The first of Democrat who announced a run for governor in 2018 is dropping out. On January 4th, Rich Leopold kicked off his campaign, but after five months, operations are shutting down. Leopold, who is 52, served as director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and is currently director of Polk County Conservation.

Leopold says he has suspended his campaign because of “challenging in fundraising and difficulty in competing with the mostly political insiders” who have entered the race. Leopold says the “truth is the reality of an outsider mounting a winning campaign in Iowa is slim.”

(Radio Iowa)

One person was arrested early this (Wednesday) morning, following an investigation into an alleged case of child abuse. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy responded a little after midnight to a call from a woman in Underwood, who said she found bruises on her two-year old goddaughter.  Deputies subsequently arrested 25-year old Ryan Bradley Rapier, of Council Bluffs at around 3-a.m., on a charge of Child Endangerment with Bodily Injury.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A state Department of Education review has found that the Iowa City Community School District occasionally sent students to padded seclusion rooms for minor infractions rather than solely to prevent them from harming themselves or others.

After a complaint filed last year, the department reviewed 455 incidents of seclusion in the district from Dec. 22, 2015, to Dec. 21, 2016. Officials also visited two of the district’s school buildings. Each contained two of the roughly 6-by-6-foot, padded, wooden boxes.

Department complaint officer Thomas Mayes wrote in his report that, “Seclusion for minor infractions is not a reasonable response.”  He said the district must review and revise all policies and procedures involving seclusion rooms increase staff training on using the rooms.