Democrats who control the Iowa Senate pushed through a bill today (Tuesday) that would increase state aid to public schools by four-percent for the 2017-18 academic year. Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, is chairman of the Iowa Senate Education Committee. “It is long past due that this body and our colleagues in the House, in cooperation with the governor, reinvest in Iowa’s education,” Quirmbach said.

The House and Senate are still at odds over school funding for next year, so it’s unclear what a four-percent increase would translate to in actual dollars for the 2017-18 school year. But, Quirmbach calculates that over the last five years, when adjusted for inflation, Iowa’s per-pupil spending has increased by just $6. “Six dollars over five years…an increase of 0.1% — not per year — that’s total, over five years,” Quirmbach said.

Quirmbach also cited the results of a survey that Democrats in the legislature sent to school superintendents. “Over 90-percent of our school superintendents and principals are telling us that without a decent increase (in state aid), class sizes will increase — meaning that individual students, our children and grandchildren, will not get the individual attention that they need and that they deserve,” Quirmbach said.

Senator Amy Sinclair, a Republican from Allerton, said while she supports the effort to address school funding in a timely manner, lawmakers should resolve the dispute over spending for the coming school year first. “For me, we need to make sure that we have an understanding of what we’re funding for (fiscal year) 2017 before I feel we can appropriately budget for FY 2018 because the one compounds from the other,” Sinclair said.

According to Sinclair, approving state aid to schools for 2018 before setting the funding for 2017 could ultimately hurt taxpayers. “They put us in a position of either overpromising and underfunding or passing those bills back on to property tax payers,” Sinclair said. A House-Senate conference committee is set to debate school funding for the 2016-17 academic year. Senate Democrats also support a four-percent increase for that year, while Republicans who control the House favor a two-percent spending increase.

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Council Bluffs said Tuesday, no evidence of foul play was found following a fatal house fire Saturday evening. The blaze at 2722 Avenue H was reported at around 5:38-p.m. During their initial sweep of the home, Fire Department personnel located the body of a deceased man inside a bedroom. Through the use of fingerprint records, we were able to positively identify the man as 25 year old Koua Moua.

The home at 2722 Avenue H was being leased by Moua at the time of the fire. Members of the Department’s Criminal Investigation Division have been working with the Fire Department’s Fire Investigators to determine the cause of the fire and Moua’s death.

The investigation of the fire indicates that it was started in the bedroom in which Moua’s body was located and that an accelerant was used. The fire itself was contained to that room and a doorway leading into the living room. Evidence from the autopsy indicates that Moua died from injuries he sustained during the fire and that he had no other forms of injury or trauma.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office along with the Harlan Police Department arrested 4 men on various charges after executing a search warrant on Monday.  Officers served the search warrant at 611 5th Street in Harlan and discovered a firearm, a controlled substance (methamphetamine), and drug paraphernalia.

Officers arrested 37-year old Benjamin Allmon of Harlan and charged him with Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Gathering where Controlled Substances are kept, and Prohibited acts.

Also arrested was 22-year old Zachery Kloewer of Harlan.  He was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drugs.

38-year-old Justin Stevens of Ogden was arrested and charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drugs.

25-year old Marcus Blunt of Rockwell City was also arrested and charged with Gathering where Controlled Substances are kept.

All subjects were taken to the Shelby County Jail and booked in.  Bond was set at $5,000 for Allmon and Blunt, and at 1,000 for Kloewer and Stevens.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Sioux City police have identified the officer who was shot by a suspect during a weekend arrest. Police Chief Doug Young announced Monday that 42-year-old officer Ryan Moritz suffered a gunshot wound to his thigh during a Sunday morning arrest. He is expected to make a full recovery.

The incident happened when officers were following up on a number of reported robberies and burglaries. Police accused 18-year-old Isiah Mothershed of shooting Moritz and shooting himself in the leg during a struggle with police.

Mothershed was treated Monday at Mercy Medical Center, which declined to say Tuesday if he’d been released. Mothershed was charged with two counts of attempted murder and five counts of robbery.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Some Republican House lawmakers are supporting legislation that would create a system for manufacturing, distributing and possessing some forms of medical marijuana in Iowa, though it’s unclear what type of support the bill will get from party leaders.

The bill would expand the state’s current law on medical marijuana, which allows some epilepsy patients to use cannabis oil. The new legislation would expand it to include more products and patients, though it would prohibit the smoking of medical marijuana.

Rep. Peter Cownie, chairman of the House Commerce Committee, discussed the bill during a press conference Tuesday while surrounded by a handful of Republican lawmakers. The West Des Moines Republican was vague when asked about the bill’s support within his caucus. He asked lawmakers to keep an open mind.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Department reports an ongoing investigation into incidents that date back to last year has resulted in felony charges being filed against two people. Fred Almaguer and Jonnie Weeks were arrested Feb. 7th and charged with Distribution to person under the age of 18 on certain real property, a Class-B Felony. Almaguer and Weeks were brought to the Adams County Jail and held on $25,000 cash bond, each.

Jonnie Weeks was also arrested Feb. 4th on an Adams County Warrant for Possession of a Controlled Substance. Almaguer was originally arrested January 28th, following a traffic stop. After further investigation, Almaguer was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Paraphernalia.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa lawmakers have advanced bills that would raise the speed limit on rural roads despite warnings that the change could lead to more fatal crashes. The Des Moines Register reports a three-person subcommittee approved two bills Monday that would raise the speed limit on rural, two-lane roads. One bill would increase the speed limit from 55 mph to 60, and another would bump it up to 65 mph.
The bills now go to the full Transportation Committee.

Steve Gent, with the Iowa Department of Transportation, cautioned that increased speed limits are linked to a higher number of fatal crashes. He also noted it would cost roughly $5 million to implement changes including new mileage signs and road markings.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Transportation have released the 2015 Council Bluffs Interstate System Annual Report. The report highlights progress made on construction and design projects in the Council Bluffs Interstate System Improvement Program (Program) during the past year. It features information about completed and active projects, public outreach, program status, statistics for work completed in 2015, and 2016 key projects around the Council Bluffs area.

Iowa DOT District 4 Engineer Troy Jerman says “The Program was very busy over the last year working towards opening capacity to reduce congestion on Interstate 80/Interstate 29 west of South Expressway and completing several improvements near the I-29 and U.S. 275/Iowa 92 Interchange. The Program’s Annual Report provides a high-level overview of all of the work and design engineering that occurred in 2015 to provide the public with a summary of how Iowa DOT is delivering this important highway improvement project.”

The Iowa DOT is in the process of reconstructing I-29, I-80, and I-480 in the Council Bluffs metropolitan area. The comprehensive interstate redesign is expected to modernize the highway system and improve mobility and safety of approximately 18 miles of interstate. Motorists are encouraged to allow for extra travel time while the interstate improvement takes effect. If you would like more information about detours and traffic impacts, visit the program website: www.councilbluffsinterstate.iowadot.gov/.

To view the annual report, visit www.councilbluffsinterstate.iowadot.gov/2015annualreport/.