A former Atlantic resident who died early Saturday morning in Kossuth County, suffered from “Sharp force injuries.” The determination was the result of an autopsy performed on 38-year old Krista Lynn Hesebeck, of Lakota, whose body was found in a home. Her death was ruled a homicide. 45-year old Chad David Dietrick, of Lakota, faces a charge of 1st Degree Murder in connection with her death.

Deputies discovered Hesebeck’s body after a 911 call was made from a separate residence in Lakota, where Chad Dietrick said he suffered from a laceration to his arm.

Kossuth County authorities were advised to check on another residence where they located Hesebeck who was already deceased.

A collision in Page County Tuesday morning resulted in one person being transported to a hospital. Authorities say the accident happened at around 7:32-a.m on Highway 2 near V Avenue, about one-mile east of Clarinda.

An investigation determined 73-year old Elaine Lucille Whitehead, of rural New Market, was westbound on the highway in a 2003 Ford Ranger pickup.  22-year old Stefanie Kole Johannes, of Villisca, was eastbound at the same location driving a 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix.

Whitehead’s pickup began to slide into the eastbound lane.  Johannes attempted to move to the westbound lane to avoid the pickup.  Whitehead corrected her vehicle and contacted the passenger side of Johannes vehicle in the front passenger side fender / door area.  Both vehicles then spun around and came to rest in the slow moving lane of the westbound lanes.

Whitehead was not hurt, but Johannes was transported to the Clarinda Regional Health Center by the Clarinda Ambulance Service, for treatment of unknown injuries. At the time of the accident, Highway 2 was icy. No citations have been issued. Both vehicles are considered a total loss.

The Iowa State Patrol has released the identities of persons involved in a fatal Adair County crash. Authorities say 60-year old Julie Compton, of Bridgewater, who was wearing her seat belt, died from her injuries at the Adair County Hospital, in Greenfield.

Injured in the crash was 34-year old Serena Sims, of Fontanelle, 34-year old Julie Holmes, of Bridgewater, and 32-year old David Nail, of Corning. Sims and Holmes were wearing seat belts, but Nail was not. All of the accident victims were transported to the Adair County Memorial Hospital by EMS. Compton and Holmes were passengers in Sims’ SUV.

The accident happened on Highway 25 south of 160th Street in Adair County, at around 6-a.m. Officials say a 2002 Ford Explorer, driven by Serena Sims, was southbound on the highway, when the SUV went out of control on the snow covered road. The vehicle crossed the center line and struck a 2012 Buick Regal driven by Nail, head-on.

The Explorer came to rest on the east shoulder of the highway, while the Buick spun around and came to rest in the middle of the road. A 2015 Dodge Journey driven by 42-year old Dale Zoubek, of Katy, TX, came over the hill after the initial collision, and was unable to stop due to the road conditions. His vehicle struck the Buick in the rear.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of a Lenox man on Tuesday after a traffic stop. At 9:56am Deputies pulled over a vehicle operated by Roberto Martinez of Lenox. He was arrested for No Valid Driver’s License and Failure to Yield for an Emergency Vehicle. No further details were released.

Republicans in the Iowa House have voted to remove a requirement that college graduates pass an exam before they may be hired as a teacher. The rule was included in a 2013 education reform plan touted by former Republican Governor Terry Branstad. Republican Representative Tom Moore of Griswold says about 500 people have failed the test and — after spending thousands of dollars on a college degree — they cannot enter the teaching profession.

“It’s a road block for the teacher and the administration that wants to hire them,” Moore says. Moore, who is a retired teacher, says passing a test doesn’t indicate who’ll be an “excellent teacher” who can command a classroom and connect with students.

“We had high standards before 2013,” Moore said. “Iowa has always been a leader nationally and we didn’t have a darned test to decide whether you were qualified to be a good teacher.” Moore has a neighbor who got an education degree and a job offer, but failed the test twice.

“I can give you many examples from superintendents and prospective teachers that I’ve spoke with about this,” Moore said, “and it’s simply a barrier.” Critics say the test shows a prospective teacher is proficient in the subjects they’ll teaching. Representative Mary Mascher, a Democrat from Iowa City, is a retired teacher.

“We do not want to see a dumbing down of the profession,” Mascher said. “We have standards in place and we have expectations from our teacher prep programs and we do that because not everyone should teach.” The test is graded on a curve and 96 percent pass. Representative Art Staed, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, has been a teacher for 40 years.

“It is not too strict a test,” Staed says. “It is a standard that may not be considered too high. As a matter of fact, the standard might be considered too low among many circles.” He says the test ensures teachers are “qualified to face the students” in their classrooms. The bill passed the House on a 55 to 42 vote. It will next be considered by a senate committee.

(Radio Iowa)