Officials with the Iowa Lottery say Faye Slate, of Council Bluffs, is the state’s latest $1-million dollar winner in the Powerball drawing. Slate claimed her prize Tuesday, at the Lottery’s headquarters in Des Moines. She won the prize in last Wednesday’s Powerball drawing by picking the first five numbers correctly, but missing the Powerball number itself.

It was the third winning One-million dollar prize ticket purchased in the state, in  a little more than a month. Gary Higens of Des Moines claimed a $1 million Powerball prize on March 1st, close on the heels of Steve Petty of Adair, who had claimed a $1 million Powerball prize on Feb. 20th.

Slate bought her winning ticket at the Hy-Vee store on Madison Avenue, in Council Bluffs.

In a follow-up to our story Tuesday morning, Police in Council Bluffs early today (Wednesday), said 56-year old Donald Shamblen, of Council Bluffs, was charged with Interference with Official Acts and Failure to Appear in Court, following a stand-off in the city, that began at around 5:30-p.m. Monday and ended early Tuesday morning.

Officials say officers were dispatched to 2330 South 13th Street in reference to a man who had a warrant for his arrest. When officers arrived, Shamblen fled on foot into a detached garage. The officers attempted to make contact with Shamblen, who allegedly threatened to kill himself and Police.

Officers at the scene set up a perimeter and called-in the Emergency Services Team (EST), along with negotiators with the Council Bluffs P-D. Negotiators made contact with Shamblen through a secure phone, and after several hours of negotiations, the EST forced their way into the garage, taking Shamblen into custody without further incident.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

Gardeners of all interest levels are invited to join the Cass County Master Gardeners for the 14th Annual Spring Garden Seminar on Saturday, April 21 at the Atlantic High School. The day will start with registration at 8:30 AM and the last workshop will conclude at 3:00 PM. Gardeners can expect a full day of educational speakers, interactive workshops, an expert advice panel and more! In addition, anyone pre-registered by the 13th of April will be eligible to win one of the many door prizes donated by local supporting businesses.

The day starts off with well-known garden columnist Jan Riggenbach sharing “Big Ideas for Small Gardens” at 9 AM. Dr. Cynthia Haynes from Iowa State University Extension will then discuss “New Plants for 2012” at 10 AM, before joining a panel of local and state horticulture experts to take questions during an open Q & A session around lunch.

A full luncheon will be served and attendees will also have time to visit booths from local vendors and gardening organizations beginning at 11 AM. Following the lunch break, Susan Appleget-Hurst will present “Your First Herb Garden” with ideas on how, where and when to plant and harvest herbs. The last session of the day gives participants a choice between 9 hands-on workshops on a variety of topics, from creating garden sculptures to arranging flowers, and composting to growing peppers.

Registration for the entire day, including morning snacks, lunch, materials and a “take-home” from the final session, is only $35. A full schedule for the day, along with a registration form, can be found on the Cass County Extension website at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass or can be picked up from the Cass County Extension Office, the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce, or many downtown businesses.

Denise Coder, Site Manager for Cass County Home Care has announced Blue Zones officials recently notified the City of Atlantic that its application to be chosen as a “Blue Zones” demonstration site will not advance to the site visit level at this time.  Blue Zones officials noted that ten smaller Iowa communities have been identified for site visits in the next few months.

Blue Zones did not give details at this time about the reason that Atlantic was not chosen, but intend to visit Atlantic sometime in the summer to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of its overall application.  Bethany Rogers, Cass County Wellness Coordinator, observed that the ten communities that were chosen all ranked higher than Atlantic in citizen votes.  She says “Atlantic’s current percentage of citizens voting is 15.48%.  Blue Zones stated early on that citizen commitment would be important in their choice.”

The Atlantic Blue Zones team will meet with state Blue Zones officials in the summer, and the local team still plans to implement chosen components of Blue Zones, based upon local capacity and technical assistance available from the state.  Atlantic intends to reapply, if the opportunity arises in the future.

