Authorities in Crawford County said today (Tuesday), the driver of a vehicle that crashed into Boyer River early Thursday morning was arrested Monday night on drug and other charges. 25-year old Ramon Hernandez, of Denison, is in the Crawford County jail on charges of drug distribution to minors, marijuana possession, reckless driving, driving under suspension, and failure to maintain control. He is accused of giving four teenagers marijuana about 10 p.m. last Wednesday at his house.

Law enforcement, fire and rescue personnel and volunteers have been search for 15-year old Yoana Acosta, of Denison, since she failed to surface from the submerged car following last week’s crash. Four other people survived that crash into the Boyer River, north of Denison, after the vehicle they were in drove through two fields before ending up in the river.

Just this morning (Tuesday morning), members of Iowa Task Force One, Sioux City Fire and Rescue Division, were activated by Iowa Homeland Security to assist local agencies in Denison with locating the missing girl. Members are providing search and recovery efforts as well as relief assistance to local officials.

(KNOD/Harlan)

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have decided not to prosecute a man whose vehicle fatally struck an Iowa woman in southeast Nebraska. Nineteen-year-old Merzedes Hart, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was killed late Jan. 13 as she crossed U.S. Highway 6 northeast of Lincoln. The vehicle that hit her continued on. The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office says Hart and two friends had been at a nearby strip club.

A news release from Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that investigators concluded the vehicle driver did nothing to cause the accident and left the scene only because he thought his vehicle had struck a deer. The 51-year-old man, Ricky Phillips, of Lincoln, was cited for driving with a suspended license.

Hart was a student at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and was on the track team.

Republicans at the statehouse have advanced a bill that would “defund” Planned Parenthood, as a large crowd of Planned Parenthood backers chanted and protested the move. The bill that cleared a senate SUBcommittee early this (Tuesday) afternoon would no longer allow Medicaid patients to get contraception, cancer screenings or reproductive health tests at Planned Parenthood. Medicaid patients would be required to go to OTHER clinics for those services. Republicans at the state and national level have made “defunding” Planned Parenthood a priority. Joan Thompson of the Iowa Catholic Conference urged legislators in Iowa to make that move.

“The conference supports this bill because it redirects government health care funds away from abortion providers,” Thompson said. “We believe that life is sacred and a fundamental right and abortion is a direct assault on the lives and dignity of women and children, and a rejection of our obligations to one another, particularly to the poor and vulnerable.” Suzanna de Baca of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland says if the bill becomes law, teen pregnancy rates will rise.

“Without a trusted provider they can rely on for care, teens will face the dilemma of trying to find birth control in their hometowns,” she says. “They may be afraid to go to clinics which they feel will share information with their parents or who may not respect their decision to be sexually active and may intimidate them from using birth control.” The hearing room for the discussion of this bill was jammed and dozens of people jammed hallways and staircases behind the senate to protest.

Some of today’s (Tuesday’s) protesters — like Ali Babcock of Ames — were wearing pink hats — the same hats they wore at the capitol this past Saturday for the massive women’s march.  “It’s very positive and it’s very important to everyone that’s here,” Babcock said. Jennifer Bowen of Iowa Right to Life praised the legislators who back the bill.

“We recognize that this opportunity provides more women more choices and so we’re very thankful for you,” Bowen says. Governor Branstad has said he’d sign the legislation and Senate Republicans have said this bill is one of their top four priorities. The next stop for debate on this proposal is a senate committee.

(Radio Iowa)

The Atlantic Police Department reports the arrest on Monday, of 39-year old Julie Luetje, of Walnut. Luetje was taken into custody for Driving While Revoked, and brought to the Cass County Jail.

The state’s unemployment rate dropped in December. Officials with Iowa Workforce Development said today (Tuesday) the unemployment rate dropped to three-point-six percent in December from three-point-eight percent in November. A statement from Workforce Development says Iowa’s economy has grown at a slower rate than in the past — but growth in construction, finance and healthcare offset losses in other areas.

The report says the number of unemployed Iowans dropped by nearly four-thousand from November to December. December was the third straight month the state saw a drop in unemployment, after holding steady at four-point-two percent in September. The U-S unemployment rate increased to four-point-seven percent in December.

(Radio Iowa)

Nicholas Hunt, Chair of the Cass County Community Foundation, and Genelle Deist, Chair of the Audubon County Community Foundation, remind non-profit organizations in their respective counties,  that the deadline for submitting applications for the spring grant program is February 1, 2017.  Detailed application procedures, fact sheets, and a link to the application form can be obtained online at http://omahafoundation.org/swiowa.  Applications will only be accepted through the online system.  Contact any board member for additional information.

Please contact Dennis Nissen at 800-794-3458 (or dennis@omahafoundation.org or Denise Cardos at denise@omahafoundation.org) with grant application-specific questions.  All completed applications will be considered at the March board meeting with notification of results in early April.

Only organizations providing charitable services in Cass County or Audubon County are eligible in their respective counties.  They must be able to demonstrate broad community/county support and supply a copy of their 501(c)(3) IRS determination letter.  Requests for general operational funds will not be considered.

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Board members of the Cass County Community Foundation are Chair, Nicholas Hunt of rural Atlantic, 243-5485; Vice Chair, Gary Maas of Anita, 762-3434; Secretary/Treasurer, Roland K. Landsness, Esq. of Atlantic, 243-4154; Royal Bierbaum of Griswold, 778-2586; Beulah Follmann of Massena, 779-3457; and Mark D. Kyhnn, CPA of Atlantic, 243-1800.

Board members of the Audubon County Community Foundation are Chair, Genelle Deist of Audubon, 712-563-4288; Vice Chair, Jonnie Meislahn of Audubon, 712-563-2009 Secretary/Treasurer, Barbara Johnson of Audubon, 712-773-5732; Shelley Burr of Audubon, 712-563-2644; Joel Hoegh of rural Brayton, 712-249-3692; Daryl Olsen, DVM of Audubon, 712-563-2080; and Joseph T. Rasmussen of Exira, 712-268-6357.