The Atlantic Police Department reports a Polk County man was arrested on drug charges, Tuesday. 36-year old Michael Miller, of Clive, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance. Miller was booked into the Cass County Jail. Also arrested Tuesday, was 30-year old Ruben Eram, of Atlantic. He was charged with Public Intoxication. This (Wednesday) morning, 31-year old Narson Narios, of Atlantic, was also arrested for Public Intox. Both men were booked into the Cass County Jail.

Investigators in Nebraska are still looking into last weekend’s hit-and-run crash that killed a young woman from southwest Iowa. Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner says they want to clarify what happened Friday night near Waverly, Nebraska, when 19-year-old Merzedes Hart of Council Bluffs was struck and killed by a car. “The involved vehicle left the scene initially,” Wagner says. “We were able to locate that vehicle and driver. He has been interviewed and released. The investigation is continuing.”

The accident happened near Shakers Gentlemen’s Club northeast of Lincoln. The sheriff says the unidentified motorist hit Hart as she walked to her car on U-S Highway 6, then left the scene.  “The driver didn’t come back. The driver thought he had struck a deer,” Wagner says. “We are working to determine and verify his statements to use. No, he didn’t come back to the scene. We located his vehicle at his residence.”

Hart was a student at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and was a member of U-N-O’s track and field team. There was a track meet in Lincoln that weekend. Hart was a freshman, majoring in business.

(Thanks to Brent Martin, Nebraska Radio Network)

Officials at Cass County Health System announced today (Wednesday), that Dr. Benjamin Howard will be joining the Atlantic Medical Center in late July. He is currently a third-year resident at Memorial Hospital Family Medicine Residency in South Bend, Indiana.  He will provide the full spectrum of family medicine care, including obstetrics.  Dr. Howard will also be on staff at Cass County Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Howard and his wife, Michelle, are both natives of Iowa.  He grew up in Van Meter and Waukee. Michelle is from Johnston. Dr. Howard graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Animal Science in 2010.  He then attended medical school at Des Moines University, graduating in 2014.

The Howards are expecting their first baby in February and will move to Atlantic in July.

Dr. Ben Howard

Sheriff’s officials in Union County say no injuries were reported following an accident at around 7-a.m. today (Wednesday), on Highway 25. 32-year old Jessica Lynn Daluz, of Greenfield, was driving a 2006 Ford Mustang southbound near Creston, and rounding a curve, when, due to frost on the road, the car went out of control and into the east ditch, where it struck a fence. Damage to the car amounted to $2,500, while the fence, owned by a man from Creston, sustained about $500 damage. No citations were issued.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors, today (Wednesday), held a public hearing on on designating a 2017 Cass County Agribusiness Urban Renewal Area and on proposed Urban Renewal Plan and Projects related to the proposed Elite Octane ethanol plant project. During the brief hearing, there were no written or oral objections.

Board Secretary/Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman explained all the proper procedures had been followed prior to the Public Hearing that would allow the URA plan approval.

The Board then closed the hearing and approved a Resolution to Declare Necessity and Establish and Urban Renewal Area. They also held the first and second readings of Ordinance #35, which provided for the Division of Taxes levied on taxable property in the 2017 Cass County Agribusiness Urban Renewal Area, and approved the Ordinance on the 3^rd and final reading. And, the Board set their meeting on Jan. 31^st as the date for approval of a Development Agreement with Elite Octane, LLC, including Tax Increment Payments in an amount not to exceed $8.5-million dollars.

In other business, the Cass County Supervisors approved a 28-E Cooperative Law Enforcement Agreement between the Cass County Sheriff’s Office and the City of Griswold. The current, 4-year agreement was set to expire at the end of June. Dale Sunderman explained the agreement calls for the City to pay the County $65,565 per year plus 3% per annum for the service.

The agreement is effective July 1^st, 2017, through June 30, 2021. And, Cass County Conservation Department Director Micah Lee presented the Board with his Quarterly Report. Lee said  they had a lot of problems with illegal dumping along the T-Bone Trail off the Dunbar Road access to the trail, this past fall. He said they took three or four pickup loads of furniture and trash bags to the Cass County Landfill. Native high weeds, he said, provide the opportunity for people to try and hide their trash.

