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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow a woman who gets an abortion to sue the doctor who performed the procedure if she experiences emotional distress later. If approved, it would be the first law of its kind in the country. And it could make the state vulnerable to costly court challenges. The proposal would permit the woman to file a lawsuit at any point in her life, something that would go against typical statute of limitation rules.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former Iowa senator has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for his part in attempting to hide payments he received to endorse presidential candidate Ron Paul in 2012. Kent Sorenson was Iowa chairman of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s presidential campaign when he shifted support to Paul days before the 2012 Iowa Caucuses. Prosecutors sought probation because Sorenson testified against three Paul campaign staffers. Judge Robert Pratt said Sorenson’s acts of corruption justified prison time.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds says she supports cutting money that helps at-risk youth in Iowa in order to pay for a new program that ends state funding for Planned Parenthood. Reynolds, the incoming Iowa governor, defended the plan Tuesday by saying other services like foster care wouldn’t be affected. The Associated Press reported Sunday that the plan includes passing up millions of federal dollars and redirecting $2.8 million that currently goes to child and family services.

MARION, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa civil rights group is warning an eastern Iowa city to stop enforcing a local ordinance that requires a permit to hold a political sign on a sidewalk. The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa demands in a letter Tuesday to Marion leaders that they end enforcement of the ordinance after receiving a complaint from a local resident. The ACLU says police warned the resident in September that he was breaking local law.

The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department’s Board of Directors, Tuesday evening, voted to accept from the Lions Club, the donation of a little, one-room school house already located at Sunnyside Park. The Lions Club is currently maintaining the structure, which was built in 1870 and relocated to just off Sunnyside lane, in 1960.

Parks and Rec Director Seth Staashelm said the Lions want to donate the house to the Parks Department (a non-profit organization), because the Lions (also a non-profit group), want to apply for grants that will enable them to maintain the building (including new siding), and improve the surrounding landscape.

The Parks and Rec Board also agreed with the Schildberg Recreation Area Committee, that 20 electrical pods to be installed at the Rec Area Campground site, should be metal and purchased from Kriz-Davis for around $3,450. That would be less expensive than a marina-style, fiberglass pod that had been proposed.
Seth Staashelm told the Board that the Enhance Iowa CAT grant application (pertaining to improvements at the Schildberg Recreation Area) is finished, and has been submitted to the Enhance Iowa Board.

The thick, spiral bound application spells out the amount of support the application and proposed project has, including matching funds from the City and County, and in-kind labor contributions. He said they hope to receive an invitation to appear before the Enhance Iowa Board, in a couple of weeks and make a presentation, as well as to answer any questions. If the grant is approved by this April, it will help to cover phase 1 of the Schildberg Recreation Area project, which involves electrical and water hook-ups to the camping pads, along with a new storm-safe shower and shelter house.

Staashelm reminds the public that shelter house reservations at one of the five City Parks are being accepted for groups and families. Already there are reservations made to this month. If you would like to reserve a shelter for an event or family get together, you can do so online at the Parks and Rec website (http://www.atlanticiowa.com/atlantic/city-departments/parks-recreation/reserve-a-shelter/) or call Seth Staashelm at 712-243-3542.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow a woman who gets an abortion to sue the doctor who performed the procedure if she experiences emotional distress later. If approved, it would be the first law of its kind in the U.S.

The proposal would permit the woman to file a lawsuit at any point in her life, something that would go against typical statute of limitation rules. It could also make the state vulnerable to costly court challenges.

Sen. Mark Chelgren is the Republican who introduced the bill. He says the measure is about holding doctors and clinics accountable. It’s unclear how much GOP support the idea has in the Iowa Legislature, though the state’s incoming Republican governor did not dismiss it.

Officials with PRIDE (the Progressive Rural Iowa Development Enterprise, Inc.) have an announced one legislative coffee has been scheduled in Cass County for the 2017 session by PRIDE. The public is welcome to attend the session set for 10-a.m. Saturday, January 21st,  the Cumberland Fire Station (216 Main Street), in Cumberland .

This year, area residents have an opportunity to meet with Senator Tom Shipley and Representative Tom Moore, so they can talk about the legislative session, and hear your concerns about what matters most to southwest Iowans.

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P.R.I.D.E. is the economic development organization that works on behalf of communities, businesses, and citizens for Southwest Iowa. For additional information, please contact Clarke Gerlock at 712-774-5476, or Kenner Baxter, president, at 781-2395.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports three people have been arrested on drug-related charges following a traffic stop this (Tuesday) morning on Highway 92 at Highway 148.  46-year old Thomas Matthew Connors III, of Omaha, was arrested on a charge of Possession of Methamphetamine 1^st Offense, and 28-year old Jose Gonzalez, of Cicero, IL, was arrested for Possession Marijuana 1^st Offense and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Both men were taken to the Cass County Jail where they remain held on $1,000 bond each.

Last Friday, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 26-year old Justin Tyler Jacobs, of Atlantic, on charges of Possession of Methamphetamine 2^nd Offense and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Jacobs was taken to the Cass County Jail and released the following day on $2,000 bond.

The Sheriff’s Office reports also, 23-year old Jennifer Rose Passarelli, of Council Bluffs, was arrested today (Tuesday), on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Passarelli was taken to the Cass County Jail where she remains held on $5,000 bond.

