The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education is set to receive proposals this week from the Collective Bargaining Units (CBU) representing the Certified and Non-Certified Staff, for the 2017-18 School Year The Certified Unit’s CBU will make its initial proposal to the District 3:30-p.m. today (Tuesday), in the Media Center at the Atlantic Middle School.

The Non-Certified CBU team will make its proposal to the Board Thursday afternoon at the same time and place. Both sessions are open to the public. No action will be taken during the initial bargaining sessions.

The Audubon Chamber of Commerce held its annual Community Banquet & Auction, Monday. Awards presented during the evening include: 2016 Citizen of the Year – Kate Hargens; 2016 Junior Citizen of the Year – Rebecca Nelson; 2016 Community Service Award – Audubon County Fair Board.

Kate Hargens won the Citizen of the Year Award for, among other things: spearheading – through grant applications and fundraising efforts – the establishment of the Children’s Nest Childcare Center in conjunction with the Friendship Home;  Being a prominent spokesperson for the Audubon County Early Childhood Organization; being active with her church committee; serving on the Rose Theater Renovation Board; and serving on the grant-writing advisory council for the Audubon School District’s “Launch” Program. She and her husband, Dr. Travis Hargens, have three children.

Rebecca Nelson – daughter of Bob and Janet Nelson – won Junior Citizen of the Year for being an active part of her school and community, and being an “Intelligent, compassionate, unselfish and focused young lady.” Nelson is Vice President of the Audubon School District’s National Honor Society, and has served as Student Body President. She’s been heavily involved in preserving the historic Ross Elevator, and has packed lunches for needy children as well as having fed hungry youth for the New Opportunities organization’s Summer Feeding Program. She’s also certified in CPR. After she graduates this spring, Rebecca plans to attend either the University of Iowa or UNI, majoring in Speech-Language in hopes of becoming a Speech-Language Pathologist.

And, the Audubon County Fair Board won the 2016 Community Award for their efforts to organize and run the Audubon County Fair, hosting numerous activities all-year around, and for maintaining and keeping-up the fairgrounds. Current Fair Board members include: Greg Jensen; Deanna Hansen; Gary VanAernam; Steve Randeris; Mike Bauer; Randy Blohm; Dan Madsen; Austin Hansen; Trent Petersen; Joe Vais; Neal Mesek; Steve Hansen, and Taylor Lewis.

A team from Sioux City is expected to join in the continued search today (Tuesday), for a teen missing since an accident last Thursday morning. 15-year-old Yoana Acosta, of Denison, disappeared after the car she was riding in went out of control, through a field and entered the Boyer River north of Denison, at around 3-a.m., Thursday. Four other people in the vehicle were able to make it to the roof of the submerged vehicle and were rescued or made their way to safety.

Each day since the accident occurred, law enforcement personnel along with firefighters and other volunteers have assembled to resume the search along the Boyer River. A early 40 mile stretch of the waterway from Denison to Logan has been searched and will continued to be monitored or searched, until Yoana is found.

Representatives of university towns are back at the state capitol this year, trying to get relief from loud and drunken student parties that are disrupting life in residential areas. The so-called slob renters bill pits landlords against residents who want peace and quiet for their single-family neighborhoods. Some college towns have passed ordinances to limit occupancy to three unrelated adults, so students don’t crowd into houses in single family neighborhoods, contributing to traffic and noise. But Joe Kelly with the Landlords of Iowa says that costs property owners money.

” We think properties should be looked at one by one. The size of the property, can it meet the parking ordinances, or whatever,” Kelly says. “That’s the way we think it should be done. ” The landlords back a bill to throw out the limits on renters. Ames Mayor Anne Campbell says under her city’s ordinance only three unrelated adults can share a house, but in her neighborhood near campus police are still called to break up noisy parties at houses.

“Houses like that are a magnet for massive parties that are not contained inside — they’re contained outside,” Campbell says. She says Ames isn’t the only community with the problem. “This is common behavior I’m ashamed to say in university neighborhoods,” according to Campbell. Representatives of college towns say such neighborhoods are also plagued with traffic and parking issues. The Ames ordinance survived a constitutional challenge before the Iowa Supreme Court in 2007. Bills to throw out the ordinances have cleared the Republican-controlled House in the past but were not taken up in the Senate when Democrats were in control.

(Radio Iowa)

A senate committee has voted to let Iowa businesses get hair samples from employees, to test for possible drug use. Iowa law already lets companies demand blood or urine samples from workers, for random drug tests. Seven Republicans on the panel voted to advance the bill to the full senate Senator Michael Breitbach is a Republican from Strawberry Point.

“Forty-seven states currently allow the testing of hair for drugs,” Breitbach says. “It’s another tool in the employer’s tool box to make sure that they provide a safe and viable workplace.” Four Democrats on the committee voted no, arguing hair retains evidence of drug use for months, even years. Senator Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines, says hair sometimes has a “long history.”

“I may have just started working with you this month…I’ve got long hair and you analyze my hair and it shows all kinds of fun,” Bisignano says. “You could go back two years, three years.” Bisignano says that’s not fair. Breitbach, the bill’s manager, says the industry standard is to test a hair sample that’s an inch and a half long — which would reveal potential drug use for up to three months.

