Two people were arrested Saturday on separate charges, in Cass County. The Sheriff’s Office reports 41-year old Jesse Lee Archibald, of Exira, was arrested on a charge of OWI 2nd Offense. Archibald was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released later that day on his own recognizance. And, 48-year old Kenneth Lee Klindt, of Griswold, turned himself in at the Cass County Jail, Saturday, on a Department of Corrections warrant for Parole Violation. Klindt was booked at the Cass County Jail and remains held without bond.

The Iowa Finance Authority will soon launch a new sweepstakes to draw attention to the size of its first-time home buyers assistance grants. “The ‘2500 bucks’ campaign really emphasizes how much $2500 really is.” Ashley Jared is a spokeswoman for the Iowa Finance Authority. She is encouraging Iowans to think of what a mass of 25-hundred male deer or “bucks” would look like.

“It’s really emphasizing that $2500 is a big deal for home buyers, for down payment assistance and closing costs,” Jared says. The Finance Authority will launch the sweepstakes May 23rd at www.IowaHouseHunt.com. Anyone can enter the contest to win a 25-hundred dollar gift card at Iowa-House-Hunt-dot-com.

A second gift card will be awarded through Facebook, but the contest requires an accompanying photo of the entrant with an item that symbolizes their favorite term for “money” — like clams, dough or wads. The contest will close on July 4th.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB) recently formed the first-of-its-kind-in-Iowa, Impaired Driving Coalition, in light of the seriousness of impaired driving across the state.

The Impaired Driving Task Force includes members of the Iowa Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the DPS’s GTSB, the DPS’s Division of Criminal Investigation Criminalistics Laboratory, Department of Corrections, Department of Transportation, Department of Public Health, Department of Human Rights, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Attorney General’s Office, city, county and state law enforcement officers and private partners.

The GTSB has asked the Coalition, which includes many different perspectives and experiences, to review existing Iowa data, laws, regulations and programs and propose a coordinated statewide impaired driving plan for preventing and reducing impaired driving behavior.

The purpose of the statewide impaired driving plan is to provide a comprehensive strategy for preventing and reducing impaired driving, based on coordinated efforts designed to reduce deaths and increase public safety. The plan will eventually be submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for approval.

The GTSB has established a new award in honor of Officers Susan Farrell and Carlos Puente-Morales. Officer Farrell and Officer Puente-Morales were killed in the line of duty by an impaired driver who was driving the wrong direction on I-80.

The Farrell/Puente-Morales Award will be presented annually at the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau Conference to a law enforcement agency that has displayed a strong emphasis on addressing impaired driving throughout the year.

All agencies that have a GTSB contract will be reviewed by GTSB staff and one agency will be selected as the award recipient by reviewing their enforcement, education or public awareness efforts in the fight against impaired driving.

The deaths of Officers Farrell and Puente-Morales will not be forgotten and will be the impetus for all Iowans to push for new innovations and initiatives to eliminate impaired drivers once and for all from Iowa’s roadways. Effective enforcement efforts can save lives and make our communities safer and stronger, and these efforts are worthy of public recognition.

(DPS Press Release)

Sheriff’s officials in Union County report one person suffered possible/unknown injuries during an accident last Thursday morning, in Afton. Authorities say 53-year old Carol Ann Cain, of Lorimor, was transported by ambulance to the Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston, after her car was struck by a pickup driven by 17-year old Jacob Walter, of Afton.

The accident happened at the uncontrolled intersection of Grant and Polk Streets in Afton, at around 11:20-a.m., Thursday. Following an investigation, Walter was cited for Failure to Yield. Damage from the collision amounted to $6,000.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Some Iowa lawmakers say a state director defied legislative intent behind a $750,000 allocation to hire disabled people and that his department ignored legislators’ requests to explain the actions. The Des Moines Register reports Iowa Department of Human Services director Chuck Palmer is expected to answer questions about the matter before a legislative committee Tuesday.

The $750,000 allocation in last year’s legislative session was intended to aid a program known as “Supported Employment,” which helps people with disabilities get and hold a job. But lawmakers didn’t include so-called clarifying language in the bill, and the department used the money to supplement the state’s $4.2 billion Medicaid budget. Republican state Rep. Megan Jones and at least three other lawmakers say Palmer and his department should’ve been aware of the Legislature’s wishes regardless.

On the heels of votes last week by the Griswold and Lenox School District Boards of Education to continue discussions with regard to Superintendent Sharing, a community meeting will be held Wednesday evening in Griswold, for patrons of the district to hear more about the proposal to share the services of Lenox Superintendent David Henrichs. The community meeting takes place at 5:30-p.m. in the Griswold Middle School/High School library.

Afterward, the Griswold School Board will convene to make a decision on further pursuing the sharing possibility.