A man and woman from Cass County were arrested Thursday night, in Adams County. Sheriff’s officials say 22-year old Devin Leroy Means, and 19-year old Kaeleigh Danette Long, both of Griswold, were arrested near Lenox a little after 8:15-p.m. , after authorities were notified about a car at 240th and Sycamore Avenue having had its windows broken out and dents all over the vehicle.

Devin Means

Kaeleigh Long

Boot prints on the roof of the car matched the soles of the boots worn by Means. He and Long were taken into custody for Criminal Mischief in the 1st Degree. Their bonds were set at $10,000.

Republicans on a committee in the Iowa House last night (Thursday) advanced a plan to “defund” Planned Parenthood. It sets up a likely showdown with the Democratically-led Iowa Senate which has resisted similar efforts in the past. Chuck Hurley of The Family Leader Foundation, a Christian conservative organization, has been lobbying Republicans legislators to take a stand.

“From our vantage point, we should not be funding anybody who’s killing children in the womb,” Hurley says. State tax dollars currently cover the costs for Medicaid patients who get reproductive health exams or contraceptives at Planned Parenthood, but state tax dollars are not used to pay for abortions. Hurley says that’s not good enough.

“Imagine saying, ‘Well, the money that the German people are sending to Auschwitz only goes to cover the gates and the fencing and the food to keep the place open,” Hurley says. Democrats suggest House Republicans are out of touch with public opinion. A recent Des Moines Register “Iowa Poll” found 74 percent of Iowans want the state to continue spending tax dollars at Planned Parenthood to cover NON-abortion services for low-income Iowans.

Hurley says there’s more “zeal” among activists due to undercover videos released last summer that showed Planned Parenthood officials discussing the organization’s fetal tissue donation program. A Texas grand jury concluded Planned Parenthood broke no laws. Two people who worked on the video project have been charged.

(Radio Iowa)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Police say a 15-year-old girl has died in a rollover crash in Sioux City. The Sioux City Police Department said in a news release that Alexis Wilde was riding in the front passenger seat of a vehicle driven by another 15-year-old Wednesday evening, when the vehicle went off the roadway and struck a dirt embankment, causing the car to roll over.

Police say Wilde, the driver and another 15-year-old passenger were transported to a hospital, where Wilde died from her injuries. The other two teens suffered minor injuries. The crash is under investigation.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Members of the Republican-controlled House have advanced a budget bill that would remove state funding for Planned Parenthood, though the proposal is not expected to have enough support in the Democratic-majority Senate. The House Appropriations Committee voted along party lines Thursday for a bill that would remove Medicaid funding for family planning facilities that provide abortions.

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (AP) — An investigation into dog fighting by authorities in northwestern Illinois has resulted in two arrests and the seizing of 58 dogs. Rock Island Police Chief Jeffrey VenHuizen says 11 federal search warrants were executed Thursday in Rock Island and Davenport as part of a year-long, on-going investigation related to dog-fighting, narcotics and firearms.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Democratic-controlled Senate is attempting to revive a proposal to fund water quality initiatives through a sales and use tax increase, but the plan has little support in the Republican-majority House. A three-member panel of the Senate Ways and Means Committee agreed Thursday to advance a bill that would increase Iowa’s sales and use tax by less than a penny to fund a natural resources and outdoor recreation trust. The trust, established in 2010, has no money in it.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The board that oversees Iowa’s three public universities has indicated it may need to increase tuition for students because the Legislature has proposed limited new dollars for the next budget year. Bruce Rastetter, president of the Iowa Board of Regents, says the board is disappointed by the proposed funding announced Thursday. Rastetter says the board will immediately start discussions regarding tuition increases for the upcoming school year.

Sheriff’s deputies in Fremont County arrested a motorcycle driver for Operating While Intoxicated, Thursday. Deputies stopped a 2009 Harley Davidson for speeding in the 2400 Block of Highway 59. The driver, 42-year old Carl Ward, of Riverton, was placed under arrest for OWI/1st Offense. Upon arrival to the Fremont County Jail, Ward became combative with deputies and jail staff.

He was charged with Operating While Intoxicated 1st Offense, 2 counts of Assault on an Officer, Interference with Official Acts, and Speeding. Ward was being held at the Fremont County Jail on $6,195 bond.

Carl Ward