A man and woman from Nebraska were arrested early this morning in Council Bluffs, in connection with a reported stolen vehicle. A Council Bluffs Police Officer on routine patrol at around 1:25-a.m. today (Friday), located in the 100 bock of S. 32nd Street, an occupied, 2007 Nissan Versa that was reported stolen out of Papillion, NE., on April 19th.

Watts

Mooney

26-year old Brittany Watts, and 25-year old Dakota Mooney, both of Omaha, were arrested for Theft 2nd Degree/Possession of a Stolen Vehicle. Watts was also found to have valid extraditable warrants out of Sarpy County, NE.

Council Bluffs Police would like to remind the public to make sure they secure their vehicles and not to leave their vehicles running when unattended.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A former teacher is scheduled to go on trial in Des Moines June 26 on allegations that he had inappropriately touched and kissed students in his anatomy class. Thirty-three-year-old Dustin Mead pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation by a school employee. His attorney, Guy Cook, says Mead denies any wrongdoing.

A Johnston Community School District spokeswoman says Mead has resigned. A court document says Mead gave one girl grades she didn’t earn, made sexual comments and groped her.

Police in Red Oak late Thursday night arrested a man on a felony charge of Burglary in the 2nd Degree, and an aggravated misdemeanor charge of Operating a Vehicle without Owner’s consent. 40-year old Billy Ray Hunter, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 11-p.m. in the 400 block of W. Coolbaugh Street and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where his bond was set at $10,000.

Governor Terry Branstad and Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds have asked legislators to set aside 150-thousand dollars to cover “transition” expenses when Reynolds takes over as governor after Branstad resigns to become U-S ambassador to China. Senator Tod Bowman, a Democrat from Maquoketa, says that “seems excessive.””While the state’s in the middle of budget mess, it’s extravagant and unnecessary to move the lieutenant governor from one room of the capitol to the other,” Bowman said.

He added “$150,000 may not seem like a lot to you, but the median income for a family in the state of Iowa is $55,000. That’s almost taking three families’ total wealth for the year.” But Senator Charles Schneider, a Republican from West Des Moines, says much of that 150-thousand dollars may cover exit packages for departing Branstad staff. “For example, the governor’s office will have to cash out vacation time and sick time and other time off and there are other expenses that go along with it, too,” Schneider says.

The Branstad/Reynolds office budget is about two-point-two MILLION dollars, with about two dozen authorized full-time staffing positions. “Anytime there’s a transition, there will be staff turnover,” Reynolds says. “They’ll be looking at other opportunities and so I want the flexibility to address that.” Reynolds isn’t  “Whenever there’s a transition, you have some staff turn-over, you have technology, there’s some additional potential travel, supplies,” she says.

A 150-thousand dollar transition budget would be six times larger than the budget Republican legislators established in 1998 for Democratic Governor Tom Vilsack’s transition. Eight years later, Vilsack and legislators provided a 170-thousand dollar budget for the transition when Democrat Chet Culver took over as governor. Democrats in the Senate like Matt McCoy of Des Moines tried to erase the 150-thousand dollars for the Branstad-to-Reynolds transition from a budget bill.
“I think this is unnecessary,” McCoy says. “I think it’s wasteful.”

Senate Republicans like Schneider prevailed and the money is included in a big budget bill that cleared the senate late Thursday afternoon.”It does not seem like an unreasonable request to us in light of previous circumstances and prior precedent,” Schneider said.

Republican legislators have most of their work done on the ENTIRE state budget for next year. There are just a few decisions left before lawmakers can end the 2017 legislative session. That may happen sometime today (Friday) or tomorrow (Saturday).

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The former top female athletic administrator at the University of Iowa testified Thursday that she functioned with a “don’t ask, don’t tell” mentality while maintaining a decade-long relationship with the Hawkeyes’ field hockey coach. Jane Meyer also says she feared she’d never achieve her goal of becoming a Division I athletic director as an “out lesbian.” Meyer is suing the Hawkeyes for discrimination after being transferred out of athletics and ultimately laid off in 2016.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A top federal prosecutor from Iowa asked to resign by President Trump last month is joining a Cedar Rapids law firm. Kevin Techau, former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Iowa, will join Scheldrup Blades law firm in Cedar Rapids as a shareholder and leader of its government compliance and internal investigations team.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A top leader of the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown is returning to her old job of running veterans affairs. Jodi Tymeson will serve as executive director of the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs beginning May 1. Gov. Terry Branstad made the announcement Thursday. Tymeson was serving as head of veterans affairs when she was appointed chief operating officer of the Iowa Veterans Home in May 2013. She was promoted to commandant in October of that year.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Regent Larry McKibben says he’s seeking to become the next president of the Iowa Board of Regents starting May 1. McKibben said at a board meeting in Council Bluffs on Thursday that he will campaign to replace President Bruce Rastetter, who is leaving the board when his term expires April 30.