, Dog Park, Kiddie Korral and East Shelter house renovation.

Their meeting takes places in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall, beginning at 5:15-p.m., Monday.

Police in Red Oak, Saturday evening, arrested 43-year old Chris Allan Taylor, of Red Oak, for allegedly violating a No Contact/protection Order. Taylor was taken into custody at around 5:30-p.m. at a residence in the 2400 block of N. 8th Street, and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where he was being held on a $300 cash bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:30 a.m. CDT

INDIANOLA, Iowa (AP) — A judge has declared the Warren County Courthouse no longer habitable and says court employees are at risk. The Des Moines Register reports that Chief Judge Arthur Gamble of Iowa’s Fifth Judicial District issued the finding this week. He also told Warren County supervisors that if the county doesn’t act soon, the court will begin a process to compel them to provide suitable court facilities, as required by law.

FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) — Officials are seeking to hire correctional officers for the new maximum security prison in Fort Madison. The Fort Madison Daily Democrat reports that those interested in applying must be a high school graduate or have earned a GED certificate. Eligible applicants also must pass a background check, panel interview, psychology exam, recorded observation and judgment test, drug screening, medical exam and have a valid driver’s license.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Sioux City school board has approved offering $20,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the mother of a student sexually exploited by former educational specialist. The Sioux City Journal says the board approved the offer Friday with no discussion. The lawsuit says the negligence of Sioux City Community Schools and IowaJAG Inc. was responsible for 30-year-old Erick Deleon’s ability to have contact with the 16-year-old girl after school hours.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — Randall Payne won’t learn of his fate until at least Monday, when a Des Moines County jury is scheduled to resume deliberating whether Payne was responsible for the death of his 22dayold son. The Hawk Eye reports that the jury spent about three hours deliberating Friday. Payne is charged with first-degree murder and child endangerment counts. If convicted of the murder charge, Payne faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County say a Union County man was arrested early Saturday morning on drug charges. 56-year old Ronald Richard Tripp, of Creston, was arrested following a traffic stop at around 3-a.m. on Highway 34. Tripp was charged with Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and OWI/Drugged-1st Offense. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines man accused of intentionally crashing his truck into a police cruiser with a police dog inside has been found guilty of several counts. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that 34-year-old Juan Carlos Nino-Hernandez was convicted Friday of first-degree criminal mischief, assault on a peace officer and operating while intoxicated.

The incident happened on Sept. 22 when police say Nino-Hernandez rammed the police car in a gas station parking lot. Police Sgt. Ronald Kouski was in the store, but his canine partner, Cak, was inside the car. The dog suffered minor injuries but has fully recovered. Nino-Hernandez will be sentenced at a later date.

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

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Connections Area Agency has announced that the State of Iowa is continuing its Farmers Market voucher program for older Iowans.  With this program, seniors meeting income requirements can obtain vouchers that they can use at participating area Farmers Markets to buy $30.00 worth of fresh, locally grown produce.  If you have questions about eligibility, please check with your local senior center.

Applications for the vouchers will be available at your local senior center the week of May 23^rd, 2016.  Your completed application guarantees you a booklet, but there is a limited number, so contact your local senior center if you are interested in this program.   Once you have a completed application, you can return to your local Senior Center to pick up your vouchers on or after June 14^th.

Applications for Council Bluffs residents will be available at The Center, located at 714 S. Main Street on May 23^rd, 2016 as well. The distribution date for Council Bluffs vouchers will be once again held at The Center on Tuesday, June 14th from 9am – noon.  Again, your completed application guarantees you a booklet, so you may come at any time on June 14^th to the Center to present your completed application and obtain your vouchers.  Seniors (age 60 and older) in all other communities in  Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie and Shelby counties will receive their vouchers through their local senior center.

Program Criteria:

• Must be at least 60 years of age or older
• Annual income must be less than

$21,978          Single

$29,637          Married

• Only one original application allowed per individual.  No photocopies or duplicate applications allowed.  Married couples can jointly apply on one application.

Dates to Remember:

• May 23rd, 2016:  Applications are available at all local senior centers and The Center in Council Bluffs.
• June 14, 2016:  Council Bluffs Farmers’ Market vouchers are available for pick up at local senior centers in Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page Pottawattamie and Shelby counties. Council Bluffs distribution will be held at The Center, 714 S. Main from 9am – Noon for seniors with a completed application.

Two students from Griswold had their egg recipes place in the top 5 during the Iowa Egg Council’s “Incredibly Good Eggs” Recipe Contest, held May 4th at Iowa State University, in Ames. Neve Perdue took 1st place in the Student Division, with her Spring Vegetable Egg Drop Soup. Her recipe earned her the top honors and a $500 cash prize. Tina Perdue, placed 5th with her “North African Baked Eggs with Chickpeas and Feta,” recipe.

The top 5 winners in each category, adult and student, were judged by a panel of experts, with the recipes being scores on taste, appearance, originality, and use of eggs in their dish.

