The Adams County Sheriff’s Department reports two arrests over the past couple of weeks. On Monday, 41-year old Pedro Quintanilla-Flores, of Lenox, was arrested for Driving While Barred. He was also cited for No Registration and No Proof of Insurance. His arrest occurred after he was pulled over for allegedly  speeding.

And, on February 2nd, 22-year old Derek Martin, of Creston, was arrested in Adams County following a traffic stop on Highway 34. Martin was taken into custody on a charge of OWI/1st Offense, and for Driving While Suspended. He was brought to the Adams County Jail and held on $2,000 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The state Senate has approved legislation that would increase state funding for K-12 schools by 4 percent for the 2014-2015 school year.   The Legislature is required to set school funding more than a year in advance, prompting Thursday’s Senate vote. Because lawmakers didn’t approve a budget last year, the Senate last month passed a bill increasing funding for the coming school year.

In the House, Republicans in a committee approved a scaled-backed version of Gov. Terry Branstad’s education reform proposals Wednesday night. The revised plan reduces teacher raises backed by Branstad and lets schools opt-out of minimum salary hikes or leadership bonuses.

The dueling efforts show the distance between the Democratic-majority Senate, the Republican-controlled House. A spokesman for Branstad says the governor was encouraged that House lawmakers were debating education reform.

Iowa’s shortage of nurses is starting to be solved through a University of Iowa program which officials hope will see an increase in state funding. U-of-I President Sally Mason briefed legislators on the program called Better Future for Iowans. Mason says the goal is to help would-be nurses achieve their aspirations through distance education. “Some of which allow place-bound Iowans to get a full University of Iowa degree without ever having to leave his or her home community,” Mason says. “Right now, we’re able to do that in all of the community colleges across Iowa for the nursing degree.”

A study by the Iowa Council of Nurses projected a shortfall of 25-hundred registered nurses in Iowa in the coming years. Mason says the U-of-I program is already making a difference. “It’s allowed many of our nurses in small communities across Iowa to go from their two-year nursing degree to a four-year bachelor of science in nursing degree without having to leave their jobs, leave their homes or do anything that would disrupt their lives.” Mason says if the legislature appropriates more money, a business degree program for working professionals in Des Moines can be extended to other locations around the state. She made her budget request before a joint House-Senate committee which oversees spending on education.

(Radio Iowa)