Police in Creston arrested a woman on an OWI charge early this (Friday) morning. Authorities say 33-year-old Samantha Diane Meeks, of Mount Ayr, was arrested at around 12:30-a.m., at 302 N Pine. She was charged with OWI/1st Offense, and transported to the Union County Jail before being then transferred to Adams County Jail, for holding.

(In an update to our previous report) Firefighters from Earling were called a little after 6-a.m. Thursday, to the 500 block of Main St., in Earling, for a reported structure fire. Authorities say as the first engine arrived on scene, they declared a working fire. At that time Westphalia Fire was paged to provide mutual aid. Firefighters with Earling began an offensive attack on the fire located on the first floor of the residence. Fire Departments from Panama and Defiance were also called to assist with manpower, and to haul water to the scene.

(Photo courtesy Jason Anastasi)

Officials say the fire entered the walls of the residence and worked its way up to the second floor, attic and finally, through the roof. At that point, firefighters’ means of attacking the flames was moved to defensive positions, outside. With the help of Harlan Fire and their ladder truck, the fire was contained to the residence only.  All the occupants made it out of the house safely prior to firefighters’ arrival, and there were no injuries.

The house is believed to be a total loss.

Iowa District 21 Republican State Representative Tom Moore reports the House Human Resources Committee passed four bipartisan bills this week to address childcare access. Moore says “Since March, 81 child care centers and 41 childcare development homes has closed due to the pandemic. Ensuring access to childcare is an important step in getting people back to work.

Rep. Tom Moore (R) – Griswold

Another bill of note, according to Moore, include: Parental Choice in Education, which allows each individual students’ parents to decide if their student will attend in-person classes, rather than the school district making a “Blanket decision.” The bill was debated on the House floor Thursday, and passed with a vote to 59-to 39. It has received Senate approval and was expected to be signed into law Friday morning.

Police in Red Oak report the arrest Thursday night, of 36-year-old Jeremy Ray Dilocker, from Red Oak. Dilocker was taken into custody at around 7:45-p.m. in the 500 block of N. 4th Street, for Public Intoxication. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – A proposed gun rights amendment will be up for a statewide vote in 2022. Representative Steven Holt, a Republican from Denison, says the amendment is designed to preserve the right to keep and bear arms. “It is the Second Amendment in modern day language, born from the wisdom of experience,” Holt says. “For decades, progressives and those folks who…placed the blame on an inanimate object instead of the person pulling the trigger have assaulted this fundamental right.”

Democrats in the House and Senate opposed the language in the proposed amendment. They said it goes beyond the U-S Constitution’s Second Amendment and will lead to repeal of gun-related laws. Senator Kevin Kinney, a Democrat from Oxford, is a retired deputy sheriff. “To me, this is going to make law enforcement more dangerous,” Kinney said. “It’s going to allow background checks not to be done, people freely carrying weapons.”

Every Republican present in the Iowa House and Senate on Thursday voted to place the amendment on the 2022 ballot. It’s the culmination of a progress that started in 2018 and was delayed at one point by a filing error in the Secretary of State’s office.

(Note: the legislation that passed was a resolution, not a bill. That means it does not go to the governor for her approval or veto. Also, members of the House and Senate were technically voting for the language proposed, not the amendment itself.)

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Senate has approved Republican Governor Kim Reynolds’ plan to give the parents of a few hundred K-through-12 students state scholarships to attend a private school or be home schooled. Republican Senator Amy Sinclair of Allerton says the eligible students are attending 34 public school buildings flagged for failing federal standards. “Thirty-four schools that have gotten so bad that they need federal assistance to try and improve,” Sinclair said. “…We don’t have time to study it. These children are not being educated.”

All the Democrats in the Senate opposed the bill. Senator Claire Celsi is a Democrat from Des Moines. “Republicans are prioritizing the expansion and fiscal health of private schools, some of them being religious schools, over the fiscal and education well-being of Iowa’s public schools,” Celsi said. Senator Jeff Edler, a Republican from State Center, says the bill will help parents exit failing public schools. “I’ve heard people say this is the camel getting the nose under the tent,” Edler said. “Well, ladies and gentlemen, if we’re doing our job, we will tip that tent upside down to find better outcomes for Iowans…Is it so radical to ask for success?”

Senator Sarah Trone Garriott, a Democrat from West Des Moines, says private schools that accept these student transfers aren’t being required to accept all students, which IS a requirement for public schools.  “I see it as money laundering to side step civil rights protections and that is incredibly troubling for me,” Trone Garriott said.

While Republicans have a 32-vote majority, the bill cleared the Iowa Senate Thursday with just 26 Republican votes, the bare minimum required. Similar legislation is eligible for consideration in the Iowa House.