(Radio Iowa) – A bill that would reduce the penalty for people caught with small amounts of marijuana has again cleared a subcommittee in the Iowa Senate. Supporters say the bill will help Iowans who have difficulty qualifying for college scholarships, loans and jobs because of a marijuana possession conviction. Lisa Davis Cook is with the Iowa Association for Justice. “We think it’s a small and measured approach to this issue,” Davis Cook says.

If the bill becomes law, people possessing five grams or less would be charged with a simple misdemeanor. A first offense with any amount of marijuana today is an aggravated misdemeanor that could land a person in jail for up to six months. Carl Olsen of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws says lawmakers instead should start the process of amending Iowa’s Constitution, to make growing and possessing marijuana legal. “The founders would have never imagined that the government would take that right away,” Olsen says.

Susie Sher, of the Governor’s Office on Drug Control Policy, says the agency is not taking an official position on the bill.  “Complicating this issue is the rising potency of marijuana,” Sher says, “and some of these high potency products and some of the risks associated with some of those products.”  Senator Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat from Iowa City, voted to advance the bill, but he would prefer to decriminalize marijuana and regulate it like alcohol. “It seems to me across the country we’re now up to 16 states that have moved in that direction and what I think people are figuring out across the country is that marijuana prohibition has actually destroyed far more lives and the futures of far more families…with these harsh criminal penalties.”

Republican Senator Dan Dawson of Council Bluffs, a special agent in the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, also supports the bill. He says it will give officers who catch someone on parole or probation with a small amount of marijuana a charge that doesn’t land the person back in prison. “A lot of times they come into contact with people with a few joints or some trace amounts in a pipe or whatnot when they’re already in the parole and probation system,” Dawson said. “And they were looking for a tool that was less than an indictable offense and that’s where they really were wanting a simple misdemeanor here.”

There’s a deadline for policy bills in the Iowa legislature this week. It means THIS bill must win approval in a Senate committee by Friday in order to remain eligible for debate in the Senate and House this year.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports numerous arrests took place from Feb. 24th through March 1st. Most recently, on Monday (3/1), 23-year old Zachary James Martin, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on a warrant for a Sex Offender Registration Violation. He was being held in the Pott. County Jail on $2,000 bond. On Sunday, three people were arrested on drug charges, in Walnut: 42-year old Erica Joyce LaPorto, of Denver, CO., was arrested for Possession of Meth/1st offense, Prohibited Acts; and Possession of Marijuana/1st offense. Her bond was set at $4,300; 41-year old Michael J. LaPorto was arrested for Possession of Meth/1st offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and, 51-year old Jennifer Diane LaPorto, was arrested for Possession of Paraphernalia. The trio were taken into custody at around 9:15-p.m. following a call about a disturbance at 2101 Antique City Drive. An investigation determined all three subjects in a vehicle had narcotics inside the vehicle.

The Shelby County K9 was requested, and alerted to the vehicle. A search of the vehicle was conducted. All three subjects were transported to the Pott. County Jail, where only Erica LaPorto remained, as of today (Tuesday). Sunday afternoon, a Deputy was called to a residence in the 7,300 block of Stafford, where a disoriented man had driven off the road. Once 59-year old Kevin L. Conant was checked out by Underwood and McClelland volunteer firefighters/EMS, and sobriety tests were conducted, Conant was arrested for OWI/1st offense. At around 3:30-a.m. Sunday, a check on a vehicle in the median at mile marker 1 of I-680 resulted in the arrest of 45-year old John Eric Blankenship being arrested for OWI/1st offense.

Saturday evening, a welfare check on residents of a home in the 1100 block of Jennings Avenue in Council Bluffs, resulted in the arrest of 59-year old Darby Leroy Durham, for Domestic Abuse Assault/2nd offense. The man allegedly was intoxicated, and had caused an arm injury to a female party. The woman was transported by Underwood Rescue to Mercy Hospital.  Saturday morning, 56-year old Debra Sue Jacobsen was arrested in Hancock for OWI/1st offense, following a warrant check. Friday evening, 34-year old Charles William Walker, of Adair, was arrested for Driving While Barred/Habitual Offender, following a traffic stop on a vehicle with fraudulent license plates. Walker was found to have valid arrest warrants, and a barred license. His bond was set at $2,000.

On Feb. 26th: 31-year old Nathaniel Robert Didamo was arrested in Council Bluffs for Violation of Probation; An eight-year old male was arrested for Burglary in the 3rd Degree/2nd or subsequent offense, Feb. 26th, following a call about a burglary in Neola. Also arrested Feb. 26th in Pottawattamie County, was 39-year old Chad Gerald Fulsos, who was wanted on a bench warrant for failing to pay child support. He was taken into custody in Council Bluffs. Authorities said also, 42-year old Jason Riley Lawton turned himself-in to the Pott. County Jail. Lawton was wanted on a warrant for Burglary in the 2nd Degree. He was turned over to Corrections Staff and booked into the jail.

On Feb. 25th, 32-year old Felicia Rae Ross, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at the Pott. County Jail, on a warrant for Burglary in the 3rd Degree/1st offense. 24-year old Dakota William Ruby was arrested the same day, in Council Bluffs, for Driving While Barred/Habitual Offender. And, 44-year old Kevin Scott Waters was arrested for OWI/1st offense, following an investigation into an overturned semi off I-80 at mile marker 27.

