The Audubon Community School District’s Board of Education met during a special session Wednesday evening, to hold a public hearing with regard to the Fiscal Year 2020 Budget. Superintendent Brett Gibbs said there were no public comments, and given the current situation, that’s not unexpected. He said about a dozen years ago, before he became Superintendent, the tax levies were around $15 or $16 per thousand dollars valuation, and that drew the public. Since then, the tax asking has come down to around $11 or $12/$1,000…which is essentially a “non-issue” with the district patrons.

The levy for the 2019-20 Budget went down nearly 6-cents, to $11.68/$1,000. Gibbs said that’s attributable to two main factors: The District Valuation went up by $8-million, and there was an increase in enrollment, along with more State aid. Gibbs said people may not understand that the district has very little control over the levy because of how it’s set up in Iowa. He said workshops are held where the budget levy is developed through a formula. The State tells each district how much they can spend. The only levies the district has control over is the Management Levy and Early Retirement, but those don’t amount to a whole lot.

In other business, the Audubon School Board, Wednesday, approved the FY2019-20 Bargaining Agreement with Audubon Education Association. He says they settled at 3.27%. Earlier in the week, the Teachers Association moved quickly to approve the offer. Contracts will be issued soon and voted on during the Audubon School Board’s regular meeting 7-p.m. Monday, April 15th. During that meeting, the Board will act on approving salary increases for staff who are NOT represented by a Collective Bargaining Unit.

The Creston Police Department reports six separate arrests over the past few days. 29-year old Trevor Jack Dillon Loudon, of Creston, was arrested today (Friday) at around 7:40-a.m., on a Clarke County warrant for Failure to Appear (FTA) in court. Loudon was transferred to Clarke County for processing. He had also been arrested at around 8:43-a.m. Thursday, on a Union County warrant for Theft in the 5th Degree, and later released on a $300 bond.

Also arrested Thursday morning, was 32-year old Shaune William Tindle, of Des Moines. He was taken into custody for Driving While Suspended, plead guilty in magistrate court, and was released. 19-year old Garrett Breann Abel, of Greenfield, was arrested Thursday night for OWI/1st offense. She was later released on a $1,000 bond. Wednesday morning, 18-year old Hunter Gunnard Linne, of Creston, was arrested at his home on a warrant out of Jones County. Linne was released on a $10,300 bond.

And, on April 7th, 20-year old Brianne May Lawson, of Greenfield, was arrested in Creston for Trespassing in the 1st degree. She was released on a Promise to Appear in court.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A man accused of Dubuque home invasions and sexual assaults in 2011 and 2014 has pleaded not guilty. Dubuque County court records say 29-year-old Martel Fountain Sr. filed the written pleas Tuesday. He’s charged with four counts of sexual abuse and four of burglary. A trial date hasn’t been set.

The records say Fountain assaulted three women in 2011 after forcing his way into their homes. The documents say another was raped in 2014 after Fountain forced her into her garage.
Prosecutors say a DNA sample taken from Fountain in March 2018 after his arrest in the federal drug case linked him to the four Dubuque assaults. DNA information from those four cases had been filed in an FBI database.