DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court is declining to address the merits of a lawsuit brought by a criminal investigator fired after complaining about Gov. Terry Branstad’s speeding state vehicle. The court dismissed an appeal Friday filed by former Division of Criminal Investigation supervisor Larry Hedlund. Justices say his appeal of a judge’s order wasn’t filed within a 30-day deadline and therefore it wasn’t timely.

The decision says other claims in Hedlund’s lawsuit can move forward and that he can appeal the ruling at the end of the case. At issue was whether Hedlund and other state officers can sue for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy. A judge dismissed that claim, saying it’s not recognized in Iowa and that state police officers can only challenge their firings through administrative proceedings.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The University of Iowa has established an academy so top high school sophomores can attend the university. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that the Iowa Board of Regents approved the academy’s name Thursday at its meeting in Ames. The Martin and Melva Bucksbaum Early Entrance Academy for Science, Technology, Arts, Engineering and Math has been made possible through a $10 million donation from Mary Bucksbaum Scanlan and Patrick Scanlan. The center is being named in memory of Mary Scanlan’s parents, Martin and Melva Bucksbaum.

The teenagers will enroll for fall 2016 as first-year students after completing the equivalent of their sophomore years in high school. The university wants to admit 12 to 20 students from across the state and nation for the first batch of academy students.

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

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Catholic Diocese of Sioux City plans to consolidate parishes starting in summer 2017. The Rev. Brent Lingle directs the diocese’s office of worship, and he said Thursday the number would be reduced to 67 from 108. Lingle says the moves are necessitated by a growing shortage of priests and declining membership and church attendance.

Since 2008, only 16 of the 108 parishes have seen growth, while overall Mass attendance has dropped nearly 25 percent. Membership has fallen as the average age of churchgoers increases and family size decreases. None of the church buildings would close, but 40 no longer would have Masses celebrated there. They could continue to be the sites of weddings, funerals and the like.

Cass County Youth Coodinator Beth Irlbeck says “Cass County 4-H Clubs would like to invite the public to attend their annual 4-H Mardi Gras carnival on Sunday, March 6th.” Irlbeck says “Mardi Gras includes fun, food, & carnival-type games for kids of all ages. The event is scheduled from 2:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic.”

There will be many activities for families at this year’s event, including: Plinko; Ring Toss; Dessert Walk; Walking Taco Stand; Sponge Throw;,Youth Council Mardi Gras Jail; Bucket Pong, and much more.

The Youth Action Committee and Youth Council are sponsoring this county-wide event and would like to invite all Cass County families to come out and join the fun. It is intended to be a low cost, family-friendly event for everyone in the county. Irlbeck said “You don’t have to be in 4-H to attend.” Admission is 50-cents per person and tickets cost ten-cents each. Each 4-H club determines how many tickets to charge to
play their game. All proceeds from this event go to the 4-H clubs, Youth Council, and the Cass County 4-H Program.

The driver of a vehicle involved in a collision in Red Oak complained of pain Thursday afternoon, but was not transported to the hospital. Authorities say Red Oak Police were called to the scene of a two-vehicle, property damage accident at the intersection of Highway 34 and North 8th Street, at around 4-p.m. An investigation revealed a 2006 Chrysler Town and Country van driven by 42-year old Jennifer Sundberg, of Stanton, was traveling west on Highway 34.

25-year old Jay McDannel, of Villisca, was traveling south in a 2008 Ford Mustang and stopped at the intersection, but then continued south and in the process, failed to yield. His car hit the van on its passenger side, causing a total of $8,000 damage.

No serious injuries were reported to Officers, immediately following the accident, but Sundberg did complain of some pain. McDannel was cited by Police for Failure to Obey a Stop Sign.

A woman from Missouri was arrested Thursday evening in Montgomery County. Sheriff’s officials say 33-year old Natalie Ann Gibler, of Tarkio, MO., was arrested at around 6:30-p.m. for Interference with Official Acts, and Driving While Suspended. Gibler was being held at the Montgomery Jail on a $300 cash bond.

The Iowa House has voted to add an amendment to the state constitution that supporters say will protect the DIGITAL records and data Iowans create and store on their smart phones and other electronic devices. It would force authorities to go to court to gain access to that digital data according to Representative Ken Rizer. “This protection is necessary to update search and seizure protections to 21st century realities,” Rizer says. “Our constitution coupled with federal and state law all provide elements of protection, but gaping gaps still remain.”

Rizer, a Republican from Cedar Rapids, says as after 27 years of service in the Air Force, he is all too familiar with “cyber warfare” and it’s important to ensure the U.S. government cannot access our private email or data without a warrant. “When the founders of our country and state included search and seizure protections in their 18th and 19th century constitutions, they intended to protect citizens from government reading personal mail or going through personal files without a warrant,” Rizer says. “In the 21st century, Iowans shouldn’t be forced to choose between using new technologies or protecting their privacy.”

The next Iowa General Assembly would have to approve this proposal again in 2017 or 2018 before Iowans would be able to vote to change the state constitution. Senator Steve Sodders, a Democrat from State Center, says it appears to him the state constitution already requires warrants when authorities seek access to electronic records.”My experience is we’ve got to get search warrants for everything,” Sodders says. Sodders is also a Marshall County Deputy Sheriff.

“Let’s say we do a drug raid and we take the phone for evidence,” Sodders says. “I’ve got to have special language either within the current warrant or I have to stop and get another warrant to specifically saying we can go in there and capture that information and download the information, so you’ve got to have a warrant.”

Sodders suggests Rizer is chasing a privacy problem that may not be there. Privacy issues are being hotly debated nationally as Apple is refusing to abide by a warrant order the company to unlock the iPhone used by one of the terrorists who killed 14 people at a holiday party in California.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, says she supports fellow U-S Senator Chuck Grassley in his decision to not hold a hearing on any nominee to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court until after November’s election. “I agree with Senator Chuck Grassley on this. And do think that the American people will have a voice this fall when they go out to the ballot box,” Ernst says.

Grassley, who is the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee has been taking heat from Democrats who say the public spoke by electing the president in 2012 and he should be able to nominate someone. Ernst says she goes back to the most recent national election to determine what voters want. “In 2014 the voters had a voice and we now a Republican majority. And so we do have a Republican chair to the Judiciary Committee, we have a majority in the Senate and we believe the people spoke loud and clear in 2014 that they were not happy with what was going on,” Ernst says.

Ernst’s election in 2014 helped Republicans win control of the Senate. And her victory over former Congressman Bruce Braley was helped in part by a video of Braley telling a group of lawyers in Texas at a fundraiser that if he wasn’t elected then Grassley — “a farmer who never went to law school” — would become chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ernst was asked if the decision to not hold a hearing on a Supreme Court nominee could backfire on Republicans. She says they are fully aware of the consequences of elections.

“In November if people are unhappy with the way that we have been governing in the United States Senate that they would speak out,” Ernst says. “But from what we have heard, people are excited about the opportunity to voice their opinion through the ballot box, whether they are Democrats, whether they are Republicans. Ernst was asked if the Supreme Court issue has hurt the ability for Democrats and Republicans to work together on other issues.

“I don’t know, I think that there are a lot of people who are intent on getting our work done here in the United States Senate,” Ernst says. She says they have a lot of work to get done, including the spending bills. “I really haven’t seen any detraction from that type of work so far. So, I do hope that we can continue on with the business of the Senate just as we did last year,” Ernst says. Ernst made her comments during her weekly conference call with the media.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press