The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education will meet 5:30-p.m. Wednesday in the High School Media Center. On their agenda is approval of resignations and Contract Recommendations.

Resignations include:

• Morgan Staashelm, HS Math Teacher
• Arnie Lamp, HS Day Custodian
• Michelle Huber, HS Guidance Counselor
• Oran Perkins, Asst. Boys Soccer Coach
• Jennifer Gaesser, HS Choir Director.

Contract Recommendations include:

• Taylor Williams, MS Girls Track Coach
• Tesia Cleaver, Special Ed Para Educator
• Sarah Eim, HS Guidance Counselor
• Dawn Russell, Asst. Head Cook at Schuler
• Laura Vogl, HS Math Teacher
• Rebecca Wallace, HS FCS (Food/Consumer Science)

The Board will also act on the termination of Kelly Simonton, providing him with a 14 day notice as required by his letter of assignment with the District. Simonton, a High School Custodian, was arrested March 1st on two counts of Sexual Abuse in the 2nd Degree.

In other business, the Board is expected to set April 10th at 5:30-p.m., as the date and time for a Public Hearing on the 2019-2020 School Calendar, and act on approving resolutions for 2019-20:

• Budget Guarantee ($56,679);
• Board approved PPEL ($156,338/.33-cents);
• 2019-20 Fund Transfer (General to Activity for Protective Equipment);
• 2018-19 Calendar Make-up days (as previously reported), and
• Out-of-State overnight trips as follows – Drama Dept. trip to Lincoln, NE in June to attend the International Thespian Festival, and Boys & Girls High School Track – Trip to Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, MO., March 16th, to compete in the Indoor Track Meet.

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa Senate has unanimously voted to ban female genital mutilation and charge those who perform the procedure with a felony. Senator Amy Sinclair, a Republican from Allerton, says a recent survey indicated five-thousand women and girls IN IOWA were at risk. “This bill criminalizes a violent criminal act against small girls,” Sinclair said. “….This bill matters.”

A version of the bill ready for debate in the HOUSE would establish a lesser penalty for the practice — an aggravated misdemeanor — but Senator Jake Chapman of Adel objected.  “Shame on the House,” Chapman said. “…This practice is horrific. This practice should be classified as torture.”

Female mutilation or cutting is routinely done on girls in countries like Somalia. Some lawmakers have called for spending state money to educate Somali refugees of the risks.  “I imagine if any of us moved to another country where circumcision was against the law, we would want to know about it. Things that are cultural norms in one country are not cultural norms in another.”

That’s Senator Janet Petersen of Des Moines, the leader of Democrats in the Iowa Senate. She voted for the bill, but used the occasion to complain that other bills dealing with gender inequality have languished in the senate. The United Nations estimates more than 200 women and girls around the globe have experienced some form of genital mutilation. In some cultures, women who have NOT undergone such procedures are shunned by prospective husbands.

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) — A hung jury has led to a mistrial in the murder trial of an Iowa woman accused in the 1992 beating death of her former boyfriend. The Muscatine Journal reports that a judge declared the mistrial Tuesday afternoon when the jury of five women and seven men declared they could not reach a verdict.

The jury began deliberating Monday in the trial of 56-year-old Annette Cahill, of Tipton. Cahill was arrested last year in connection with the 1992 killing of 22-year-old Corey Lee Wieneke, whose body was found in his West Liberty home.

Cahill, who pleaded not guilty, has no criminal history and works for a company that helps train police officers. She has said Wieneke was her best friend and denied any involvement in his death.

On Tuesday (March 12th) at 8:30-a.m., the Council Bluffs Police Department’s K-9, PAR (Police Area Representative), and VICE (Undercover) units, in conjunction with the Iowa Western Housing, executed a narcotics sweep of the Iowa Western Community College student parking lots. Vehicles were selected at random for K-9 units to conduct free air sniffs of the vehicle.

If the K-9s indicated to the odor of narcotics the student was contacted and a search of the vehicle was completed. Investigations from the contacts is ongoing at this time. Officials say the Council Bluffs Police Department and Iowa Western are committed to provide a safe and drug free learning environment for all students.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum announced on March 7, 2019, Andrew Joseph Nielsen, age 30, was sentenced by United States Senior District Court Judge Robert W. Pratt for Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Possession of a Firearm During a Drug Trafficking Crime. Nielsen was sentenced to 180 months in prison to be followed by a term of supervised release for five years.

In April 2018, Nielsen was stopped by a Shelby County Deputy for speeding after trying to elude the deputy. In a search subsequent to the stop, methamphetamine and marijuana were found on Nielsen, along with baggies and scale in the vehicle. After further investigation, Shelby County Deputies and the fire department executed a controlled burn in the area of the stop and located a Phoenix Arms HP22 and a magazine with four rounds in it.

The case was investigated by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department, Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department and Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum announced on March 7TH, 2019, that a Page County man, 26-year old Alexander Sterling Potter Milledge, was sentenced by United States Senior District Court Judge Robert W. Pratt for Counterfeiting Federal Reserve Notes. Milledge was sentenced six months in prison, to be followed by a term of supervised release for two years.

In March 2018, Clarinda Police were called to Casey’s General Store regarding a patron that passed a counterfeit bill. Upon review of the surveillance tape, officers identified Alexander Milledge as the person who passed the counterfeit money. A search warrant was obtained for his residence and officers recovered numerous computers, printers, printer paper and approximately $35,000 in counterfeit Federal Reserve notes in different stages of manufacturing.

The case was investigated by Clarinda Police Department and the United States Secret Service. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has simplified the process by which convicted felons can seek restoration of their voting rights. Reynolds’ action comes as lawmakers consider her proposed constitutional amendment, which would automatically restore voting rights to most felons who have completed their sentences. Reynolds said Tuesday the process she’s created reduces an application from three pages to one.

It removes the requirement to submit a criminal background check and a related $15 fee, and it doesn’t require the collection of financial documentation that can be verified online. Reynolds says her goal is to grant or deny applications within a month of receipt. Reynolds has restored voting rights for 122 offenders. Her proposed constitutional amendment to restore voting rights to felons passed the House Judiciary Committee last week. Iowa and Kentucky are the only states with broad permanent bans on felons voting.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Sen. Bernie Sanders has hired four key Iowa staffers, building out a team of old and new staff as he makes his second bid for president. Leading the team is Misty Rebik, who previously worked on LGBTQ rights and education advocacy for One Iowa, an LGBTQ advocacy organization. She’ll serve as Sanders’ state director.

Another new addition is Jess Mazour, who will serve as his political director. Mazour was most recently lead organizer on the farm and environment team at Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, a progressive advocacy group, and was a Sanders delegate in 2016.

Sanders has also brought back Evan Burger to serve as his Iowa caucus director, and Pete D’Alessandro to serve as a senior adviser to his team. Both worked on Sanders’ 2016 campaign.