DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Another Democrat is joining the race to be Iowa’s secretary of state. Des Moines small-business woman Deidre DeJear formally announced her candidacy Sunday. The 31-year-old owns Caleo Enterprises, a marketing firm that helps small businesses with branding.  She says one of her priorities would be to boost turnout in local and midterm elections as well as presidential and other statewide balloting.

DeJear was a field organizer for the 2012 Obama campaign and directed the campaign’s outreach to Iowa’s African-American voters. Already in the Democratic race to replace Secretary of State Paul Pate is former congressional candidate Jim Mowrer. The Republican Pate hasn’t publicly said whether he’ll seek another term.

Firefighters say a cigarette likely caused a house fire that destroyed a home in the Buchanan County town of in Brandon on Sunday morning. Neighbors say the home in the 800 block of South Street is connected to Roger Bentley and James Bentley. Twelve years ago, Roger was living in the home. He is currently serving time in prison for kidnapping and killing a 10-year-old girl. His brother James is serving time for taking pornographic photos of the girl. The men’s father, Howard Bentley, bought the home more than 30 years ago. He still owns it and rents it to tenants. The tenants got out without injury.

An Iowa State University study finds domestic violence interventions that help men recognize and deal with emotions have higher success rates, when compared to traditional programs. Amie Zarling, a professor of Human Development and Family Studies at I-S-U, is the paper’s lead author.
She says traditional intervention which tries to change men’s thinking towards women isn’t effective in preventing domestic violence. The new program she created takes a different position.

“Facilitators facilitate from a stance of collaboration, a non-judgmental stance toward participants,” Zarling says. “They are in the same boat as participants. We’re all human. We all have flaws. We may make different choices and things, but we all have the same weaknesses.” The program doesn’t come from the standpoint of lecturing, giving advice or problem solving. She says it’s more about teaching the men how to change their behaviors so they can change their lives.

Zarling found those who received the intervention she developed are nearly half as likely to reoffend. “We tried to generate some of those uncomfortable emotions in group and help them through responding to them in a different way,” Zarling says.

The research finds men convicted of domestic violence are nearly 50-percent less likely to reoffend if they participate in the intervention that emphasizes emotional awareness. Zarling’s study was published in the journal “Psychology of Violence.”

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Sarah Boden, Iowa Public Radio)

DES MOINES, Iowa – An expanded version of Iowa’s medical cannabis law received the signature of then-Gov. Terry Branstad three months ago, but legal questions and implementation issues could delay its enactment. At least 50 potential cannabis business operators have contacted the Iowa Department of Public Health, but the medical cannabis board that will review applications and issue licenses hasn’t yet been established.

Randy Mayer, coordinator of the Office of Medical Cannabidiol for the Iowa Department of Public Health, says the goal of having producers licensed by December is ambitious. “I think to make the Dec. 1 deadline for licensing and manufacture, everything would have to work perfectly,” he states. “And I think that it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect that there might be some hitches along the way.”

Under the law, the department can license to out-of-state sellers, but there are questions about whether that would violate federal law. The Health Department is asking the state attorney general for clarification.
Prior to the expanded law, only people suffering from epileptic seizures could legally use cannabis. Now a variety of ailments, including cancer and Parkinson’s disease, qualify as legal justification for use.

To legally use medical cannabis, Iowans have to apply for and receive a registrant card. Mayer says fewer than 120 people have done so, possibly because of the $100 yearly fee, which might be wasted if the program isn’t up and operating in a timely fashion.

Mayer says the Legislature conducted research on the potential number of medical cannabis users in the state. “They estimated about 6,000 Iowans might be interested and eligible to sign up,” Mayer relates. As the state works through its application process, Mayer reminds Iowans that they are breaking the law if they purchase medical marijuana by mail and have it shipped across state lines.

(Iowa News Service)

Sheriff’s Deputies in Montgomery County arrested a man early this (Monday) morning on a warrant out of Adams County. 54-year old Scott Timothy Brown, of Grant, was taken into custody in the 600 block of 2nd Street in Grant at around 12:50-a.m., on a warrant for Failure to Appear in court. Brown was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on bond amounting to slightly more than $343.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:25 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue visited Iowa this past weekend, on a tour to tout the importance of bringing more young people into farm-related professions. Perdue stopped in Sheffield, Des Moines, Urbandale and Davenport over the weekend as part of a five-state tour. On Saturday, he delivered the keynote speech at the 2017 Iowa Ag Summit in Des Moines.

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) — A Marine from Iowa based at Camp Pendleton has died after a tree fell on him at the Southern California base. Marine officials say Lance Cpl. Cody Haley of Hardin, Iowa, was doing routine morning physical training Friday when a tree fell upon him. A Marine spokeswoman says he died at the scene.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A severe June 30 hail storm that struck Sioux City has become big business for certain sectors of the local economy and drawn interest from outside contractors. The Sioux City Journal reports that auto body shops, insurance agencies, roofing companies and other auxiliary businesses have also seen benefits from the storm’s aftermath. Some Sioux City neighborhoods reportedly experienced golf ball-sized hail.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Union Pacific has apologized for a train that blocked a northern Iowa railroad crossing for more than seven hours. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that the train blocked an intersection in southern Mason City from 9 a.m. until at least 4 p.m. on July 27. The blocked crossing was initially blamed on a broken-down train, but Union Pacific spokesman Justin Jacobs says the delay was due to replacing the train’s crew.