The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office says a man who showed up at the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office Thursday afternoon to make a required address change with regard to the Sex Offender Registry, was taken into custody on a warrant out of Nebraska. Authorities say 36-year old Christopher Lee Karsten, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Failure to Comply with the Iowa Sex Offender Registry, and on Nebraska warrants for Domestic Violence Terroristic Threats and Use of a Weapon to Commit a Felony. Since authorities in Nebraska said they wanted to extradite Karsten, a charge of Fugitive from Justice was also applied. He was being held without bond in the Pott. County Jail.

OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) – President Donald Trump was the first Republican to carry Iowa’s Wapello County in 44 years and his supporters there are cheering the new president’s quick action on health care, trade, energy and immigration. The voters who helped him capture the state and the presidency last November give Trump high marks for reversing eight years of Democrat Barack Obama’s policies and working to build a wall along the Mexican border.

And yet, even these voters, to whom Trump disproportionately owes his presidency, roll their eyes at his ongoing fixation with his popularity. They shake their heads over widely debunked claims about the crowd size for his inauguration and voter fraud costing him the popular vote.

Republicans in the Iowa Senate have sent the House a plan that cuts the current year’s state budget — to prevent a looming deficit. Republican Senator Mark Chelgren, of Ottumwa, called the 88-million dollars in cuts the “appropriate” way to fix a “mess.” “We’ve come in here surgically to make sure that certain areas aren’t affected,” Chelgren says.

Democrats like Senator Rob Hogg, of Cedar Rapids, complain the plan cuts too deeply into budgets for the community colleges and the state universities in Ames, Cedar Falls and Iowa City. “This is a bad budget that does real harm to Iowans,” Hogg said.

Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, complained the budget for the governor’s office wasn’t touched by the cuts. “Not one single dime of sacrifice from the governor’s office,” Quirmbach said. “He doesn’t have to gite up so much as a flower pot.”

Criticism of previous state spending on decorative flower pots was featured in campaign ads for some Republican senate candidates last fall. Senator Julian Garrett, a Republican from Indianola, accused Democrats of offering “miniscule” cuts Thursday to resolve the current budget dilemma. “We have a reasonable proposal here that does solve the problem we’re in,” Garrett said.

State tax revenues ARE growing this year, but not as much as previously predicted — forcing this budget-cutting debate at the statehouse. This plan will be voted upon in the Republican-led Iowa House on Monday. Governor Branstad has indicated to legislators that he’ll approve it.

(Radio Iowa)

The Atlantic Police Department today (Friday) reports 25-year old Morgan Dvorak, of Atlantic, was arrested Thursday on a Cass County warrant for Violation of Probation. Dvorak was booked into the Cass County Jail. Wednesday, Atlantic Police arrested 23-year old Jacob Sweeney, of Atlantic, for OWI/1st offense, and, 31-year old Daniel Jensen, of Atlantic, for Domestic Abuse Assault (impeding air flow), and on two Audubon County warrants for Failure to Appear (in court). Both men were booked into the Cass County Jail.