Several people were arrested on a variety of charges, Tuesday, in Montgomery County. At around 10:10-p.m., Officers with the Red Oak Police Department and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 28-year old Shanea Ranee Pointer, of Mound City, MO., on a felony warrant for Violation of Probation out of Nodaway County, MO. During their investigation, officers and deputies also arrested 27-year old Mathew Boyce along with 27-year old Jessica Harbord, both of Red Oak. They were taken into custody for Interference with Official Acts. All three were transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where Pointer was being held without bond while awaiting extradition, and the others were being held on $300 bond, each.

At around 6:40-p.m. Tuesday, Red Oak Police arrested 33-year old Benjamin William Hrabik, of Red Oak, for Public Intoxication. His bond was set at $300.  Red Oak Police arrested 38-year old Jesse Donald Trost, of Red Oak, at around 5:08-p.m. Tuesday, for Burglary, Attempted Burglary in the 3rd Degree, Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree, and Felony, Possession of a Controlled Substance/3rd or subsequent offense. His bond was set at $15,000.

And, at around 3-p.m. Tuesday, 27-year old Dustin James Danick, of Red Oak, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance/2nd offense, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drugs. His bond on those charges was set at $1,000. Danick was additionally charged with Theft in the 4th Degree, the bond for which was also set at $1,000.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports two Corning residents, 33-year old Brandon Clayton and 36-year old Leana Smith, were arrested Tuesday afternoon following a traffic stop at 9th and Nodaway, in Corning. Both were found to have an active, temporary Protective Order against each other. Clayton and Smith were transported to the Adams County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) — Colleges and universities across the country — and in Iowa — are talking about having students complete the semester online rather than on campus. The leaders of the legislative and executive branches of state government say at this point there is no need to cancel large gatherings in the state capitol. Governor Kim Reynolds spoke with reporters Tuesday morning.

“I don’t see any need to address that,” Reynolds said. “Those are things, though, that we’ll have to take a look at depending on what happens in the days ahead.” House Speaker Pat Grassley of New Hartford is the top Republican in the legislature. “Unless the folks at the Iowa Department of Public Health, the professionals, give us a recommendation — which as of yesterday they did not,” Grassley says, “I don’t see any reason for us to overreact.”

Grassley’s grandfather, U.S Senator Chuck Grassley, has announced he plans to hold “town meetings” next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in four Iowa counties. Governor Reynolds has scheduled a town hall meeting at Boone City Hall this (Wednesday) morning and another town hall at an Ankeny restaurant on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders cancelled campaign rallies in Ohio on the advice of public health officials.

(Radio Iowa) — Republicans in the Iowa House have voted to make changes in the state-regulated medical marijuana program — changes the governor has said she’ll accept. Representative Jarad Klein of Keota is the Republican assigned to lead the debate. “We base a lot of this on the advice of very smart medical professionals because in the State of Iowa we have a medical program, not a recreational program masquerading as a medical program,” Klein said, “and that’s the way we’re going to keep it.”

The bill would limit patients to four-and-a-half grams of the chemical T-H-C in the cannabis products they purchase over a 90-day period. Representative Mary Gaskill, a Democrat from Ottumwa, says that’s not enough for many Iowa patients, including her daughter. “To those who do not know what it is like to have a loved one suffering from the pain of MS, you have no idea how concerned I am tonight about reducing the allowed grams over 90 days,” Gaskill says.

Klein says the limit is based on the recommendation of the state board that oversees the program. “I am not a physician. I never pretend to be, but I do listen to them on this topic,” Klein said, “because it’s very important for them to do the homework and report back to us their professional advice.” Klein added that the bill provides a waiver if a doctor believes a patient would benefit from a higher amount of T-H-C.

“To allow individuals to be treated on a case-to-case basis,” Klein said. Rep. John Forbes, a Democrat from Urbandale, is a pharmacist who says most doctors are already reluctant to recommend cannabis products to their patients.  “You know we’re going to have about 2300 patients in this state who are going to have to cut their dose down,” Forbes said, “considerably.”

