SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — About 180 Army Reserve soldiers based in Sioux City are preparing to be deployed to the Middle East. Maj. William Geddes says soldiers in the 960th Quartermaster Company will deploy to Kuwait and Iraq on Sunday. A send-off ceremony is set for 1 p.m. Saturday at East High School in Sioux City.

The company’s mission will be to supply ammunition, fuel and portable water purification. Geddes says the soldiers are expected to stay for about nine months.

Officials with the AKSARBEN Foundation have announced Ward Umbaugh, of Adair is one of 50 students from seven states (including 16 Iowa students) named as a 2016 winner of AKSARBEN AG Leaders Scholarship. Other scholarship winners from southwest Iowa include Heath Downing, from Creston, and Hayden VanMeter, from Red Oak.

Each scholarship awardee is a 4-H member who has exhibited at the AKSARBEN Stock Show and Rodeo in Omaha, and will receive $2,000 toward their education. They must be a high school senior and 4-H Exhibitor who has participated in the stock show for three or more years. The scholars also plan to attend a two or four year college or university and have expressed interest in pursuing a career related to agriculture or a non-agriculture career within a rural community .

Established in 1895, the AKSARBEN Foundation represents the premier employers in Nebraska and western Iowa.  The Foundation’s mission is to leverage collective business leadership to build a more prosperous Heartland by funding and guiding best practice, needs-based scholarship programs, awarding over $1 million annually; promoting the Heartland’s cultural heritage through top-ranking community celebrations, attended by over 100,000 annually; and honoring community leaders who carry on the Heartland’s tradition of philanthropy and volunteerism.

The Iowa Transportation Commission met today (Tuesday), in Ames, and approved a RISE (Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy) grant application for the City of Manning. Officials say up to $259,918 from the city share of the RISE Fund was approved for a Local Development grant to assist in paving of approximately 1,101 feet of Commercial Street located on the west side of Manning.

The project was deemed necessary to provide improved access to four lots totaling more than 18 acres for industrial purposes. The project is anticipated to be completed by November 2017.

The RISE program was established to promote economic development in Iowa through construction or improvement of roads and streets. Iowa cities and counties are eligible for funding in the form of a grant, loan, or combination thereof.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest today (Tuesday) of a Stanton woman.  At 12:00pm Deputies arrested 30-year-old Jennifer Ingersoll of Stanton on a warrant for 3 Counts of Prohibited Acts (A Class C Felony) and Tampering with Records (An Aggravated Misdemeanor).  Ingersoll was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $10,000 bond.

A Supervisor Candidate Forum has been scheduled for Thursday, May 19th in Griswold.  The forum will showcase all Supervisor candidates running in the June 7, 2016 Primary Election and will start at 7:00pm at the Griswold Community Center.

The Candidates for each district that will participate are: District 1- Steve Green, Dave Jones, and Dale Retallic; District 4- Rocky Anderson, Ryan Askeland, Steve Baier, Todd Hansen, Nick Hensley, Barry Moore, and Dana Kunze; District 5- J. Ford Lillard, Bernard Pettinger, and Frank Waters.

The public is encouraged to attend and interact with all the candidates running for Cass County Supervisor seats.  Again that forum will be held Thursday, May 19th at 7:00pm at the Griswold Community Center.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Council Bluffs officials have passed an ordinance that will allow people from outside of Iowa to seek positions within the municipal government. The Daily Nonpareil reports that the City Council’s approval Monday will allow residents of the metropolitan area who live in Nebraska, or even farther in South Dakota or Missouri, to seek positions with the city, police or fire departments.

Republican state Rep. Mary Ann Hanusa of Council Bluffs co-wrote a law that passed this year allowing cities to seek employment from outside the state. Hanusa said Council Bluffs city workers had raised concerns about the same-state restriction.

Mayor Matt Walsh says Council Bluffs is limited in potential employees because it represents about 10 percent of the metro area’s entire population. The ordinance goes into effect July 1st.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) – An Omaha police officer who was a Walnut, Iowa, native and who was killed in the line of duty about a year ago, has been honored for her devotion to protecting the public. The Grand Island, NE., Independent reports that officer Kerrie Orozco’s name was unveiled on the Nebraska Law Enforcement Memorial wall in Grand Island during a ceremony Monday. Four other officers’ names were also unveiled after investigations concluded that they died in the line of duty.

Orozco was killed May 20, 2015 as she and other members of the Omaha Police Department tried to arrest a suspect wanted in connection with a September 2014 shooting. Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said at the ceremony that Orozco was not only an exemplary officer, but also a good person and member of society.

A Davenport woman is accused of abandoning her newborn child in a trash can. 22-year old Ashley Hautzenrader is charged with child endangerment in Iowa City.

Ashley-Hautzenradar

A criminal complaint shows Hautzenrader gave birth in a bathroom at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics late Sunday night. She later told UI Police she didn’t know she was pregnant and thinking the baby was dead, tried to flush it down the toilet. She later put the baby in a pillow case and placed it in a trash can. Hospital employees found the baby alive, but there’s no word on its current condition.

(Radio Iowa)

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports two people from Cass County were arrested at around 11-p.m. Monday, following an investigation into an incident that took place near 335th and Quail Avenue. 26-year old Brittiny Christina Sampson, of Atlantic, was arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and, 29-year old Samuel Lavern Huffman, of Anita, was arrested for Driving While revoked.

The pair were transported to the Audubon County Jail and later released after appearing before a magistrate. Huffman was set to be transported to Cass County for processing on an outstanding warrant in Cass County. Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies assisted in handling the incident and arrests.