Sheriff’s officials in Page County say a Shenandoah man was arrested Wednesday night on a warrant out of California. 31-year old John Joseph Bowen was taken into custody at around 10:30-p.m., at his residence in Shenandoah. Bowen was wanted for a Parole Violation. He was being held in the Page County Jail without bond, while awaiting extradition to California.

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ONAWA, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a Monona County woman held her infant son under a bathtub faucet to drown him.  Twenty-four-old Ashley Cameron, of Onawa, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 15-month-old son, Markis Dahms.  Assistant Onawa Police Chief Jim Fouts said Thursday that investigators believe Cameron acted alone. Fouts says Cameron “was with Markis during the time of his death, and she was the sole caregiver for Markis.”  Officers were sent to the Onawa home on Feb. 11th because of a report that a toddler wasn’t breathing. Fouts says Cameron wasn’t arrested until all the autopsy results had been obtained.  She remains jailed pending $1 million bail.  Cameron’s 2-year-old daughter is being cared for by relatives.

More than one hundred Iowa homes were damaged and at least 14 were destroyed in last weekend’s tornadoes and severe storms. Julie Rochman, president of the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, offers some advice for Iowans who have to rebuild. Rochman says science shows we can make homes more resistant to strong winds, hail and flying debris. “In the middle of the country, the building codes really do not incorporate provisions that will make your home really safe from really high winds,” Rochman says. “The main thing you want to make sure of, if you’re building a new home or looking at how to make your current home safer, you need your roof to be held on by more than gravity. Strapping the roof to the walls, the walls to each other and the walls to the foundation to create a continuous path of safety.” While we can’t prevent tornadoes, she says we can reduce the level of damage and loss of life from these horrific storms.

“First, it’s important to understand that even the best engineering can be overwhelmed by an EF4 or EF5 tornado,” she says. “When it comes to EF-zeros, ones and twos, we really can eliminate that kind of damage that comes from debris in a storm, breaking windows, the gusty winds tearing off a piece or all of the roof, those types of things can be prevented.” When rebuilding, she says it’s a good idea to look at the cost benefits of making the structure more wind-resistant, adding, it doesn’t cost that much more. Rochman, a Nebraska native, says storm shelters serve an important purpose.

“It used to be that everybody had a safe place, a basement or a root cellar, someplace they could go that was windowless and away from the wind,” she says. “Now, unfortunately, fewer people have those types of places. We do recommend if someone wants to be particularly safe, there are storm shelters that are certified by the National Storm Shelter Association and there are FEMA grants that help people offset the cost of those.” A federal report finds the number of tornadoes rose dramatically over the past year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says there were 379 preliminary tornado reports in the first quarter of 2012 compared to 154 twisters during the same period last year. The 20-year average for the first quarter is 144.

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A state hotline to combat bullying is under consideration for Iowa. The idea follows the weekend suicide of a 14-year-old northwest Iowa boy who was bullied after he acknowledged to others that he was gay. At least two lawmakers are checking into whether a hotline can be set up before the legislative session ends. Rep. Mary Mascher, D-Iowa City, says she’s been thinking about “how isolating it is for kids who are bullied and are scared.”  Mascher and Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames, are checking costs and looking into whether an anti-bullying component could be added to the Iowa Suicide & Crisis Hotlines.

Residents in Shelby County currently signed-up for the “Code Red” alert system will receive an alert next week, as part of a test of the system. The test is scheduled to occur at about 7-p.m., on April 26^th. County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Seivert says any resident of Shelby County who has not signed-up for the Code Red Alerts, should do so as soon as possible, especially in light of the severe weather season.

The system was made available to residents of the County in 2009. Sievert says nearly 17-hundred out of the County’s 12,000 residents are currently signed-up for the alerts. The Code Red system was used in Fremont County, and was credited with making a difference in saving the lives of Thurman residents, who were alerted to a tornado which nearly destroyed the small town, but resulted in no deaths. 

The Code Red system will deliver warnings to your cell and home phones. It can also be used for a missing child alert, chemical spill or release, and other such emergencies. To sign-up for Code Red Alerts in Shelby County, log on to https://cne.coderedweb.com/Default.aspx?groupid=roU6u4tSj3bzjR8hdqfzcg%3d%3d,go to http://www.shco.org/ and click on the Code Red Warning System quick link, or call 712-755-2124.

Representatives of First Whitney Bank and Trust recently presented Cass County Memorial Hospital Foundation Director Dawn Marin with a check for $10,000, to be used for the CCMH Foundation’s “Healing Garden” Project, to be located on the Cass County Health System Campus.

Paul Gude (left) and Jason Nicholas, representing First Whitney Bank and Trust, recently presented Dawn Marnin, Foundation Director at Cass County Memorial Hospital, a $10,000 donation to be used toward the creation of a Healing Garden on the CCHS campus.

The Healing Garden is being designed to serve as a “Peaceful haven for patients, their family members and the hospital staff.” It will feature a fountain, quiet places, benches and a healing Garden of Hope.

For more details on the project, listen to the KJAN podcast of “Backyard and Beyond,” with Lavon Eblen. Just go to our “Podcasts” page to find and download or direct play the program. Or, for more information on how you can help with the project, contact Dawn Marnin, 712-243-7409 or go to www.casshealth.org<http://www.casshealth.org>.

The Iowa Small Business Development Center (SBDC) recently elected Kathy Jordan of Council Bluffs as the newest members of its State Advisory Board. Jordan joins 2012 Board Chair Brian Brown, CEO and Founder, Murphy Business & Financial of the Heartland Corporation, Cedar Rapids, and 2012 Vice Chair Jim Patton, Governor of Rotary District 5970, Rockwell City, and 31 other board members who represent all regions of the state and many of the partners and associations that represent Iowa’s businesses and industries.

Jordan is the president and owner of Kathy’s Koffees, doing business as Scooter’s Coffeehouse, and operates two Scooter’s Coffeehouse franchises in the Council Bluffs area. She is currently the longest standing franchise owner for the company and has over 20 years of management experience in the food service industry. As an Iowa Small Business Development Center State Advisory Board member, Jordan will provide insight and perspective to this successful business assistance organization.

The Iowa Small Business Development Center is an outreach program of Iowa State University’s College of Business. Partially funded by the U. S. Small Business Administration, the organization has 16 regional business assistance centers located strategically across the state. Since program inception in 1981, the organization has provided free, expert, confidential business advice and affordable, practical training workshops to hundreds of thousands of Iowa businesses and entrepreneurs.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press