Members of the Griswold City Council will hold a Special Meeting Wednesday (Dec. 14th) at the Griswold Community Building. During the 6-p.m. session, the Council will discuss Mediation, with regard to the Griswold Rescue Department.

During a work session held November 30th, the Council agreed to a request for formal mediation from four of the nine members of the Rescue Department who had resigned in November following the resignation of former Rescue Captain Julie Kline.

Kline resigned the day after the Council held a closed session Nov. 12th. At a public meeting held soon thereafter, Mayor Jeb Peck said they had issues with the Rescue Department not following its own By-Laws, and their response time to calls, but nothing has ever been mentioned publicly about why Kline resigned.

Griswold City Attorney David Wiederstein said during the Nov. 30th meeting that a complaint had been filed by Kline with the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB) following the Nov. 12th closed session. Wiederstein said on behalf of the City, he gave IPIB the materials they requested with regard to that meeting, and that the Board is conducting an investigation into whether there was a violation of the Open Meetings Law. He could say nothing further on that topic.

Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer said today (Tuesday), a Pottawattamie County man was arrested last Friday night following a chase that began with a traffic stop. 35-year old Randy Buck Evans, Jr., of Council Bluffs, was taken into custody after the Ford pickup he was driving missed a turn during the pursuit, and crashed into a metal ditch tube. Evans faces charges that include Eluding, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and several traffic offenses.  He was unable to post bond at the time and was held on $5000 bond.

Randy Buck Evans Jr.

The incident leading up to his arrest began just after 11-p.m., Friday. When a Deputy tried to stop the pickup Evans was driving near 130^th and Q Avenue, or about seven-miles north of Clarinda, the vehicle did not stop, and fled at a high rate of speed.

The ensuing pursuit continued west on 130^th to O Avenue and then south on O Avenue to 150^th Street.  Evans then attempted to turn east onto 150th, but the pickup was traveling too fast to negotiate the turn.

Job seekers in Iowa should find plenty of opportunities in the New Year, according to a new survey of employers. The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey found, between January and March, 24 percent of the Iowa companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while just four-percent expect layoffs. Another 68 percent expect to maintain their current workforce levels. The hiring intentions are stronger than surveys conducted both three months ago and one year ago.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Transportation Commission has approved a Traffic Safety Improvement Program (TSIP) project in Montgomery County. The Commission approved a requested $500,000 for a pavement widening project on County Road H-34. The project is expected to cost a little more than $1.2-million altogether.

The Commission however declined to provide funding for traffic signals at 32nd Avenue and Manawa Center Drive, in Council Bluffs, and elsewhere. The City of Council Bluffs had requested $164,200 toward the $191,000 cost of the signals.

The Iowa Transportation Commission, meeting today (Tuesday), in Ames, approved the a Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy (RISE) grant application from the City of Council Bluffs. Up to $957,374 from the city share of the RISE Fund was approved for a Local Development grant to assist in reconstruction of approximately 710 feet of Gifford Road and construction of approximately 1,880 feet of South 19^th Street located on the south side of town.

Officials say the project is necessary to provide improved access to six lots totaling more than 89 acres for light industrial purposes. The project is anticipated to be completed by November 2017.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former Drake University student has sued the university claiming it discriminated against him by failing to consider his allegations of sexual assault by a female student but believing her allegations against him.

The case centers on a night of drinking in October 2015. The university determined the male student made his allegations against the woman in retaliation for her complaint. But the man’s lawsuit, filed this month, says the university never investigated his claims.

The lawsuit alleges violations of John Doe’s constitutional due process rights and federal sex discrimination laws. The university says it disagrees with his depictions of the facts and will prove its commitment to fairness. It’s among several recent lawsuits claiming federal guidance pushing aggressive pursuit of campus sexual assaults has resulted in bias against men.

Council Bluffs Police are investigating a home invasion that reportedly took place at around 9:17-a.m. today (Tuesday), at 310 Parkwild Drive. Initial information received by officers was that a white male, armed with a hand gun, had forced entry into the residence with the home owner inside the residence in an upstairs bedroom. The home owner gave information that he had weapons inside his residence that the suspect might be able to gain access to.

Person of interest in the burglary

With that information the Council Bluffs PD’s Emergency Services Teams was called out for entry into the residence. A short time later we were able to find that the home owner was not in the residence and that he had received information about the break in from his home security system.

With the new information, Officers on scene entered the residence along with a K-9 unit and searched the residence and found the residence to be unoccupied. Officers did find evidence that there was forced entry into the residence but at the time of this release nothing had been found missing. Photos were taken of damage done to the residence.

The only suspect information at this time is a white male in his 20’s wearing a red and white hat. If you have any information about the incident please call Crime Stoppers at 712-328-7867.