JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — An Oklahoma man has been charged in Iowa with harboring a runaway teenager from Mississippi. Court documents say the 15-year-old and 21-year-old Jared Wright were found Sunday in his car at a high school parking lot in Johnston, Iowa. Authorities say she was unharmed. Wright lives in Lawton, Oklahoma. The documents say police from Tishomingo County, Mississippi, contacted the Iowa department Sunday to say the girl was thought be in Iowa at a store in Grimes. She wasn’t, but she and Wright were found not far away later at the parking lot.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports a woman from Thayer was arrested Sunday morning at her home. 32-year old Jennifer Lane Miller was taken into custody on a Warren County warrant for Harassment in the 1st Degree. Miller was transported to the Adams County Jail to be held for Warren County. She was being held without bond, pending an appearance before a Judge.

A woman from Bedford was arrested Sunday, following a traffic stop in Shenandoah. The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports 30-year old Nicki Eileen Foulkes was taken into custody for Driving while license suspended or revoked. Foulkes was transported to the Page County Jail, posted a bond amounting to a little more than $566, and was released pending future court proceedings.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from New Market, 25-year old Josey Roger William Harrison, was arrested Friday on a Taylor County Warrant for Animal Neglect. Harrison was arrested at the Page County Sheriff’s Office. Harrison posted a $300 bond, and was released pending further court proceedings.

Two men were arrested at the Pottawattamie County Jail, on separate Page County warrants, Sunday. Sheriff’s officials says 61-year old Robin Clark Latham, of Omaha, NE, was arrested on two Page County Warrants for Probation Violation. Latham was unable to post the $20,000 bond for both warrants, and was being held in the Page County Jail pending further court proceedings.

And, 31-year old Christopher Lee Gillette, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Sunday on a Page County Warrant for Theft in the 4th Degree. Gillette was unable to post the $1,000 bond, and remains in the Page County Jail, pending further court proceedings.

(Radio Iowa) — Researchers say tiny pieces of plastic are polluting the shores of some northwest Iowa beaches. Students at Buena Vista University teamed up with Storm Lake High School students to collect baggies of sand along three of the city’s beaches. They found small chunks of tires, fleece threads and parking lot paint mixed in the sand. B-V-U senior Mel Graf says their findings really bring home the environmental issue. “When we go walking on those beaches, we’re walking on sand but we’re also walking on microplastics, we’re walking on pollution,” Graf says. “Hopefully that’s something we can start to figure out ways to go about fixing.”

B-V-U environmental science professor Ben Maas says this is just the first in a series of planned studies of microplastics pollution. “We don’t really know where it is going,” Maas says. “Is it getting deposited in the lake itself, or the mud, the lake bed, or is it getting deposited on the beaches?” One big concern about microplastics is that they can harm marine life that ingest them.

Researchers hope to look more into how far this pollution goes, by studying more beaches and even the water itself.

(Reporting by Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, is expected to set March 18th at 5:30-p.m., as the date and time for a Public Hearing on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Budget, and Adoption of the Budget. The Budget lists revenue and other incomes sources as just under $15.16-million, and expenditures of $18.02-million, creating a deficit of $2.87-million. The City will have an ending fund balance on June 30, 2020 of $6.7-million, and more than $9.58-million in their beginning fund balance as of July 1st, to carry the deficit. The Budget calls for an estimated Total tax levy rate of $16.56 per $1,000 valuation on regular property, and $3.00/$1,000 on Ag land. The final budget must be submitted to the State by March 31st.

In other business, the City Council will act on setting their March 18th regular meeting as the date for action on a Resolution to Adopt the Proposed FY 2021 10-year CIP (Capital Improvement Plan). And, hold a Public Hearing on a Proposal to enter into a General Obligation (G.O.) [Bond] Refunding Loan Agreement, which – because of lower available interest rates – will provide a cost savings to the City over the next seven-years, of almost $52,953.  The hearing will be followed by action on approving the Resolution.

There will also be a presentation of the final plans and specifications for the Atlantic Animal Shelter Building Addition. You may recall, the Lorene Eppelsheimer Estate gifted the City $135,000 to benefit animals at the Shelter, and the City has committed to constructing an addition. The biggest part of the addition, will allow cats to have their own space away from dogs, and it will allow the addition of more cat cages, proper food storage, and an exam/grooming table for animals. A more efficient water heater is also in the plans. Following the presentation, the Council will act on an Order setting the bid date and public hearing for the project, as April 1st, 5:30-p.m. They will also act on a Resolution calling for bids, with the deadline being at the end of business on March 31st.

The first day for filing nomination papers to appear on the ballot for the June Primary in Cass County, has three people submitting their nominations, so far. The Cass County Auditor’s Office reports Auditor Dale Sunderman and Sheriff Darby McLaren (Both Republicans), have filed for re-election. Russell Joyce filed his papers to run as a Democrat on the Cass County Board of Supervisors, in District 5.

Current D-5 Supervisor Frank Waters, who is serving his 12th year on the Board, announced last month that he would not be running for re-election. The last day to file nomination papers in advance of the June 2nd Primary, is Wednesday, March 25, 2020. Nomination papers and candidate information are available at the office of the county auditor and from the secretary of state: www.sos.iowa.gov

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Worries about a new virus that’s infected tens of thousands of people globally are making a mark on the economy of a nine-state region in the Midwest and Plains. A new survey report says the Mid-American Business Conditions Index sank in February to 52.8 from 57.2 in January. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the softer reading and the economic harm from the virus should concern policymakers. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth. A score below suggests decline. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

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

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