SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Colorado man who threw a cup of water on Iowa Congressman Steve King has been sentenced to two years of probation. Blake Gibbins, of Lafayette, Colorado, had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault on a member of Congress. Gibbins admitted he approached a table at a Fort Dodge restaurant on March 22 last year and threw a cup of water at the Republican.

Gibbins’ attorney has said Gibbins’ actions were out of character and may have resulted from recent emotional pressure. Gibbins was in Iowa for a family funeral when he approached King, and Gibbins had no criminal history.

The Cass County Auditor’s Office, Thursday, said one additional person has filed papers in advance of the General Election nominating deadline. Deputy Auditor Sheri Karns reports Linda L. Pelzer has filed nomination papers for the Non-Partisan Hospital Board. Last Monday, Leanne Pellett submitted her papers for the same Board. There are three Hospital Board seats on the ballot for the General Election in November.

There have been no changes to the list of persons filing for the June 2nd Primary Election. As mentioned, the candidates (thus far) include:

• Steve Green, of Atlantic (Republican, Incumbent) – Cass County Board of Supervisors, District 1
• Steve Baier, of Griswold (Rep./Incumbent) – Cass County Board of Supervisors, District 4
• Russell Joyce, of Atlantic (Democrat), and Bernard Pettinger, of Anita for – Cass County BOS, District 5
• Republican Incumbents: Dale Sunderman – Auditor; and Darby McLaren – Sheriff.

The deadline to file nomination papers with the proper amount of signatures for the General Election, is March 20th. The deadline for the Primary Election, is March 25th.

A man from Union County was arrested on a Possession of Controlled Substance charge, Thursday night, in Adams County. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office says Jeffrey Johnson, of Creston, was pulled over during a traffic stop at around 9-p.m. near the intersection of Quince Ave. & 190th Street. During an investigation, the K9 “Baxo” was deployed, and alerted to the odor of narcotics.

(Radio Iowa) — Republicans in the Iowa House have approved a bill that denounces the rise in hate crimes against Jews and provides a definition of antisemitism. Democrats in the House say the bill elevates one race and religion above others. Representative Ruth Ann Gaines is a Democrat from Des Moines.

“We don’t want antisemitism, of course we don’t,” Gaines said, “but we also don’t want other groups that have been discriminated against religiously to think what they’ve experienced is a different kind of pain, a lesser pain, a pain that is not as important.” Republican

Representative Stephen Holt, of Denison, rose to speak, noting the bill had cleared a House subcommittee AND committee with the support of Democrats. “Based upon the comments that have been made tonight, all of the Republicans…and all of the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee who supported this legislation are ill-informed and cannot possibly understand the ramifications of this bill because some of us are the wrong skin color,” Holt said. “I categorically reject that.”

Representative Ako Abdul-Samad, of Des Moines, says the bill needed to be inclusive of all religions, not just one. “If we put it all together now and we put some meat to this, we do it for one community and that’s the religious community,” Abdul-Samad said, “and that’s our Iowa family.”

Representative Linda Upmeyer, a Republican from Clear Lake who sponsored the bill, says pointing out one problem doesn’t minimize others. “The reason that I offered this legislation is because data shows that although Jews only make up 2% of the American population, they are the most likely among all the minority groups to be victimized by hate,” Upmeyer says.

The bill narrowly passed on a 51 to 45 vote. It now goes to the Senate.

(Radio Iowa) – Two men wanted for crimes in eastern Nebraska were arrested in western Iowa Thursday afternoon. 26-year-old Cody Murphree had escaped from a jail in Thurston County, Nebraska Sunday afternoon and authorities say he stole a car. On Tuesday afternoon, local authorities say Murphree, and 29-year-old Derek Pedersen broke into an apartment in Stanton, Nebraska, and stole another vehicle.

U.S. Marshals say they were able to track that sedan to a residence in Council Bluffs, where the two were arrested. Both men were booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail, but will be transferred back to Nebraska to face charges there.

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

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Republican senators from four states that have seen severe flooding from the Missouri River are backing legislation that would require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to change its management of the river to reduce flood risk. The proposal would require the Corps to take steps to reduce flood risks along the lower Missouri River by changing the way it manages the dams and by strengthening levees along the river. The proposal is backed by all the senators from Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. Corps officials say flood protection remains their highest priority.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Police have identified a man stabbed to death earlier this week in Cedar Rapids. Police say in a news release 35-year-old Tremaine Williams died in the early Wednesday morning stabbing. Police arrested 36-year-old Jacqueline Marie Holmes that same morning at the home where Williams was found with a stab wound to his upper torso. Williams was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Police say an investigation showed that Holmes, who was in a relationship with Williams, stabbed him with a knife. Holmes has been charged with first-degree murder in the case.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A plan developed by MidAmerican Energy and Iowa City calls for using a portion of a city park for MidAmerican’s first solar energy project. The Iowa City Council has scheduled a public hearing March 24 on leasing nearly 19 acres at Waterworks Prairie Park to MidAmerican, which would install about 10,000 solar panels. The system is expected to generate three megawatts of energy that would be tied into the electric grid. The lease would run for 30 years and could be extended. The city would receive an annual payment starting at $13,440, and it would increase by 3% annually.