The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest on Monday of a Lewis man on a Felony assault charge. 21-year old Philip Reed Thompson, Jr., of Lewis, was taken into custody on a charge of Domestic Abuse 3rd or Subsequent Offense (a Class-D Felony). Thompson was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains held on $5,000 bond.

On Thursday, deputies in Cass County arrested 30-year old Shaun Allen Williams, of Fremont, NE, on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Williams was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains held on $5,000.

URBANDALE, IOWA (January 8, 2016) – The Iowa Egg Council is happy to announce the “Incredibly Good Eggs” Recipe Contest. The contest starts on January 11, 2016, and provides Iowa residents with the opportunity to showcase their culinary skills with the versatile egg! We are looking for recipes that rejuvenate traditional recipes and think about eggs in entirely new ways. From appetizer recipes to dessert recipes – we want them all!

There will be two divisions for participants: Adults 19 and up and students grades 6-12. The participants may enter only one recipe. Recipes can include, but not limited to, dips, spreads, drinks, breakfast foods, entrees, side dishes or desserts. All recipes must be originals and must contain at least four eggs. The recipe may include four whole eggs, yolks, or whites and there is no limit to the amount of ingredients in the recipe. Recipes will be judged on: use of eggs, taste, originality, and presentation.

Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 participants in each division. The first place winner will receive $500, the second place winner will receive $350 and the third place winner will receive $200.

To enter the recipe contest, visit www.iowaegg.org for a downloadable entry form and a complete list of rules, or call 1-877-IOWAEGG for mailed contest information. All entries must be received by 5 PM, March 11, 2016. The winners will be announced in May – National Egg Month! Good luck!

(Press Release)

BLENCOE, Iowa (AP) – The Blencoe Post Office is back in business at a new location across a street. It reopened Wednesday after being closed in April 2014 because of problems with the old building’s foundation. The Monona County town of around 220 people lost local delivery for 20 months.

Residents could pick up their mail at temporary boxes in Blencoe or travel 16 miles to the Moorhead Post Office to get their mail, buy stamps, send packages or avail themselves of other postal services. The Sioux City Journal reports that rural delivery continued as usual.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The record Powerball jackpot just got bigger, climbing to $800 million as sales soared in the days leading up to the drawing. Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery, says officials with the Multi-State Lottery Association on Friday raised the estimated jackpot for Saturday night’s drawing from $700 million because of strong sales.

Grief says Powerball sales on Thursday were double the previous record for that day and that it’s possible the estimated jackpot could rise again before the drawing. A winner would have the option of being paid $800 million through annual payments over 29 years or opting for $496 million in cash.

Powerball is played in 44 states as well as the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Three juveniles from Creston High School are now charged in connection with threats of a school shooting earlier this week. The threats, made during an online group chat Monday night, mentioned a gun being brought to the school. On Wednesday, the Creston Police Department was notified of the threats by the high school. When officers arrived at the school, the school had already identified the individuals involved and isolated them from the other students.

Officers met with the students and their parents. After completing the investigation, 17-year-old Dustin Williams, 16-year-old Chance Brown and 17-year-old Nicolas Chase were each charged with first-degree harassment. These individuals were released to their parents and the case has been referred to juvenile authorities.

The investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be filed.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa’s largest school district is holding a job fair for teachers tomorrow (Saturday) that will easily be one of the state’s biggest educator employment events. Anne Sullivan, human resources director for the Des Moines Public Schools, says the district plans to hire at least 200 teachers for next school year. “It’s probably the largest job fair that’s facilitated by any individual school district, that’s for sure,” Sullivan says. “Each of the colleges and universities do one as well. We expect to have 700 to 800 teachers to come and visit. We have 500 that are pre-registered and we usually have about a hundred, maybe more, that will come and just do a walk-in.”

About three-quarters of the applicants are typically right out of college, while Sullivan says the rest are more experienced and are interested in a career move.  “Des Moines Public Schools is pretty large employer, we have about 3,000 teachers,” Sullivan says. “Even with a small turnover, we’re looking at hiring on average about 200 teachers every year, sometimes more, sometimes less. We have people that will retire. We have openings for typical attrition, people who are moving, that kind of thing.”

