The State Board of Education has approved new fine arts standards for all students in the state’s public schools. The new standards for music, theater, dance and other forms of artistic expression in Iowa public schools mirror standards used in 22 other states. Iowa school districts, however, have the option of ignoring these recommendations.

The standards, which focus on promoting the creativity and presentation skills of students from preschool through 12th grade. Advocates say these fine arts standards will promote a lifelong “appreciation for the arts.”

While schools may opt out of these new fine arts standards, the state’s ACADEMIC academic standards are NOT optional.

(Radio Iowa)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Coins, photos and newspaper articles are among the contents of a century-old time capsule that has been removed from the cornerstone of the Woodbury County Courthouse. The Sioux City Journal reports that the time capsule was removed Tuesday in preparation for the landmark building’s centennial next year.

The iron box had to be drilled out of granite. The box, set in July 1916, contains foreign and U.S. coins, photos of then-President Woodrow Wilson and city street scenes and the results of an October 1875 local election. It also holds a souvenir from the 1916 Panama-California Exposition in San Diego and many articles from the Sioux City Journal in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The box will be opened Tuesday at the courthouse.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The National Indian Gaming Commission has again approved the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska’s plan to build a casino near Omaha, but after a decade of court hearings, the project’s future remains uncertain. The Commission ruling this week came nearly 10 years after it first approved the proposed casino in Carter Lake, Iowa.

Ponca Tribal Chairman Larry Wright Jr. celebrated the latest decision because building the casino would give the tribe significant new resources to help its members. The tribe wants to build a casino with 2,000 slot machines, 50 table games and a 150-room hotel.

Iowa Attorney General spokesman Geoff Greenwood says the office is still reviewing the decision and deciding whether to appeal. The Nebraska Attorney General’s office didn’t immediately respond to a message Wednesday.

The Cass County Library Association, represented by the representatives from the six city libraries in the county, met with the County Board of Supervisors this (Wednesday) morning, to present a report on services provided in FY2017 for each and all libraries.  The Association requested that the current county funding ($73,800) be increased by $2,000 for each library for FY2019.  Their request was taken under advisement.

The Board did however, approve contract payments for library services to Cass County residents residing outside of cities for FY2018.  [Anita-$13,100; Atlantic-$15,200; Cumberland-$10,900; Griswold-$12,600; Lewis-$10,900; Massena-$11,100].

The Supervisors’ next meeting is set for Thursday, Nov. 30th.

After weeks of being off-line, the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office today, released a lengthy on-line report, on recent arrests. A man from Crescent was arrested a little after 3-a.m. today (Wednesday), for Theft in the 2nd Degree (Motor vehicle related), after a Deputy conducted a traffic stop at 160th and Old Mormon Bridge Road. The registered owner, John Metzger, has had an expired license plate since 2009. The Deputy spoke with the driver, Beth Zarek, who wasn’t the registered owner. A passenger, 46-year old Jimmy Wayne Metzger, was arrested on a Felony warrant for a stolen trailer. He was taken into custody without incident.

Tuesday evening, Deputies arrested 31-year-old David Anderson and 28-year-old Nicole Anderson, both of Magnolia, both for Assault with Injury and Criminal Mischief 5th degree.  They were taken into custody after Deputies responded to 16733 Whippoorwill Road, where a woman was yelling for help. At the scene, people were reportedly beating the caller’s boyfriend with a bat.  Soon thereafter, it was reported a taser was involved. Officials say the front driver’s side window of a vehicle received around $200 damage during the incident.

Also on Tuesday, 48-year old Jodi Chesler, of Oakland, was arrested at the Pott. County Jail, for possessing contraband in the form of a small baggy of methamphetamine. And, 28-year old Tyler Miller, of Avoca, was arrested Tuesday during a traffic stop. An investigation determined Miller, who was a passenger in the vehicle, was wanted on a warrant for being a Fugitive from Justice.

Last Saturday, 45-year-old Danny Hulett, of West Des Moines, was arrested in Pott. County for Eluding, Reckless Driving and Dark Windows. His arrest was the result of an attempted traffic stop for a traffic violation. Hulett pulled over, but then took off. The pursuit went through two Iowa counties and eventually ended in Denison. On Nov. 6th, a 17-year-old female from Oakland was charged with Theft 3rd Degree after authorities investigated the theft of $813 in cash from the Riverside High School.