On the 24th, 61-year old Mark William Armstrong was arrested on Crescent, on a warrant for Violation of Probation.

(Radio Iowa) – A 21-year-old Newton couple face charges after their three-month-old child was found with broken bones. Newton Police Chief Rob Burdess says Stormy and Jessica Agan both face two counts of child endangerment and one count of child neglect. They are currently free on bond. A police investigation determined they were responsible for the care of their child when the injuries occurred. Newton Officers were called to MercyOne Newton Medical Center November 24th, when the Agans had brought the child in with a broken arm. Hospital staff also discovered the infant had a broken rib. The injuries seemed inconsistent with an accident.

According to Chief Burdess, officers received conflicting stories as to how the infant was injured. With the help of the Department of Human Services, additional medical information was obtained. It involved an additional broken bone in the child’s leg. Doctors described that injury as a highly specific fracture from non-accidental trauma.

March 2, 2021 (DES MOINES) – Awards totaling $6.18 million were announced today (Tuesday) for 18 communities across Iowa. The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) made the awards through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, which provides support for community improvements.  Awards were made for water/sewer and stormwater infrastructure improvements, housing rehabilitation and employment-related transportation projects. Grants are awarded based upon the benefit to low- and moderate-income Iowans, financial need, project impact and readiness, and commitment of local resources to the project.

In western Iowa:

• The City of Manilla received a CDBG Community Facilities award amounting to $300,000, for Daycare. The local match is $250,000.
• Madison County received a CDBG Community Facilities award amounting to $170,000, for Mental health facility improvements. The local match is $96,725.
• The City of Creston received a CDBG Community Facilities award amounting to $600,000 for Water treatment improvements, with a local match of more than $1.63-million.
• And, the Monona County community of Ute received a CDBG Community Facilities award amounting to $300,000, for Water system improvements, with a local match of $792,560.

CDBG funds enable communities to make needed improvements to water and sewer systems, improve housing conditions for low-income homeowners, provide facilities for disabled and at-risk individuals and make transformative downtown improvements. The CDBG program is federally funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. IEDA is responsible for administering the CDBG funds in the non-metropolitan areas of the state.

For more information on CDBG or other community programs, visit iowaeda.com/cdbg/ or contact cdbg@iowaeda.com.

The Iowa Department of Public Heath at 10-a.m., Tuesday, reported an additional 481 positive COVID-19 test results returned from the labs since Monday, for a pandemic total of 364,188. There were also 26 additional deaths reported, for a total of 5,498. Long Term Care facility deaths account for 2,174 of the State’s total number of deaths.

The number of Long-Term Care facility COVID-19 Outbreaks down, from 19 Monday, to 14 on Tuesday. Hospitalizations once again increased, from 197 Monday to 224 as of Tuesday. COVID patients in an ICU decreased from 48 to 39. There were 34 patients admitted to hospitals over the 24-hour reporting period (compared to 31 Monday), and 11 patients on a ventilator.

Hospitals in Western & Southwest Iowa report: 10 people remain hospitalized for COVID; five COVID patients are in an ICU, two patients with COVID symptoms were admitted over the past 24-hours, and one person remained on a ventilator.

Iowa’s 14-day positivity rate remains 4.3%, while the seven-day rate went from 4.5% to 4.4%.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} – if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:

• Cass, 1,342 cases; {+11}; 51 deaths
• Adair, 919; {+0}; 28
• Adams, 325 {+0}; 4
• Audubon, 487 {+2}; 9
• Guthrie, 1,166 {+2}; 28
• Harrison County, 1,790; {+0}; 69
• Madison County, 1,547; {+5}; 18
• Mills County, 1,631; {+0}; 20
• Montgomery, 1,040; {+3}; 36
• Pottawattamie County, 10,764; {+8}; 143
• Shelby County, 1,211; {+5}; 33
• Union County,  1,262; {+0}; 31

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Senate is taking up the coronavirus relief package that passed the House over the weekend, but Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley isn’t a fan. Grassley, a Republican, says the five previous coronavirus relief bills that passed Congress in the last year, which provided four-trillion dollars in aid, were all bipartisan in nature. “Unlike these previous coronavirus bills,” Grassley says, “this package is more like a two-trillion dollar wish list of Democrat political priorities.”

The only bright spot in the House bill, according to Grassley, was an amendment from Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra, a Republican from Hull. The non-partisan amendment would have helped Iowa farmers who saw their fields destroyed by the powerful derecho last August. Feenstra’s amendment had the support of fellow Iowan and Democrat Cindy Axne when it was introduced in the House Agriculture Committee. “The derecho amendment that Feenstra brought up passed through the committee,” Grassley says. “Unfortunately, Iowa farmers didn’t make the cut as the amendment was stripped by the House Democratic leaders, presumably, just because it was sponsored by a Republican congressman.”

The powerful storm packed winds that topped off at 140-miles an hour, the equivalent of a category-four hurricane. Grassley says the derecho wiped out 800-thousand acres of crops. “It’s pretty obvious that those farmers deserve as much help as other people that get disaster relief,” Grassley says. “I’ll be working with my colleagues in the Senate to revive the amendment so that farmers hurt by the derecho and other natural disasters can receive federal assistance.”

A controversial amendment that would have raised the federal minimum wage was removed from the House bill. It does include funding for vaccine distribution, funding for local, county and state governments, and direct payments to millions of Americans of up to 14-hundred dollars.