(Griswold, Iowa) – Officials with the Noble Initiative Foundation (NIF) Board and Lakin Foundation Child Development Center (CDC) of Griswold, will hold a Grand Opening this Saturday morning for the new Center. Due to an anticipated over-flow crowd and occupancy limits for the Center (established by the State Fire Marshal), the Grand Opening will be held at the Griswold Church of Christ (51 Harrison St.) in Griswold, instead of at the facility. )

The event begins at 10:30-a.m.  It includes a brief presentation, followed by a reception.

Everyone’s flexibility is appreciated as the NIF Board and Lakin CDC are anxious to celebrate opening the doors this spring! At the ceremony the community will learn about the next steps that need to completed, before doors open and children are accepted.  Groundbreaking for the 8,800-square-foot, $2.3-million facility took place in May, 2023. It’s anticipated the center will house up to 100 children ages six weeks to four years old during the day, with a separate before and after school area for elementary-aged kids. Other amenities include four classrooms and a gym.

PLEASANTVILLE, Iowa [KCCI] — An Iowa high school student has been charged with first-degree harassment for allegedly making threats toward Pleasantville High School. KCCI says Pleasantville administrators were made aware of the threat at the end of the school day Wednesday and contacted law enforcement. Police officers detained the student on campus before taking them to the Pleasantville Police Station for further questioning.

“Upon thorough evaluation of the information provided by both the Pleasantville School District and the Pleasantville Police Department, it was concluded that a criminal complaint for Harassment in the First Degree would be filed with the Juvenile Courts,” Pleasantville police said in a news release. Authorities say there is no ongoing threat to students or staff at Pleasantville schools or the community. Counseling services are available to students who may want them.

“We would encourage families to continue to talk with their children about the seriousness of threats and the importance of reporting suspicious activities, threats, or disturbing information to a trusted adult,” the news release said.

(Creston, Iowa) – Creston Police say two people were arrested, Wednesday. At around 2:30-p.m., 38-year-old Manuel Luke Richardson, of Creston, was arrested at the Creston/Union County Law Enforcement Center on a charge of Failure to Appear. Richardson was taken to Union County Jail and later released after posting a $7,000 cash-only bond.

Wednesday night, 26-year-old Amanda Marie Blakley-Luddington, of Creston, was arrested at the Creston Fareway Store. She was charged with Driving While Barred. Blakley-Luddington was cited at the scene and released on a Promise to Appear in court.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic School District Superintendent Dr. Beth Johnsen, Wednesday, discussed with the School Board, “Protective Procedures,” with regard to school safety, in light of the fatal shootings in the Perry Community School District in January. On January 23, district officials met with Law Enforcement, a representative of the Cass County Communications Center and others in the community, to ask and answer questions, with the ultimate goal of becoming better organized to react to potential threats school districts face.

Dr. Johnsen says involving students in the process of keeping the District’s buildings safe, is essential because of what they see happening, and what could be done prevent a potential incident from taking place.

Atlantic School Board President Kristy Pellett (Left), & Superintendent Johnsen.

She said Atlantic’s elementary school building Principals are involving parents in the process, and explaining the District’s A.L.I.C.E. (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate) training.

A District Safety Committee meeting is set to take place February 26^th, during which they expect to hear feedback from students and parent groups. In other business, Dr. Johnsen mentioned she and others will be flying to Phoenix, AZ next week, to attend a nationwide TLC (Teacher Leadership & Compensation) Summit.

She said “As administrators and as leaders of the district, we hope to pick up on good practices and then when we get back, its’ ‘what’s our next steps?’”

In other business, the Atlantic School Board, Wednesday night, reviewed and discussed a “Staff Culture Survey,” and Dr. Johnsen touched a bit on the Board’s 2023-24 Strategic Priorities.

(Radio Iowa) – A singer, composer, guitarist and humanitarian from the Middle Eastern nation of Jordan is showcasing her musical talents in southeast Iowa this week. Farah Siraj is making multiple appearances in Oskaloosa, including at the George Daily Auditorium where Allison McGuire is the community engagement and education director. McGuire says Siraj is being accompanied by musicians from all over the world, singing in Arabic, English and Spanish.

Oskaloosa is the current Iowa host of the Arts Midwest’s World Fest. McGuire says the program offers small Midwestern communities once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to learn about the world from musicians inside and outside the U-S.

In the past year and a half, World Fest has also brought in musicians from Finland, Alaska and Ghana, who’ve engaged thousands of Mahaska County residents, performing at schools, bookstores, coffee shops, and as the halftime show of college basketball games.

George Daily Auditorium – Home

(Radio Iowa) – A bill to set new state limits on the sale of hemp-infused pills, food and beverages is eligible for consideration in a House committee. The 2018 Farm Bill made it legal to grow hemp and a state law passed a year later allows the sale of non-intoxicating hemp products. The bill sets a significant penalty for selling hemp-infused products with high levels of T-H-C, the substance in marijuana that creates that high. Josie Wagler is legislative liaison for the Iowa Department of Public Safety, which proposed the bill.

“We’ve seen an emergence of high potency, high THC products hit the market,” Wagler says, “and, coupled with that, there are no age restrictions for purchasing these products.” The bill would make it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to buy consumable hemp products in Iowa. Leslie Carpenter of Iowa Mental Health Advocates says research shows a higher incidence of psychotic disorders among teens who’ve consumed products with high levels of T-H-C.

“I fully support medical marijuana,” Carpenter says. “It’s the high potency THC products and that currently a child can walk into a store and purchase them that makes me very concerned.” Scott Booher, who operates Four Winds Farm and Apothecary in the Amana Colonies, says he makes non-psychoactive products and the bill lumps him in with bad actors.

“Some of these people who are creating high THC products need to be held accountable in a different way,” Booher said, “maybe not with people who have low THC products.” Rachel Gulick owns House of Glass in Des Moines which sells consumable hemp products. She says the bill is designed to favor the state-licensed businesses allowed to grow, manufacture and sell medical marijuana in Iowa.

“It seems to me that we are trying to monopolize the industry for a very specific, private interest,” she said. A hemp grower told legislators got state permission to produce hemp as a food ingredient on January 31st — and this bill attempts to ban it.

The Republican lawmakers who advanced the bill say intoxicating hemp products are being sold and served in Iowa and it’s time for legislators to act.