The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, Friday afternoon released details pertaining to the funeral and procession route for Deputy Mark Burbridge. As previously mentioned, his funeral will be held at the Mid-America Center on Monday, March 8th. Governor Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds will be in attendance.

Law enforcement officers attending the service are asked to arrive at the Mid-America Center at 7:30-a.m., Monday. Doors to the Mid-America Center will be open for public seating at 8:30-a.m. Members of the public are asked to enter the center through the West Entry doors.

Procession Route:

Following Deputy Burbridge’s Memorial Service at the Mid-America Center on Monday, May 8th, 2017, Deputy Burbridge will be returned to Hoy-Kilnoski Funeral Home in Council Bluffs. The funeral home is located at 1221 N 16th St.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office expects more than 1,000 law enforcement vehicles to take part in Deputy Burbridge’s escort back to the funeral home. The procession is expected to begin between 11:45-a.m. and 12:15-p.m.

The procession route leaving the Mid-America Center is as follows:

1.     North on Mid-America Drive

2.     Turn Eastbound on 23rd Ave

3.     Follow 23rd Ave to South Expressway (approx. 2.5 miles)

4.     Turn North on South Expressway (Hwy 192)

5.     Follow South Expressway and continue Northbound on 6th St

6.     Turn West on Kanesville Blvd.

7.     Follow Kanesville Blvd and continue on W Broadway

8.     Turn north on N 16th St

9.     Proceed north on 16th St until reaching the Hoy-Kilnoski Funeral Home

10.  Select processional vehicles will pull into the funeral home

a.     Most processional vehicles will disperse at that time

The entire route length is approximately 6.5 miles.

Members of the public are welcome to line sidewalks and show their support. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reminds the public to respect all parking laws and to ask permission before occupying private/business property.

Roadway Closures – Effective at 11 AM on Monday, May 8

·       I-80 Eastbound Off Ramp (Exit 3) onto South Expressway

·       I-80 Westbound Off Ramp (Exit 3) will only be allowing Southbound traffic

·       Traffic Northbound on South Expressway (north of interstate access) will be closed

Roadways will reopen following the procession. General Roadway Information: Intersections along the route will be blocked. The traveling public should expect significant delays along the procession route. The procession is expected to last more than one hour, start to finish.

The Fourth of July likely will have more sizzle as Gov. Terry Branstad has signaled he’ll sign a bill into law that legalizes the sale of most fireworks in Iowa.

Branstad announced today (Friday) that he’d sign the bill Tuesday despite arguments from opponents that expanding fireworks sales would lead to more injuries and property damage. Supporters responded that residents already bought fireworks in neighboring states and that people were overstating potentials dangers.

After being signed by Branstad, the law will legalize most consumer-grade fireworks, including bottle rockets, firecrackers and roman candles. The explosives could be sold from June 1 through July 8 and from Dec. 10 through Jan. 3 in permanent structures or tents.

Cities could prohibit use of fireworks but not outlaw their sale. The Legislative Services Agency estimates the law will generate $1.5 million in sales tax revenue for the 2018 fiscal year.

Audubon Police Chief Matt Starmer reports two arrests took place Monday. 38 year old Heather Holly Petersen, of Audubon, was arrested for Shoplifting. She later pled guilty before a magistrate.

And, 64 year old Merle Steven McMichael, of Audubon, was arrested for Driving Under Suspension, Failure to File SR22, and Fail to Maintain Registration Plate. McMichael has entered a not guilty plea to the charges.

The Iowa Supreme Court has halted enforcement of a 72-hour waiting period required before an abortion under a new state law. The court’s approval of an injunction today (Friday) came shortly after Gov. Terry Branstad signed the measure into law. The new law also bans most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The injunction remains in effect until Monday, allowing some scheduled abortions to proceed.

The injunction followed a decision Thursday by a lower court judge who denied a request by Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa to block elements of the abortion restriction before Branstad’s signed the measure.

The organizations have argued that a 72-hour waiting period could cause undue harm to women by requiring multiple appointments

The Board of Regents is proposing another increase in tuition to make up for state budget cuts. The board approved a two percent increase in tuition at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa in December based on their previously adopted plan to raise tuition by that amount with a corresponding two percent increase in state funding.

