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Red Oak woman arrested twice in 2 days

News

February 14th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Red Oak Police say a woman who was arrested on drug charges Sunday, in Elliott, was arrested Monday evening in Red Oak, after she began acting in what authorities say was a “Disorderly manner,” and was “Yelling profane language,” in the 100 block of W. Coolbaugh Street. 50-year old Kristine Myers-Ryan, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 5:10-p.m. and brought to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center, where her bond was set at $300. The report says no charges were filed in association with her arrest.

Shenandoah man arrested Monday on Child Endangerment warrant

News

February 14th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Police in Shenandoah, Monday night, arrested 34-year old Dustin Eugene Kalkas, of Shenandoah, on a valid Page County warrant for Child Endangerment. Kalkas was transported to the Shenandoah Police Department, where he was booked-in and subsequently released on $2,000 bond, pending an initial court appearance.

Bluffs P-D warns of fake Facebook page

News

February 14th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Police in Council Bluffs, Monday, said they were notified that another Facebook page has surfaced recently, in an attempt to mimic the official Council Bluffs Police Department’s Facebook page. The “fake” page posted a few screen shots of some of actual information along with a story involving a bus crash. The story offers a link to read the entire story. Officials say it appears that the link may unfortunately be associated with a virus, misleading or false information.

The Council Bluffs Police Department wants to inform the public that their Facebook page is the only “official” Facebook page for the Council Bluffs Police Department. They encourage everyone to be careful of any link that they may click on and ensure the information you receive from it is accurate. Authorities said also, that as it tradition, their official media releases will be in the form of a “Press Release” and will not contain a “link”.

In the event you have a question of the legitimacy of a post, you can contact the Police Department directly by phone at 712-328-4715. Also, report any suspicious or fake Facebook pages directly to Facebook.

SD man unaffected by Taser after he wields a hammer during an incident near Percival

News

February 14th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

A man from South Dakota was arrested Monday night in Fremont County, after he wielded a hammer, causing property damage and public safety concerns. Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports Deputies were called at around 6:30-p.m. to the Motel 6 near Percival, with regard to a man expressing violent tendencies inside the motel. The subject was holding a hammer and causing distress among the motel staff and patrons.

When Deputies arrived they ordered the man, identified as 22-year old Darrion Jones, of South Dakota, to surrender the hammer. When he refused to comply and became combative before trying to flee, Deputies deployed a Taser, the darts from which Jones pulled from his body. He then ran across the street to the Sapp Brothers Truck Stop and once inside, jumped behind the counter before he was taken into custody.

Jones was arrested on two counts each of Assault on a Peace Officer and Disorderly Conduct, along with a charge of Interference with Officials Acts causing bodily injury. He was transported to the Fremont County Law Enforcement Center and held on a $3,600 cash bond, only.

Mills County Sheriff’s report

News

February 14th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office, Monday, reported four recent arrests. Early Monday morning, 43-year old Travis Donald Batten, of Glenwood, was arrested at the Sheriff’s Office on a warrant out of Council Bluffs, for Violation of no Contact Order and Harassment in the 3rd degree. Batten’s bond was set at $1,400.

Sunday evening, 56-year old James Ray Clark, of Pacific Junction, was arrested in Mills County for Driving While Revoked. Bond was set at $1,000. And, 35-year old David Joseph Jay, of Glenwood, was arrested Sunday evening on a warrant for Ongoing Criminal Conduct and Theft in the 2nd degree. Bond was set at $30,000.

Friday afternoon, 28-year old James Robert Bahensky, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on Highway 34 at 180th Street in Mills County, for Driving Under Suspension. His bond was set at $300.

Iowa early News Headlines: Tue., Feb. 14th 2017

News

February 14th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — More than 1,000 people gathered Monday night at the state Capitol for a legislative hearing about a bill that would dramatically change Iowa’s collective bargaining law. They will give their views on a 68-page bill that would remove most issues other than wages from Iowa’s collective bargain rules for public employee unions. The bill also would require unions to manually collect dues from members instead of automatic paycheck deductions.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley is turning to President Donald Trump’s favorite method of communication to try to get his attention. The 83-year-old Iowan is already adept at Twitter. Last weekend Grassley tried Twitter to reach Trump on the subjects of whistleblowers, declassifying information and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Grassley’s office says the senator hasn’t yet heard back from Trump.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Top administrators at Iowa State University have lost an appeal in a federal student free speech lawsuit. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday that ISU administrators including President Steven Leath violated First Amendment rights of two students who were top officers of the ISU chapter of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Cheyenne River Sioux Chairman Harold Frazier says Dakota Access pipeline opponents haven’t lost hope that they can block its final stretch of construction. The Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux had asked a federal judge to temporarily stop drilling under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota until the tribes’ legal claims are resolved. The judge on Monday refused to immediately grant the request but said he’ll more fully consider it later.

