Six candidates who’re competing for the Iowa Republican Party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate met last night (Sunday) in a 90-minute debate in Council Bluffs. It marked the first time retired business executive Mark Jacobs joined the field in that kind of a forum and Jacobs stood out from his competitors when Jacobs said he would have voted for the recent federal budget deal, although he would have sought some changes in it. “My entire career in the business world has been working with people who had different points of view and figuring out how you bring people together and get things done,” Jacobs said. “…We have to have the right principles, but we also have to have leaders who are able to take those principles and build coalitions and turn those into concrete results.”

Joni Ernst, a state senator and Iowa National Guard soldier, said she would have opposed the budget deal, partly because it reduced military pensions. “I do believe in working together towards a balanced budget, but as a veteran I will not do it by balancing our budget on the backs of veterans,” Ernst said. Sam Clovis, a retired soldier who’s taken a sabbatical from his job as a Morningside College professor, said he would not have voted for the two-year budget deal either. “This is the very problem that we face in Washington, D.C. as we continue to kick the can down the road because we lack leadership,” Clovis said. “We lack leadership on both sides of the aisle, frankly.”

Matt Whitaker, a lawyer who is a former federal prosecutor, would have been a “no” vote, too. “I would support a budget that makes the tough choices,” Whitaker said. “…I would support a budget that brings fundamental tax reform. You know the tax code has five times the words of the Bible and none of the ‘Good News.'” Scott Schaben, a former soldier and car salesman, argued the G-O-P must do more to reach out to new blocks of voters, especially “millennials.”  “We have to choose our rhetoric wisely,” Schaben says. “Our competition loves to paint as the party of old, rich, white people out of touch with women and minorities.”

Paul Lunde, a lawyer from Ames, also participated in the debate, arguing the U.S. constitution should be “modernized” with amendments that make Social Security and Medicare permanent. The event was organized by Pottawattamie County Republicans and broadcast live on WHO and KMA radio stations.

(Radio Iowa)

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest Friday afternoon in Hamburg, of a Sidney man on drug and other charges. Authorities say 36-year old Shannon Dell Rutledge, of Sidney,  was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance (Marijuana) and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, along with a charge of Careless Driving.

Rutledge was taken into custody at around 4:45-p.m., after they received a complaint about a vehicle being operated carelessly on North Street, in Hamburg. Rutledge was arrested in the 700 block of Main Street and brought to the Fremont County Jail. He later posted bond, and was released.

A report of an occupied vehicle in the Nishnabotna High School parking lot in Farragut led to the arrest of a man on drug charges, Sunday night. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office says at around 11-p.m., they received a call about a suspicious vehicle parked between the buildings. When deputies arrived the 2005 Dodge Neon was parked unattended, near the entrance of the fitness center.

A search of the area resulted in the owner of the car, 27-year old Jeffrey Allen McClarnon, of Clarinda, being found walking from behind a residence at Phillips and Lincoln Streets, in Farragut. McClarnon was allegedly in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. He was brought to the Fremont County Jail and held on $1,300 bond.

Sheriff’s officials in Adair County report an 18-year old man from Redfield was arrested Friday for Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. The unidentified male was taken to the Adair County Sheriff’s Office and held pending an appearance before a Magistrate.

Last Thursday, deputies in Adair County arrested a 37-year old woman from Adair, for Failure to Appear on a Violation of Probation, charge. The female was taken to the Adair County Sheriff’s Office where she held pending an appearance before a Magistrate. Her name was also not released.

Police in Shenandoah Saturday, arrested 41-year-old Craig Edward Wallace. The Shenandoah man was taken into custody at around 8:30-p.m., on  outstanding warrant out of Pottawattamie County, for failure to appear Possession of Methamphetamine-related charges. Wallace posted a $2,000 bond and was released, with orders to appear in court at a later date.

CARTER LAKE, Iowa (AP) — Investigators are trying to determine what caused a fire that destroyed a manufacturing plant in western Iowa. The fire started around 9 p.m. Saturday inside the General Manufacturing plant in Carter Lake. Firefighters from Carter Lake, Omaha and Council Bluffs worked for several hours Saturday night to extinguish the blaze. No injuries were reported.

The Fisher family has owned the business that made bar stools and stacked chairs for more than 50 years. Arlene Fisher says the family plans to rebuild the plant. Twelve people were employed there. The Iowa State Fire Marshal’s office is trying to determine what caused the fire.

HONEY CREEK, Iowa (AP) — A 17-year-old boy is hospitalized in critical condition at an Omaha hospital after a skiing accident in western Iowa. The boy was hurt Sunday in an accident at the Mount Crescent Ski Area near Honey Creek. The 17-year-old was flown to an Omaha hospital for treatment. Officials did not immediately identify the boy, who was knocked unconscious during the accident.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

POCAHONTAS, Iowa (AP) — Forty soldiers in a National Guard unit based in northwest Iowa are getting ready to head to Afghanistan. KTIV reports that family members said goodbye to the members of the Army’s 415th Military Police Detachment in Pocahontas on Saturday. Sgt. Steven Oberg says he’s excited about the deployment, but his sister Caroline Oberg says she’s worried about her brother’s safety.

This will be the unit’s third deployment to Afghanistan in the past five years. The soldiers fly out of Des Moines Sunday for 10 weeks of training before returning to Afghanistan.