(by O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

A southwest Iowa woman made a direct appeal to state lawmakers yesterday (Thursday) on behalf of other women whose babies have been stillborn. Mandy Ford of Clarinda supports legislation that would allow authorities to issue a birth certificate for stillborn babies. Under current law, a death certificate is issued. “No parent wants to hold the death certificate for their child, but that is the requirement in the law and that is what we must do,” Ford said. “But our other hand remains empty because we do not have a death certificate for our child.” On Thursday, Ford testified before a three-member House subcommittee, talking about the stillbirth of her third child last year.

“We will always have empty arms,” Ford said. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, about two-hundred stillbirths are reported in Iowa each year. Thirty-two other states offer both a birth certificate and a death certificate to the parents of babies who are stillborn. State law calls it a miscarriage if the pregnancy lasted less than 20 weeks. The state representative who’s been named the bill’s manager in the House says he wants to make sure the proposal is fine-tuned and narrowly-focused so it doesn’t lead to a more wide-ranging debate about abortion.

w/ Ric Hanson

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No injuries were reported after a chain-reaction collision involving three vehicles Thursday afternoon, in Atlantic. According to the Atlantic Police Department, a vehicle driven by Rusia Salapa was stopped at the stop light located at 7th and Olive Streets. A vehicle driven by Laura Boggs was slowing down to stop behind Salapa’s vehicle, when Boggs’ car was rear-ended by a vehicle driven by Austin Eblin. All three drivers are from Atlantic.

Officials say the impact caused Boggs vehicle to be shoved forward into the rear of Salapa’s vehicle. The accident, which occurred at around 3:30-p.m. Thursday, caused an estimated  $5,200 damage altogether. The Police Department says Eblin was cited for following to close.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A 40-year-old Sioux City man has been charged with fraud, forgery and selling insurance without a license.  The Sioux City Journal reports Douglas Inlay was arrested Tuesday. Court records show he’s bonded out of jail. Inlay faces two charges of ongoing criminal conduct, five counts of selling insurance without a license, two charges of fraudulent submission to an insurer, one count of fraudulent practice and one count of forgery.

Inlay is accused of selling policies and filing claims through his company, Agency One Insurance, from Nov. 8, 2010, to June 7. The state had revoked his insurance license on Nov. 2, 2010.  Inlay and his attorney have declined to comment.

w/ Ric Hanson

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The latest three-month forecast from the National Weather Service says there’s little chance of major spring flooding in Iowa.  Heavy rains and snowmelt upstream overwhelmed the Army Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River reservoir system last year. That led to historic flooding along the river that divides western Iowa from eastern Nebraska. 

Hydrologist Jeff Zogg of the weather service’s Johnston office says last year’s conditions aren’t evident.   Zogg says the usual minor flooding is possible this spring – common along the Missouri River south of Council Bluffs in both Iowa and Nebraska.  The Quad Cities weather service reports conditions are average along the Mississippi River.

Police in Red Oak report a 17-year old was arrested late Thursday night following a traffic stop on West Coolbaugh Street. Officials say Wyatt Kane Bailey, of Red Oak, was stopped at around 10:20-p.m. Thursday, and cited for Failure to Stop at a Stop Sign. He was arrested for .02-alcohol violation. The teen was released to the custody of a parent after paying a $262 bond.

Police in Shenandoah report the arrest of a 49-year old man on a charge of 3rd degree sexual assault.  George Poe was taken into custody Thursday, following an investigation into an incident which allegedly occurred on Feb. 1st, at a location in the 200 block of north Sycamore, in Shenandoah. Poe was being held in the Page County Jail on $10,000 bond.

A 19-year old former, part-time audio-visual support technician for the Glenwood Community High School, has been charged with 3rd degree sexual abuse, a Class-C Felony. Court records indicate Andrew Schoening, of Glenwood, was given the charge last week, and plead not guilty last Friday, Feb. 10th.  He also waived a speedy trial. The charge was filed on January 17th, after a 15-year-old girl told school officials and police that Schoening forced her to have sex in a closet at the high school.  The incident allegedly took place December 20, 2011.

When confronted with the allegations, Schoening admitted that he did have sex with the minor and that he knew she was underage.  Schoening was released from custody January 19th, on a $10,000 bond. He’s been ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim of the abuse. A trial date has not yet been set.

Retiring Atlantic Municipal Utilities (AMU) General Manager Allen Bonderman has received the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities’ (IAMU) Life Membership Award. The award was presented during IAMU’s Winter Meeting, in Des Moines, and was in recognition of Bonderman’s “37-years of leadership in the public power arena,” including his 12-years of service in Atlantic, and his significant involvement with IAMU, a statewide association that benefits more than 550 municipal utilities in Iowa.

Bonderman began his career working with municipal utilities more than 40-years ago. He’s worked in Atlantic for the past 12-years. While with AMU, he developed the first municipal WiFi service in the state of Iowa, allowing DSL, cable modem and alternative wireless services to be made available by other service providers, to Atlantic’s businesses and residents. He also worked to establish a scholarship program at AMU for local students to attend the power line worker training program at Northwest Iowa Community College.

During his career, Bonderman also earned the Energy Innovator Award from the American Public Power Association, for his development of an energy management system for the City of Sanborn, Iowa. AMU congratulates Bonderman on his long and successful municipal utility career.