Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

The Red Oak Police Department reported the arrest of 30-year old Bobbie Jo Kent of Elmo, MO on Friday. Kent was arrested in the 200 Block of W Oak Street and charged with four counts of forgery. Her bond has been set at $5,000.

An unknown medical condition resulted in an accident Thursday evening in Montgomery County that sent one person to the hospital. The Iowa State Patrol says 25-year old Bryant Hunter, of Stanton, passed out at the wheel of his 1997 Chevy pickup, as the vehicle was traveling east on Highway 34 northeast of Villisca, at around 5:35-p.m., Thursday. The pickup entered the south ditch, came out of the ditch and crossed both lanes of the highway, before vaulting a small waterway in the north ditch. When the truck hit the ditch embankment, its airbags deployed. The vehicle came to rest against the embankment. Hunter was transported by Villisca Rescue to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital in Red Oak.

A Council Bluffs woman was sentenced today (Friday) to serve 5-years in prison after being convicted on a charge of distributing 5-grams or more of methamphetamine. U-S District Court Judge Robert Pratt handed down the 60-month prison term against 46-year old Lisa Marie Barrett. He also ordered the woman to serve five-years of supervised release following her imprisonment. Barrett was sentenced after pleading guilty to distributing 6.8-grams of 95-percent pure meth during a undercover sting operations conducted by the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force (SWINE).

Her case was part of a larger investigation conducted by task force, which also resulted in the arrest of three other individuals. David Fisher was sentenced to nearly 10-years in prison plus 5-years of supervised release. Nicholas Franks was sentenced to serve slightly more than 11-years in prison plus five years of supervised release, and, Steven Etherington was sentenced to 12 1/2-years in prison, plus five-years of supervised release.

For her role in the distribution of meth, Barrett must also forfeit more than $1,060 and the various drug-related paraphernalia seized at the time of her arrest. She remains in the custody of the U-S Marshal’s Service, pending designation of the Federal Bureau of Prisons facility at which she will serve her sentence.

The case against her and the other defendants was prosecuted by the U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

The Harlan Police Department released their arrest report for this past week today (Friday). On Saturday, March 9th the Harlan Police Department arrested three people following traffic stops. The first incident occurred when Harlan Officers arrested 47-year old Mike Mikels of Harlan and charged him with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and cited him for careless driving and open container, driver. Mikels was transported to the Shelby County Jail.

The second incident of the day involved two people. Twenty-four year old Theodore Behrens and 20-year old Kyla Binkley both of Harlan, were taken into custody and transported to the Shelby County Jail where Binkley was charged with possession of a controlled substance and both she and Behrens were charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

On March 13th the Harlan Police Department reports the arrest of twenty-two year old Cody Lister of Harlan following a traffic stop. Lister was wanted on an active Shelby County warrant for probation revocation and theft in the 2nd degree. Lister was also charged with possession of a controlled substance (enhanced due to a prior conviction) and possession of drug paraphernalia. The driver of the vehicle, 20-year old Kyla Binkley of Harlan was also charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Both were transported to the Shelby County Jail.

On Thursday, March 14th, 38-year old Shawn Schechinger of Harlan was taken into custoday on an active Shelby County warrant for theft in the 5th degree. Schechinger was transported to the Shelby County Jail.

That same day, 21-year old Megan Defenbaugh of Harlan was arrested when officers were called because a person was sitting in the middle of an intersection. Officers had been called to the Defenbaugh residence earlier in the evening as well. Defenbaugh was transported to the Shelby County Jail where she was charged with interference with official acts.

The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Council Bluff’s construction office reports setting beams on the center span of the new bridge carrying U.S. 34 over Interstate 29 (exit 35) near Pacific Junction, will require closing the interstate to motorists Tuesday, March 19, at 7:30 a.m. until completion later in the day, weather permitting.

During construction, motorists will be directed by flaggers around the closure using the entrance and exit ramps to I-29. Motorists should expect delays. The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey posted speed limits and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles and wear seat belts.

A bill under consideration at the statehouse stipulates that only the legislature has the authority to allow marijuana to be used for medical purposes. Representative Jarad Klein, a Republican from Keota, urged members of the House to vote for the bill. “I believe this is an important act for the legislature to take under,” Klein says. “We are accountable to the people and I believe that’s what this bill really goes at the heart of is who has the authority.”

In the past few years the Iowa Board of Pharmacy has debated the issue of medical marijuana and considered putting it on their list of controlled substances which can be dispensed with a prescription, but has never taken that final step. The bill would forbid the board from allowing medical marijuana prescriptions in Iowa. “The intent of this piece of legislation is clarify that only the legislature shall have the discretion to move marijuana from a Scheduled I controlled substance to a Schedule II controlled substance,” Klein says.

The bill passed the House this week on a 71 to 24 vote. It now goes to a senate committee for consideration. Marijuana is illegal in the United States, but 18 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws to permit marijuana to be prescribed as a treatment for symptoms like pain and nausea that are often associated with chronic and fatal illnesses.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Senate wants all school employees to undergo training to recognize when a student is suffering from trauma or contemplating suicide. The bill, prompted by the recent suicides of two students in Johnston, unanimously passed Wednesday. School boards would be required to select a program to train school personnel on recognizing the symptoms of students contemplating suicide. It also would train them on how to intervene.

Democrat Sen. Tod Bowman of Maquoketa, an educator, says teachers are well-positioned in a child’s life to recognize suicidal behavior. He told the senate Wednesday that the suicide of a former student 24 years ago still scars his memory.  Statistics show there are about 30 teenage suicides in Iowa each year.     The measure now moves to the House.

The Atlantic Police Department reports the arrest Thursday of 20-year old Scott Jackson. Jackson,who’s from Atlantic, was arrested on four Cass County warrants, including two for Possession of a Controlled Substance and two for Failure to Affix a drug Tax Stamp. Jackson was booked into the Cass County Jail.

(9-a.m. News)

Drought conditions persist across the Midwest and Great Plains regions which translates to a lower runoff forecast for the Missouri River basin. Kevin Stom, with the water control bureau of the U-S Army Corps of Engineers, says the river’s runoff remains low, but there’s been a small pick-up in recent weeks. “We are forecasting 20-million acre feet of runoff above Sioux City, which is 81-percent of normal,” Stom says. “This is a slight increase of 0.1-million acre feet from the February forecast.”

Jody Farhat, chief of the water bureau in Omaha, says the Corps will continue with water conservation measures this spring. Farhat says, “We’re beginning this runoff season with the reservoirs drawn down significantly due to the drought and as a result, we’re implementing measures to conserve water in the reservoir system, including reduced service to navigation this year.” If the drought continues as feared, Farhat said they may have to look at even more water-savings steps in future months.

Farhat says, “Other potential conservation measures that may be implemented this summer include not supporting navigation targets in reaches without commercial navigation, use of the Kansas basin reservoirs for navigation support and cycling Gavins Point releases during the endangered species nesting season.”

Missouri River levels were very low all of last year due to the drought, which followed a full year of record flooding on the waterway in 2011.

(Radio Iowa)