Effort to track, boost Iowa high schoolers’ completion of federal financial aid forms

News

February 13th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

State officials are urging more Iowa high schoolers to fill out the federal form required to qualify for most financial aid for college. Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds says completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA can be a student’s first step toward “transforming” their life.

“The average federal Pell Grant for Iowans last year was $3348,” Reynolds says. “Filing the FAFSA may also help students obtain state and school-based financial aid, yet many seniors especially those from low-income (families) and who could be the first of their family to go to college may be intimidated.” Reynolds says the form has been “streamlined” and students have more time to file. As of last Monday, February 6th, 59 percent of high school seniors had filed the financial aid form. Reynolds says some Iowa high schools have really “low completion rates,” and there’s a new initiative to track which students have filled out the forms.

“That includes Akron-Westfield Senior High School, which jumped from 47 percent of students filing last year to 71 percent filing so far this school year, so that’s tremendous progress,” Reynolds says, “and we still have a lot of time left for the seniors to file.” Last year, about half of the Iowa seniors who completed the “FAFSA” process quality for federal Pell Grants. More than 70 Iowa school districts are now using a new website to track students have completed the paperwork. Karen Misjak, executive director of Iowa College Aid, is maintaining the website. Her agency distributes 70 MILLION dollars in state tuition assistance to college students and the “FAFSA” is used to determine who gets those grants.

“Iowa also sets the deadline to file a FAFSA at July 1, but there’s no reason to wait,” Misjak says. “Some scholarships and grants have earlier deadlines and even some have ‘first-come, first-served’ basis, so the earlier you complete your FAFSA and you’re in the system, then the better chances you (have) of receiving financial aid to go to college.” Again, “FAFSA” stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Go to  https://fafsa.iowa.gov/  to track “FAFSA” completion rates for more than 70 Iowa high schools.

(Radio Iowa)

Branstad comes out in favor of “modest” hike in statewide minimum wage

News

February 13th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Governor Terry Branstad says he’d like to see his fellow Republicans in the legislature pass a “modest” hike in the state minimum wage. “I just think we need to look at what our neighboring states are doing,” Branstad says. “I want to keep us competitive.” Iowa’s minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, identical to the federal minimum wage. Missouri, Nebraska, Minnesota and Illinois all have higher base wage rates.

“I don’t want anything that’s going to destroy jobs, but I do think the present minimum wage has been in place for some time and it may be appropriate to do a modest increase over a period of time,” Branstad says, “like some of our neighboring states have done.” A bill that’s eligible for debate in the Iowa House would nullify the higher minimum wage rates approved in four Iowa counties, restoring a “uniform” statewide minimum wage rate of $7.25 an hour. Branstad says it “makes sense” to have a uniform minimum wage.

“I want to work with the legislature on this issue, but my preference would be to see a modest increase in the minimum wage, phased in over a period of time,” Branstad says. “But obviously this is a legislative issue and I always reserve judgment on bills until I see them in their final form.” The last time the Iowa legislature voted to raise the minimum wage was in 2007 when Democrats were in control of both the House and Senate. It was the first bill Democratic Governor Chet Culver signed into law.

(Radio Iowa)

Democrats accuse GOP of ‘railroading’ collective bargaining bill thru legislature

News

February 13th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Democrats in the legislature says Republicans are “railroading” a bill that narrows union negotiating rights public sector workers. The bill was revealed last Tuesday and it’s likely to be debated in both the House and Senate this week. “Republicans need to slow down the bill on collective bargaining and take time to listen to Iowans.” That’s Senate MINORITY Leader Rob Hogg, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids. HOUSE Minority Leader Mark Smith, a Democrat from Marshalltown, says “thousands” of Iowans attended forums and rallies this weekend to raise concerns about the bill.

“Iowans want to be heard on this issue and are fed up with this being ‘fast tracked,'” Smith says. A public hearing on the bill is set to begin at 6 p.m. tonight (Monday) in a statehouse committee room. Nearly a thousand people have registered to speak. House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, the top Republican in the legislature, says the G-O-P is not skipping any of the traditional steps for this bill.

“We’ve said all along we plan to use a pretty normal process,” Upmeyer says. “So the bill was introduced, subcommittee, committee, public hearing and then we’ll have a full debate on the bill.” However, the length of the debate may be measured in days rather than hours. The Democratic leader in the senate says Democrats intend to discuss each of the 67 sections of the bill in detail.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa State University loses appeal in marijuana T-shirt case

News

February 13th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State University has lost an appeal in a federal free speech lawsuit that affirms student rights regardless of political viewpoint. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday that ISU administrators including President Steven Leath violated First Amendment rights of two students who were top officers of the ISU chapter of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws.

The students planned to print T-shirts depicting the school mascot and a marijuana leaf but Leath and others claimed it violated the school’s trademark policy. The appeals court upheld a federal judge’s ruling that declared the school’s policy violated the students’ free speech rights and barred the university from prohibiting printing the T-shirt.

The case drew support from conservative Christian groups which say they’ve faced free-speech discrimination on campuses.