Officials with the Cass County Health System have announced the first baby born in the New Year, belongs to a couple identified as “Keisha” & “Rick.” The little girl and her proud parents of “Lily Lynn” were celebrated by the CCMH OB Department,  were celebrated by going home with a stash of diapers and Lily’s very own 2015 baby blanket.

Police in Council Bluffs are looking for two men who robbed a credit union near the Mall of the Bluffs Thursday morning. Officials say just before 10-a.m., two black males entered the SAC Federal Credit Union at 1712 Madison Avenue, wearing grey hooded sweatshirts, orange safety vests and dark colored face masks. One of the men was wearing a dark colored stocking cap. He was described as being 5-feet 9-inches tall and of average build. The other man wore a white colored hard hat. He was said to be about 6-feet two-inches tall, and of average build.

Surveillance photo of the suspects.

The suspect in the dark colored stocking cap pointed a black semi-automatic handgun at one of the clerks and demanded money. The man in the white hard hat jumped over the counter and began removing money from one of the drawers. After taking an undetermined amount of money, both men fled the bank through the front doors and left the area in a black, newer model four door car.

The suspect’s getaway vehicle.

The car left the bank in an unknown direction. No one was injured during the commission of the robbery.

The Council Bluffs Police Department is working in cooperation with the FBI to solve this crime. Anyone with information on the robbery is urged to contact the Council Bluffs Police Department at 328-STOP, or the FBI at 402 493-8688. You can remain anonymous and any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects could be eligible for a cash reward.

A Pottawattamie County man who was found guilty of first-degree murder last November in connection with the death of an Atlantic woman, has filed a motion for a new trial. According to online court records, the attorney for 63-year old Robert A. Reynolds, of Oakland, filed the motion for a new trial on Dec. 31st. Reynolds’ attorneys cited in their motion the grounds for a new trial would include the trial not being in Avoca, a jailhouse phone call, and other issues discussed in the judges’ chambers.

Last Friday (Jan. 2nd), 4th District Court Judge Greg Steensland set Thursday, Jan. 15th, as the date for a hearing on the matter and an arrest of judgement. Reynolds, who was found guilty of shooting to death 64-year old Patricia Kinkade-Dorsey at Reynolds’ home during the early morning hours of April 8th 2013, was to have been sentenced Jan. 21st.

A bank in Council Bluffs was robbed late this (Thursday) morning, near the Mall of the Bluffs. Omaha television station WOWT reports just before 10-a.m., two men conducted an armed robbery at the SAC Federal Credit Union on Madison Avenue.

Additional details are currently not available.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will attend a conservative political event in Iowa this month. Organizers of the Iowa Freedom Summit announced Thursday that Walker will participate. The Jan. 24 event in Des Moines is being sponsored by Citizens United and Republican Congressman Steve King of Iowa. Walker, a Republican recently re-elected to a second term, is weighing a 2016 presidential bid. Spokesman Tom Evenson said in a statement that Walker was looking forward to “sharing the story of Wisconsin’s successful reforms.”

Walker was last in Iowa in September for an economic conference.  Other confirmed guests for the summit include New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Three key state policymakers have varying opinions about whether to change the Iowa law that decriminalized possession of cannabis oil as treatment for chronic epilepsy. The parents of children who suffer from multiple seizures say it’s impossible to get the marijuana derivative and they’re asking lawmakers to allow the production and sale of cannabis oil in Iowa. House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, a Republican from Hiawatha, does not anticipate legislators will take that kind of action to expand last year’s bill.

“The objective of that bill was not to take parents and families that are in this situation and somehow they end up in prison for trying to take care of their family,” Paulsen says. “…That’s what it was intended to, to decriminalize possession.” Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs says the pleas of those parents will get a hearing. “It’s decriminalized, but impossible for people to access the non-intoxicating oil,” Gronstal says, “I don’t think that does much in terms of solving the problem, so if we could find a way to do some tweaks to this legislation, I’m certainly open to that.” And Governor Terry Branstad isn’t necessarily closing the door either, but he’s not embracing changes in the law.

“And I think we also need to be concerned about unintended consequences,” Branstad says. “That’s what both the medical community and law enforcement last year and I think that’s why the legislature came down where it did.” Branstad says Iowa policymakers should review similar laws that were passed last year in Utah and Alabama, plus he suggests Iowans soon may be able to legally obtain cannabis oil in Illinois.

The State of Illinois has legalized the production, sale and use of marijuana for medical purposes, but while that law took effect more than a year ago, Illinois has yet to award dispensing licenses and none of the more than six-hundred patients in Illinois who have permission to get the drug have gotten it. The parents of children with chronic epilepsy in Iowa say no other state where cannabis oil is currently sold will allow out-of-staters to buy it, plus they’d be in danger of arrest as they transport it back to Iowa through states where it is illegal.

Branstad, Gronstal and Paulsen made their comments during The Associated Press Legislative Forum yesterday (Wednesday) at the statehouse.

(Radio Iowa)

Residents of Council Bluffs have a chance to participate in a Citizen’s Police Academy, this Spring. The academy is designed to give people who live or own a business in Council Bluffs the opportunity to learn what police work is like in their community. The classes cover everything from community-oriented policing to special weapons and tactics teams and are taught by Council Bluffs police officers. The first class was held in the spring of 1992 and officials say it was a huge success.

Classes will meet Thursday night’s from 6:30-to 9-p.m., for 12 weeks, and will be held at the Southwest Iowa Law Enforcement Training Facility. Last year, participants learning about their police department, first hand. Most of the classes are designed to be hands on experiences for the participants. Many people learn about police work through television and going through an experience such as the citizen police academy can be quite rewarding. Classes may be rearranged due to staffing, scheduling, or other circumstances.

Registrations for the Spring 2015 CPA are being taken now. Register for the CPA by filling out the form available on the Council Bluffs P-D’s Facebook page, and send it to: Officer Matt Brinkman, 227 South 6th St., Council Bluffs, IA 51501. If you have any questions please feel free to call Officer Brinkman at (712) 329-1825.

Officials with the Glenwood Police Department report the arrest this (Thursday) morning, of a Nebraska woman on drug-related charges. 31-year old Sharee Rhoades,  of Omaha, was arrested on a Pottawattamie County warrant for Failure to appear for unlawful possession of prescription drugs. SHe was also arrested for Fraudulent Practices in the 3rd Degree. Her total bond on both charges amounts to $12,000.

The Board of Supervisors in Adair County will continue their series of budget discussions Friday morning, in Greenfield. During the 9-a.m. meeting, the Board will hear FY 2016 funding requests from: The Library, MATURA, the County Engineer, and the Adair County Fair Board. They’ll also hear from representatives with Speer Financial, with regard to the TIF bond discussion, and make an appointment to the Southern Iowa Area Crime Commission (SIACC).

The Walnut City Council will hold their regular meeting this evening, beginning at 5 o’clock. On their agenda, is: A report on the Christmas Walk and Tourism; A request for changes to the City Park, including naming the baseball field  “The Harry Niemann Field”, the replacement of the existing green sign with a brick “Veterans Memorial Park” sign; a review of the fire and ambulance department budgets, and the consideration of a resolution to extend for two additional years, an agreement for fire protection between the City of Walnut, Layton Township, Lincoln Township and the Monroe Township.

The Walnut City Council will also discuss and possible act on the purchase of the Wheatley property, and hold budget discussions as well as handling various other, administrative matters.