Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections reports an inmate escaped Saturday from the Council Bluffs Work Release Facility. 58-year Michael Richard Rae was placed on escape status following an unexcused absence from the facility. Rae was described as being a white male, with gray hair and brown eyes. He stands about six-feet, two-inches tall, and weighs 223 pounds. He also has a scar on his left ankle.

Rae was serving a ten-year sentence for second degree robbery in Pottawattamie County. Anyone with information on his location is asked to call their local law enforcement agency.

A traffic stop this (Sunday) morning north of Denison, in Crawford, County, netted drugs and the arrest of two men. The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office reports the department’s K-9 “Bayou” conducted a perimeter search of a vehicle pulled over on Highway 59 and alerted to the odor of narcotics coming from the vehicle. As a result of the search, Marijuana, Methamphetamine, and Drug Paraphernalia were located and seized.

22-year old Stormy Trucke, of Mapleton, was arrested for Possession of Meth 3rd or Subsequent offense, Possession of Marijuana 3rd or Subsequent offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His bond was set at $5,000. 37-year old Chad Gloede, also of Mapelton, was arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His bond was set at $300.

Sheriff James R. Steinkuehler reports, as of today (Sunday), K-9 Bayou has assisted in making 130 arrests, the recovery of 28 pounds of narcotics, and the seizure of nearly $25,000 in cash.

Authorities said no injuries were reported following a two-vehicle accident Saturday night on Interstate 80, in Cass County. According to dispatch reports at around 10:12-p.m., a vehicle rolled off I-80 between the 56 and 57-mile marker, westbound, during the collision. The road was said to be icy at the time.

The Iowa State Patrol was handling the accident investigation. No other details are currently available.

Adams County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested a Nebraska man on a drug charge Saturday night, following a traffic stop. The vehicle driven by 21-year old Garrett Jeffrey Bazzell, of LaVista, NE., was pulled over at around 9:40-p.m.  During the stop, the deputy noticed an odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. When asked for the narcotics, Bazzell handed over to the deputy, a small amount of marijuana. He was booked into the Adams County Jail for Possession of Marijuana. Bond was set at $1,000.

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)