Representative Wes Breckenridge, a Democrat from Newton, says it’s unfair to patients currently in the system who’ve successfully switched from opioids to cannabis. “Those that have finally found relief, have a dosage amount, a system in place where they are truly getting the care they need,” Breckenridge says, “now they’re going to have to try and jump back through hoops and hope, just hope that their practitioner will allow them and give them the dosage that they’re currently on.”

Other provisions in the bill would let patients get a doctor’s recommendation for medical marijuana as treatment for more conditions — for P-T-S-D and autism as well as for patients with self-harming behavior. Last year, Governor Reynolds surprised lawmakers by vetoing an expansion of the state’s medical marijuana program, but she’s made it clear she’ll sign this one.

Key Senators still would like to allow patients to buy up a 90-day supply of cannabis products with up to 25 grams of T-H-C. That means it’s unclear how this year’s medical marijuana debate may be resolved as it shifts to the senate.

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials say 22 Iowans are among the thousands of passengers and crew who were quarantined on a cruise ship docked in Northern California, and most of them are preparing to return home. Gov. Kim Reynolds said Tuesday that 18 of the Iowans will be flown home on a government-chartered plane and kept in isolation in their homes. None of them have shown symptoms of the COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, but they will be screened before and after the flight. At least 21 of the roughly 3,500 passengers and crew on the Grand Princess cruise have tested positive for the disease.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Health officials say five more residents in eastern Iowa’s Johnson County have tested positive for new coronavirus. Officials said in a news release Tuesday evening that all of the new cases are people who had recently traveled on an Egyptian cruise. The new cases bring the total number of Iowa infections to 13. The release says 14 other tests have come back negative. Officials announced Iowa’s first COVID-19 cases on Sunday, as three individuals from Johnson County who had been on the cruise tested positive .For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — For the second time this academic year, a public university in Iowa is paying an administrator to stay home and look for other jobs as part of a legal agreement to quit and not sue. Iowa State University is paying former senior admissions official Consuela Cooper to telecommute until June 15 or until she finds a new job, whichever comes first. Cooper has agreed to resign and “not to seek or accept employment with the university at any time in the future.” It’s similar to a deal the University of Iowa reached with its new chief diversity officer last August.

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (AP) — A man who was found guilty earlier this year of setting a fire that injured two people at his eastern Iowa home has been sentenced to 50 years in prison. Prosecutors say 45-year-old Shane Heins was sentenced Tuesday in Buchannan County District Court. A jury convicted him in January of arson and two counts of attempted murder. He’d pleaded guilty before the trial to domestic abuse assault for shoving his stepdaughter. Investigators say Heins set the fire March 2, 2019, in Independence in an effort to kill his wife, Christina Heins, and her uncle, Nick Necker. Both were taken for treatment to University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in Iowa City.

The Cass County Democratic Party will be holding its County Convention on Saturday, March 21st. Fifty Delegates and 39 Alternates were elected by their peers to represent Presidential candidates. The Delegates and Alternates were elected at the Cass County Caucus which was held on February 3rd. The County Convention will be held at the Cass County Court House.

Registration begins at 9 AM with the Convention being called to order at 10 AM. Chairs of the County Convention Committees are Sandra Sothman, Arrangements, Rylea Anderson, Credentials, Bailey Smith, Platform, and Camie McBee, Rules & Nominations.

Four people will be elected to represent Cass County at the District Convention in Committees including Platform, Credentials, Arrangements, and Rules & Nominations. There will also be an election for Affirmative Action Chair. All Alternates are asked to attend the Convention in case of absences by the Delegates. Observers and members of the press are also invited to attend but will not be able to participate.

Breakfast items and refreshments will be provided for a free-will donation.  Six Delegates, along with several Alternates, will move on to the Third District Convention which will be held on April 25th at the Atlantic High School and to the State Convention which will be held in Des Moines on June 13th.

