***UPDATE 10/6/17 – THE TEEN WAS FOUND SAFE IN COLORADO. Please see the latest post on this story***

The family members of an Anita teen are asking for your help in finding her. Claressa Marnin Hensley says her 13-year old daughter Gracie Hensley left their home at around 7:45-a.m. Wednesday, wearing leggings, a sweatshirt and white Adidas shoes with a bright yellow Nike sinch (drawstring)-type bag. Gracie has brown eyes and shoulder length curly hair. She is believed to be in the company of 17-year old Zach Calhoun or Zach Pursley, from Georgia, who is wanted by authorities in that State. The pair are in a white Ford F-150 pickup with personalized Iowa license plates that read MARNIN. The pickup belongs to Hensley’s grandmother.

Her last location as indicated by a ping of her cell-phone, was near Waverly, NE. The phone is currently not pinging. It’s not clear where she was going. If you have seen the vehicle or Gracie Marnin, or know where she is, call the family at 712-249-5386.

Missing truck

Missing teen, Gracie Marnin

ADEL, Iowa (AP) – The adoptive parents of a 16-year-old who weighed only 56 pounds when she died have been charged with another crime in Iowa: first-degree murder.  Court records show a Dallas County judge on Tuesday approved the prosecution’s request to bring more charges against Misty and Marc Ray. They’re the adoptive parents of 16-year-old Sabrina Ray. She was found dead May 12 inside the Perry home she shared with Marc and Misty Ray and her siblings.

Marc and Misty Ray already have pleaded not guilty to charges of child endangerment causing death, child endangerment causing serious injury and neglect. Police say preliminary autopsy results show Sabrina Ray was severely malnourished. A trial isn’t expected until next year.

A new report estimates 186-thousand middle class Iowa households will pay more taxes under plans that are pending in the U.S. Senate. Mike Owen of the Iowa Policy Project says half of the tax cuts would go to the top one percent of wealthy Iowans.
“Under that analysis those tax cuts to the top one percent would average $50,000 in 2018 alone,” Owen says.

That analysis of the Iowa impact comes from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. A senate committee is scheduled to vote soon on a federal spending plan that will lay the groundwork for tax cuts. Seth Hanlon, a tax policy advisor to President Obama, is now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. “I think what we’re seeing is massive tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires,” Hanlon says, “and mystery meat for the middle class.”

ReShonda Young is a small business owner from Waterloo whose “Popcorn Heaven” outlets now operate in five locations. She says the business tax cuts proposed by Republicans won’t lower her taxes. “It will not help small businesses,” Young says. “In fact, the budget cuts will hurt small businesses like mine and make us less able to compete with the large corporations that take advantage of unfair loopholes.”

Young is urging Senator Chuck Grassley to vote against the budget plan coming up for a vote in the Senate Budget Committee that sets a framework for the G-O-P’s tax cuts. Republicans say they’re aiming for tax cuts that will stimulate economic growth. The G-O-P also argues it’s impossible to determine the full impact of the party’s tax cut package yet because the details are still being worked out.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says his office has reached a price reduction agreement with a leading manufacturer of naloxone, a lifesaving opioid antidote. Miller, at a news conference Wednesday morning at a Des Moines fire station, said the deal involves California-based drug maker Amphastar. “They have agreed to provide, to all public entities, a six dollar rebate for any doses in the state of Iowa,” Miller said.

The two-year agreement took affect this week. A typical dose of naloxone can cost between $23 and $48. “In the kind of volume we’re thinking about, a $6 rebate will make some significance,” Miller said.

There are more than 900 EMS providers in Iowa. Police officers often administer doses of naloxone too, as they often encounter Iowans who’ve overdosed on heroin or prescription painkillers. Dale Woolery is with the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy. “For instance, I’ve been told in Dubuque, so far this year, the law enforcement officers there alone…they’ve had one save a month,” Woolery said. “So, about 10 saves so far this year – those are lives.”

Prices for various brands of naloxone have risen dramatically in recent years along with the increase in heroin and opioid abuse. The Iowa Department of Public Health reports 180 people died in the state last year from opioid-related causes.

(Radio Iowa)

A musical act that defies genre will make its first-ever stop in Iowa next week, bringing an Iowa native home with his high-energy acoustic band. Jared Hall is the keyboardist for Velvet Caravan, a five-member act that was assembled in Savannah, Georgia, from a wide array of musicians — hailing from as far away as Boston, Austin, Venezuela and Slovenia. “We started just kind of molding all of our sounds together playing in this little restaurant in Savannah,” Hall says, “and it’s amazing how it all just started to work.”

The 40-year-old Hall, a native of Atlantic, says it’s the diversity in their backgrounds that makes their sound so strong and unusual. Their influences include: southern rock, classical, jazz, gypsy, Latin and honkytonk. “We began composing and writing our own material and next thing you know, we had what I like to describe as just this gumbo of great sounds,” Hall says, laughing. “To be funny, we kind of describe it as European Redneck Music.”

The quintet features the musicians on: guitar, violin, standup bass, percussion and keyboards. The eclectic sound often draws a very unusual collection of people in the audience, he says, from grey-haired seniors tapping their feet to break-dancing high schoolers. “We see a lot of young people who are really into that kind of music,” Hall says. “There’s a big resurgence right now for gypsy-jazz, gypsy-swing kind of stuff. We see that all the way from someone who might appreciate jazz music, we see jazz fans out there, we see classical music fans out there. We even have quite a little hipster following going on.” (Here’s a snippet of their sound):

Velvet Caravan’s first Iowa show is scheduled for October 12th at the Temple Theater in Des Moines.

