(DES MOINES) – Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered all state flags in Iowa to be lowered to half-staff effective immediately until sunset on Saturday, April 21, 2018, in honor and remembrance of former First Lady Barbara Bush. The governor’s order is issued in conjunction with President Donald Trump’s proclamation to lower all United States flags to half-staff for the same length of time. Flags will be at half-staff on the State Capitol Building and on flag displays in the Capitol Complex. Flags will also be half-staff on all public buildings, grounds and facilities throughout the state. Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect.

To read Gov. Reynolds’ statement on the passing of Barbara Bush, click here: https://governor.iowa.gov/2018/04/gov-reynolds-issues-statement-on-the-passing-of-barbara-bush?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

The Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) is coordinating several Ag-Arts camps in four southwest Iowa counties over this summer. The Ag-Arts camps use an interdisciplinary approach of science and art, so that the participants can engage in a wide-range of fun and educational opportunities on farms. The Ag-Arts programs promote the rural area and supports our local farmers.

That’s Tina Bakehouse from the Golden Hills RC&D. The Ag-Arts camps are available to any age and ability.

They are limited to 25 participants per camp and are filling quickly. The cost of the camp is $15 per person, which includes lunch. Reservations are due May 15^th, and they can be made online at www.goldenhillsrcd.org, or you can mail a check to Golden Hills RC&D, 712 S HWY St. PO Box 189, Oakland, IA 51560, and mention “Ag Arts” in the memo. A full list of Ag-Arts camps can be found HERE

To register, if you have any questions, or would like to sponsor one of these events, please contact Tina Bakehouse by email:  tina@goldenhillsrcd.org, visit www.goldenhilllsrcd.org,  or call 712-482-3029.

Lawmakers of BOTH parties are expressing concerns about staffing levels in state public safety agencies, but Republicans on a House committee have approved what they’re calling “status quo” funding for Iowa’s justice system which covers the highway patrol, prisons and the state crime lab. Representative Gary Worthan, a Republican from Storm Lake, says there’s no extra money to hire more troopers or crime scene investigators. “Not to try and gloss it over or anything, this is kind of holding our own in the Department of Public Safety,” Worthan says. “We’re not going to be able to increase numbers.”

In most cases, the agencies would receive about as much money as was planned for the current year, before a round of budget cuts last month. Representative Chris Hall, a Democrat from Sioux City, says the state prisons, in particular, are understaffed. “It’s endangering some of our state workers,” Hall says. “It’s endangering our taxpayers and families across the state.”

The House G-O-P’s state budget plan is drafted around a tax cut of 100-million dollars. Republicans in the Senate have proposed significantly deeper tax cuts.

(Radio Iowa, w/Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Joyce Russell)

It’s been 11 days since a young man with autism from northeast Iowa vanished without a trace. Sixteen-year-old Jake Wilson was last seen leaving his home in La Porte City on foot the night of April 7th. Kris Steinmetz, spokeswoman for the Autism Society of Iowa, notes how family members said Jake wanted to visit a nearby stream. “Those with autism are often drawn to bodies of water, moving water, that is common,” Steinmetz says. “The other side of that is that they don’t always have a good sense of safety or safety skills or how to keep themselves safe which makes it very difficult for a family who has a family member like that.”

Hundreds of volunteers joined in the initial searches for Jake, a search which is now being handled by a scaled-back group of law officers in Black Hawk County. Steinmetz says people with autism can be very focused and will wander from home. “They will really have an idea or a place they want to be or something they want to do and will do whatever it takes to get there,” she says. “My heart just breaks for this family because I understand this is something he’s done before.” Steinmetz says there is another reason why he may have wandered away. “Even though he’s a teenager, his ability to think and reason is more of a nine-year-old,” she says. “They have already looked into this. Maybe he’s hiding because he’s scared. Maybe he’s hiding because he thinks he might get into trouble for not being home.”

Anyone with information on Wilson’s whereabouts is asked to call the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Department at 319-291-2515.

(Radio Iowa)

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Court records say a Dubuque man scheduled for a murder trial in August has made a plea deal with prosecutors The Telegraph Herald reports that a hearing is scheduled Friday for 36-year-old Michael Piantieri, who’s pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the Dec. 2 slaying of 42-year-old Beverly Puccio at her home.

The agreement says Piantieri will plead guilty to second-degree murder and face a mandatory sentence of 50 years in prison. The court records say surveillance video showed Puccio and Piantieri at a bar Dec. 2 and that they left about 8 p.m. in a cab that took them to her home. The records say he denied going into Puccio’s home.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports 22-year old Lucas Allen Sanders, of Papillion, NE., turned himself-in to the Sheriff’s Office, Tuesday morning. Sanders was wanted on a warrant for Violation of Probation. He was brought to the jail and turned over to Corrections Staff without incident. A Pott. County Deputy served a warrant Tuesday afternoon, on an inmate at the jail. 51-year old Jeffrey Mantzaris, of Omaha, was read the warrant for being a Fugitive from Justice. The warrant had been issued by the Omaha Police Department. Mantzaris was returned to the custody of Corrections Staff.

And, an Omaha woman was arrested at the Pott. County Jail Tuesday afternoon, on a warrant for Theft in the 5th Degree. 29-year old Jessica Leigh Hauger was taken into custody and booked into the Pott. County Jail.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is defending his decision not to disclose his role in a new corporation that recently spent around $2 million to open a storage rental business and purchase a strip mall. Pate said in a statement Tuesday evening that his disclosure form is accurate because he reported receiving rental income from unspecified commercial and residential properties. He says he’s spoken with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board about the matter.

The Associated Press reported earlier Tuesday that Pate formed the PRG Group LLC days before the 2016 presidential election. Pate didn’t list the corporation on an annual ethics filing he submitted last week that asked him to name outside businesses in which he was involved. In a February filing, he called himself the “managing partner” of the corporation.