Police in Red Oak Police report the arrest early this (Monday) morning, of 45-year-old Raymond Lee Briggs. The Red Oak man was taken into custody on a charge of 2nd degree theft. Additional information on the charges is not available. Briggs was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $10,000 bond.

Sheriff’s deputies in Fremont County arrested two people Saturday on weapons-related offenses, after authorities investigated the reported shooting of a vehicle early that same day, in the 1100 block of Hamburg. During their investigation, authorities executed a search warrant at a residence in the 2700 block of Bluff Road in Fremont County, which led to the arrest of 20-year old Dalton Shane Haler and 22-year old Joshua Allen Reafling, both of Hamburg.

Both men face Intimidation with a Dangerous Weapon, Reckless Use of a Firearm and Conspiracy, charges. They were brought to the Fremont County Jail, where Raefling posted at $17,000 bond, and Haler was still being held on $17,000 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state Senate panel will hold a hearing to review the quality of care at the Iowa Veterans Home. The Monday meeting comes after more than 40 former staffers signed a letter that was printed in The Des Moines Register complaining about the current leadership at the home. A news release from Senate Democrats says David Worley, the commandant of the Veterans Home, will testify at the hearing.

The home in Marshalltown is Iowa’s largest nursing home and among the biggest in the nation for veterans and their spouses. The home is made up of two separate facilities. One provides nursing care for about 500 residents. The other is a residential care facility where 100 more people live mostly independently.

Legislators return to the statehouse today (Monday) with all the major issues they’ve faced since January unresolved. Ten-member negotiating committees have been assigned to find compromises on property tax reform, education reform and a new health care plan for low-income, uninsured Iowans. Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs won’t speculate on which deals may be easier to strike. “We’re working on all of them, people of good faith really are and there’s ideas being exchanged,” Gronstal said late last week.

House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, a Republican from Hiawatha, is also striking a positive tone. “We’re very pleased with a lot of the progress that was made,” Paulsen says, “….remain optimistic that the conference committees will be able to work out some of these differences.” The 10-member conference committee assembled to strike a deal on education reform didn’t meet last week, however. Paulsen says he’s “extremely frustrated” about that lack of action, but he’s still unwilling to declare that any of the disagreements have reached the stalemate stage.

“We’re trying to set it up for success and I’m expecting to have success,” Paulsen said late last week. “That’s what Iowans expect.” Gronstal wants to keep all 150 legislators in Des Moines this week rather than sending most home if they’re not involved in behind-the-scenes negotiations over key issues. “We’ll make that judgement as we move along,” Gronstal said late last week. “I’m not a great fan of having people leave because they’re all part of this process. Everybody has a vote. We need to share concepts and things with each other as we’re working though our differences.”

The 2011 legislative session ended on June 30th, but through most of May and June that year it was just legislative leaders who stayed at the statehouse to negotiate. Legislators receive an annual salary, plus daily expense money to cover the cost living in Des Moines during the legislative session. However, those daily expenses in even-numbered years like 2012 last just 110 days — so their daily expense allotments ended last Friday.

(Radio Iowa)