Lee said in the past, they have gone through the trash to try and find evidence of where it came from, but the recent junk left behind hasn’t provided much of a clue. He says they Sheriff pays a visit to those who are identified as illegal dumpers.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a traffic stop early this (Wednesday) morning, in Oakland, resulted in a woman being cited on drug charges and other charges. 18-year old Hailey Nicole Carson, of Council Bluffs, was stopped at around 2:45-a.m. at Highway 59 and Frank Kearney Road. She was cited for Driving Under Suspension and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (pipes commonly used to smoke illegal narcotics).

At around 2:10-a.m. today (Wednesday), 28-year old Dillon James Martens, of Neola, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, following a traffic stop on Railroad Highway at Magnolia Road.

And, 39-year old Anthony Paul-Joseph Loparco, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at around 9:45-p.m., Tuesday, for Domestic Abuse Assault with intent, and Criminal Mischief in the 3rd Degree. Loparco was taken into custody after deputies were dispatched to a residence in the 14-thousand block of Meadowbrook Lane, for a domestic disturbance.

A neighbor heard a loud bang followed by yelling. Dispatch later reported a man (identified as Loparco), was attempting to break a car window. The 2003 Toyota Camry sustained about $1,000 damage. Loparco’s 39-year old girlfriend suffered apparent minor injuries and was bleeding from her head.

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

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Two education initiatives created to improve Iowa schools could be at risk of delay or even disposal due to budget shortfalls. The Des Moines Register reports that the state Department of Education has not requested money from Iowa to implement a crucial summer reading program as part of the state’s third-grade retention law. Starting in the spring of next year, third-graders reading below grade level will be required to either repeat the grade or go to an intensive summer reading program to move on to the next year.

The second initiative would switch schools from the current statewide exams to computer-based tests, which adjust the difficulty level of math or reading questions based on the students’ answers. Iowa lawmakers are struggling with a $110 million budget shortfall, and are unsure if enough funding is available for the initiatives.

Following several rounds of severe winter weather in many parts of the country, the American Red Cross urges eligible blood and platelet donors to help restock its shelves to overcome a shortage. Since Dec. 1st, about 300 blood drives across 27 states have been forced to cancel due to inclement winter weather, resulting in more than 10,500 blood and platelet donations going uncollected. This week, icy roads forced blood drives to cancel in southwest Iowa. Despite the weather, hospital patients still rely on transfusions.

To make an appointment to give blood, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Donors are encouraged to make appointments and complete the RapidPass online health history questionnaire at redcrossblood.org/rapidpass to save time when donating.

Upcoming blood donation opportunities (County/City/time & place):

Adair: Greenfield, 2/15/2017: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Nodaway Valley High School, 410 NW 2nd Street.

Cass: Anita, 2/14/2017: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Community Center, 805 Main Street; Lewis, 1/25/2017: 12 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., Lewis Community Center, 400 West Main Street.

Montgomery: Red Oak, 1/30/2017: 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 1101 East Summit, & 2/7/2017: 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Red Oak High School, 2011 N 8th St.

Pottawattamie: Council Bluffs, 1/23/2017: 12:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street….1/24/2017: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street….1/27/2017: 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., Lewis Central High School, 3504 Harry Langdon Blvd…1/27/2017: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., ConAgra Foods, 1023 S. 4th Street…1/30/2017: 12:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street….1/31/2017: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street….2/6/2017: 12:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street….2/7/2017: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street….2/9/2017: 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Mercy Hospital, 800 Mercy Drive…. 2/13/2017: 12:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street….2/14/2017: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street

Shelby: Defiance, 2/10/2017: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., St. Peter’s Hall, 402 5th Street; Harlan, 2/9/2017: 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Harlan High School, 2102 Durant Street…2/14/2017: 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., CDS, 3107 Shelby Street…2/14/2017: 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., CDS, 3107 Shelby Street; Panama, 2/15/2017: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., St. Mary’s Parish Center, 204 St. Mary Avenue.

How to help

Simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.

Blood donors can now save time at their next donation by using RapidPass to complete their pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, prior to arriving at the blood drive. To get started and learn more, visit redcrossblood.org/RapidPass and follow the instructions on the site.

Police in Creston say a woman residing in the 800 block of N. Lincoln Street reported Tuesday, that sometime between 2-p.m. Monday and 6:30-a.m. Tuesday, someone broke out the back window of her vehicle. The damage amounted to $250. The incident remains under investigation.

(7-a.m. News)