Last Friday, 40-year old Daniel Patrick Campbell, of Walnut, was arrested by Cass County Deputies on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Campbell was taken to the Cass County Jail and released later that day on $10,000 bond.

On January 11th, 19-year old Austin Daniel Malloy, of Walnut, was arrested on a Cass County Sheriff’s Office warrant for OWI 1^st Offense. Malloy was taken to the Cass County Jail and released later that day on his own recognizance.

On January 10th, Cass County Deputies arrested 37-year old Joseph Leeray Bartlett, of Council Bluffs, on a Sheriff’s Office warrant for felony counts of Assault on a Police Officer, Eluding and two counts of Criminal Mischief 2^nd Offense. Bartlett was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains held on $25,000 bond.

And, on January 8th, 29-year old Ryan Charles Juhl, of Atlantic, was charged with Serious Assault with regard to an incident in the Cass County Jail. Juhl remains held at the Cass County Jail on $51,000 bond.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa trial again has been delayed for a Nebraska man charged with killing his wife. Court records say a Woodbury County judge approved a defense request to delay Rogelio Morales’ trial. It had been scheduled to begin Jan. 24. Court records don’t show that a new date has been set.

The case was delayed last fall after Morales’ previous attorney withdrew from the case. The 29-year-old Morales lives in Hubbard, Nebraska. He’s pleaded not guilty to killing 21-year-old Margarita Morales, of South Sioux City, Nebraska, on April 19, 2015, in his car near a Sioux City residence.

Court documents say Morales told investigators a fight broke out when his wife told him she no longer wanted to be in a relationship and that she was seeing another man.

Officials with the Iowa DNR report two Minnesota men and one northern Iowa man have pleaded guilty to illegally taking deer in Emmet and Kossuth counties in Iowa in October and November 2015. 45-year old Michael Paschke, of Worthington, Minn., 21-year old Dakota Isebrand, of Sherburn, Minn., and 20-year old Seth Norland, of Ledyard, Iowa, pleaded guilty to 58 wildlife violations including illegal method of take, abandonment of wildlife, hunting by artificial light, no deer license or tag and illegal possession of deer.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Conservation Officers Virginia Schulte and Steve Reighard and DNR Park Ranger Corey McCartan received information that lead them to Paschke’s residence on Dec. 5, 2015, where they discovered deer and deer parts but no deer tags attached to the deer and no licenses to establish that these deer had been taken legally.

The total fines and court costs assessed in Kossuth County were $11,538.75 and $25,000 civil penalty. The total fines and court costs assessed in Emmet County were $1,530 and $10,000 civil penalty.

Each man also lost his hunting privileges for 25 years; three years from DNR for being a multiple offender and 22 years by court ordered suspension. This Iowa suspension also prohibits them from hunting in any of the 44 states that are members of the Wildlife Violator Compact. Four states are in the process of joining the compact.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is taking a job at the U.S. Dairy Export Council.  The group is a nonprofit that promotes dairy products. An announcement Tuesday said Vilsack will help “develop a long-term vision for building sales and consumer trust in U.S. dairy.”

Vilsack is entering the private sector after decades in public service. Before he was appointed agriculture secretary in 2009, he was Iowa’s governor for eight years. He also served in the Iowa state senate and as mayor of Mount Pleasant, Iowa.

He was also on Democrat Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential short list. She chose Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine instead.  Vilsack was President Barack Obama’s longest-serving Cabinet secretary. He left that position Friday, a week before Donald Trump takes office.

The state has released a new report on Iowa schools that measures how many students go on to college and how those students perform at the next level. Department of Education director Ryan Wise says the report shows how many Iowa high school graduates had to take remedial classes in college because they weren’t ready for college-level courses.

“Data and information are powerful tools for improvement. Accordingly, these reports can be used at the local level to provide valuable baseline data,” Wise says. “Districts and schools can look at their existing programming, identify areas for growth and develop next steps based on the data.”

The report found 71 percent of Iowa public school students enrolled in college or technical training within a year of graduating from high school. However, nearly 19 percent of those high school graduates had to take a remedial math class in college. “While these reports do not tell the complete story of any school’s successes or challenges, they can serve as a conversation starter to enlist more parents and community members in their improvement efforts,” Wise says.

Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds says the report provides “more precise information” to help craft new policies. “When we’re talking about investing in our greatest asset which is our students it helps us identify best practices,” Reynolds says. “It helps the school district identify areas that they’re not meeting their objectives.”

The report (At http://reports.educateiowa.gov/postsecondaryreadiness) covered the classes of 2012, 2013 and 2014 who graduated from a public high school in Iowa.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds says she supports cutting money that helps at-risk youth in Iowa in order to pay for a new program that ends state funding for Planned Parenthood. Reynolds, the incoming Iowa governor, defended the plan Tuesday by saying other services like foster care wouldn’t be affected.

Gov. Terry Branstad and Reynolds want to create a state program that distributes family planning money to organizations that don’t perform abortions. The plan includes passing up millions of federal dollars and redirecting $2.8 million that currently goes to child and family services. The Iowa Department of Human Services says there would be less money for programming that helps at-risk youth stay out of welfare and the juvenile justice system.

Planned Parenthood says the move hurts vulnerable children for the sake of politics.