(Radio Iowa) – More Iowa high school and middle school students are enrolling in educational programs offering courses directly related to employment in current or emerging occupations. Dennis Harden oversees the career and technical education area for the Department of Education, and says the number of courses increased seven-point-six percent in 2022 from the previous year. School districts are required to offer at least 12 units of coursework within four of the six C-T-E service areas.

Harden says all school districts experienced growth in courses with a statewide average of two courses being offered and the participation rate of students in 2022 was 73-point-one percent. He says the largest C-T-E service area with 90 programs is applied science, technology, engineering and manufacturing, followed by health science and information solutions, human services, business, and finally agriculture.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak arrested a woman and a man on separate charges, Thursday. Authorities say 40-year-old Mandy Marie Knapp, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 8:15-p.m. in the 1500 block of N. Broadway Street. Knapp was taken into custody on Adams County warrants for Trespass/1st offense, Open Container as a driver (21+) and Felony Burglary in the 3rd Degree. She was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

And , at around 5:25-p.m., Thursday, Red Oak Police arrested 24-year-old Austin Alexander Thompson, of Red Oak, for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense, and Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia. He was being held on a $1,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks says congress cannot let TikTok stockpile sensitive information and spy on Americans. Miller-Meeks and other members of the House Commerce Committee quizzed TikTok’s C-E-O for more than five hours yesterday (Thursday).

“Certainly, as you can see, in a bipartisan way we have concerns,” Miller-Meeks told TikTok’s CEO, “and those concerns are valid.” The app, which has 150 American users, is owned by a Chinese company and the Biden Administration is demanding that the Chinese sell their stake in the company — or the app will be banned in the U.S. Miller noted the hearing began hours after China announced its opposition to the sale of TikTok.

“Why would China or the Chinese Communist Party be opposed to a forced sale of TikTok?” Miller-Meeks asked. “…That leads people to believe that there’s something more nefarious and that there is, in fact, data that is captured, is stored and poses a risk not only to children in the United States, but also poses a risk to national security.” Miller-Meeks, a Republican who represents Iowa’s first congressional district, says she believes TikTok is gathering personal data from Americans and sharing it with our adversaries.

Republican Ashley Hinson, Iowa’s second district congresswoman, says TikTok needs to be banned.  “I believe the time to act was yesterday here,” Hinson says. Hinson says the U.S. Treasury Department has been negotiating with TikTok’s owners for three years — since the Trump Administration — and cutting ties with China and it’s time to ban what Hinson calls a Trojan horse app. Hinson made her comments during a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Thursday.

(Sidney, Iowa – Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports that a man from northwest Iowa was arrested on Monday for driving a stolen vehicle, faces additional charges following the alleged assault of a Sheriff’s Deputy at the Fremont County Jail, on Wednesday. The deputy suffered minor injuries during the incident.

The Sheriff said that on Monday (March 20), Sheriff’s Office received a report of a possible stolen vehicle near a truck stop at the intersection of Highway 2 and Interstate 29. Deputies located a 2015 Chrysler 200, reported stolen out of Dickinson County, Iowa at that location. The driver, 20-year-old Kendel Cole Schmidt, from Spirit Lake, Iowa was arrested for Theft in the 1^st Degree. Schmidt also had a warrant for his arrest out of Dickinson County, and was being held at the Fremont County Jail on $10,000 cash/surety bond.

Kendel Cole Schmidt

On Wednesday, Schmidt assaulted a Fremont County Correctional Officer, tearing the correctional officer’s uniform in the process, and attempted to steal items from their person in an attempt to escape.

Schmidt was additionally charged with:

• Criminal Mischief 5^th Degree, a Simple Misdemeanor
• Assault on persons in certain occupations, an Aggravated Misdemeanor
• Attempted Escape, a Class D Felony
• Robbery 2^nd Degree, a Class C Felony

He remains in the Fremont County Jail on an additional $17,300 cash bond.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – March 23, 2023 – Drivers who travel on Iowa 44 in Portsmouth need to be aware of an upcoming bridge deck replacement project that may slow down their trip beginning on Monday, April 3 until Friday, July 28, weather permitting. During this project, drivers on Iowa 44 will follow a marked detour around the work zone by using Iowa 191, Shelby County roads F-32 and M-16.

Help keep everyone on the road safer. Drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, you should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

The latest traveler information is available anytime through the 511 system.