The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office two inmates at the Pott. County Jail were served with warrants, Tuesday. 24-year old Dylan Michael Moody, of Council Bluffs, was presented with a warrant for Sex Offender Registry Violation. He remains in the jail. And, 26-year old Christine Marie Bly, of Council Bluffs, was served with a warrant for Violation of Probation. She was being held at the jail for a Residential Corrections Facility (RCF).

There were also numerous inmate transfers from other jail facilities in Nebraska and Iowa to the Pott. County Jail, where detainees were wanted to answer to various warrants. The transfers included:

• 49-year old Donnie A. Sprau, Sr., from Shelton, NE. was wanted on two counts of Violation of Probation.
• 37-year old Stephanie Spears was wanted in Pott. County on two counts of Theft in the 3rd/larceny and two counts of Forgery.
• 46-year old Louie Jo Joles was wanted for Assault Causing Bodily Injury and Operating a Motor Vehicle without consent.
• 24-year old Debra Linn Cruz was wanted for Contempt of Court.
• 28-year old Ashley Renee Welch, of Omaha, was wanted in Pott. County for Conspiring/Intent to deliver false meth over 5 grams but under 5 kilograms.
• 48-year old Timothy Roy Neville was transferred to the Pott. County Jail to answer to a warrant for Violation of Probation.
• and 33-year old Richard Dean Bequette was brought to the jail to for Theft in the 3rd degree/larceny, Theft in the 5th, and as a hold for another agency.

The Cass County Conservation Board is sponsoring a Wildflower Walk this Saturday (April 27). The program will be held at the Pellett Memorial Woods north of Atlantic, just east of Olive Street, beginning at 9-a.m.  The event is free. The Oak Strollers Nature Club for Families are welcome to join at this event! You’re invited to walk through the early spring wildflowers with Naturalist Lora Kanning, and learn the names, uses and history of the Wildflowers.

Those in attendance will meet at Pellett Memorial Woods- located just outside of Atlantic, ½ mile north and ¾ mile east of the KJAN radio station.

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

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Officials with the Creston Police Department report 34-year old Boone Hayes, of Creston, was arrested Tuesday morning, for Violation of a Protection Order. Hayes was arrested at his home and later released from the Union County Jail on a Promise to Appear in court. And, 32-year old Leah Hayes, of Creston, was arrested Tuesday afternoon at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, also for Violation of a Protection Order. She was also released on a Promise to Appear.

Two incidents of vandalism were reported to Creston Police this week. A man from Mt. Ayr said someone egged his vehicle while it was parked in the 400 block of N. Cherry Street, in Creston. The incident, which happened sometime between 4-and 6-a.m. Tuesday, resulted in about $100 damage. And, the Gibson Memorial Library reported that sometime prior to opening Tuesday morning, someone shot a building window with a BB gun. The damage was estimated at $200.

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

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(Radio Iowa) — Iowa has become the 6th state in the country to offer state government information through “smart speakers.” People may now reference the “State of Iowa” as they ask their Amazon “Alexa” or Google “Echo” some common questions, like how to get a birth certificate or replacement driver’s license. Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg says nearly half of all the adults in the U.S. use voice assistants to interact with their mobile devices. “We talk a lot in our administration about connectivity, whether that’s broadband connectivity or otherwise,” Gregg says, “and starting today, our state government is that much more connected to its people.”

Jeff Franklin, the chief information officer for the State of Iowa, says the state hired a private company called “Webspec Design” to develop the template for this project. “Because people look for information in different ways,” he says, “some chat, some search and some ask their smart speaker, this capability allows us to meet the needs of our citizens and the way they use technology every day.”

State agencies identified more than 200 questions often asked by citizens. Those questions are now part of the “Ask the State of Iowa” database accessible by smart speaker.

Officials with the Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office say Sun Valley Lake Golf Course officials in Ellston reported over the weekend that someone had driven a vehicle onto the golf course and caused damage to three greens. The incident happened at approximately 2:30-a.m., April 20th. Anyone with information about the crime is encouraged to contact the Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office at (641)-464-3921.

Sheriff’s Deputies in Montgomery County, Tuesday afternoon, arrested a Villisca man on a warrant for Driving While Suspended. 20-year old Cordell Ryan Straw taken into custody at around 3:30-p.m., and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where his bond was set a slightly more than $566.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A man accused of killing a 2-year-old boy in western Iowa by sitting on him is scheduled to go on trial next month. Pottawattamie County court records say 31-year-old Larry Murphy pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of first-degree murder and child endangerment resulting in death. His trial is set to begin May 29 in Council Bluffs.

The records say the boy’s mother told police on March 15 that Murphy was staying with her and her sons at a Council Bluffs motel when he became angry at the 2-year-old for taking his cellphone. She says he sat on the boy for around 20 seconds on a motel bed. Police say Murphy is 6 feet tall and weighs 160 pounds.

The boy was pronounced dead at a hospital. The records say a doctor noticed signs of asphyxiation.

(Radio Iowa) — Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate have developed a spending plan for Iowa’s three public universities that’s less than what Republican Governor Kim Reynolds proposed for next year. Senator Tim Kraayenbrink, a Republican from Fort Dodge, says the plan still provides a spending increase. “We knew that we couldn’t fund everything to the ask of what everybody wanted, but yet we wanted to be fair and offer them something that could be sustainable in our budget,” Kraayenbrink said.

Democrats say without the extra six million dollars that the governor suggested — tuition for students at Iowa, Iowa State and U-N-I will increase beyond the initial three percent hike university officials have planned. Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, says student debt will increase. “Our students coming out of our colleges and universities have accumulated more debt than all the rest of us adults have piled up in credit cards,” Quirmbach said. “That’s a very tough way to start a life.”

Republicans in the Senate have approved the G-O-P’s education spending plan. It must clear the House, too, before it goes to the governor for her review.