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

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The Creston Police Department reports three people from Polk County were arrested Thursday morning on drug charges. Officials say 35-year old Joey Gene Ebard and 31-year old Lindsey Marie Dee, were arrested for Possession with the Intent to Sell or Manufacture Methamphetamine over 5 grams. 34-year old Kristin Jan Gross was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense. All three are from Des Moines. Ebard was being held in the Union County Jail on $100,000 bond. Dee and Gross were being held in the Ringgold County Jail, where bond for Lindsey Dee was set at $100,000, and Gross’ bond was set at $1,000.

Creston Police said also, 40-year old Sara Nicole Weis, of Afton, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center on four warrants for Probation Violation. She was transported to the Ringgold County Jail and held pending a court appearance.

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Sioux City school board is investigating allegations against the district superintendent that were raised by the district budget director before he was ousted. Board President Mike Krysl told the Sioux City Journal earlier this week that the board “is undertaking an investigation that we think is an appropriate follow-up to the allegations that were raised.”

The board approved a resignation package April 10 for budget director John Chalstrom, who’d been placed on leave Feb. 13. Chalstrom had accused Superintendent Paul Gausman of being a bully and creating a hostile workplace and threatening Chalstrom’s job if he shared alternative budget options with school board members outside regular board meetings.

Gausman has denied Chalstrom’s assertions.

A Montgomery County woman who has a long history of arrests, was taken into custody…again…Thursday night. Red Oak Police say 46-year old Shelby Joann Olivares, of Red Oak, was arrested in the 200 block of W. 3rd Street at around 11-p.m., for Domestic Assault. Olivares was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail, pending an appearance before the magistrate.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:53 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state judge has ruled that the Iowa Department of Transportation has the authority to order cities to remove automated traffic-enforcement cameras from highways and interstates. The Des Moines Register reports that the ruling Thursday is in response to a request for judicial review filed by Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Muscatine in 2015. The cities made the request after the DOT ordered some speed cameras turned off because they did not make interstate highways safer.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Legislature approved an expanded medical marijuana oil program in the final hours of its session, but advocates remain skeptical that it will have enough impact. The Republican-controlled chambers approved a bill to allow the oil to treat nine conditions, including cancer and multiple sclerosis. Critics say a cap on the strength of the oil that can be used limits the medical benefit.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The state of Iowa has spent $55,000 so far defending itself against a lawsuit challenging a new collective bargaining law. An invoice reviewed this week by a state council shows the Belin McCormick law firm in Des Moines charged the amount on behalf of four lawyers and a paralegal. They worked more than 175 hours between Feb. 20 and March 30 on a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Iowa Council 61.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City man found guilty last month of second-degree murder for the stabbing death of another man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison. Sioux City television station KTIV reports that 48-year-old Elias Wanatee was sentenced Thursday in Pottawattamie County for the February 2016 death of 50-year-old Vernon Mace, his girlfriend’s uncle. Officials say Wanatee will be eligible for parole in 35 years.

Fire and rescue personnel, along with law enforcement, were responding to a reported rollover accident this evening north of Cumberland. They were dispatched at around 6:38-p.m. to the area around 690th and Newport Road.

No other details are currently available.

Decorah High School is the highest-ranking IOWA school in a national publication’s list of the nation’s “gold, silver and bronze medal” schools. U-S News and World Report evaluated test scores and graduate rates from the nation’s 28-thousand high schools. Decorah ranked first in Iowa and 847th on the national list. The other top ten high schools WITHIN IOWA were Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Linn-Mar, Ames, West Liberty, Cedar Rapids Washington, West Des Moines Valley, Waukee, Cedar Falls and Ankeny Centennial. Locally, Shenandoah cracked the Top 25, coming in at 24th.

Other area schools recognized in the National Rankings and having earned a bronze medal include:

• The Audubon Middle-High School
• Bedford High School
• CAM High School
• Carroll High School
• Denison High School
• Essex Junior-Senior High School
• Griswold Middle/High School
• Guthrie Center
• Harlan
• Lenox
• Mt. Ayr
• Red Oak,
• Riverside
• Shenandoah
• Sidney
• Tri-Center
• Underwood.

Schools are ranked based on their performance on state-required tests and how well they prepare students for college.For more go to: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/iowa

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state judge has ruled that the Iowa Department of Transportation has the authority to order cities to remove automated traffic-enforcement cameras from highways and interstates.

The Des Moines Register reports the ruling Thursday is in response to a request for judicial review filed by Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Muscatine in 2015. The cities made the request after the DOT ordered some speed cameras turned off because they did not make interstate highways safer.

The three cities had argued that the DOT was infringing on cities’ ability to self-govern. But Judge Scott Rosenberg wrote that the DOT has the power to apply safety regulations on primary highways, and that the right doesn’t interfere with cities’ ability to enforce speed regulations.

A Des Moines official says the city will appeal.

Saturday, April 29th, is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, a chance for you to get rid of unused, expired or unused prescription medications, no questions asked. Drop off your pills or patches between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The service is free and anonymous, but take note: Needles, sharps and liquids will not be accepted.

In the KJAN listening area, here are some of the drop-off sites:

Atlantic – the Atlantic Police Department at 23 E. 4th Street (inside drop box)

Council Bluffs – Walgreens (535 E. Broadway St.)

Lenox – Nucara #30 Pharmacy (107 N. Main)

Shenandoah – Shenandoah Police Dept. (400 W. Sheridan Ave.)

Carter Lake – Carter Lake City Hall (950 Locust St.)

Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office (1400 Big Lake Road)

Glenwood – Glenwood Police Dept. (3 N. Vine St.)

Adel – Sumpter Pharmacy (628 Nike Kinnick Dr.)

Mt. Ayr – Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office (801 W. South St.)

(additional sites can be found at www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/index.html )

Last fall, more than 730,000 pounds of prescription drugs were turned in at about 5,200 Take Back Day sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,000 state and local law enforcement partners. The DEA says in the 12 previous Take Back events, more than 7.1 million pounds of pills were turned in.

Proper disposal of unwanted medicines is important. Most abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. They can lead to overdoses and accidental poisonings. Authorities say once-common methods of disposal, such as flushing medicines down the toilet or throwing them in the trash, pose potential safety and health hazards, so take this opportunity to get rid of those old prescription meds the safe way, by dropping them off at a site near you.