Sheriff’s Deputies in Montgomery County arrested a man on drug and other charges, Saturday evening. 39-year old Jeffrey Wade Bartles, of Blanchard was taken into custody following a traffic that took place just after 7-p.m. Bartles was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on bond for charges that include Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Driving while revoked for OWI/test failure, and on a Page County warrant.

A House bill allowing children of any age to fire handguns with parental supervision was shot down, while expanding daylight saving time won’t see the light of day. The Omaha World-Herald reports those were two of the topics at Saturday’s legislative coffee, in Council Bluffs.

A House-approved bill changing state law that currently restricts children under age 14 from using handguns has not come out of a Senate committee, effectively killing the bill for this year. The bill would have allowed parents the choice to teach their children how to handle a gun responsibly. Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, of Council Bluffs said the House proposal went too far by not setting any limits.

While some states are exploring the expansion of daylight saving time to the entire year, Iowa is not among them. Gronstal said there was no effort being put forth in the legislature to address the matter, Representative Mary Ann Hanusa, a Republican from Council Bluffs, agreed.

At the beginning of the coffee, Hanusa spoke about her friend Jacqueline Dieckmann, who was slain last week along with her 91-year old mother. Dieckmann’s son has been charged in the deaths. Hanusa reflected on the fact Dieckman would usually attend the legislative coffees, and that the state had lost a strong advocate for mental health causes.

Four candidates have filed the necessary paperwork, qualifying to compete for the Democratic Party’s U.S. Senate nomination. Former Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge of Albia, State Senator Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids and two former legislators who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2010 are hoping to win their party’s 2016 nomination. The winner will challenge long-time Republican U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley in November.

Republican and Democratic candidates for federal office as well as the state legislature faced a deadline Friday. They had to file enough petition signatures in the Secretary of State’s office to qualify for their party’s June Primary ballot. Three of Iowa’s four congressional districts will have primaries.

Republican Congressman Steve King faces a challenge from fellow Republican Rick Bertrand, a state senator from Sioux City. In the third congressional district, three central Iowa Democrats — Desmond Adams, Jim Mowrer and Mike Sherzan — are running in a primary. Two Democrats filed the paperwork to run in Iowa’s first congressional district. The race between Cedar Rapids City Councilwoman Monica Vernon and former Iowa House Speaker Pat Murphy of Dubuque is a rematch from two years ago.

Five Democrats competed in a primary then. Murphy won, but lost to Republican Rod Blum. Blum, Republican Congressman David Young of Van Meter and Congressman Dave Loebsack, a Democrat from Iowa City, are all seeking reelection. Dr. Christopher Peters of Iowa City filed to run as a Republican in Loebsack’s district, but state officials say they’re waiting for him to submit the original rather than a copy of one form before confirming he has qualified for the ballot.

All 100 seats in the Iowa House and 25 of the 50 seats in the Iowa Senate are on the ballot in 2016. NO incumbent from either party in the Iowa Senate who is seeking reelection faces a primary challenge, but there are NINE incumbents in the House who must defeat a primary challenger in order to seek reelection in the fall.

(Radio Iowa)

A traffic stop Saturday by a deputy with the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, resulted in the arrested of two people on drug and child endangerment charges. Authorities say an SUV driven by 29-year old Jessika Leach, of Braddyville, was pulled over for a registration violation on Interstate 29 northbound, near Percival.

During the investigation, Leach was found to have a suspended license. An inventory of the vehicle revealed a small amount of marijuana and approximately 67.3 grams of methamphetamine was inside. Deputies learned a large portion of the methamphetamine was discovered hidden in a bag with children’s toys and clothing. Leach as well as a passenger in the vehicle, 45-year old Jerry Easley, of Braddyville, were taken into custody.

Easley

Leach

The pair were arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Deliver (Methamphetamine) a Class B Felony, Failure to Affix a Tax Stamp, a Class D Felony, and two counts of Child Endangerment, an Aggravated Misdemeanor. Leach was also cited for traffic violations. Both are being held at the Fremont County Jail on $109,000 bond.

Two children in the vehicle, aged 6 and 7, were released to family members at the direction of the Iowa Department of Human Services.  Fremont County Deputies were assisted by the Fremont County K9 Unit.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A man accused of killing his mother and grandmother says he didn’t do it. The Daily Nonpareil reports that 30-year-old Michael Dieckmann denied the two first-degree murder charges Thursday in a Pottawattamie County court hearing. Dieckmann is being held on $1 million bond. He is accused of killing his mother, 63-year-old Jacqueline Dieckmann, and grandmother, 91-year-old Illa Pfeiffer, Wednesday morning at the trio’s Council Bluffs home.

Police say another daughter of Pfeiffer’s found the bodies around 10 a.m. Wednesday. Police say one of the women was stabbed, but the cause of the other’s death awaits more investigation. Some of Dieckmann’s family members say he is mentally ill.