Other persons arrested last week: include 48-year Karen Wilburn, of Oakland, for a Violation of a No Contact Order in Oakland; 34-year old Brent Swisher, of Avoca, was arrested November 9th following a domestic disturbance in Avoca. Swisher was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault; 22-year old Tanner Bremser, of Denison, was arrested Nov. 11th for OWI/1st Offense. He was also given a citation for Careless Driving and a warning citation for Failure to Yield Half of Roadway; 27-year old Alexander Everage, of Council Bluffs, was arrested that same day, for Driving While Revoked and Possession of a Controlled substance. Authorities say a clear plastic baggie with a green leafy substance weighing 5.5 grams was seized during the stop.; 26-year old Nichole Goffney, of Macedonia, was arrested November 11th for OWI/1st offense, following a traffic stop for Operating While Intoxicated 1st Offense.

Police in Glenwood report two people were arrested Tuesday on Mills County warrants for Lottery Forgery.  36-year-old Jennifer Mills and 18-year-old Damion Gray, both of Glenwood, were being held in the Mills County Jail on $5,000 cash or surety bonds, each.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — Workers at the Des Moines County Courthouse are sniffing around the 77-year-old building and using blueprints to find the source of a mystery smell. The Hawk Eye reports the sewer-like stench has been wafting around the basement and parts of the third floor, including the jury deliberation room. The unpleasant smell has been noticeable over the past few weeks, though workers say it happens every fall.

Courthouse employees tracked past odors to suspect pipes and busted holes in the building’s walls to seal cracks. Maintenance workers suspect that a pipe in the jury room might be creating the smell. They plan to open the wall after jury trials end this week.

County maintenance supervisor Rodney Bliesener says he’s confident workers will identify the source.

Two of the state’s large employers are being recognized for having registered apprenticeship programs that meet federal guidelines. Apprentices in programs at Tyson Foods and Wells Fargo start earning a paycheck while getting on-the-job experience along with classroom training. Lonny Jepsen, director of human resources for Tyson Foods, says his company’s program partnered with community colleges in Fort Dodge, Des Moines, Waterloo and Muscatine to help train their apprentices. “Within Tyson Foods pork operation, we realized that we have a very critical need for apprentices in the maintenance departments of our operations,” Jepsen says. “We’re not the only company with this need. As with many companies in our industry and other industries, we feel that shortage when filling critical roles that allow our plants to perform optimally.”

Lance LaVergne, a senior V-P at Wells Fargo, says his company aims to expand its apprenticeship program to veterans. “If you talk to any of our team members who work with veterans at Wells Fargo or hiring managers who have brought them into the organization, they will tell you that our veterans are critical and strategic thinkers,” LaVergne says. “They are team players. They are diligent. They are hard-working. They are mission-driven which means that they focus on a task until it’s completed,” LaVergne says.

LaVergne and Jepsen were in the governor’s office yesterday (Tuesday) to sign paperwork showing their companies’ apprenticeship programs meet U.S. Labor Department standards. There are 846 OTHER registered apprenticeship programs in the state of Iowa. And, by the way, this is National Apprenticeship Week.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowans are being encouraged to “wear purple with a purpose” tomorrow (Thursday) in order to raise awareness about what’s considered the world’s toughest form of cancer. Pancreatic cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer-death in Iowa and in the U-S. Melinda Thach, a volunteer for the Des Moines Affiliate of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, says she strives to teach more people about the disease and how to spot it. “People need to be aware of their bodies and pay attention to the symptoms that are sometimes really vague,” Thach says. “It can be a tummy ache in the front, it can be a back ache, it can be changes in stool, it can be things that can be attributed to lots of other things, but if somebody is having all of those together, please call their doctor.”

Other symptoms may include: yellowing skin, weight loss, appetite loss, and a feeling of being full after only eating a little food. Pancreatic cancer is typically seen as a death sentence as 70-percent of those who are diagnosed die within a year. Still, Thach says improved awareness may be helping to improve the odds. “The five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer rose this year to 9%,” Thach says. “That is amazing that it is rising after being steady for a long, long time, but it’s still the only major cancer in the single digits and we need to do something to improve that.”

The five-year survival rate has increased by one-percentage point in each of the last three years. Thach, who lives in Ames, got involved as a volunteer after losing her mother to pancreatic cancer 13 days after she was diagnosed. Thursday is World Pancreatic Cancer Day and purple is the designated color for awareness of the disease. “We have people all across Iowa who are doing things to raise awareness and wearing purple is just one of them,” Thach says. “We have a girl at the Carlisle Middle School who lost her father to pancreatic cancer. She’s organizing a Wear Purple Day and is having a photo booth with purple props so people can have some fun with it, too.”

An estimated 580 Iowans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year and 430 of them will die from it.
https://www.pancan.org/

(Radio Iowa)