(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa legislature has unanimously voted for a bill to make more photos available for public alerts about Missing Persons. Representative Tom Jeneary of Le Mars guided the bill through the House. “Under current law, the DOT cannot release a driver’s license photo or a non-driver’s ID photo except to law enforcement in limited situations. Law enforcement cannot share this image with the general public,” Jeneary says. “This bill allows law enforcement to share the picture when a person is missing or the person is suspected of taking a minor in an Amber Alert.”

Senator Jeff Reichman of Montrose says minutes count in missing persons cases, especially when it involves a child. “There’s usually a 72 hour window, and then the statistic starts dropping off, so this should help law enforcement,” Reichman says.

The bill goes into effect as soon as the governor signs it into law. The D-O-T will be able to release photos that will be posted next to names on the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Missing Persons Clearinghouse. The list includes Iowans missing under suspicious circumstances as well as runaways and Iowans with physical or mental disabilities who are unable to take care of themselves on their own.

Atlantic high school Spanish students are gearing up for a trip to Costa Rica

Atlantic Spanish III student Jackson McLaren

this summer. They have started a canned food drive effort to help raise funds to defray the cost of the trip.

The food drive is a two-pronged effort with all K-12 classes collecting food through this Friday and the Spanish students going out in the community this Saturday to collect donations door-to-door. Junior Spanish III student Jackson McLaren talked about how the food drive works.

McLaren said the trip is a great opportunity for students to get to experience a Spanish speaking nation.

He said if you want to donate be on the look out for students going door-to-door Saturday or you could leave items outside your door if you would like.

The classroom effort has an incentive reward as well.

McLaren said around 30 students are trying to attend the trip and they appreciate the help they are getting from the community and their sponsors.

(Radio Iowa) – A reminder:  Iowa law enforcement officers are being particularly watchful for impaired drivers as today’s (Wednesday) date of April 20th or Four-Twenty is considered in some circles as a “marijuana holiday.” Sergeant Paul Gardner, with the Iowa State Patrol in Fort Dodge, says make no mistake, marijuana is a dangerous drug. “Marijuana is still illegal in Iowa, so 4-20 is going to focus on drugged driving,” Gardner says. “Many people think that drugged driving is okay, which it’s not. We find that it is still the same as drunk driving, so alcohol and drugs, especially marijuana, have their own impacts on certain drivers.”

Gardner says he’s seeing an upturn in motorists being arrested in Iowa due to being impaired by marijuana, alcohol or both. “Marijuana will slow somebody’s reaction time and judgment down, along with other things that it will cause in their behavior, and it is still illegal to drive while under the influence of marijuana,” Gardner says. “So if somebody is caught with marijuana in their system, they could face an OWI.”

The special traffic enforcement operation through the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau will run through Friday.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  Atlantic School District Superintendent Steve Barber reports during a special, closed session this (Wednesday) morning, the School Board accepted the resignation of High School Science (Chemistry/Conceptual Chemistry & Physics) Teacher James Todd. No other information, including an explanation for the resignation was given.

Mr. James Todd (ACSD staff photo)

(Omaha, NE) – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 22nd National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 30, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event offers free and anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide.

Drug overdoses are up almost 30 percent over the last year alone and claiming more than 286 lives every day. The majority of opioid addictions in America start with prescription pills obtained from a family member or friend. Take Back Day is a chance to clean out medicine cabinets and get rid of unneeded medication to help prevent medication misuse and opioid addiction from ever starting.

Collection sites will be located around the country and will be collecting tablets, capsules, patches, and other solid forms of prescription drugs — safely and anonymously. Drop off your unneeded medication between 10:00 am – 2:00 pm (in your time zone).

Locally, there is a prescription drug drop-off box just outside of the Atlantic Police Department offices inside City Hall. Elsewhere:

• At the Audubon County Sheriff’s Office
• The Council Bluffs Police Dept. (Walgreens)
• The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office
• The Harrison County Sheriff’s Office,
• and, the Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office.

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Sheriff’s office reports several arrests took place since the beginning of the month. On April 3rd, 46-year-old Carrie Lynn Kellogg, of Atlantic, was arrested following a traffic stop on Highway 59. Kellogg was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Possession of Controlled Substance, Prohibited Acts, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Improper Rear Lamps, and No Valid Driver’s License.

On the 6th, four Harlan residents were arrested following the execution of a search warrant at a residence in Harlan:

• 36-year-old Zachary Thomas Scheffler was arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Gathering where Marijuana is used.
• 31-year-old Kaleigh Marie Turner was charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Possession of a Controlled Substance.
• 32-year-old Jacob Brady Scheffler was charged with Gathering where Marijuana is used.
• and, 38-year-old Amber Leigh Lind was arrested on an active warrant out of Shelby County for Possession of a Controlled Substance, Prohibited Acts, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.  Lind was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged also with Gathering where Marijuana is used.

On April 7th, 24-year-old Justin Andrew Dickinson, of Harlan, was arrested on an active Shelby County Warrant for Burglary 3rd Degree. On the 9th, 28-year-old Gunnar Michael Blum, of Kimballton, was arrested following a traffic stop in Elk Horn. Blum was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Driving while License Denied or Revoked, Operating a Non-Registered Vehicle, and Failure to Provide Proof of Financial Liability.

On April 13th, 42-year-old Mark Corwin Gunderson, of Shelby, was arrested following a call for service at a residence in Shelby.  Gunderson was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Domestic Abuse Assault 1st offense. On the 15th, Shelby County Deputies arrested 33-year-old Brittany Marie Barker, of Shelby, on an active Shelby County warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault 1st offense.

And, on April 1st, 36-year-old James Robert McConnell, of Manilla, was arrested following a traffic stop on Highway 191. McConnell was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with OWI 1st, open container, and speeding.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Sheriff’s deputies in Montgomery County, Tuesday, arrested a woman wanted on a drug-related warrant. The Sheriff’s Department reports 57-year-old Sheryl Lynn Clark, of Red Oak, was taken into custody on the warrant for Possession of a Controlled Substance/1^st Offense. Clark was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 bond.