State officials are planning a parade in Des Moines on Saturday, June 30th to honor the state’s veterans and those who are currently serving in the military. Governor Branstad wore his own Army uniform to make the announcement. “The parade will be similar to what we did in 1991 to welcome home the soldiers after the first war in the Gulf and I wore this uniform at that time,” Branstad said. “It’s the same uniform that I wore when I was in the service from ’69 to ’71.” Retired Colonel Robert King is the parade’s chief organizer and he’s collecting private donations to finance the event.

“You know, I look back to my great-great-granddad that was in the Civil War, started as a private then ended as a company commander marching down Pennsylvania Avenue (in Washington, D.C.),” King said. “And then, you know, looking at all the friends that served in Korea and then that those from Vietnam and a lot of those who are really stepping up to the plate and really want to make this a really neat celebration for the community.”

According to Iowa National Guard Adjutant General Timothy Orr, there are nearly 230-thousand veterans in Iowa and more than 15-thousand Iowans who are current members of the military. Iowans have served in every major U.S. conflict since the Mexican War in 1846. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the 60th anniversary of the Korean War and the start of a three-year-old commemoration of the start of the Vietnam War. Organizers like Orr plan for this parade to be a long-delayed tribute to those Vietnam veterans who weren’t welcomed home as current soldiers have been.

“There’s a generation there from the Vietnam era that I think this parade is going to have a special meaning,” Orr said. “It’s an opportunity for us to say, ‘Welcome home,’ to that generation that didn’t receive the same type of acolades and, more important, respect that this generation has serving today.” The parade will start at 10 a.m. at the state capitol, go west on Grand Avenue, then turn north up 2nd Avenue. It will end at Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Call the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs for more information, or to register a parade entry.

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Sheriff’s Department said today (Monday), several people were arrested on separate charges over the course of the past week and a-half. On Saturday, 30-year old Teresa Ann Brown, of Atlantic, was taken into custody on Cass County warrants for Child Endangerment and Failure to Secure Child. Brown was brought to the Cass County Jail where she was released later that day on $2,325 bond.  That same day, 39-year old Wesley Thomas Yanna, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on a District Court warrant for Failure to Appear for Child Support Hearing. Yanna was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released later that day on $2,000 bond. 

On Friday, 44-year old Clinton Lea Ashburn, of Greenfield, was arrested on a District Court warrant for Failure to Appear for Child Support Hearing. Ashburn was taken to the Cass County Jail where he is being held on $2,000 bond. 

Last Thursday, 71-year old David Max Reynolds, of Elliott, was arrested on a charge of OWI/ 1^st Offense. Reynolds was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released later that day on his own recognizance. Also arrested Thursday, was 65-year old Frank Ernest Kutz, of St Paul, MN, who turned himself in to the Cass County Sheriff’s Office on a district court warrant for a Probation Violation. Kutz was booked into the Cass County Jail, where he was being held on $5,000 bond. And, 19-year old Shannen Taylor Tedford, of Cumberland, turned herself in to the Cass County Sheriff’s Office on a charge of OWI/1^st Offense. The charge stems from a traffic stop which took place on December 21st, 2011. Tedford was booked into the jail, and then released. 

On April 15th, 39-year old Billy Joe Perry, of Poteau, OK, turned himself in to the Cass County Sheriff’s Office on a charge of Theft 2^nd Degree. The charge resulted from an investigation into the theft from Cass County of a 2007 Yamaha Sportbike. The cycle was later recovered from a ditch in Montgomery County. Perry was booked into the Cass County Jail where posted $5000 bond and was released later that day. 

And, on April 12^th, Cass County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 37-year old Isidro Reynago Montoya Gonzalez, of Anita, on a charge of OWI 1^st Offense, with regard to an incident which took place on January 30th. Gonzalez appeared before the magistrate and was subsequently booked into the jail and then released. That same day, deputies arrested 46-year old Sue Ellen Shobe, of Carlisle, on a District Court warrant for Failure to Appear to Serve Jail Time. Shobe was brought to the Cass County Jail where she finished serving her time and was later released.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s office reports today, five people were arrested last week on separate charges. On Friday, 25-year old Christy Ann Ward, of Sidney, was taken into custody for Driving Under Suspension. Last Wednesday, 22-year old Melanie Kristen Jura, of Hamburg, was arrested on a charge of Simple Domestic Assault.  On Tuesday, 22-year old Dnae Christine McConahay, of Malvern, was arrested for a Violation of her Parole.