Questions can be directed to Sherry Toelle, Cass County Democratic Party Chair, at 243-4861.

[Council Bluffs] Pottawattamie County Division of Public Health and their partners will be activating a Call Center today (Wednesday, March 11th), for residents with questions relating to COVID-19. The call center will be open from 8:00am to 4:00pm Monday – Friday. Call Center numbers are 712-890-5368 or 712-890-5369.

Outside of the county call center hours, questions can be directed to the United Way’s 2-1-1 Resource Hotline. For more information on Coronavirus visit https://pcema-ia.org/ or visit the IDPH webpage at https://idph.iowa.gov/Emerging-Health-Issues/Novel-Coronavirus.

(Radio Iowa) — Hy-Vee is closing its Urbandale fulfillment center in May – impacting about 360 workers. Company spokesperson Christina Gayman says some fulfillment employees will be transferred to its grocery stores to continue filling online orders there.

“We’ll keep about 60 of those,” Gayman says, “but we know the other 300 will be either looking for other positions within Hy-Vee or will need to find something outside of Hy-Vee.” Hy-Vee will stop filling online orders at its fulfillment sites the week of March 23, but Gayman says workers can help with the transition through May 6.

“On HyVee.com, we have more than 1,200 job openings throughout our eight-state region,” she says. “There is potential for some of those people to find other roles within Hy-Vee…If there are employees who do not want to remain with Hy-Vee or we just can’t find the right fit for them, we’re working to help transition them to opportunities outside of Hy-Vee.” The company will also be closing fulfillment centers in Nebraska, Missouri and Minnesota.

“All four facilities will remain Hy-Vee facilities,” she says. “We don’t have details on what they might become in the future, but there will be some transition time.” Gayman is not sure if severance packages are included for those who do not stay.

(Reporting by Missourinet’s Alisa Nelson)

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (AP) — A man who was found guilty earlier this year of setting a fire that injured two people at his eastern Iowa home has been sentenced to 50 years in prison. Prosecutors say 45-year-old Shane Heins was sentenced Tuesday in Buchannan County District Court. A jury convicted him in January of arson and two counts of attempted murder.

He’d pleaded guilty before the trial to domestic abuse assault for shoving his stepdaughter. Investigators say Heins set the fire March 2, 2019, in Independence in an effort to kill his wife, Christina Heins, and her uncle, Nick Necker. Both were taken for treatment to University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in Iowa City.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Tuesday, said there were four arrests over the past week or so. Last Saturday, deputies arrested 39-year-old Grabiel Garcia, of Perry, as a result of a traffic stop along Highway 44 in Shelby County.   Garcia was charged with a simple misdemeanor charge of driving under suspension.  Garcia also had a nationwide parole violation warrant from the State of Iowa, and was being held without bond pending transport, and an appearance before the Department of Corrections Parole and Probation services

On March 4th, 29-year-old Jeffrey Daniel Gamblin was arrested following a traffic stop along East Street, in Shelby. He was charged with driving while license suspended, failure to providing financial liability and operating a non-registered vehicle. Gamblin was transferred to the jail without incident and released a short time later after posting the required $566 cash bond.

March 1st, Shelby County Deputies arrested 30-year-old Nicholas James Erisman, of Council Bluffs, for OWI/2nd offense, possession of controlled substance 2^nd offense, possession of drug paraphernalia, prohibited acts, driving while license suspended, and improper registration plate lamp.  Erisman was transferred to the Shelby County Jail without incident and held under $6,566 cash or surety bond until appearance before magistrate the following morning, and then held under $2000 bond, which was posted a short time later. He was subsequently released from custody.

And, on February 28th, Deputies in Shelby County arrested 32-year-old Tamara Leigh Dryer, of Harlan, following a traffic stop. Dryer was found to have a barred driver’s license and had an active outstanding warrant out of Pottawattamie County.  She was transported to the Shelby County Jail and held under $2000 cash/surety bond for the charges of driving while barred:  Dryer was released the following day after posting both surety bonds in Shelby County.