IA Governor Kim Reynolds & Lt. Governor Adam Gregg will hold “Invest in Iowa” Town Hall meetings next week, in Harlan & Council Bluffs. The Harlan meeting takes place Friday, March 6th, beginning at Noon, in the C.G. Therkildsen Activity Center (706 Victoria St.).  The Council Bluffs Town Hall takes place later that day. It will be held at the Hoff Family Arts and Culture Center (1001 S. 6th St., in Council Bluffs), beginning at 2:30-p.m.

The Washington G.E.M. 4H Club (in Cass County, IA) is turning 100 years old this year (2020)!  Spokesperson Melanie Petty says the current club, which consists of 23 members, has been busy planning ways to celebrate the milestone.  More information will be made available in the coming months.  Petty says “Right now the club would like to get the word out to all past members with the help of the public.  If you are a past member [of the Washington G.E.M Club] or know of a past member, please contact LaNette Freund at 712-254-2572 or Melanie Petty at 712-249-3696.”

Washington G.E.M. will have a table set up at the 4H Endowment Pancake Supper that takes place tomorrow (Thursday, March 5th) from 5-7:30pm at the Cass County Community Building, to gather member information.

(9-a.m. News, 3/4/20)

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County report a man and a woman from Oakland were arrested late Tuesday night, following a reported physical disturbance at a residence in the 400 block of S. Chautauqua Avenue. An investigation resulted in 36-year old Richard Jack Franks and 44-year old Kathleen Marie Gerhardt being taken into custody at around 11:25-p.m., for Interference with Official Acts. Gerhardt was additionally charged with making False Reports to 9-1-1. Her bond was set at $600. Franks was being held on a $300 bond.

At around 11:36-p.m. Tuesday, Pott. County deputies were dispatched to the area near Weston Avenue and Railroad Highway, for a report of a vehicle in the ditch. 46-year old Gretchen Renee Cunningham was subsequently arrested for OWI/1st offense, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense – Marijuana, as a parent or guardian. A 17-year old male was arrested on similar charges.

Tuesday morning, 19-year old Stefanie Jenell Carona was arrested following a traffic stop in the area of Mahogany Road and the Old Lincoln Highway. Carona was charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Monday night, a Cass County man was arrested in Pott. County, for Driving While Barred. 30-year old Cam Christopher Jahnke, whose last known address was in Griswold, was taken into custody following a traffic stop in Oakland.

Monday evening, 39-year old Danny Joe Davidson, Jr. was arrested for Violation of Probation, following a traffic stop in Council Bluffs. And, 26-year old Mariah Lee Beckwith, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at the Pottawattamie County Courthouse, Monday, on a Pott. County felony warrant for an Iowa Lottery violation, and Theft in the 4th Degree. Her bond on those charges was set at $6,000.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Police are investigating the stabbing death of a man in Cedar Rapids. Authorities say officers and medics sent to a residence around 4:25 a.m. Wednesday found the 35-year-old man unresponsive, with a stab wound in the upper torso. The man was pronounced dead later at a hospital. His name hasn’t been released. No arrest has been reported.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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A bond issue for one new western Iowa county jail was approved Tuesday, but votes for jail bonds in another county fell short. Woodbury County voters approved a $50.3 million bond issue to replace the existing jail, which officials say is overcrowded and has a number of deficiencies. Voters in neighboring Monona County narrowly rejected a $6.2 million bond issue that would have funded a replacement for the county’s overcrowded, 46-year-old facility. The measure received 57% — 3 percentage points less than the 60% required for passage.

Physical Plant and Equipment (PPEL – “Peppel) levies were approved Tuesday, by voters in both the Creston and East Union Community School Districts. Unofficial results from the Union and Adams County Auditor’s offices show in Creston, the PPEL passed 527-to-146 — or 78.3% to 21.%. East Union voters voted 122-to-70 to extend the levy.

PPEL funds may be used for facilities projects and maintenance, technology purchases, transportation vehicles and other expenses.

Voters in the Lenox Community School District have approved a $9.9-million bond issue, which will pay for several improvements to district facilities, including replacement of the Elementary School roof and installation of energy efficent windows in the Lenox High School, most of which are over 50-years old. Additional classroom space is also covered under the bond issue.
Unofficial results from the Adams, Ringgold, Union and Taylor County Auditor’s offices show the bond issue passed by a vote of 332-to 198 (62.6% yes, 57.4% no). A 60% super majority was needed in order for the measure to pass.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials say Iowa’s high school graduation rate climbed to a record high of 91.6% in the 2018-19 school year. The Iowa Education Department says the class of 2019 figure was up two-tenths of a percentage point from the 91.4% in the class of 2018. Since 2011, Iowa’s four-year graduation rate has increased 3.3 percentage points overall, with gains in nearly every student demographic group. For example, graduation rates for Hispanic students have climbed by 9.3 percentage points and the rates for African American students have gone up 8.4 percentage points.

Iowa’s rates typically are among the nation’s highest high school graduation rates.