Police in Council Bluffs located a missing juvenile this (Thursday) morning. Officials say at around 9:45-a.m., an 11-year-old male decided to leave Edison School without permission. Upon arriving in the area, several officers began searching for the child who was on foot. The 911 Center was successful in utilizing cell phone technology to locate the child, which indicated the child was in the area of Big Lake Park off N. 16th Street and was moving in a northeast direction.

Officers on foot and in vehicles concentrated their efforts in this area. Additional cell phone information had the child about a half mile north of city limits east of Monument Road. Officers converged on the area and observed the child running into a heavily wooded area on a ridge where he was located and apprehended without incident.

The child was uninjured and then transported to his residence where he lives with his grandmother. Pottawattamie County Deputies assisted Council Bluffs Police Officers in the two-hour search.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The trial of a 20-year-old Denison man accused of slaying two elderly people and trying to burn their bodies has been moved to Sioux City. A judge on Wednesday announced that the trial of Jayden Chapman will take place April 28 in Woodbury County District Court. He is charged with first-degree murder and second-degree arson in the murders of 80-year-old Marvin Huesling and 81-year-old Alice Huisenga.

Another man, 26-year-old Michael Schenk, was sentenced earlier this month to two consecutive life terms in prison in connection with the murders. The Sioux City Journal reports that a change of venue was ordered prior to Schenk’s trial. Authorities say Schenk and Chapman shot the pair at a trailer home in Deloit in March 2014 and then set it on fire.

The Iowa House has unanimously passed a bill that would double the size of the “buffer zone” that can be enforced between protesters and mourners at an Iowa soldier’s funeral. Representative Zach Nunn, a Republican from Bondurant, says there should be a “reasonable expectation of privacy” at the funeral of a soldier. “This bill addresses specifically the respect and the sanctity of a passing of a human life,” Nunn says.

The thousand-foot buffer zone around the site of a funeral, a memorial service, a burial or a funeral procession would be in force an hour before the ceremony, during the ceremony and an hour after it’s over. The bill is designed to respond to funeral protests organized by the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas. Representative Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton who is the bill’s sponsor, calls the church members “verbal domestic terrorists.”

“You do not have a constitutional right to infringe on the constitutional rights of the families who are laying their fallen loved ones to rest,” Kaufmann says. “…I was contacted by a widow in Ohio who was moved to tears on the phone because she herself was subjected to the actions of this despicable group of people at her husband’s funeral and she’s just happy that Iowa is extending that buffer zone to 1000 feet.”

Current Iowa law, passed in 2006, forbids protestors from being within 500 feet of a military funeral. The Phelps family from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, has staged dozens of anti-gay protests at military funerals and a handful of church members protested in Des Moines in January to show their opposition to this bill. A few months ago a member of the Phelps family told The Cedar Rapids Gazette “whiny, crybaby legislators” in Iowa were pushing this bill. Similar legislation has passed in other states and been upheld in the courts.

(Radio Iowa)

Domestic abuse victims trying to keep their “ex” from finding out where they’ve moved would get some help from the “Safe at Home Act” that cleared the Iowa House today (Thursday). “This bill will be a step forward in our work to assist the victims of domestic and sexual violence.” That’s Representative Dean Fisher, a Republican from Garwin who is the bill’s chief sponsor.

The bill sets up a process so victims of domestic abuse as well as victims of sexual assault, human trafficking and stalking can get a new legal address, so they don’t have to list their home address when applying for a job, signing their kids up for school, registering to vote or taking some other action that requires disclosure of a home address — which might be discovered online.

Representative Fisher says the bill was inspired by the story of a young mother who was the victim of domestic abuse. “She was suffering the threats from her ex-husband over a bitter custody battle,” Fisher said. “She ultimately left Iowa for a state that already had a ‘Safe at Home’ problem. It bothered me greatly that (she) did not feel safe at home here in Iowa and felt the need to move to another state to achieve that safety.”

Secretary of State Paul Pate and his staff would administer the program and provide the victims with a Post Office Box in Des Moines as their new legal address. Mail sent to that P.O. Box would be forwarded back to the victim wherever they may live in Iowa. “The Secretary of State’s office is the only entity that will have the physical address of the participant unless there are extenuating circumstances that require it,” Fisher says.

The bill is fashioned after similar laws in 33 other states. If the bill becomes law in Iowa, the names and addresses of Iowans who participate in the “Safe at Home” program would not be listed on voter registration records. Secretary of State Paul Pate, a backer of the bill, says victims of these types of crimes too often become reclusive and this program to shield their home addresses “is a tool that can help rebuild lives.” The bill passed the House on a 100-to-zero vote and is now eligible for consideration in the Senate.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An effort to expand access to medical marijuana in Iowa is moving forward in the Democratic-majority Iowa Senate, though it is unlikely the bill will find favor in the Republican-controlled House.