The district offers a full-family insurance plan to every employee, something Sullivan says is rare, with a base salary for starting teachers around 45-thousand dollars. She says prospective teachers won’t have to be lugging along a briefcase to the event tomorrow. “The great thing is, they don’t have to bring anything because we’re completely paperless,” Sullivan says. “They apply online so we have all of their materials ahead of time, resume, transcripts, and those kinds of things. If they don’t have those, they can still come and do a walk-in interview and upload those things a little bit later.”

Sullivan says they’re always on the lookout for teachers with special education experience as well as those versed in English Language Learning. Des Moines has more than six-thousand E-L-L students speaking nearly 100 languages and dialects. Des Moines has 60 schools and more than 32-thousand students, adding between 100 and 400 students every year. The district’s graduation rate has grown nine-percent in the past five years. The Educator Career Fair is planned for Saturday at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. Interviews begin at 8 A-M for pre-registered applicants.

(Radio Iowa)

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

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Small rural communities looking for assistance to help renovate or deconstruct abandoned commercial and public structures can apply for funding through the Iowa Derelict Building Grant Program. Applications for the next round of funding are due at 4 p.m. central time on Feb. 26th.

Instituted by state legislation to help rural communities with populations of 5,000 or less to deconstruct or renovate abandoned commercial and public structures, the Derelict Building Grant Program emphasizes reuse and recycling of building items, helps improve street appearance and commercial development, and alleviates the environmental concern these buildings can pose.

Financial assistance includes asbestos removal, building deconstruction and renovation, and other inspections and environmental site assessments. Funding is awarded annually on a competitive basis. A committee from the Iowa DNR, Iowa Society of Solid Waste Operations, Iowa Recycling Association, Iowa Economic Development Authority and Keep Iowa Beautiful selects the projects for funding.

More information about the grant program, application forms, and resources are available at www.iowadnr.gov/Environmental-Protection/Land-Quality/Waste-Management/Derelict-Building-Program.

Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you can’t have fun at camp. Local children in grades K-2 are invited to have some fun on a no-school day this January at Mammals R’ Us Day Camp. Offered by Cass County Extension and the Cass County Conservation Board, Mammals R’ Us is a fun, half-day camp, where kids will learn what makes a mammal a mammal, play games and participate in hands-on activities and crafts to learn about mammal habits.

A snack will also be provided and campers will go on an outdoor adventure hike to find mammal tracks. Youth in grades K-2 can sign up for one of three sessions: Monday, January 18 at 9:00 AM – 12:00 Noon or January 25, with sessions at 9:00 AM – 12:00 Noon or 1:00 PM – 4 PM.

All winter daycamps will take place at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic. There is no cost to attend the camps, but pre-registration and a medical form are required for all campers. Remember to dress your children to go outdoors for a fun winter hike.

Registration deadline for Mammals R’ Us Camp is January 15th. Call the Cass County Extension office at 243-1132 or email xcass@iastate.edu to register your children. No registrations will be accepted after the registration deadline. All camps are sponsored by the Cass County ISU Extension and Cass County Conservation Board.

Police in Council Bluffs arrested three men early this (Friday) morning, following an investigation into a burglary. The suspects, 19-year old Joseph Patent, 18-year old Gage Fisher, and 19-year old Tristan Eggett, all of Council Bluffs, face six counts each of Burglary in the 3rd degree, and conspiracy.

Their arrests stem from a call authorities received with regard to a Camper burglary that had just taken place in the 2900 Block of Ave L.  The caller who witnessed the burglary was able to provide a description of the suspect vehicle including a plate number and a description of the suspects. While en route, responding Officers located the unoccupied suspect vehicle in the area of the 2500 Block of Ave G.

Police were able to determine that the suspects went into a residence located at 2542 Ave G. Officers made contact with the occupants of the residence and were able to identify the suspects involved in the burglary. Through their investigation Officers were able to determine that the suspects were also involved in several vehicle burglaries that had occurred throughout the night.

Several items linking the suspects to the burglaries were recovered at the residence.
The Council Bluffs Police Departments Criminal Investigation Division is continuing to follow up with their investigation. Anyone with information or questions concerning this investigation can contact Detective Stehly at (712)328-4727.

Authorities say the quick apprehension of the suspects was directly related to an alert neighbor who was able to provide Officers with excellent suspect and suspect vehicle description. The Council Bluffs P-D encourages citizens to be good witnesses by safely collecting all available information including but not limited to Suspect descriptions, suspect vehicle information including anything that stands out on the vehicle, direction of travel and anything else they feel is important to the investigation.