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Iowa early News Headlines: Sunday, 1/21/18

News

January 21st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A winter storm has Nebraska and parts of Iowa and Kansas in its crosshairs. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for most of Nebraska, starting Saturday evening in western Nebraska and continuing through Sunday night across much of the state. Much of Iowa and a section of Nebraska from north of Omaha to an area south of Hastings could see a wintry mix and freezing rain.

NASHUA, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials have identified a man shot by police earlier this week in northeast Iowa as a Minneapolis resident. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said late Friday that 29-year-old Jihad Merrick died after being shot on Highway 218 in Bremer County in a standoff with police and after he had hit an officer with his car. The names of the officers involved haven’t been released.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A commission has told lawmakers that repeated cuts to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources threatened its ability to protect the state’s air and water as the reductions have forced the agency to leave more than 100 positions vacant. The Des Moines Register reports an Environmental Protection Commission report noted the Iowa DNR’s budget had been cut from $22 million in 2009 to $11.17 million in the current budget year. The cuts have come amid rising concerns about Iowa’s polluted waterways.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A homeless shelter in western Iowa will be starting a Girl Scouts troop. The Omaha World-Herald reports that Micah House in Council Bluffs will begin holding troop meetings next month. The shelter received a $1,000 grant from the Pottawattamie Youth Council to start the troop. The shelter’s executive director was inspired after reading about a troop expanding to homeless shelters in New York City.