Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa State Patrol supervisor is facing criticism for joking on Facebook that he wanted a sniper to shoot a prominent ESPN announcer in the head. Lt. Kelly Hindman, district commander of Post 7 in Fort Dodge, wrote the post about Dan Dakich on Saturday during the Iowa-Ohio State men’s basketball game. Hindman and other Hawkeyes fans used social media to criticize Dakich’s call of the game. Dakich called star player Aaron White “Andrew.” Hindman wrote that he wished “there was a sniper at Carver Hawkeye to shoot the color commentator in the head…cause he is driving me nuts. I’m about to watch the game Helen Keller style in a bit.”

HILLS, Iowa (AP) — Officials say one person has been injured after jumping from a moving party bus in eastern Iowa. Johnson County Sheriff officials say the person was hospitalized after jumping from the vehicle early Sunday morning on Highway 218, south of Hills. The person hasn’t been identified, and their condition was not immediately known.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Agriculture officials say an increase in corn and soybean profit is bringing young Iowans and Nebraskans back to the farm. Charles Wiiest, market president of the Nebraska-based Arbor Bank, says young people are now more likely to start their own farm or join their family’s farming business. Wiiest credits this influx to improved profitability in the agriculture industry in recent years.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Davenport officials have received a $3 million state grant for a Martin Luther King Jr. park. The Iowa Economic Development Authority grant will boost efforts for the $6 million project, which commemorates a speech King gave downtown after receiving an award from the Diocese of Davenport nearly 50 years ago. It also celebrates a former strip of local businesses where jazz musician Louis Armstrong is believed to have performed. Officials said Friday the grant will allow them to begin local fundraising to complete the project.

Shelby County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Seivert reports a bridge is out at 1400th Street (formally known as the “Hollywood Bridge”), and Orange Road. The bridge crosses the West Nishnabotna River between Shelby County Road M-36 on the West, and Orange Road, to the East, in Douglas Township, Section 33.

The bridge will be closed for construction through the month of September. The bridge work will create considerable detours for residents in the area. PLEASE PLAN ALTERNATE ROUTES FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO NEARBY RESIDENTS. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CALL THE COUNTY ENGINEER AT 712-755-5954.

Bruce Heyne, General Manager of Walnut Communications presented a check in the amount of $300 today (Monday) to Carol Rosenbaum with the Walnut Creek Station Questers. The Walnut Creek Station Questers are part of an international group and the local group was established in 1977. Their mission is preserve history through preservation of historical buildings as well as the study of antiques. The building the grant will help to rejuvenate is located in the Layton Township Cemetery in Walnut and is a unique hexagon building, one of only four left in the state of Iowa.

The original building was built to cover an unsightly well or cistern and it was later used on Memorial Day for the ladies to sit inside and collect money for the upkeep of the cemetery. The monies will be used to restore the building, which is part of the older portion of the local cemetery in and eligible for the National Historical Register. Plans include placing the structure on concrete, replacing the roof with wood shingle, replacing the steeple, repair and replace and missing wood, and seal the building against elements.

For more information on this project or to donate in support, contact Carol Rosenbaum at 712-784-3868 or rosie@walnutel.net. The grant from Walnut Communications provides up to $10,000 per year across the eight communities the company supports: Walnut, Avoca, Shelby, Minden, Neola, Persia, Underwood and McClelland. Applications can be found on the web at http://www.walnutcommunications.com.

There will be a special meeting of the Cass County Public Safety Commission, this Thursday, January 22nd 2015 at 6:30-pm, in the basement meeting room of the Cass County Courthouse. Cass County 911 Services Director Rob Koppert says the purpose of the meeting is to discuss and possibly act upon a funding option for the Cass County Public Safety Commission.

All city mayors of Cass County have been invited to attend as well as representatives from the State of Iowa, Shelby County Emergency Management, the Cass County Assessor’s Office and the Cass County Auditor’s Office.

The regular meeting for the Cass County Public Safety Commission will be Monday, January 26, 2015 at 5:00pm in the basement meeting room of the Cass County Courthouse.

A bill has been introduced in the Iowa House that ultimately would allow Iowa schools to start earlier in August, something Governor Terry Branstad is trying to stop. Branstad favors tying the school start date to the week in which September 1st falls, but Representative Ron Jorgensen, of Sioux City, says that’s a decision for local school officials, not the state to make.  “I’ve just been in support of local conrol and if the focus is just totally on education, I think that’s the way we should look at it.”

Branstad argues Iowa’s tourist attractions like the State Fair lose visitors, and teenage employees, when schools start classes in early August. Jorgensen is the lead sponsor of a bill that would give school officials unlimited local authority to set the first day of the school year.  “This would eliminate the waiver requirement for school districts and allow the school districts to set their own start date,” Jorgensen says.

Under current law, Iowa schools are supposed to start during the week in which September 1st falls, but school districts can apply for a waiver from the later start date. The Iowa Department of Education has automatically granted those waivers, but in mid-December the agency’s director announced schools would have to “adequately demonstrate” starting school at the end of August would have a “negative educational impact” on students.

Advocates of starting earlier in August say it allows students to take end-of-semester tests before the New Years break. Jorgensen says there’s also a need to coordinate the schedule with Iowa colleges, because many high schoolers are already taking college courses. “And most of those colleges will start the second or third week of August also,” Jorgensen says.

Jorgensen, a former school board member, is a Republican and he was the main sponsor of Branstad’s education reform plan that cleared the legislature last year. Jorgensen is also chairman of the House Education Committee and he plans to bring his bill up for debate “as soon as possible.” There are already a dozen co-sponsors of Jorgensen’s bill to essentially eliminate any state limit on when schools can start.

(Radio Iowa)

Three people were arrested recently, in Glenwood. Authorities say 21-year old Nicholas Stewart, of Pacific Junction was arrested Saturday, for OWI 1st offense. His bond set at $1000. That same day, 20-year old Jeffrey Reeve, of Glenwood was arrested for Violation of a No Contact order. His bond was set at $300.

And today (Monday), 41-year old Travis Batten, of Glenwood was arrested for Disorderly Conduct. His bond was set at $300.