(Radio Iowa) – Republicans in the Iowa House have approved a budget that provides a more than seven million dollar spending boost to the state prison system. Representative Gary Worthan, a Republican from Storm Lake, led development of the budget plan. “(It) will allow them to keep hiring,” Worthan said. “They’re facing the same challenges that everybody is, trying to find qualified employees to hire.”

Representative Todd Prichard, a Democrat from Charles City, notes that a year ago today (Wednesday), two employees at the state prison in Anamosa were murdered by two inmates attempting to escape. “After time passes and we think that we solved the problem by just, in my mind, throwing some money at it — which, I’ll admit it was needed, it was part of the issue — we move on,” Prichard said.

Prichard unsuccessfully tried to attach policy to the budget that would have increased the penalty for attacking a prison employee and let prison workers bring up safety related topics in contract negotiations.  “I’ve spent a lot of time visiting and talking to people who work in the prisons and correctional institutions and wanted to do something meaningful for the two individuals that were murdered and their families,” Prichard said.

Prichard’s proposal was tabled on procedural grounds. The budget plan for the state’s entire justice system was approved with the support of all but two House Republicans. It provides a nearly 13 million dollar increase over the current year’s budget for prisons,

(Atlantic, Iowa) -During a meeting held this (Wednesday) morning in the Central Office Conference Room, members of the Atlantic School Board acted to approve a contract with Scot Aden, who will serve as the new Middle School Principal, effective July 1st. He will succeed Josh Rasmussen, who has accepted a job as the Superintendent for the AC/GC School District, effective July 1st.

According to Atlantic School District Superintendent Steve Barber, there were 12 applicants for the AMS Principal’s job. The list was whittled down to four individuals, each of whom were interviewed in front of a parent group, student group, teacher group, and administrative committee.

As mentioned previously in our reports, Scot Aden is currently serving as Principal for the Cherokee Middle School, in Cherokee (Iowa). It’s a position he’s held for nearly six-years.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors held a short meeting this (Wednesday) morning, in Greenfield. The started with handing out “Years of Service” Awards for County Employees, and during their regular session that followed, approved a township clerk wage for Brenda Stanley, with Lee Township, in the amount of $40.

The Board also acted on Homestead and Military Disallowances, and agreed to have Board Chair Matt Wedemeyer send out letters to those persons affected by the decision. In other business, the Adair County Supervisors approved an agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation, for a Road Detour we told you about last week, that’s associated with a Highway 25 resurfacing project.

That’s Matt Wedemeyer explaining the detour route. The Board approved the use up to $1,500 of American Rescue Plan Act funds, for Adair County Tourism Department signs. Supervisor Jerry Walker….

And, Assistant to the Adair County Engineer, Sawyer Hansen, provided the Board with an update on Secondary Roads Department maintenance and activities.

Hansen said they appreciate phone calls from county residents with concerns about road rock. He said they’ll get any reported issues taken care of as soon as possible.

(Radio Iowa) – The head wrestling coach at Baxter High School in central Iowa is in the intensive care unit of a California hospital after an accident over Spring Break. Twenty-seven-year-old Joe Amadeo was out jogging in Palm Springs, California on March 16th when he was struck by a passing vehicle. Amadeo was taken to a nearby trauma center following the accident. He underwent brain surgery, which lasted several hours, according to family members.

A fundraising web page is currently being set up through the Baxter High School wrestling program. Those wishing to keep up to date on Amadeo’s condition may do so by following the family’s Caring Bridge website.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Today (Wednesday), is the last day until later this summer, for you to order and pick-up your favorite food, drinks and appetizers, from the Atlantic McDonald’s Restaurant. As we’ve previously mentioned, the store is closing at the end of the day so that a renovation project may begin on the same site. The new store, which will open on the same site later this summer, will feature two drive-through lanes, instead of one, and two side-by-side order points, instead of one, in order to improve service.

New Atlantic McDonald’s site plan (File image, 10/2/21)

The City of Atlantic’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved plans last October, for the changes to the store. They heard from Casey Thompson, a Design Engineer with Bishop Construction in Des Moines, who told KJAN News that the building and site will look very similar to the more modern McDonald’s restaurants in Des Moines, Omaha, and other, larger cities. He said those locations have straighter lines on the buildings, and an updated look. The actual lot size will be smaller, but the building size will not change.

A sample of the latest McDonald’s designs (Photo via McDonalds.com)

Bishop construction was hired to do the work by McDonald’s Real Estate Company, based in Elkhorn, Neb.