The Senate Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday approved a bill that would make medical marijuana available to people with a number of chronic diseases, including cancer, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy. Those approved by a doctor could then purchase marijuana products produced in Iowa at state-run dispensaries.

Last year, the Legislature approved a law that allows some residents with epilepsy to use oil with an ingredient derived from marijuana for treatment. But the law did not establish an in-state program for the production and distribution of the oil. Critics say that as a result, the law is effectively useless.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The latest U.S. Census estimates show the Des Moines metro area is growing quickly while most Iowa counties have declining populations. According to data released Thursday, the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area population reached an estimated 611,549, up 7.4 percent from the 2010 U.S. Census. The majority of Iowa counties, however, saw declines, as only 31 of 99 experienced an uptick.

The data show Dallas County had a 17 percent increase, the largest among Iowa counties. The biggest decline was in Fremont County, where population dropped 5.6 percent. All of Iowa’s nine metro areas saw growth. The Iowa City metro led the pack, up 7.7 percent since 2010. Gary Krob, coordinator of the State Data Center, says having growth across Iowa rather than concentrated in one area is promising.

Spring is the time to plan and plant your gardens. With that in mind, the Cass County Master Gardeners group reminds you that they are again offering grant money to be used in the 2015 growing season, to encourage gardening to grow food and/or beautify local communities. The deadline to apply for the funds is next Monday, March 30th.

The grant monies may be used for gardening education purposes in addition to growing food and beautification purposes. The David Williams Master Gardener Grants are offered to honor the many years of service Master Gardener David Williams provided as a long-time volunteer, with the Master Gardener program and other community organizations, including a term as Cass County Master Gardener president in 2012.

Any Cass County not-for-profit group or individual may apply. Schools, churches, libraries, 4-H clubs, Scouts, and individuals working to improving their communities can use the money to begin or improve gardens or landscaping, or to provide education for their members or the public. To ensure the money is helping a wide variety of community organizations, groups who were funded by 2014 grants will not be eligible to apply in 2015. Each grant has a maximum value of $300. The application must also include plans for teamwork and sustainability. Consideration for the environment is also an important selection factor.

Once again, applications must be received by Monday, March 30th for consideration. They may be submitted by mail or email. Grant recipients will be informed of their selection by the end of April. For more information, or with questions, call the Cass County Extension office at 712-243-1132, email keolson@iastate.edu, or stop by the Extension Office at 805 W. 10th St in Atlantic. You may also contact committee members Judy Kennedy, Marla Anstey or Linda Edelman. Application forms can be picked up at the Extension Office, or printed from the Cass County Extension website www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.

CLARINDA, Iowa (AP) – Officials at the Clarinda Mental Health Institute (MHI) have begun to transfer mentally ill senior citizens from the institution to private nursing homes. The Des Moines Register reports that a spokeswoman for the state facility confirmed Wednesday that only about a dozen patients, who are considered to be some of the toughest cases the institution handles, will be affected. The institute itself is scheduled to close July 1st.

The Department of Human Services says that it is looking for safe placements for the senior citizens. Patient advocates say most of the senior citizens in the program were placed in the institution because private facilities found them too difficult to handle. Department spokeswoman Amy McCoy said that some of the transfers have taken place, but declined to say how many of the residents have been moved.

The Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund recently donated $2500 to the Griswold Little League to assist them with expanding their concession stand/restrooms.

Shown: Jody Rossell, Nathan Brownlee and Melanie Petty (photo courtesy Melanie Petty)

The Fund was founded when the family tragically lost Trevor in an apartment fire in 2009. Since then, the Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund has given out over $100,000.00 in donations back to the communities Trevor was a part of.

Officials say they are blessed with all the support they receive each year at the annual TFred Memorial Golf Tournament. This year the tournament will be held on Saturday, August 8th.

The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency says the Fire Danger Index will remain in the “Moderate” category, through next Monday. Officials say if you have a large burn, please notify your Fire Chief, prior to ignition. If you call the Emergency Mgmt. Agency at 712-755-2124 for assistance, if needed.

The EMA says you should “Always have a plan, Never leave a burning pile unattended , be aware of the direction and speed of the wind, and avoid smoking out neighbors or those who may have respiratory problems.”

Emergency Manager Bob Seivert says they expect the fire danger conditions to worsen next week.