But the Iowa Legislature cut funding in February by nearly 21 million dollars and then again in April by nearly ten million dollars due to lagging state tax collections. The Regents are now proposing tacking on a 216 dollar increase for undergraduate students at the three state schools to make up that difference. They will meet Monday to discuss the tuition increase.

(Radio Iowa)

Atlantic Police Chief Dave Erickson reports two local women were arrested on separate warrants, Thursday. 45-year old Heidi Powell, of Atlantic, was taken into custody on a Cass County warrant for Failure to Appear at a Probation Revocation Hearing. And, 28-year old Katherine Coleman, of Atlantic, was arrested on an Adams County warrant for OWI/2nd offense. Both women were booked into the Cass County Jail.

Officials with the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce are putting out a call for residents to house a group of students with The Waldorf University Choir. The Choir have scheduled a stop in Atlantic to perform next Tuesday, but their plans fell through and they are now needing housing for 40 college students.

Homeowners that can take-in a single student or more, please contact Pastor Ken Davidson at Zion Lutheran Church, in Atlantic. His number is 712-243-2927 or, e-mail: zionpastor@hotmail.com

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has signed three bills dealing with abortion, voter identification and medical malpractice. The abortion bill signed Friday morning prohibits the procedure in most cases after 20 weeks of pregnancy and requires a 72-hour waiting period. Abortion-rights groups have indicated they will fight the law in the Iowa Supreme Court. Branstad called it a significant stride for the anti-abortion movement.

The voter identification measure requires voters to show ID at polls starting in 2019 and reduces Iowa’s early voting period, which opponents say will suppress turnout. Republicans say it is necessary to protect against voter fraud, while acknowledging the problem is rare.

The medical malpractice law restricts some payouts to patients who win such lawsuits, though juries can override the cap in some instances.

Deputies with the Page County Sheriff’s Office, Thursday night, arrested a man who they had previously arrested late last month. Just before 10-p.m., 27-year old Cody Robert Cordell, of New Market, was taken into custody on a Fremont County Warrant for OWI/1st offense.

Cordell was found in a vehicle parked by a building in a field, near the intersection of 185th Street and Highway 71 (about 2 miles Northeast of Clarinda).  Cordell was transported to the Page County Jail, where he later posted a $1000 cash bond.  He was subsequently released pending future court appearances.

Cordell was arrested April 27th as well. He’d been charged with Driving under suspension, felon Theft in the 2nd Degree, and Possession of drug paraphernalia.

Cody Cordell (Photo courtesy Page County S/O)

The Iowa Department of Public Health has received a federal grant of more than five million dollars to expand treatment for opioid abuse across the state. Project director Monica Wilke-Brown says the grant will help stop the growing epidemic of abuse. She says both the deaths associated with opioid overdoses and the hospital admissions for treatment have increased dramatically in the last 10 years. “So, we are really trying to get the issue under control where it has already become a big problem, and also prevent it from becoming a bigger in the communities that are less affected at this point,” Wilke says.

She says the five million dollar grant will allow them to use the successful treatment methods that have already been developed. “We want to expand it across the entire state so that all the counties and service areas have the chance to do the same thing,” Wilke says.Part of the process involves doing a community assessment. She says the agencies in communities will bring together everyone in the community and look for any gaps or needs in coverage and will be able to focus on prevention efforts, the prescription monitoring program and expand the treatment options.

According to Wilke, “We’ll have a formula specific to a variety of both kind of highest need and size of the service area. So, it’s not by county specifically. Some service providers share a county and some cover up to 10 or more counties.” She says they will try several different strategies. “One of them is promoting the C-D-C guidelines for prescribing opioid medications,” Wilke says, “because we know that a lot of people who end up with opioid use disorders may have started with a legitimate prescription that got out of control.”

Wilke says another key component is education in preventing overdose deaths. “Making sure people are aware of naloxone — which is the overdose reversal drug. That can be very instrumental in saving someone’s life if they have accidentally overdosed it,” Wilke says.

The five-point-four-five million dollar grant comes from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which is part of the U-S Health and Human Services Opioid Initiative.

(Radio Iowa)