CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say five more people from the Dubuque area have pleaded guilty to participation in a phone call scam. The five entered the pleas over the past week in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids to one count of wire fraud. Prosecutors said in a news release Tuesday that the five are 34-year-old Paul Chase, 20-year-old Morgan Cornell, 23-year-old Payton McCarville, 32-year-old Tiffany Reynolds and 21-year-old Joshua Willis. Sentencing dates have not been set yet.

Prosecutors say the scheme consisted of phone calls to elderly people across the country, telling victims that relatives were jailed and that money should be wired to free them. All five admitted picking up the wire transfers. Earlier this year five other people pleaded guilty in Cedar Rapids to similar or related charges.

Members of the Griswold School Board, Monday evening, acted on personnel changes. Superintendent Dave Henrichs said there was one new hire. Steve Vance was hired as Assistant High School Wrestling Coach. They accepted the resignation of Ashley Cibic as Elementary School Para-Professional, and Troy Quick as Midle School/High School PE Teacher and Coach. The changes are effective at the end of the current school year.

The Griswold School Board also received updates from KPE and Estes, the two firms helping with the District’s building projects. The timeline for the projects include: a pre-bid meeting 3:30-p.m. on Dec. 5th; Bid openings on Dec. 21st at 2-p.m., and consideration of the approval of bids contracts by the Board on Jan.15th. Construction would begin as soon as the weather allows. And, the Griswold Board had asked for bids on either a Suburban and/or a van. They received two bids back on the potential purchase Suburban, but none on the van. Since the District may need an additional vehicle to transported Special Education Students, and since Suburbans cost more than a van, the Board instructed Henrichs to approach other dealerships and send out another request for bids, especially with regard to vans. With the bidding process, Henrichs said they gave the dealers the option of trade-in allowance for the van the District is trying to sell, but they did not received any outright bids to buy it. That process will also start anew.

Last Summer, the District’s sign was damaged during a storm. The District has since received an insurance payment amounting to $3,200 for a replacement. Henrichs said the Board wants to hear from some sign manufacturers during their next meeting, to learn more about what’s available, what the restrictions are, and related issues.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Student veterans from Nebraska and Iowa have joined together in a nine-day march to raise awareness of veteran suicide ahead of a football game between the two universities. The Omaha World-Herald reports that the student veteran organizations at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and University of Iowa organized the 347-mile march from Iowa City, Iowa to Lincoln, Nebraska. The march started Wednesday and will conclude Thursday, just before Friday’s football game. They passed through Atlantic, Monday.

The groups hope to bring attention to the problem of veteran suicide. Studies show that about 20 veterans die by suicide every day. This is the second year the groups have marched. Veterans march about 20 miles every morning and afternoon while carrying 20 pound (more than 9 kilogram) backpacks with their personal belongings.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports that at around 8:50-p.m., Monday, the Clarinda Academy informed authorities that two male students had absconded from campus. Both students were found together at approximately 7:00 a.m. today (Tuesday), around Schenck Road and the U.S. Highway 71 and State Highway 2 East bypass.

The students were taken into custody by the Clarinda Police Department with assistance from personnel at the Clarinda Co-Op and a bus driver from the Clarinda Community School District. The two students have been returned to authorities at the Clarinda Academy. One student is a 15-year-old African-American male from Omaha, Nebraska, the second student is a 16-year-old Hispanic White Male from San Diego, California.

The Clarinda Academy is a residential foster care facility that provides residential treatment to at-risk and delinquent male and female youth from several states.