Rogers reminds residents that voting remains an important component of the project.  “If you haven’t voted and are willing to make a personal commitment to improving your health and the health of Atlantic, it is important that you log on today and vote to support Atlantic.”  Voting will provide access for residents to ongoing information about health topics and local activities.  Residents can visit www.bluezonesproject.com to vote for Atlantic.  Also, a Facebook page has been established for the Atlantic Blue Zones project.  Log on to Facebook and search for Atlantic Blue Zones.

Cass County Extension Youth Coordinator Susan Oliver Tuesday, delivered 500 Easter eggs to Atlantic Nursing and Rehab Center (ANRC) in preparation for the April 7th Easter Egg Hunt.

Susan Oliver delivers Easter Eggs to ANRC

Each year ANRC Administrator Kellie Jimerson seeks supporters for the hunt, during which there are more than 15,000 eggs to be found, as well as bikes to give away, hot dogs, chips, soda and popcorn.

Cass County Extension staff filled their eggs with 4-H stamps, silly bands, wristbands and even some candy.  4-H is open to all youth in grades K-12.  For more information about the fun Cass County Extension 4-H & Youth Programs have to offer visit: www.extension.iastate.edu/cass

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A traditional Easter dinner with ham as the main dish could stretch budgets as prices remain high heading into the holiday. Ham prices have been higher than usual for the past two years because the cost of pig feed has gone up. On the wholesale level, ham is selling for about 75 cents a pound this spring, which is in line with last year. But that price is well above the average 55 cents per pound price in the previous five years. Recent retail prices in grocery stores were around $2.20 per pound. Omaha shopper Paula Vejvoda (VAY’-veh-da) says she bought her Easter ham when they were on sale around Christmas and froze it to save money.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says a joint investigation between authorities in Montgomery and Cass Counties has resulted in the recovery near Villisca, of motorcycle stolen from the Cumberland area. Officials say the cycle was recovered Saturday morning from a ditch near the intersection of 260^th and Willow Avenue, east of Villisca. The 2007 Yamaha YZF-R6S had been stolen from Dayton Michael Amdor, of Cumberland. 

Damage to the cycle was estimated at $1,500. An investigation into the incident remains on-going.

April is “Window Safety” month in Iowa and a Des Moines couple is leading the effort to spread this safety message. Four-year-old Hannah Geneser died after falling from a third floor window in March of last year. Her father, Jamie Geneser, is urging parents across the state to check window screens and talk with their kids about being careful around windows. 

“For me, personally, it’s a way to kind of channel all the grief and pain that we have, that I have, and channel it in a positive manner,” he says. “It’s really a coping mechanism for myself and I just have this drive to make sure that other parents don’t have to go through what we have gone through.” The Genesers have started a non-profit foundation to spread their child safety message.

“We already have talked to several different people that have already made changes to how their home is set up, how their windows function, different guards, different precautions they’re putting in place,” Jamie Geneser says, “so we’ve had an overwhelming response to this thing that we’ve brought to people’s attention.” The Iowa House this morning (Tuesday) passed a resolution to mark Window Safety Awareness Month and Jamie Genezer was there, along with his wife, Shanda Boone.

“It’s very important for us and I’m overwhelmed,” Shanda Boone says. “I didn’t expect to be this overwhelmed with emotion, but it just means so much to us and it helps us to continue you on.” Every year, about five-thousand U.S. children are taken to emergency rooms after falling out of windows. Last year in the Des Moines area alone, five children fell out of windows in the spring and summer.

Go to www.radioiowa.com to learn more about window safety and the child safety foundation created to honor Hannah, the child who died after falling out of a window. 

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

An elderly Griswold woman suffered minor injuries after being hit by a car Monday morning. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says Joann Dean was knocked to the ground after she was hit by a vehicle which was backing out of a private driveway. The accident happened at around 11:30-a.m., near 507 1^st Street, in Griswold.

 Officials say the driver of a 2002 Dodge, 59-year old William Lee Peebles, of Griswold, was cited for Unsafe Entry Onto a Sidewalk. Following the accident, Dean was transported by Griswold Rescue to Montgomery County Hospital in Red Oak where she was treated for her injuries, and released.