Visit iowaegg.org on the web for the recipes created by the Perdues and other contestants.

A Democrat who is hoping to challenge U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley in November is calling on the Republican to clear the way for a vote on making marijuana more readily available for medical use. State Senator Rob Hogg says legislation pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Grassley chairs, would reclassify medical cannabis from Schedule I to a Schedule II substance.

“It is time for Senator Grassley to put aside the delay and the gridlock,” Hogg said. “This is something Americans across our state and our country want him to act on.” A spokesperson for Grassley’s office issued a statement to Radio Iowa saying Grassley has “serious concerns” with the bill because it “could be a pathway for those who want broad legalization of marijuana for all purposes.”

Hogg spoke about the bill, known as the CARERS Act, at a pharmacy in Urbandale. He was joined by supporters of the bill, including the parent of a child who have epilepsy and a patient who suffers from chronic pain. “Who are we to say no? Who is Senator Grassley to say no? It’s time to say yes to people who want the opportunity to try medical cannabis to alleviate their medical conditions,” Hogg said.

Maria La Franz of Des Moines has been lobbying lawmakers for several years now, hoping to legally obtain cannabis for her son, who suffers from severe epilepsy. Seventy-eight-percent of Iowans want the option for medical use of the cannabis plant,” La Franz said. “Some of our children in Iowa are benefitting from cannabis, but we are still — federally — breaking the law.” The figure La Franz cited comes from a Des Moines Register Iowa Poll released in March. It found 78-percent of the Iowans surveyed favor allowing people to use marijuana as medicine.

Hogg, who has been a member of the Iowa legislature since 2003, is one of three Democrats seeking their party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2016. The other candidates are Bob Krause and Tom Fiegan, who both also ran for the Senate in 2010, but lost to party nominee Roxanne Conlin in the primary.
…………….
full statement from Grassley’s office:

Because of Senator Grassley’s work, federal agencies are conducting scientific and medical analysis of cannabidiol to see if there is a scientific basis to change its schedule, and agencies have eased some of the regulatory barriers to cannabidiol research. Senator Grassley believes the government has to ensure both public safety and the effectiveness of drugs available for patients, but at the same time, it shouldn’t delay medical innovations that could help children or others.

The CARERS Act goes far beyond the issue of cannabidiol for epilepsy-suffering patients. It would make access to recreational and smoked marijuana much easier for many people through sweeping changes to federal marijuana and banking laws. Among other things, it would place all medical marijuana authorized by state law (as well as all cannabidiol oil derived from the marijuana plant) outside the purview of the Controlled Substances Act.

Iowa does not permit smoked marijuana as medicine, and smoking marijuana for medical purposes isn’t approved by leading medical authorities. In addition, the bill also would change federal banking laws to permit state-authorized marijuana businesses, including recreational marijuana businesses, to use banks and other financial institutions. Many of the businesses that want to become mainstream recreational marijuana sellers want the legitimacy of using banks.

The bill could be a pathway for those who want broad legalization of marijuana for all purposes. With marijuana users being much more likely to take up heroin and other serious drugs than non-users, and with more infants being born with marijuana exposure lately, Senator Grassley has serious concerns with recreational marijuana legalization and legislation that would pave the way for such legalization.

(Radio Iowa)

The F-D-A now classifies e-cigarettes as tobacco products and the liquid that goes into the devices will be regulated. Some fear it’ll mean the end of the small, privately-owned vape shops that have cropped up around Iowa. Sam Salaymeh runs vape shops in Sioux City and Omaha and says he and other store owners are still attempting to grasp the new regulations.

“We’re trying to fight but we’re trying to orient ourselves and understand all of these regulations and how to navigate,” Salaymeh says. “I have at least one to challenge this. There are a lot of advocacy groups trying to educate, raise awareness and rally support.” While the feds claim there are no complete studies on the dangers of vaping, Salaymeh says there’s a large report out from the Royal College of Physicians in London which touts the many benefits.

“They talk about its efficacy for people to switch from smoking to vaping,” he says. “They talk about the issue that smoking is the biggest avoidable cause of death. They talk about how electronic nicotine delivery systems are a better way to get the nicotine that people are addicted to without getting all of the other stuff that comes with tobacco.” Salaymeh says vaping has helped thousands of people kick the cigarette habit. He says the difference between vaping and smoking is like comparing bicycles to the space shuttle.

“These devices are at least 95% safer than traditional cigarettes,” Salaymeh says. “This is where this gets quite interesting. From a public health perspective, if anything on Earth has ever come up as something that reduces harm by 95%, all politicians will be applauding it and hailing it as the best thing since sliced bread.”

The new rules take effect in 90 days. They prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes in vending machines and prevent owners from offering free samples to customers. The sale of e-cigs will also be banned to anyone under 18, while the makers of the devices will be required to register with the F-D-A, provide a list of ingredients and apply for permission to sell them. Salaymeh says the new rules will eliminate all small vape shops and hand the industry over to big tobacco companies.

(Radio Iowa)