Deputies in Adams County arrested a man early this (Wednesday) morning, for Public Intoxication and Disorderly Conduct. James Castillo was taken into custody at around 2:25-a.m. in Corning, after deputies were called to the area of Main and 11th Streets for a man who was standing in the street and shouting.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Influential Iowa business leaders are urging state legislators to pass a bill that would expand the state’s medical marijuana laws. The Des Moines Register reports that more than 90 business leaders sent lawmakers a letter, asking them to debate and pass comprehensive medical cannabis legislation.

The legislation would grant the state authority to establish two growing facilities and distribute medical cannabis oil to people who suffer from cancer, intractable epilepsy and multiple sclerosis. The signers span several industries, including banking, insurance, publishing and real estate.

It’s been legal for Iowa residents with epilepsy to use cannabis oil since 2014, but proponents argue that the change was useless in practice because of a separate state law that makes it illegal to manufacture or distribute

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state audit says the management of millions of dollars collected annually to run the state’s enhanced 911 system needs dramatic improvement after auditors found many counties either underreported or over reported costs by thousands of dollars.

Iowa Auditor Mary Mosiman doesn’t conclude money was misspent but she says the audit reveals weaknesses in the tracking of more than $120 million spent each year to run 114 emergency dispatch centers in 99 counties.

John Benson, a spokesman for the Iowa’s emergency management agency says the audit mandated by the Legislature will help counties improve reporting. About one-fourth of 911 costs are funded by a $1 surcharge on telephones and cell phones. The rest comes from counties, cities and other sources.

Authorities in Nebraska have identified the victim of a fiery car-versus-semi crash that happened at around 3-a.m. Feb. 24th, as a man from southwest Iowa. According to WOWT-TV in Omaha, 61-year old Richard Wilcoxsen, of Bedford died in the crash that happened on Highway 75 in Bellevue, NE.

The Sarpy County, Nebraska Sheriff’s Office said Wilcoxen was driving a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee the wrong way on Highway 75 , southbound in the northbound lanes, when the SUV hit a semi-truck and trailer head-on. The SUV burst into flames shortly after  impact. The driver of the semi, Milos Forcan, was taken to Bellevue Medical Center but refused medical treatment.

An investigation into the crash continues. Autopsy and toxicology reports are pending.

The Iowa Senate has passed a bill that would require carbon monoxide detectors in apartments and rental homes as well as any new structure that’s built in Iowa. Senator Jeff Danielson, a Democrat from Cedar Falls, says stand-alone detectors cost between 20 and 50 dollars, plus many smoke detectors now contain a carbon monoxide sensor as well.

“We have an opportunity to save a handful of lives in Iowa with a technology that now is readily available and for pennies on the dollar,” Danielson says. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas. Danielson — who is a professional fire fighter — says it’s toxic because carbon monoxide inhibits the blood’s ability to carry oxygen. “We have documented cases in the fire service of people in their homes who wake up in the middle of the night, know there is a fire, smoke is around them and can’t move because carbon monoxide paralyzes you,” Danielson says.

Officials say about 300 Iowans wind up in an emergency room each year to be treated for carbon monoxide poisoning. “Of that, roughly 30-40 are hospitalized for the more serious cases,” Danielson says. “And then about 20 Iowans a year die from carbon monoxide poisoning and yet we have no requirement at all in Iowa for a carbon monoxide detector to be installed in your home.”

If the bill becomes law, private home owners would be asked to voluntarily install a carbon monoxide detector when they apply for the homestead tax credit. The bill passed the Senate on a 37 to 11 vote late Monday afternoon. It now goes to the House, where a similar bill has been under consideration.

(Radio Iowa)