With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An embattled Iowa high school principal says he wants school board discussions of his firing to be aired in public. The Des Moines Register reports that Red Oak High School Principal Jedd Sherman says he has nothing to hide, and he has requested that the Red Oak School Board conduct its talks about him in an open meeting.

Sherman says the board’s efforts to fire him are retaliation for him reporting two cases of student bullying. Sherman says top school officials were also unhappy after he requested that an already-planned bathroom remodeling project be done in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

School board member have declined to discuss their reasons for trying to fire Sherman, but have refused his request to conduct their discussion in public.

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Firefighters in Atlantic were called to the scene of a possible house fire early this (Monday) morning. The Cass County Communications Center dispatched the fire department to 602 Mulberry Street at 4:51-a.m., following a report of the smell of smoke in a bedroom.

Law enforcement arriving on the scene also detected a burning, electrical smell, but could not locate a fire. Fire crews determined an electrical outlet on a bedroom wall was hot. The problem was confined to the single outlet.There was no fire however, and no one was injured.

Power to the home was restored and fire crews returned to their station by around 5:25-a.m.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report the arrest Sunday evening of a Red Oak man. 43-year old Richard Bryan Jenkins was taken into custody at around 7:45-p.m., for Driving While Barred. Jenkins was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $2,000 bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

Today is set aside to honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for the country. Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs executive director, Robert King, was in Washington, D-C recently and says it hit him as the plane took off and he saw the various memorials down below the impact of veterans on the country.

“You think about the veterans that you’ve known that served in those, the ones who didn’t come home. I’ve got good friends that served whose names are on the wall,” King says. He says there aren’t many people who don’t know someonw who died and their name is on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. King says you begin to understand Iowa’s contribution to the effort when you walk through the flag-lined roads of the cemeteries in the state. King visits the cemetery in Adel, where he sees the markers of those from his hometown. “Those guys who ran the gas station, ran the insurance company, ran the grocery story, my high school principal. In those days you knew nothing about them but what they did at in the town then,” King says. “But you go to the cemetery and you see World War Two and Korea, some of them World War One — it puts a whole new perspective on it,” King says. King is retired from the Iowa National Guard, and says Iowans have always answered the call to serve.

“Iowa is really a great patriotic state and if you go back through history, Iowans have lined up and signed up and marched off to war. And of course a lot of them didn’t come back home, ” King says. “Memorial Day is a day to honor those who served — regardless of the service and when they served — but it is certainly a day to commemorate those who have lost their lives and particularly those who lost their lives in combat.” King sums up things this way.

“Veterans made the country, veterans served us very well and Memorial Day is another opportunity to thank them for what they have done,” King says. King says there’s always been an awareness of veterans, and the awareness has been heightened more by the efforts of the Department of Defense to mark the anniversaries related to World War Two, the Korean War and Vietnam War.

(Radio Iowa)

Governor Terry Branstad is scheduled to sign a bill into law this morning (Monday) that’s designed to make Iowa more attractive to soldiers leaving the military. “I”m pleased the legislature approved it,” Branstad says. “Home Base Iowa was our top priority this session and I will sign it.” The bill eliminates state income taxes on military pensions for soldiers and their surviving spouses. It also makes it easier for soldiers to earn academic credit for their military training and experience, if they decide to seek a degree at an Iowa college or university. In addition, state boards will now be required to take into account a soldier’s military skills when the soldier applies for a professional license. The Congressional Research Office says the average age of a soldier who retires from the military is between 40 and 45, which means they start a second career.

“There’s a major reduction going on in our military and there’s a lot of talented leaders with technical skills that we want to attract to Iowa,” Branstad says. Branstad will sign a second bill that extends a homestead tax credit for disabled veterans. “I think it’s going to be a big step forward for our state,” Branstad says. “…I want to make sure that Iowa’s one of the leaders in providing services and opportunities for veterans.” Last week a social networking site that focused on personal finance ranked Iowa as the 13th best state for military veterans to retire.

“Once this legislation is passed I think we’re going to be able to make significant progress. You know many states don’t tax military veterans’ benefits and now we’re going to join their ranks,” Branstad says. “We also are going to be offering in-state tuition to veterans, their spouses and dependents. We also already have this $5000 tax credit for veterans that purchase homes in our state.” Branstad served as a military policeman during the Vietnam Era and he plans to wear his Army uniform for today’s (Monday’s) bill signing ceremony. It’s scheduled to begin shortly after 8:30 this morning in the Iowa Gold Star Museum at Camp Dodge in Johnston.

(Radio Iowa)

A variety of events are scheduled throughout the state in remembrance for this Memorial Day. In Atlantic, services at the Atlantic Cemetery begin at 10-a.m., but volunteers were scheduled to begin placing flags in the cemetery at sunrise.

Elsewhere in Cass County, the Grant United Methodist Church will hold its annual Memorial Day Dinner from 11:30 am -1 pm  for your free-will offering. Join the Lewis Town & Country Boosters and the Pancake Man at the Lewis Community Center. Serving of pancakes and sausages with juice and coffee for a free will donation, is from 7:30 – 10:30 am. The Exira Lions Club will be serving breakfast of pancakes, sausage, eggs and biscuits and gravy for free will offering from 7 am to 1 pm. Also from 11 am to 1 pm they will be serving Rueben sandwiches for $6.00 each. This will be at the Lions Community Center in Exira. The Griswold American Legion Post #508’s Memorial Day Program will be held at 9 am in the Griswold High School Auditorium. The speaker will be Robert Hoogaveen. And, the Exira American Legion Memorial Day Service will begin at 9:45am with a band. Invocation by Pastor Duane Ferguson and address by Retired Brigadier General John S. Peppers.

Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs executive director, Robert King, says the official state events begin at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery near Van Meter. He says there will be a service there on at 8 a-m on Memorial Day with Brigadier General Jennifer Walter, Chief of Staff of the Iowa Air National Guard as the guest speaker. There is then a ceremony at the Veterans Memorial downtown at 11 a-m with Kevin Heer the Vice-Commander 132nd Fighter Wing will be the speaker. The Iowa Goldstar Museum at Camp Dodge also has special events happening on Monday.

“They serve S-O-S (stuff on a shingle) breakfast to those who show up for it,” King says. He says there will be a flyover by a World War Two airplane, and King says it’s a great opportunity for families to see the museum. The ceremony at the Oakwood Cemetery in Pella will have a special performance. “A large portion of that is being done by Civil War reenactors from the honor guard of the Department of the Iowa 49th Veteran Volunteer Infantry. It’s a reenactment group that does a really, really fine job,” King says. Another event is scheduled for north-east Iowa.

King says there’s an event at 10 o’clock at the Rose Hill Cemetery and all Vietnam veterans will receive a pin in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. Fredericksburg’s four remaining World War II veterans will also be honored.

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Lenox responding to a domestic disturbance early Sunday morning ended up tazing a man who was allegedly uncooperative with officers.

Michael David Cox

Authorities say Police were called to the parking lot of Tiger Lanes at around 1-a.m. Sunday, in reference to what was believed to be a domestic dispute. When the officer arrived a male later identified as 30-year old Michael Cox, of Lenox, was uncooperative, confrontational and involved in a dispute with a female.

Cox is allegedly to have repeatedly failed to respond to the officers directions, forcing the officer to deploy his taser. Cox was taken into custody and transported to the Taylor County Jail, where he was charged with disorderly conduct and public intoxication.