Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds welcomed a crowd of about 40 people to a Town Hall meeting in Harlan, Wednesday morning. When Branstad took questions from the audience, Shelby County Supervisor Board Chair Steve Kenkel asked about the secondary roads funding in the county and how the state was going to help. Kenkel told Branstad Shelby County currently does not have any bond debt, due to bonding for roads but he said if funding wasn’t made available in the near future, that will likely change. Branstad noted Iowa Department of Transportation Director Paul Trombino has laid out plans in several forms to help with the road funding for counties.

” “I asked him (Trombino) then, okay, we know we have a challenge, the gas tax is very unpopular and brings in less money because people are going to more fuel efficient cars. So we need to come up with a new way to provide financing. He put together a whole series of options. And, one of those was to replace the gas tax or a portion of it with an excise tax on gasoline, like a sales tax does. So that would go up when the price of gas goes up. Some of the other ideas would be to give a local option tax and raising the fees for excessive weight loads.”

The Governor said the legislature had taken a look at the options from Trombino but nothing was finalized. He stressed they would continue to fight for those options and work with legislation to get a common ground. After the meeting, Governor Branstad said he feels confident about his chance in November’s General Election. “I feel really good about this. First of all I think we made great progress in getting the state financial house in order. We made great progress in our jobs goals and I think we have the state going in the right direction. I think people see that.”

Branstad was asked about the lack of youth in Shelby County and Iowa as a whole, and how to get them back. “Well the key is jobs and I think as we are able to grow the economy and have more job opportunities that will be the key to attracting people back to Iowa as well as keeping young people here when they finish their education. That is the reason we put such a big focus on STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. One of the areas of growth in rural Iowa has been renewable fuels and all these other products made from corn and soil beans as well as revitalizing the cattle industry.”

On the topic of student loan debt, Branstad said the three major universities in Iowa will not see an increase in tuition for Iowa students for the second consecutive year. He also mentioned students need to be frugal. “The other thing is to encourage students to be frugal and don’t borrow every dime you can borrow. There are a lot of opportunities to borrow but you have to pay it back with interest. I didn’t get all my loans paid back until after I was Governor. But I never missed a payment and it was a good investment but I only borrowed what I had too. So that’s my advice to students; be careful, don’t live high off the hog. You know be frugal and don’t incur any debt you don’t have to.”

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

Two people were taken into custody early this (Thursday) morning, near Grant, following a pursuit and a brief foot chase. Details are sketchy but according to dispatch reports, the suspects allegedly stole a vehicle, which nearly ran over Cass County Deputy Ryan Johnson, as he was deploying stop sticks in an attempt to end the chase. The vehicle ended up in a field off of Spruce Road near Grant, and the suspects taken into custody at around 2-a.m.

Agencies involved in the pursuit and apprehension of the suspects include: the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, Red Oak Police and K-9 units from the Cass County Sheriff’s and Red Oak Police Departments.

More information will be posted when it becomes available.

Red Oak Police report the arrest Wednesday evening of a man wanted on a local warrant. 33-year old Luke Daniel Rinehart, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 6:20-p.m. on an active Red Oak warrant for Breach of Peace. Rinehart was brought to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and held on $300 cash bond.

Police in Atlantic said Wednesday that a Pottawattamie County man was arrested Tuesday on a charge of Public Intoxication. 31-year old Damian Morgan, of Council Bluffs, was arrested and booked into the Cass County Jail.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The nation’s wheat crop is smaller than earlier was predicted due to drought. But corn and soybean crop expectations have changed little in the latest report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The monthly update released Wednesday shows farmers producing a record 13.9 billion bushels of corn and 3.6 billion bushels of soybeans.

SOLDIER, Iowa (AP) – A western Iowa town is under a boil advisory after a hole in a well pipe drained the city’s water tower. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said yesterday that the hole in the pipe was repaired, and the city of Soldier’s system was running once again. But the loss of water pressure created the potential for bacteria to enter the water system.