A woman from Creston was arrested Tuesday evening on a Union County warrant. According to Creston Police, 46-year-old Nichole Ann Hayes was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center on a warrant for Failure to Appear on a charge of Theft in the 5th Degree. Hayes was later released on a $300 cash or surety bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Waterloo police have arrested a suspect and identified the victim in a Tuesday morning homicide. Authorities say 41-year-old LaVance Cooper died at a local hospital after being shot once in the abdomen. The victim’s uncle is now accused of committing the crime. According to police, 58-year-old Dorray Cooper was arrested Tuesday night on charges of first-degree murder and felon in possession of a firearm.

The shooting happened around 4 AM at the four-unit apartment house where Dorray Cooper lived. Court records show Dorray Cooper was released from prison in 2018. He served time behind bars after being convicted of vehicle homicide following a 2006 drunken driving crash that left one person dead.

(Red Oak, Iowa) –A traffic stop early this (Wednesday) morning, in Red Oak, turned into a pursuit, and resulted in an arrest. According to Red Oak Police, an officer tried to stop a vehicle driven by 42-year-old, of Red Oak, shortly after midnight. The incident began in the 2100 block of Highway 48. When the officer activated his patrol vehicle’s lights and siren, the suspect vehicle failed to stop, and sped-off. During an attempt to elude officers, Trost made a couple of turns onto different city street, before attempting to hide the vehicle in a residential driveway on Oakwood Avenue.

Kim Jack Douglas Trost

Trost was arrested on charges that include Driving While Suspended and Eluding. He also received citations for other, moving violations. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond. Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies assisted Red Oak Police with the incident.

(Lewis, Iowa) – Russell Hansen, Chairman of the United Congregational Methodist Church’s Board, in Lewis, the Mayor and residents of the City of Lewis, have issued a plea for the return of a large, Liberty Bell. As previously reported on KJAN, it’s believed the UCMC bell was stolen sometime last Friday or Saturday. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate theft, include possible door camera footage. A reward is being offered for the bell’s return, no questions asked.

Hansen said in his message sent to KJAN, “To the person or persons who store the bell from our church – We ( the citizens of Lewis and members of the Church) are a community small in size and numbers. We used to have banks and hotels, A school and gas stations , may things left us that time will never return and we’ve adapted. But a simple bell that used to bring us to church on time so we could worship our God together. Meant a lot to us. Your the reason the bell was important, had you heard it’s calling, you would know the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, love and caring for your neighbors. We ask that you return the bell, so that even you can hear it’s message load and clear. Christ is calling you.”

Anyone with information about the theft, is asked to contact the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, at 712-243-2306.

(Radio Iowa) – As part of Severe Weather Awareness Week, Iowans are urged to take part in this (Wednesday) morning’s statewide tornado drill. Meteorologist Alex Krull, at the National Weather Service in metro Des Moines, says with the number of deadly tornadoes that have already hit Iowa in recent weeks, he hopes people will take this drill very seriously, wherever they are at 10 A-M today. “Get your plan into action and practice executing your plan in the event severe weather strikes — which will likely be happening at some point this spring and summer,” Krull says. “Keep in mind, where are the best places to go in your own home, in your businesses or your school.”

We’ve heard stories from survivors of the March 5th tornadoes that tore through the Winterset area who rode out the powerful storm in their basements, but that’s not always an option for everyone. “If you don’t have a basement available to you, get to the lowest level floor of the building that is available and try to get to the center of it, particularly any room that has multiple interior walls,” Krull says. “A lot of times, it’s going to end up being a bathroom or a closet, something that puts as many walls between you and the outdoors as possible.” The annual statewide tornado drill will take place at the traditional time of 10 o’clock this morning, but the methods for issuing the alert have shifted.

“We will no longer be doing the test tornado warning like we’ve done in years past,” Krull says. “Rather, we’ll use things like social media to get the warning out and other various communications methods that we have with law enforcement and other core partners.” The derecho that hit Iowa on December 15th spawned a record 61 tornadoes, the highest number ever recorded in a single day in Iowa. The storms on March 5th spun off ten tornadoes across the state which claimed seven lives and destroyed or damaged dozens of homes.

“The tornado drill is always an important drill for Iowans and anyone in the Midwest to go through every year, just given the frequency of severe weather,” Krull says. “Given the notable tornado outbreaks we’ve had in the past six months here in the state of Iowa, definitely will have a little more attention to it than it may have had in past years.”

Learn more about today’s drill and this awareness week at www.weather.gov/dmx.