The Cass County Democratic Party will hold its County Convention on Saturday, March 12th, at the Cass County Court House. Democratic Party Chair Sherry Toelle says registration will begin at 8:30-a.m., with the Convention convening at 9-a.m. The fifty Delegates to the County Convention will elect five delegates, based on Presidential preference groups, who will move on to the Iowa Democratic Party’s District Convention on April 30th in Creston and to the State Convention to be held in Des Moines on June 18th.

County delegates will also vote on the County Platform and on representatives for District and State Committees as well as to vacancies on the Cass County Central Committee.

An investigation Sunday evening into several vehicles being damaged in the 600 block of Damon Street, in Council Bluffs, resulted in the arrest of two people on one count each of Felony Criminal Mischief in the 2nd degree. Authorities say 36-year old James M. Yoshida and 41-year old Jacqueline Robinson, both of Council Bluffs, were taken into custody, after witnesses positively identified them as the perpetrators who allegedly caused $6,500 damage to nine vehicles by scratching and/or spray painting those vehicles.

Robinson

Yoshida

The investigation into their alleged activities began after police were called to the scene at around 7:15-p.m., Sunday. While en route to the call, they were advised the suspects had left the area in a blue Ford truck. Officers located the suspect vehicle at S. 1st and Knepper Streets, and identified the suspects as Yoshida and Robinson, who denied damaging the vehicles. Witness collaboration and evidence located inside the suspects’ vehicle, linked them to the crime.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Animal rights groups say the state agency that regulates wild and exotic animals in Iowa is misinterpreting a nearly decade-old law that imposes tough rules for keeping such animals, and they argue it’s created a loophole.

The Animal Rescue League of Iowa and the Washington-based Born Free USA filed documents in February with the Iowa Court of Appeals that contend the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is limiting its own authority in overseeing some facilities that exhibit wildlife.

A 2007 law banned people from keeping such animals, though previous owners were grandfathered in with new rules. The advocacy groups say the department allows certain wildlife exhibitors to register through federal officials instead of following stringent state registration rules.

The agency says it’s following the law.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — The fact that Iowa residents can complete training for a concealed weapons permit online is troubling to Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony Thompson. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports several of the websites advertise training videos that people can watch to complete their training without any need to touch a gun.

Thompson says the online training certificates don’t mean much, but a state law that was changed in 2011 requires him to accept them for gun permit applications. But the training does make it easier for people to get permits. Andrew Cederdahl says he went through an online course, so he could get a permit to legally keep his gun in his car for defense and trips to the shooting range.

A woman from Council Bluffs died following an accident Sunday morning, and authorities believe a medical condition may have been the cause of the crash. 90-year old Ardeth Paulson was found unconscious and not breathing following a single-vehicle accident that happened at around 7:40-a.m. near the intersection of S. 7th Street and Willow Avenue. Rescue crews arrived on the scene and administered CPR before rushing the woman to Jennie Edmundson Hospital, where she died a short time later.

A preliminary investigation determined Paulson’s 2000 Pontiac Grand Am was traveling southbound on South 7th Street and had departed the Roadway to the East before striking a sign post. The vehicle came to rest on the East parking approximately 75 feet North of Willow Avenue.

The accident remains under investigation by the Special Operation Unit.

The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has announced that Michele McNabb, M.A., M.L.I.S., of Atlantic, is the winner of its 2016 Genealogy / History Achievement Award.

McNabb is being recognized for her exemplary service, support, leadership, and contributions to the field of genealogical and local history librarianship. She will officially receive the award June 26th at the ALA Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, just days before her planned retirement.

McNabb has served as the Museum of Danish America’s Genealogy Center Manager and Librarian in Elk Horn, Iowa since 2002. Since the center’s opening in 1996, its staff and volunteers have assisted many individuals in finding links to their Danish immigrant past and have located lost relatives for both Danish and American researchers.

Michele McNabb

Throughout her career, Michele has presented internationally at numerous workshops and seminars. Next, she is to be the main presenter for a Scandinavian Genealogy Retreat at Omaha’s Swanson Library in early April.

RUSA is the foremost organization of reference and information professionals who make the connections between people and the information sources, services, and collection materials they need. Since 1993 its Genealogy / History Achievement Award has been given annually and is sponsored by ProQuest. The award presents a citation and $1,500 to a librarian in order to recognize professional achievement in genealogical and historical reference and research.

Learn more about the association at www.ala.org/rusa. The Museum of Danish America Genealogy Center is located at 4210 Main Street in Elk Horn, Iowa. More about the museum and its Genealogy Center can be found at www.danishmuseum.org.