(Radio Iowa)

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds won’t promise to immediately support legislation to improve oversight of the state’s child protective services. The discussion follows the October death of a 16-year-old girl who was allegedly tortured and starved. The governor’s spokesman, Ben Hammes, says Branstad and Reynolds are open to “conversations” aimed at improvements to the current oversight system, but Hammes added that the two officials will wait on lawmakers to introduce proposals.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man who spent 32 days in jail has been exonerated after prosecutors admitted his conviction was based on misconduct by Des Moines police officers. Polk County Judge Gregory Brandt on Monday vacated the conviction of Kyle Jacob Weldon and issued an order exonerating him. Iowa’s Wrongful Conviction Division says the exoneration is the first connected to two Des Moines officers who resigned last month after they were accused of planting evidence on a suspect in at least one case

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have introduced their own plan for dealing with the state’s budget shortfall, and it proposes fewer cuts to state agencies than a plan originally backed by Gov. Terry Branstad. A GOP-led Senate panel approved a bill Monday proposing some Iowa departments cut about $88 million in spending for the budget year that began last July. Branstad had pushed a plan asking agencies to cut about $110 million.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Dubuque’s first community-owned grocery store has closed, less than three years since it opened in a historic area near the city’s downtown. The Telegraph Herald reports the Dubuque Food Co-op announced Monday it was permanently closed, less than two weeks after officials said it was going out of business because of poor sales. The co-op opened in May 2014 in a 6,000-square-foot space in the Millwork District. It specialized in local and sustainably produced food and other products.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports two separate arrests on Monday morning.

At 8:30am deputies arrested 43-year-old William Dean Petit of Creston at Highway 148 and Hunter Trail.  William was arrested for Driving While Revoked and Failure to File SR22 Insurance.  He was taken to the Adams County Jail and held on $1,000 bond.

At 11:11am deputies arrested 38-year-old Melissa Teeters of Bedford after a traffic stop for a cracked windshield. Teeters was charged with Possession of Marijuana 2nd Offense and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. She was taken to the Adams County Jail and held on $2,000 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds won’t promise to immediately support legislation to improve oversight of the state’s child protective services, following news reports of a 16-year-old who was allegedly tortured and starved to death.

Spokesman Ben Hammes says Branstad and Reynolds are open to “conversations” about making improvements to the current oversight system. Hammes added that Branstad and Reynolds would wait on lawmakers to introduce proposals. Branstad was asked Monday about the October death of Natalie Finn, of West Des Moines. Prosecutors say the girl, who was homeschooled, was tortured and starved by her parents.

The Republican governor says it’s important for the Iowa Department of Human Services to investigate alleged child abuse. But he also says DHS must protect the rights of parents and families.

Governor Terry Branstad says “concerning” reports have emerged about cases involving his Department of Human Services, but Branstad says he will not “second guess” the agency’s response thus far. Investigators recently determined some staff at the state-run Glenwood facility where patients with profound mental disabilities live were physically and verbally abusing the patients. During his weekly news conference, Branstad was asked how that culture of abuse was allowed. “That’s a good question and that’s the reason why significant changes have been already made,” Branstad replied. “They’ve added additional supervisors, I think, on the evenings and weekends.”

Six employees at the Glenwood facility were fired, six quit and five others have been disciplined, but no supervisors were disciplined. Branstad says the Department of Human Services has done an extensive investigation and he thinks there’s also additional review now being done by the Ombudsman’s office and elsewhere.

“The Department of Human Services has done an extensive investigation and I think there’s also additional review now being done by the auditor’s office and elsewhere,” Branstad said. “We want to make sure that everybody is treated well and when there is misconduct it’s important that be ferreted out.”

The governor says the department has taken the action they believe is appropriate. “If there’s additional action that should be taken, I’m certain they’ll do what needs to be done, but I’m not one to second-guess,” Branstad says. “I, instead, want to make sure we’re doing all we can to make sure to protect the safety of people that are in the custody of the at Glenwood or Woodward or wherever they might be.”

Branstad says the majority of employees at the Glenwood Resource Center are “hard-working, conscientious people” who do a good job. “But you had a few that didn’t and they were able to basically convince others to keep that secret,” Branstad says. “Eventually that was discovered and action has been taken to dismiss those people.”

Critics are also questioning how the D-H-S is tracking foster children who are adopted. A 16-year-old central Iowa teen died this past October of starvation, five months after a neighbor called authorities with concerns about her welfare. Another former foster child in central Iowa ran away after she says she was beaten and lock in the basement by her adoptive parents. Branstad says there’s a “delicate balance” in these kind of cases.

“When you have thousands and thousands of people, when mistakes are made, they need to be investigated and if there’s wrong-doing or employees in the department who are not doing their job, they need to be disciplined, and they have,” Branstad says, “but that also needs to be made public and not hidden.”

Branstad is calling on legislators to remove privacy restrictions and make records about state employee firings available to the public.

(Radio Iowa)

The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports 30-year old Ashley M. Warner, of Fontanelle, was arrested Saturday morning for Assault causing bodily injury or mental illness, in connection with the alleged assault of a woman outside the Fontanelle Bar and Grill. The physical altercation followed a verbal altercation over a previous incident. Warner allegedly struck her victim numerous times in the face, causing swelling and bleeding. The victim was transported by private vehicle to the hospital. Warner was later released from the Adair County Jail on $1,000 bond.

Also arrested early Saturday morning, was 29-year old Andy Joseph Engles, of Greenfield, who was taken into custody for OWI/1st offense. Engles was later released on $1,000 bond.

Thursday evening, 38-year old Jason Shane Christensen, of Fontanelle, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Methamphetamine, which was found in his vehicle. Christensen was later released on $1,000 bond.

Last Wednesday night, 18-year old Sundiata Ani Edwards, of Des Moines, was arrested by Adair County Deputies on a warrant out of Polk County. He was transferred to the custody of Polk County Deputies.