(DES MOINES) – Gov. Terry E. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds today (Wednesday) announced that they will travel to Fort Dodge on Friday, March 6, 2015 to recognize five new Home Base Iowa Communities and three new Home Base Iowa Certified Higher Academic Military Partner (CHAMPs).

Among the communities to be announced as Home Base Iowa Communities this Friday, is Carroll County. The communities will join Union County, Mitchell County, Dubuque County, Greene County, Howard County, Clarke County, Floyd County and the City of Marion as current Home Base Iowa Communities.

The Governor says “The Home Base Iowa initiative aims to ensure that members of the military leaving the service are met with an abundance of career and academic opportunities right here in Iowa.” Branstad said he and Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds “Continue to be impressed by the outpouring of support for the Home Base Iowa initiative through the Home Base Iowa Community and Home Base Iowa CHAMPs programs.”

Reynolds said  “With thirteen Home Base Iowa Communities and twelve Home Base Iowa CHAMPs institutions, it is clear that Iowans are ready to welcome veterans and their families to our great state. I encourage all Iowa communities and higher education institutions to consider joining our Home Base Iowa initiative.”

The Home Base Iowa initiative does the following:

· Fully exempts military pensions from state income tax.

· Gives veterans, their spouses and dependents in-state tuition at Iowa’s colleges and universities.

· Allows Iowa’s licensing boards to adopt rules allowing credit for military training and experience in the licensing process.

· Allows private-sector companies to follow the public sector’s lead by allowing a preference in hiring and promoting veterans.

· Eliminates the special plate issuance fees charged for plates associated with military service.

· Expands eligibility for the Military Homeownership Assistance Program, which provides $5,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance. Additional funding for the program is provided in a separate appropriations bill.

A Public Hearing will be held tomorrow evening (Thursday) in Walnut, with regard to the Fiscal Year 2015-16 Budget. Following the hearing, the Council will discuss the budget and act on a Resolution to adopt it.

In other business, the Council will continue with discussions on the possible acquisition of the Walnut School Building. Last month, the City was offered the chance by Walnut Superintendent Jesse Ulrich to acquire the building, which is owned by the Walnut School District. City Clerk Terri Abell said Ulrich wanted to give the City the first opportunity to do something with the building. The decision was then made to form a committee comprised of the Mayor and two Council people, School Board members, and members of the public, to decide what they want the facility to become. They also discussed the possibility of hiring a consultant or an architect to conduct a feasibility study and facility study on the building.

The Walnut City Council will also discuss a proposed Community Garden, the 2016 Walnut Antique show and other, regular business matters. The meeting begins at 5-p.m., Thursday.

Authorities in Creston report the arrest Tuesday afternoon of 56-year old Mary Acker, of Creston. Acker was charged with Theft in the 5th degree and then released on a promise to appear later in court.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A religious discrimination lawsuit filed against Sioux City’s Bishop Heelan Catholic school system has been dismissed. The Sioux City Journal reports that in a ruling filed last week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jon Scoles said David Newbrough couldn’t proceed on his claim that the system fired him because he wasn’t Roman Catholic. Newbrough was the system’s chief financial officer.

The lawsuit also said he was relieved of his duties as a volunteer basketball scorekeeper at Heelan High School in retaliation for filing a claim with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. The judge says the system’s actions were protected under a federal law exemption that lets religious organizations discriminate on religious grounds in their employment practices.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Transportation say they’re still unsure why the agency’s first drug-sniffing dog jumped out of a truck window on Interstate 80 in October, and fled into traffic. Earlier this week, the Iowa Appeal Board approved a $1,323 payout for damages to the owners of the vehicle that struck and killed the 2-year-old Belgian Malinois named Sara. The Oct. 8 incident was ruled an accident.

David Lorenzen, chief of the department’s motor vehicle enforcement division, says Sara had been added to the department about a year before her death following a rigorous selection process. He says she was trained not to jump and may have done so out of fear. The department has since replaced Sara with another Belgian Malinois named Storm.