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) – A state agency has begun an investigation into the death of an Illinois man at a Muscatine construction business. The Muscatine Journal reports 52-year-old David Bewley of Colona, Illinois died in an accident Monday at Heuer Construction. The Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Herky has returned to his spot on the Pentacrest at the University of Iowa. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports the fiberglass Reflections of U Herky is back on its concrete base on campus. Last month, a vandal broke off the statue beneath the university mascot’s knees. Cedar Rapids artist Kim O’Meara repaired the shattered legs, and the statue was bolted back into place Monday.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says it would like the public to be aware of a scam call that has been reported to authorities. Officials say during the scam, a caller will say your debit card has been locked and to push “1” to activate it.

The sheriff’s office says you should hang up on any such calls, and contact your financial institution to verify everything is ok.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A man who was arrested after a police standoff in Council Bluffs faces additional charges. The Daily Nonpareil in Council Bluffs reports that 29-year-old Kevin Bequette is now charged with second-degree theft and second-degree criminal mischief.

Police say the Omaha Area Fugitive Task Force located Bequette at a Council Bluffs home on June 2 and attempted to arrest him on a warrant for a parole violation. A standoff ensued in a detached garage, in which police say Bequette threatened to tamper with a natural gas line. Bequette allegedly started a small fire in the garage, and police say he tried to compromise the gas line.

After the standoff, police say they found two stolen Honda vehicles, which in part led to the additional charges.

Authorities in Pottawattamie County say a Cass County man was injured during a rollover accident Tuesday afternoon. The Pott. County Sheriff’s office reports 19-year-old Joshua Turack, of Griswold, was traveling west on Dogwood Road at around 12:50-p.m., when his 2003 Saturn Ion went out of control on the gravel, and rolled into a ditch before coming to rest on its top. The accident took place just west of the intersection of 550th Street and Dogwood Road.

Turack suffered minor injuries during the mishap, but he refused treatment at the scene.

(12-pm News)

The Iowa Pork Industry Center and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach are teaming up to provide training for pork producers and others who need certification in the Pork Quality Assurance Plus version 2.0 (PQA Plus v2.0) and/or Transport Quality Assurance program. The certification sessions have been set for Thursday June 19th, 2014 at the Cass County Extension office in Atlantic Iowa.

Updated in June 2013, the revised in PQA Plus® v2.0 provides a framework for significant, relevant food safety standards and improved animal well-being. Pork producers pride themselves on the commitment to continuous improvement and the PQA Plus is regularly revised to increase its effectiveness, incorporate new research information, and ensure the program’s validity.

ISU Extension Swine Specialist Matt Swantek will be offering the TQA training from 12:30 – 3:00 p.m. and the PQA Plus® v2.0 training from 3:15 – 6:00 p.m. Training sessions are limited to 30 persons, but requires at least 5 participants are needed to hold the training sessions.

All training events are sponsored by the Iowa Pork Producers Association and are free for all Iowa pork Producers. Pre-registration is requested to lclemenson@iowapork.org or (800) 372-7675.

There is an on-line re-certification option for those who have current PQA Plus® certification. Contact Matt Swantek (mswantek@iastate.edu) or any other PQA Plus® v2.0 certified Adviser for additional information and setting up the ability to test on-line. New certification or producers with expired certification will require a face-to-face training.”

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The embattled assistant director of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy has been fired, weeks before he was set to retire following a 48-year career in law enforcement. Academy director Arlen Ciechanowski told The Associated Press that he has dismissed assistant director Michael Quinn. He said he couldn’t elaborate because it’s a confidential personnel issue.

The firing is puzzling because Quinn announced in April that he would retire June 30 following months of criticism for making inappropriate sexual and threatening remarks to female cadets and colleagues. Ciechanowski had let Quinn stay in his job but gave him a final warning after a 2012 investigation found that he violated anti-discrimination and violence-free workplaces policies.

Democrats and advocates for victims had repeatedly criticized Gov. Terry Branstad’s administration for keeping Quinn at the academy.