Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report three people were arrested Friday night. 24-year old Jacob Edward Eggleston, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 5:50-p.m. on possession of marijuana and domestic assault charges. At the same time, 19-year old Cassandra Dawn Redd, of Red Oak, was arrested on a charge of domestic assault. Eggleston and Redd were brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where Eggleston was being held on $1,000 cash bond, and Redd’s bond was set at $300.

And, at around 10:20-p.m., Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 45-year old Thayne Alvin Kinnison, of Stanton, on a warrant out of Montgomery County for 4th degree theft. Kinnison was being held in jail on $1,000 bond.

Authorities in Pottawattamie County say a trail of blood led Council Bluffs police officers to a hit-and-run driver Friday morning. Officers responded to the 1100 block of Sixth Avenue shortly after midnight following reports of a vehicle striking a parked minivan.

According to police reports, a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse was westbound on Sixth Avenue when it struck a parked 2007 Hyundai Entourage, pushing it more than 10 feet. After striking the minivan, the Eclipse rolled onto its top. Witnesses told police they could hear the driver – later identified as a 24-year-old Council Bluffs man – cry for help. After assisting the man from the vehicle, witnesses tried to get him to sit down, but he said he would walk home.

Officers found blood at the scene and believed that the driver had a significant laceration. They notified area hospitals but also followed a blood trail that led to a nearby home. A resident there told officers her daughter had just left with “someone.” About the same time, Jennie Edmundson Hospital notified officers that a man matching the driver’s description had arrived at the hospital. The unidentified man was moved to Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha with what was believed to be a non-life threatening head injury.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety said today (Friday) agents with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) arrested 26-year old Drew C. Lipovac, of Winterset this morning, on three charges of Sexual Exploitation by a School Employee. Lipovac, a third grade teacher at Winterset Elementary, was arrested following a criminal investigation conducted by the Winterset Police Department and the DCI.

On December 15th, 2011 a member of the Winterset Community School District contacted the Winterset Police Department to report an allegation of inappropriate physical contact between Lipovac and at least one high school aged female student. The criminal investigation revealed that during September, 2011, Lipovac, while at a private residence, consumed alcohol with multiple high school aged students and had inappropriate physical contact with two high school aged females.  The investigation also revealed that Lipovac consumed alcohol with and had inappropriate physical contact with one of the high school aged females at a later date.

Lipovac is currently being held on $10,000 cash bond at the Madison County Jail.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Army Corps of Engineers says it is trying to improve the way it manages the Missouri River’s reservoirs after last year’s historic flooding, but the 2012 plan released today (Friday), doesn’t include any additional flood-storage space. The corps has been criticized by people living all along the river because of the way it managed last year’s flood that caused $630 million damage to flood-control structures and covered hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland along the 2,341-mile-long river for months. The corps said it tried to address some concerns by promising to improve communication and react swiftly to signs of high runoff, but officials say there wasn’t time to clear more space than normal in the reservoirs. Officials say the levees, dams and channels along the river remain vulnerable going into 2012 because many more repairs are needed. Still, the corps said there is only a 10 percent chance that the amount of water flowing into the Missouri River from melting snow and rainfall this year will exceed the amount the plan can handle.

Governor Terry Branstad this (Friday) morning unveiled a $25 million plan to reform the state’s education system. Many of the proposals were first released in October. One of the more controversial pieces remaining in the package would require children to repeat third grade if they fail to pass a literacy test. “Promoting an illiterate child is far crueler than holding back a child to get them back on track,” Branstad said at a press conference held at a Des Moines elementary school. Teachers and some school administrators and parents have opposed the idea of holding back third grade students. State Representative Sharon Steckman, a Democrat from Mason City, is a retired educator.

“I think you’ve done irreparable damage to a child sometimes when you hold them back and haven’t given them the opportunity to improve,” Steckman said. Branstad’s other proposals would “make seniority a minor factor” in deciding which teachers should be laid off when a school district is forced to make cuts. Teachers would also be evaluated annually instead of every three years, which is the current requirement. Branstad said he will outline how the package would be financed next Tuesday when he delivers the annual Condition of the State Address to the legislature.

link to full legislative brief on education reform proposals:

https://governor.iowa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/World-Class-Schools-final1.pdf

(Pat Curtis/Radio Iowa)

The Walnut City Council, Thursday, held discussion on ways to entice businesses to locate to “Iowa’s Antique City.” City Clerk Terry Abell said the Council, during their first meeting of the new year, talked about offering “incentive packages” to bring new business to town, but no action was taken. Abell said also, the Council reappointed Larry Humann to the Zoning Commission. The Council, in it’s review of the State Audit Report, noted some policy changes that need to be addressed. Abell said that includes a Disaster Recovery Policy for City Hall records, a written internet/password protection policy, and a new investment policy. The audit report, she said was “Clean,” and showed no discrepancies.

The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce says a partnership between the Young Professionals of Atlantic and Healthy Cass County has produced a lunch seminar scheduled for January 18th. The seminar, titled “Why New Years Resolutions Don’t Work,” is tailored for area 20 and 30-somethings and will focus on making plans that are achievable and ways to stay motivated. Cass County Wellness Coordinator Bethany Rogers will be speaking to attendees about making and keeping wellness goals for 2012. Rogers has gained recognition in the area as a community leader for the ongoing Blue Zones Project, studied Coaching at the University of Northern Iowa, and has been employed in several health and wellness positions. 

Lunch will feature a healthy and affordable recipe.  Registration is open until January 15 online at www.AtlanticIowa.com. Attendees will also have an opportunity to register for Live Healthy Iowa’s popular 100-Day Wellness Challenge which begins January 23. Organized under the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, the Young Professionals of Atlantic group has been actively working to expand the social and business networks of area professionals in the 21-40 set. 

More information can be found through the Chamber at 712-243-3017 or Rogers at 712-249-4529.

w/ Ric Hanson

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Officials with Mid American Energy Company today (Friday), announced the development of new wind projects in Iowa, totaling 407.1-megawatts. Among the projects, is a signed agreement with Clipper Windpower Development Company, for the acquisition of both the 200.1-megawatt Eclipse wind project, located in Adair County. The projects, which also include those in Marshall and Tama Counties, a combined 176 turbines, will be complete by the end of 2012. An additional 2.3-megawatt wind turbine will also be added to the Rollings Hills wind project this year.

In December 2010, MidAmerican announced it would add 593.4-megawatts of new wind-powered generation in Iowa. The projects included the 443.9-megawatt Rolling Hills wind project, located in Adair, Adams and Cass Counties. The final portion of the 593.4-megawatt expansion was placed in-service at the end of 2011.

The company’s other wind projects are located in several western Iowa counties, including Carroll, Crawford, and Pottawattamie. They total 1,284.3-megawatts of wind generation. When the 2012 wind projects are complete, MidAmerican will own 2,284.8-megawatts of wind generation, with about 29% of its total generation capacity powered by wind. By the time the 2012 projects are completed, the company will have invested about 4-billion dollars in those projects.