Some renewable fuels advocates are questioning the Trump Administration’s commitment to biofuels in light of recent proposals from the EPA. Those proposals include reducing the RFS blend requirement for biodiesel and having U.S. biofuel export volumes count towards compliance with the RFS. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he expressed his concerns to President Trump in a phone conversation last Friday.

“I don’t want to say what the President said, but I was very satisfied with the position the President took in our discussion,” Grassley said. As a result of that conversation, Grassley and several of his Senate colleagues will be meeting with EPA administrator Scott Pruitt on October 17.  “I will tell administrator Pruitt that the proposal is counter to what the President has pledged,” Grassley said.

The EPA, Grassley added, appear to be undercutting the President’s support of biofuels. Grassley said while he has no direct evidence that the oil industry is pressuring the EPA on biofuels, he isn’t ruling out the possibility. “Big Oil may be accomplishing something in EPA it couldn’t get through Congress,” Grassley said. “And like a duck, if it quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.”

Grassley will be holding town meetings in Iowa next week during the Congressional recess.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 1:55 a.m. CDT

SUTHERLAND, Iowa (AP) — A northwestern Iowa woman was killed in the Las Vegas concert shooting. Carly Kreibaum of Sutherland was among the 59 people who died from injuries sustained Sunday during the deadliest shooting in U.S. history. She was 33. The Sioux City Journal reports that Kreibaum attended the outdoor music festival with two friends who say they got separated from Kreibaum but saw her get shot.

CRESTON, Iowa (AP) — A southern Iowa candy factory is closing its doors, taking more than 250 jobs from the area. The Des Moines Register reports Ferrara Candy Company announced Wednesday it would close its unionized Creston plant sometime in December. The company makes well-known candy brands, including Brachs, RedHots, Jujyfruits, Lemonheads and Trolli Gummi candies. The plant has operated in Creston for more than 30 years.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former Des Moines hospital pharmacy worker accused of stealing painkillers from hundreds of patients has been arraigned on federal charges. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Des Moines says Victor Van Cleave was in court Wednesday, charged with to face two criminal counts: tampering with consumer products and obtaining fentanyl by misrepresentation, fraud, deception and subterfuge.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Whether high-capacity ammunition magazines should be banned is a question getting renewed attention after the attack in Las Vegas, where a gunman rapid-fired bullets into a crowed of concertgoers. Eight states have passed restrictions limiting magazines to 10 or 15 bullets. Gun-rights advocates say the Second Amendment protects their right to own high-capacity magazines, which they prize for sport shooting and self-defense.

Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones and Councilman Dana Halder presented gifts during Wednesday night’s City Council meeting, to Linn Headlee, President of the Atlantic Public Library’s Board of Directors. Mayor Jones was the first to speak.

Mayor Dave Jones presents an award to Linn Headlee.

He thanked her for her years of service and presented her with an award. Jones said “Thank you for your years of service at the public library as an officer and President of the Library Board of Trustees. Your dedication and service to the Library is greatly appreciated.” Jones says people serving on boards often times don’t get the recognition they deserve, and Headlee “Was going above and beyond” in terms of her service.

Councilman Halder, who serves as the Council’s liaison to the Library Board, presented Linn Headlee with a ceramic vase with flowers. He said he promised if she stayed on as Library Board President, he would bring her chocolates and flowers. In addition to the flowers, Halder presented Headlee with “Some premium chocolate clusters…I shopped local.”

In her report to the Council, Headlee said the Library Board continues its efforts to find a new Library Director to succeed Natalie Struecker, who resigned a couple of months ago. Their staff, she said, continue with school outreach programs, story-time, and other educational programs. She added that representatives Iowa Works come to the library once a month, to help out of work persons in their job search, resume preparation and Iowa Workforce website for employment opportunities. They began doing so on Oct. 2nd, but haven’t had much turnout for the hours they are available. Therefore, Headlee said they are requesting that persons who want to use their service, please call ahead and reserve your time slot. For more information, you can call the Library.

Councilman Halder presents the flowers and chocolates.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Iowa Congressman David Young today (Wednesday), asked U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta to assist the employees who will be affected by the closing of a Creston candy production factory.

Ferrara Candy Company, the largest employer in Creston, announced it would be closing the factory in December which will result in the loss of more than 250 jobs. Ferrara Candy Company has been part of the Creston community for more than 30 years.

“The plant’s closing is deeply troubling. I know how important those jobs are to the Creston community and I know that the community will come together to make sure those affected are taken care of. I reached out to Secretary Acosta because the Department of Labor should immediately begin implementation of transition assistance and aid programs to lessen the impact on those affected and the Creston community as a whole,” said Congressman Young. “My office stands ready to assist anyone affected by the closing of the plant.”

Congressman Young’s letter to Secretary Acosta asked that the Department of Labor work closely with local and state officials and impacted workers to ensure they have access to available services designed to help them find new, quality employment in the future.

The National Weather Service in Omaha/Valley has issued a  Flood Watch for portions of southwest Iowa and southeast Nebraska, including the following Counties, in southwest Iowa: Fremont, Mills, Montgomery, and Page, from 1-p.m. Thursday through 5-a.m. Saturday.

* Numerous rounds of showers and thunderstorms with heavy rainfall potential are expected Thursday into Friday. This could eventually could create 2 to 4 inches of rain over a prolonged period of time, which may result in flooding of low lying areas,
and possibly some rivers and streams. Rainfall over the previous 48 hours has averaged three quarters to two and a half inches in some areas, thus the soil may already be wet in some locations.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A Flood Watch means there is a potential for flooding based on current forecasts.

You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop.