DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds today announced her appointment of Amy Zacharias, from Harrison County, as district court judge in the Fourth Judicial District.  Zacharias, who is from Persia, Iowa, received her undergraduate and law degrees from Creighton University. She currently serves as a district associate judge in the Fourth Judicial District.

The Fourth Judicial District includes Audubon, Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, and Shelby counties.

Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman reports today (Friday) was the deadline to request ballots be sent by mail for the April 2nd Special Election pertaining to the Atlantic Community School District Bond Measure.

And, while ballots by mail are no longer allowed to be sent to you, you may still choose to vote absentee at the courthouse in Atlantic during regular Auditor’s Office hours Monday through Friday, up through 11-a.m. on the day of the election.

The polls are open on April 2nd from Noon until 8-p.m. On the ballot is the following  PUBLIC MEASURE A:

“Shall the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Community School District, in the Counties of Cass, Audubon and Pottawattamie, State of Iowa, be authorized to contract indebtedness and issue general obligation bonds in an amount not exceeding $9,500,000 for the purpose of furnishing, equipping, constructing, improving, repairing and renovating school buildings and improving the sites therefor at the school district’s existing school buildings located in Atlantic, Iowa, including without limitation: (a) renovating, equipping and improving the football field/track/stadium, team building, concession and related buildings/site improvements, (b) renovating, equipping and improving the softball/baseball fields and related buildings/site improvements, (c) constructing, relocating, equipping and improving tennis courts and related buildings/site improvements, and (d) improving and realigning a roadway for smoother access to the elementary school and connection to the middle school?”

The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office has released a report on arrests and/or incidents recorded from March 15th through the 21st.

March 15^th – Matthew Ross, of Marne, was arrested for Violation of Conditions of Pre-Trial Release. His original charges were Sexual Abuse in the 2^nd Degree. Ross is being held on a $25,000 cash or surety bond. This case was investigated by the Stuart Police Department.

March 16^th – Mayugi Shabani, of Clive, was arrested for Operating While Intoxicated 1^st Offense following a traffic stop in Bagley. Shabani posted $1,000 cash bond and was released.

March 17^th – Anthony Fields, Jr., of Carroll,was arrested for Providing False Information. Fields Jr. pled guilty to the Guthrie County Magistrate the following morning and was released from jail.

March 19^th – Bruce Blanchard, of Casey, turned himself into the Guthrie County Jail to serve a jail sentence for Violation of Probation. Blanchard was released from custody on March 21^st.

March 21^st – Terri Caraher, of Guthrie Center, was arrested by the Iowa State Patrol following a traffic stop. Caraher was charged with Operating w/o an Ignition Interlock Device and Operating While Intoxicated 2^nd Offense. Caraher posted a $200.00 cash bond and was released from jail.

March 21^st – Christopher Warner, of Bayard, was arrested following a disturbance at his residence. Warner was charged with (2) counts of Child Endangerment W/O Injury, (1) count of Child Endangerment with Injury, and Domestic Abuse Assault 2^nd Offense. Warner appeared before the Guthrie County Magistrate and was held on a $5,000 cash or surety bond. Warner later posted a $5,000 surety bond and was released.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Steve King says he was told that victims of Hurricane Katrina only asked for help, unlike people in his home state of Iowa, who “take care of each other.” The Iowa congressman told a town hall meeting in Charter Oak he visited New Orleans multiple times after the deadly 2005 storm.

Referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, he said, “Here’s what FEMA tells me: We go to a place like New Orleans and everybody’s looking around saying, ‘Who’s gonna help me, who’s gonna help me?’ When FEMA responds to problems in Iowa, they’re just always gratified when they come and see how Iowans take care of each other.”

King has been under fire from his party for remarks about race. New Orleans is mostly black.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a bill into law that expands the availability of grant funding for seriously injured veterans to provide money so that family members may be with the veteran during a lengthy recovery.

The bill, which lawmakers passed unanimously, also allows the spouse of an active duty soldier to get expedited professional licensing in Iowa if the spouse was licensed in another state and the requirements were substantially the same.

At Reynolds’ invitation U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson attended the bill signing Friday at the 132nd Wing Iowa Air National Guard base in Des Moines.

She says allowing spouses who must frequently transfer from one state to another to get licensed in professions including financial planning, health care and real estate is an important priority for military families.