On Monday, April 16th, 22-year old Thomas Michael Cash, of Glenwood, was arrested for burglary in the 3rd degree, Criminal Mischief in the 2nd degree, theft in the 3rd degree, and Conspiracy. And, on Sunday, April 15th, 26-year old Antonia Jacinto Mendiola, of Omaha, was arrested for Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

The Atlantic Police Department reports one person was injured during an accident Friday evening at 7th and Cherry Streets. Officials say a vehicle driven by Michael Anderson, of Atlantic, rear-ended a vehicle driven by Judy Masker, also of Atlantic, at around 5:15-p.m., Friday. Masker was transported by a private vehicle to the Cass County Memorial Hospital to be treated for possible injuries. Damage from the accident amounted to $7,000.

A Council Bluffs man was flown to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, following a car-versus-motorcycle accident Friday afternoon, in Shelby County. According to Sheriff’s officials, David M. Waugh, of Council Bluffs, was injured, when the 2006 Yamaha he was driving collided with a 2011 Kia Sportage, driven by Kelly J. Klaisner, of Harlan. The accident happened at around 2:10-p.m., at the intersection of Highway 44 and Shelby County Road M-16.

Officials say Klaisner was traveling west on Highway 44 and turning left onto M-16, but failed to yield the right of way to Waugh, and turned into the path of his eastbound cycle. The vehicles collided in the eastbound lanes of Highway 44. Klaisner wasn’t injured in the crash.

Shelby County deputies were assisted at the scene crews with the Harlan Fire Department, and Medivac Ambulance Service.

w/ Ric Hanson

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Authorities in Shenandoah say one person was arrested Saturday on a felony drug charge. 44-year old Kathy Hale, of Shenandoah, was taken into custody after a Shenandoah Police Officer observed the woman allegedly involved in illegal activity in the 500 block of South Fremont Street. Hale faces a felony charge of selling prescription drugs. She was brought to the Fremont County Jail and held on $10,000 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — After decades of failed attempts, lawmakers say this could be the session they succeed in at least beginning to overhaul Iowa’s property tax system. With hopes of adjourning this week, legislators are running out of time. But they express optimism that Republicans and Democrats will reach a deal. Lawmakers have considered changing Iowa’s property tax system for at least 30 years, but the issue is a nightmare for politicians because in Iowa, farmland, businesses and residential property are all taxed differently. To tinker with one means shifting the burden onto the others. This year, though, veteran legislators have reached a bipartisan agreement to address the matter.

THURMAN, Iowa (AP) — Most of the storm debris and downed trees have been cleared from tornado-ravaged Thurman. Volunteers have been working since last weekend’s storm to help the town of 229 get back to normal. The tornado ripped through the town, damaging most homes but causing only a few minor injuries. Mayor Rod Umphreys Junior says most roads were clear and most debris removed after a hundred volunteers turned out Saturday. The town has been inundated with volunteers since the storm, some coming from as far as Wisconsin and Montana.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Board of Regents has asked the court to throw out a lawsuit seeking to stop the closure of a laboratory school run by the University of Northern Iowa. The lawsuit was filed by more than a dozen parents, teachers and citizens who say Iowa statute gives the board authority to operate and govern the Malcolm Price Laboratory School but not close it. The board voted in February to close the pre-kindergarten-through-12th-grade school because of budget cuts.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa newspaper has devoted the entire front page of its Sunday edition to an anti-bullying editorial after a teen in its community committed suicide. The move by the Sioux City Journal is highly unusual. Editor Mitch Pugh says the newspaper has run front-page editorials before but has never devoted the entire page to one. The opinion piece calls on the community to be pro-active in stopping bullying. The editorial cites the death last week of Kenneth Weishuhn Junior, a freshman at South O’Brien High School in Paullina whose family says he was bullied for being gay. Pugh says the newspaper has a responsibility to be a strong community advocate, and Weishuhn’s death and the opening of the movie “Bully,” which features a Sioux City school, provided an opportunity.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — A Burlington woman and her adult daughter have pleaded guilty to theft in an abuse case involving a mentally handicapped man. 54-year-old Cindy Dameron and 35-year-old Jodi Dameron entered their pleas last Monday in exchange for the promise of probation over jail time. Charges of abuse of a dependent adult were also dismissed under the deal. The Damerons were executors for Robert Luth, an elderly man who is mentally handicapped, from 2006 to 2010. Authorities say they stole more than $50,000 from him for their own use. Luth told authorities that he was given little cash, often ran out of food and had his cable and telephone shut off for unpaid bills. The Damerons will be sentenced June 4th in Des Moines County court.

A public hearing will be held in Audubon Monday evening, with regard to the vacating of a portion of an alley in Lot 14, of the west Audubon addition to the City of Audubon. The hearing, and action on approving an ordinance pertaining to the same subject, takes place during a regularly scheduled meeting of the Audubon City Council, which begins at 7-p.m.

Also on the Council’s agenda, is action on a resolution setting the Public Works Director’s wage, and the first consideration of an ordinance pertaining to nuisance lighting. The Council will hear from Craig Hansen, with regard to repairs to an unsafe structure, and, hold discussion pertaining to the Audubon County Landfill Commission.