The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office say they are trying to locate 15-year old Emma Lee Lucas of Bedford. Lucas is 5′ 01″ 100 lbs with light brown hair and hazel eyes. She is likely with 17 year old Matthew Petersen of Sheridan, Missouri. The teens are possibly in a white 2005 Chevrolet Silverado with a winch in the back. The truck has Iowa license plate # DYH683.

Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley will hold three town meetings in southwest and south central Iowa on May 5th and May 6th as part of his annual 99-county meetings.  On May 5th and 6th, Grassley will be in Bedford, Mount Ayr and Leon. 

His schedule is as follows:

Thursday, May 5

Taylor County: 3:45-4:45 p.m. – Taylor County Farm Bureau Meeting Room, in Bedford (607 Pollock Boulevard).

Friday, May 6

Ringgold County : 8:00-9:00 a.m. – Ringgold County Courthouse (109 West Madison Street), in Mt. Ayr.

Decatur County : 10:00-11:00 a.m. – Leon Community Center (203 NE 2^nd Street), in Leon.

Grassley says he will continue his long-standing practice of holding constituent meetings in every one of Iowa’s 99 counties.  Iowa’s senior Senator has held a meeting in every county, every year since he was first elected to serve in the U.S. Senate.  His question-and-answer sessions are open topic and cover whatever subjects those attending choose to raise.

The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Sioux City construction office reports the opening of the Interstate 29 off-ramp (exit 147B) to the new southbound frontage road, is scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday, April 29th, weather permitting. Motorists will now be able to access Nebraska Street and Floyd Boulevard using the new southbound frontage road.

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

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In an update to our report Tuesday morning, Creston Police today (Wednesday), said one of two women arrested Tuesday on drug charges, faces more charges. 40-year old Amy Crispin, of Creston, now faces two counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance/3rd or subsequent offense. Crispin, and 21-year old Kami Hilton, also of Creston, were arrested between 2:15-and 2:25-a.m., Tuesday. Hilton still faces a charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance with the intent to deliver. Both women were being held in the Ringgold County Jail on $5,000 bond, each.

Creston Police report also, 14-year old Nathan Rains, of West Des Moines, was referred to Juvenile Services Tuesday evening, after he was allegedly found to be in possession of marijuana in the 1200 block of N. Walnut Street, in Creston. The teens was subsequently released to the custody of his mother.

And, a Creston woman reported to police Tuesday afternoon, that sometime between 3-and 4:30-p.m., Tuesday, someone entered her apartment at 212 N. Oak Street, and stole an X-Box 1, 2 controllers, an X-Box 1 game, and a charger for the controllers. The culprit may have entered the apartment through a window. The loss was estimated at $500.

The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education will meet in a regular session this evening at the High School Media Center. Their meeting begins at 5:30-p.m.  During the session, the Board will act on hiring, transfers and resignations, along with approving the 2016-17 Non-Certified staff’s tentative contract agreement.

During the discussion phase of their meeting, the Atlantic School Board will hear presentations with regard to: The Home/School Program; ELL Program, and Spring 2016 Iowa Assessments Board. They’ll also talk more about a proposed Special Election for an income surtax.

During their meeting two weeks ago, the Board agreed they still want to bring an income surtax vote back before patrons of district. Board Secretary/District Business Manager Mary Beth Fast said at the time, that the earliest the surtax could be placed before patrons of the district, is a special election on Sept. 13^th. The Board would need to have a ballot request submitted to County Election Commissioner Dale Sunderman by no later than July 29^th. The next available dates for Special Elections are in December 2016, and February or April, 2017.

Last September, voters rejected a public measure to add an income tax surcharge component to the district’s Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL). Business Manager Mary Beth Fast has stated in previous meetings, that the maximum surtax the District could impose, if approved by the voters, is 10-percent. She said even if the District requested a nine-percent surtax, that would generate $300,000 and make for 67-cents difference in property tax relief.

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

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The CAM School District’s Board of Educators is set to meet during a special session Thursday morning in the CAM High School Media Center. The meeting begins at 7:30-a.m. During their session, the Board will discuss and act on several matters, including: Open enrollment applications; Resignations; Contracts; 2016-17 Master Contract, Teacher contracts, Schedule B, Support Staff and Administrative contracts.

The Board will also act on a Resolution adopting the Cass County Hazard Mitigation Plan, and set the date/time for a public hearing on the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), along with the authorizing of bids and setting the date and time for public hearings on the parking lot improvement project and bus lane improvements.

About 200 people who are customers of Atlantic Municipal Utilities (AMU) are or were without power this morning. A person who answered the phone could not say what the problem was, but she did say crews were out trying to get the power restored as quickly as possible. Residents near 8th and Birch, 12th and Chestnut, and the vicinity of Sycamore and Chestnut Streets were in the dark as of 6:45-a.m.

Winds at the time the outages were initially reported, where gusting from 25-to 45-miles per hour. Other utilities were reporting power outages as well:  Southwest Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative reported 119 customers were without power in Adams County (as of 7-a.m.), 28 were without power in Taylor County, and anywhere from 3-to 5 customers were in the dark in Cass and Montgomery Counties; Mid-American Energy reported scattered outages in Griswold, Lewis, Carbon, Red Oak and Villisca.

Officials with the Stuart Police Department issued a somewhat tongue-in-cheek statement on their social media page Tuesday, with regard to a drug bust. Authorities said the Stuart Police Dept. K-9 unit was on a routine traffic stop in the 100 block of N. Adair Street, Tuesday, and that while the officer was speaking with the occupants of the vehicle the driver fled on foot, leaving behind a large quantity of methamphetamine and marijuana.

Kyle Styron (photos from Stuart P-D Facebook page)

Officials said also, “On a side note we would appreciate any information the public is willing to share regarding the location of Kyle Styron. We have some items of his that we would like to speak with him about, but for some reason he has been avoiding us.”

If you know where Styron is, you’re asked to call Stuart Police at 641-747-2214.