About two dozen Iowa counties plan to host “Iowa Youth Caucus” events on Thursday, November 19th. Secretary of State Paul Pate says 12-hundred junior and senior high school students have already signed up to attend. “Both parties are participating in this, so the students will see both the Democratic Party caucus procedures and the Republican,” Pate says. The students will vote for their preferred presidential candidates and, just like the Iowa Caucuses scheduled for February 1st, Republicans will collect “straw poll” ballots to gauge who won and Democrats will calculate the delegate strength of each candidate to declare a winner.

“We’re very excited about giving our young people the opportunity to learn first-hand how the Iowa Caucuses work,” Pate says. “Being First-in-the-Nation is a very serious responsibility and I think this activity will give them the background they need to become engaged in civics in their community.” Iowa Democratic Party chair Andy McGuire says many of the students will be close to voting age.

“If we want to get more young people involved politically, we have to engage them,” she says. “We have to involve them in public service and then programs like this really do that.” Iowa Republican Party chair Jeff Kaufmann says this exercise will help show the nation Iowa Caucuses deserve to be first in the nation. “We take this serious and we’re going to earn it again in 2016,” Kaufmann says.

Adults representing the Democratic and Republican Parties in each county will be on-site for the Youth Caucus events November 19. The students will debate issues and develop “planks” for their party platforms in addition to voting for their favorite presidential candidate. The events are fashioned after the “Mock Caucuses” Democrats and Republicans have been holding at high schools in the Des Moines area the past couple of years.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the Counties and locations for the Youth Caucus:

Cass County: Atlantic Middle School (Cass County Democratic Party Chair Sherry Toelle says there are over 100 students pre-registered, most of whom attend the CAM Schools.)
Dallas County: Adel-Desoto-Minburn High School
Fremont & Page Counties: Shenandoah High School
Guthrie County: Panorama High School
Ringgold County: Mt. Ayr High School
Taylor County: Bedford Elementary School
Union County: Creston High School

(Times might vary by school, but generally, registration will begin at 4:30 and the Youth Caucus gets underway at 5:30.)

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says she is encouraged by the passage of a resolution she sponsored to drop the expanded E-P-A’s rule governing the regulation of U-S waters. The “Waters of the U-S” or WOTUS rules issue now goes to the House. “I do think it will pass handily over in the House. This is significant overreach by the U-S government,” Ernst says. Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, says three Democrat Senators voted for her resolution.

“So there is an understanding of the importance of getting rid of the expanded definition of the rules, so I am very confident that this will pass through the House,” Ernst says. She says the new rule would give federal officials control over a majority of the waters in the state of Iowa, and control of how and what farmers put on the land. “There’s is a fallacy out there that it won’t change farming operations, oh farmers are excluded from this expanded definition,” Ernst says. “Well that is inaccurate because there are other examples where within this rule it doesn’t exclude any topical applications of other types of products, whether its herbicides or fertilizers. So there is a lot of confusion about that.”

Ernst says if the issue passes the House like she expects, then it will be up to the president to follow through. “The president will have to decide whether he’s siding with federal bureaucrats and their decisions on this WOTUS rule, or whether he is going to side with the American people and the quite obvious push back that is coming from the states and the stakeholders,” Ernst says. Ernst says the quickest way to solve the issue would be for the president to scrap the rules and have the E-P-A start over. She says if he doesn’t do that and the lawsuit against WOTUS continues in court, it could take many years before it is decided.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

Officials with the Harlan Police Department said Thursday (today) three people were arrested Oct. 30th, following a traffic stop. Taken into custody was 18-year old Justin Dickinson, and 35-year old Daniel Pash, both of Harlan. Dickinson was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and prohibited acts penalties. Pash was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. Both were transported to the Shelby County Jail. 16-year old Cody Haggerty, also of Harlan, was referred to juvenile court for unlawful possession of prescription drugs.

On Oct. 29th, Harlan Police were called to the intermediate school for an incident where money was stolen from a student. 10-year old Caden Stevens, of Harlan, was referred to juvenile court for allegedly taking the money.

And, on Monday, Nov. 2nd, 34-year old Shane Vandervort and 27-year old Ashley Vandervort, both of Harlan, were arrested and taken to the Shelby County Jail where they were both charged with violation of a no contact order.

MACY, Neb. (AP) — Leaders of the Omaha Tribe in Nebraska are considering land in western Iowa for growing marijuana. The Sioux City Journal reports tribal members approved three referendums Tuesday giving the Tribal Council the authority to legalize marijuana for medicinal and recreational use and to grow plants for industrial hemp. The tribe is based in northeast Nebraska, but its reservation extends into Iowa’s Monona County.

Tribal Chairman Vernon Miller says a study will examine whether the business would make financial sense. Miller says leaders will watch the performance of the Flandreau Santee Sioux’s marijuana resort on its South Dakota reservation. Miller says it’s unclear whether the Omaha Tribe’s casino, Blackbird Bend, could become a similar resort. Miller says the tribe will ensure its efforts wouldn’t violate federal or state laws.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today (Thursday) thanked the 40 schools in 17 communities across the state that participated in the Iowa Farm to School’s “A is For Apple” initiative this fall. The schools received funds to buy locally grown apples and classroom supplies to teach students about the value of eating well and supporting local farmers. The “A is for Apple” initiative provided grants to 40 classrooms to support the purchase of fresh, locally grown apples from an orchard in their area while they are in season. A portion of the funds could also be used to purchase frozen apples that can be eaten anytime during the year.

Schools also received classroom supplies such as books, cookbooks or apple corers. The Guthrie Center School District was among the schools that participated in the initiative.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office says one person was injured during a collision Wednesday at the intersection of Highways 2 and 59. During the investigation it was determined that 47-year old Franklin Leroy Ramsdell, of Shenandoah, was stopped at the stop sign for westbound traffic on Highway 2 at the intersection. Ramsdell was operating a 2006 Ford Crown Victoria. 39-year old Angela D. Mace, of Rock Port,MO, was northbound on Highway 59 south of the intersection in a 2000 Honda Coupe.

Ramsdell pulled into the intersection in front of the Mace vehicle causing a collision. A juvenile passenger in the Mace vehicle was transported to the Shenandoah Medical center by private vehicle with unknown injuries. Deputies cited Ramsdell was cited for failure to yield on left turn. Damage from the collision amounted to $3,500.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office says a Bedford man was arrested this week for submitting a false report to law enforcement. 18-year old Austin James Cavin was booked into the Page County Jail and later posted a $1,000 bond. Authorities say his arrest followed an investigation Monday afternoon, into an alleged incident of criminal mischief perpetrated on a vehicle just west of Clarinda on 220th Street.

Austin James Cavin

During the investigation, it was determined that the vehicle had not been damaged
from Criminal Mischief, but from an accident.

A website currently housing information for the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce is being revamped, and will soon connect the City of Atlantic with local economic development entities, parks and recreation and other services, is scheduled to be operational next week.

City Administrator John Lund says the updated site will launch Tue., Nov. 10th. It will feature an online option for park reservations, online payment for storm water bills, as well as links to various City, County, Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce and other, economic sub-sites.

The site www.atlanticiowa.com, is being developed through 5Q Communications, based in Atlantic.