DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Another health insurer has announced it will stop selling individual policies in Iowa, just days after Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield made a similar announcement. The Des Moines Register reports Aetna informed Iowa regulators Thursday that it would stop selling individual policies, which cover tens of thousands of Iowans who don’t have access to employer-provided coverage or government plans.

Like Wellmark, Aetna cited instability in the insurance market. Aetna had already had stopped selling such policies in most states for 2017, citing turmoil in the wake of the Affordable Care Act.

Aetna says it had not decided whether to pull out of the three remaining states where it sells individual policies: Nebraska, Delaware and Virginia.

The Guthrie and Dallas County Sheriff’s Departments will hold an informational meeting on April 18^th, with regard to the Reserve Deputies Program. The meeting takes place in the Community room on the south side of the Dallas County Central Campus at 25747 North Avenue, in Adel, from 7-until 9p.m., April 18^th.

The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office is looking for persons over the age of 21, both male and female, who are interesting in applying for a Reserve Deputy position. The meeting is designed to inform applicants of the new standards implemented by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy, including the testing procedure that’s required to be completed by a Reserve Deputy.

If you have any questions about the Reserve Deputy program, contact Guthrie County Sheriff Marty Arganbright or Chief Deputy Jeremy Bennett, at 641-747-2214.

Iowa-born astronaut Peggy Whitson will be getting more time in space, while adding another command title to her resume. Whitson was supposed to return from her latest mission aboard the International Space Station in June — but NASA has announced plans to let her stay in orbit an extra three months. The 57-year-old Beaconsfield native has already spent more time in space than any other woman and later this month, she’ll set a new duration record for all U-S astronauts.

It’s Whitson’s third mission to the station and on Sunday, she’ll be named station commander, the first woman to hold the command twice. In a NASA news release, Whitson is quoted saying: “This is great news. I love being up here. Living and working aboard the space station is where I feel like I make the greatest contribution, so I am constantly trying to squeeze every drop out of my time here. Having three more months to squeeze is just what I would wish for.”

Whitson’s two previous stays on the space station in 2002 and ’08 lasted six months each. This mission will now run nine months, with her return rescheduled for September. Just last month, Whitson set a new record for most spacewalks by a woman and her next EVA (extra-vehicular activity) should put her in third place for spacewalking among all astronauts.

(Radio Iowa)

The Atlantic Police Dept. reports a Harrison County man was arrested on two charges, Wednesday. 31-year old Matthew Kempston, of Dunlap, was charged with OWI/1st offense, and Possession of a Controlled Substance/Methamphetamine. Kempston was booked into the Cass County Jail.