Officials at Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan are making changes when it comes to scheduling children’s immunizations at Shelby County Public Health clinics. The Shelby County Community Health Department says beginning in April, appointments will be required for children’s immunizations. Appointments will be available from 3 to 6pm on the first Wednesday of each month.

You can pre-register each child for an appointment online at www.shelbycountyclinics.com or calling 712-755-4422. The next children’s immunization clinic is scheduled for Wednesday April 3rd at the Shelby County Community Health building, located at 2712 12th Street in Harlan.

The Atlantic Police Department reports three people were arrested Thursday. Facing charges of Interference with Official Acts and 4th degree Theft, are 19-years old’s Joseph Kennedy and Rynell Ware, both of Council Bluffs.  The charges are the result of an incident which occurred Thursday night, during which Kennedy and Ware allegedly walked out of the Atlantic Wal-Mart Store with two shopping carts full of merchandise they failed to pay for, and then allegedly tried to hide from police officers.

And, the A-PD says 29-year old Daniel Fredericksen, of Atlantic, was arrested Thursday on a Cass County warrant for Failure to Appear.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers says with a good chance of a significant snowfall occurring in Clarinda on Saturday and Sunday, now is the time to remind the citizens of the community about the emergency snow ordinance. The Clarinda Snow Ordinance says: No person shall park any motor vehicle or other apparatus upon any street of the city that will obstruct the removal of snow when there has been an accumulation of two (2) inches or more. Any vehicle left parked on any street in violation of this ordinance may be impounded, and the registered owner of the vehicle will be subject to a $15.00 parking fine, and payment of all applicable towing and storage fees in order for the vehicle to be released.

A traffic stop in Harlan last Saturday (March 16th), led to the arrest of two people on drug charges. According to the Harlan Police Department, 29-year old Michael Gifford and 30-year old Heather Beatty, both of Harlan, each face Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, charges. Gifford also faces a charge of Prohibited Acts, and he was cited for Driving While Suspended, along with Driving on the wrong side of a two-way street. The owner of the vehicle, 32-year old Wayne Vohs, of Harlan, was cited for permitting an unauthorized person to drive.

Harlan Police report also, the arrest on Monday, of 22-year old Kurt Tucker. The Harlan man was arrested for Driving While Suspended, following a traffic stop. He was subsequently cited and released. And, on March 15th, 21-year old Brandon Barnum, of Shelby, was arrested on an OWI charge, following a traffic stop. Barnum was also cited for Careless Driving.

w/ Ric Hanson

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There’ll be a new man in charge of the Logan-Magnolia Community School District, effective July 1^st. The Omaha World-Herald reports that’s when Thomas Ridder takes over the Superintendent’s job, from retiring Superintendent Jim Hammerich.

Ridder, who has served as a school administrator in Howells, NE, will also become Lo-Ma’s pre-kindergarten through 4th grade principal, in addition to handling his duties as Superintendent.

The Logan-Magnolia School Board of Education approved Ridder’s one-year contract during a meeting held last week.

Trial in the case of a western Iowa man charged with murdering his mother and kidnapping another woman, has been delayed until June. According to the Omaha World-Herald, 21-year old Kirk Levin‘s attorney asked for the delay, so he could complete depositions. The trial, which was set to have begun April 10th, will now take place June 3rd.

Levin faces 1st-degree murder and 3rd degree kidnapping charges. Prosecutors say he stabbed his mother Marilyn Schmitt to death, at her home near Early, in rural Sac County, on January 3rd. He later allegedly kidnapped 21-year old Jessica Vega from her Storm Lake home, tied her up and put her in the trunk of his car. The woman escaped when Levin’s vehicle went into a ditch.

Levin had been released from prison a few days prior to the events, after serving time for burglary.

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The Audubon Police Department reports the arrest March 14^th of a local man on fraud-related charges. 35 year old Ricky Raymond Peterson, of Audubon, was charged with Insurance Fraud, for allegedly submitting a false claim stating a large sum of money was stolen from his home, and, for Filing a False Report of an Indictable Crime to law enforcement.

An investigation determined no theft had actually occurred. Peterson was released from custody March 15^th on a $5,000 recognizance bond. His preliminary hearing was set for April 1^st.

The town of Neola is hosting a regional open house for the Department of Veterans Affairs this weekend. Will Ackerman, spokesman for the V-A’s Western Iowa Health Care System, says the events today (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday) simply aim to offer veterans information. “Learn about the V.A. benefits, what services we have available,” Ackerman says. “If they bring in their form DD-214, their discharge and separation document, we’ll have staff that can help them fill out an application for enrollment, if they haven’t already.” Ackerman says the open house is targeted toward anyone who’s served our country in uniform.

“This is kind of a one-stop shop for veterans and their families to come in and check out what’s going on with the V.A. and be able to complete an enrollment application,” Ackerman says. The open house is hoping to reach Iowa veterans who live in the following counties: Audubon, Adams, Cass, Crawford, Fremont, Harrison, Ida, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie and Shelby, but all veterans are welcome.

“We take these open houses out to rural communities to take the information out to them,” Ackerman says. “We’ve done this for the last three years and every year, we probably reach about 500 or 600 veterans and their families through these events.” The open house will be held at the Neola Community Center from 11 AM to 7 PM today and from 9 AM to 1 PM on Saturday.

(Radio Iowa)