BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A Plains farm aid nonprofit that has steadily grown since being launched in North Dakota a dozen years ago is expanding into its sixth state. Farm Rescue will provide free haying and hay-hauling help to Nebraska farmers in need this year, as it continues providing services to farmers in both Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota and Iowa.

In those states, the organization has provided crop planting and harvesting assistance and hay help for more than 400 farm families since 2005. Farm Rescue doesn’t dole out cash. It has about 1,100 volunteers from around the country who do the actual physical work for farmers who have suffered a major injury, illness or natural disaster. The organization is currently taking applications for spring assistance in all of the states in which it works.

A Red Oak man was arrested for Driving While Suspended, Thursday evening. Police say 38-year old Kale Alan Wenberg was taken into custody at around 7-p.m. and was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 cash bond

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst — a combat veteran — is praising President Trump’s decision to launch air strikes in Syria. Senator Joni Ernst says Trump “followed through with the red line drawn by the Obama Administration.” Ernst called Syria’s president a “war criminal” for using chemical weapons against civilians and she blasted Russia for backing the Assad regime.

Syria’s civil war “has gone on far too long,” according to Ernst. Ernst says Trump “is showing global leadership.” She adds, though, it’s time to “find an end to the root causes of this crisis.”

(Radio Iowa)

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa lawmakers gave final approval to a gun-rights bill Thursday, approving a stand-your-ground provision and concealed carry on Capitol grounds. The Iowa House voted 57-36 for the legislation. It now heads to Gov. Terry Branstad, who in the past has supported gun-rights legislation. The final bill represents weeks of back-and-forth between the House and Senate to finesse sweeping changes to the state’s gun laws. GOP lawmakers have tried for years to expand Second Amendment rights in Iowa.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Navy is denouncing an incident in which members of its officer training program at Iowa State University posted explicit photographs on a Facebook page. The March 4 incident involved seven members of the school’s NROTC program. A spokesman says Navy leaders learned about the photographs the next day and responded quickly, saying such behavior “does not comport with our core values.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Aetna says it will stop selling individual health insurance policies in Iowa. The announcement Thursday comes just days after a similar one from Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield. The Des Moines Register reports that tens of thousands of Iowa residents who aren’t insured through an employer or the government are currently covered by the individual policies Aetna will stop selling. Only one other insurer, Medica, sells individual policies in most Iowa counties.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A 54-year-old Davenport man has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and sexual assaulting a woman in January. The Quad-City Times reports that Alan Ray Cassias filed a written plea Thursday through his attorney. Police say Cassias offered a ride to a woman he saw walking on Jan. 18. She asked to be taken to her job, but police say Cassias instead drove to his apartment, where he choked and tied up the woman before sexually assaulting her.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa lawmakers have given final approval to a gun-rights bill that includes a stand-your-ground provision and the right to carry concealed firearms on state Capitol grounds. The Iowa House voted 57-36 Thursday for the bill, which had already cleared the Senate. It heads to Gov. Terry Branstad, who in the past has supported gun-rights legislation.

Most elements would take effect July 1 but a provision to allow minors under 14 to use handguns with parental or guardian supervision would take effect immediately.

Democrats, who largely opposed the bill, focused criticism on so-called Capitol carry and stand-your-ground language. The stand-your-ground language allows deadly force even if alternative actions are available or an assessment of danger is incorrect.

The National Conference of State Legislatures says 24 states have approved similar laws.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office is reporting two arrests took place today (Thursday). 25-year old Skylar Lair, of Randolph, was arrested at around 8:40-a.m., after deputies were called to the 1800 block of Highway 59, north of Shenandoah, for a report of a possibly intoxicated female who had entered a business at the location. Lair was charged with Public Intoxication and Possession of Methamphetamine.  She was being held at the Fremont County Jail on a $1,300 bond.

Lair

And, 22-year old Joseph William Michael Haughton, of Hamburg, was arrested on a warrant for violation of probation. He was previously arrested twice before by Fremont County Deputies. Haughton faces charges that include Possession of Drug Paraphernalia on March 12th, and Violation of a No Contact Order on March 18th. Haughton was released on his previous charges from jail on April 1st. He was being held without bond on the new charges, pending court proceedings.

Haughton

(Update 4:17-p.m.)  A Cass County resident has died as the result of a boating accident at Lake Anita State Park. According to dispatch reports from the scene, the body of a man was discovered floating in the water near the second silt pond, just before 3:30-p.m. Anita Fire Chief Josh Peach told KJAN’s Ric Hanson that the man was in a kayak when the accident occurred. A life jacket was not found near his body, but Peach said it may have gotten hung-up somewhere. The winds were creating turbulent conditions on the water today, and Peach said “It’s not a good day to be out on the lake on a small boat or canoe/kayak type of thing.”

The victim has been identified, but his name is currently not available.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Another health insurer has announced it will stop selling individual policies in Iowa, just days after Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield made a similar announcement. The Des Moines Register reports Aetna informed Iowa regulators Thursday that it would stop selling individual policies, which cover tens of thousands of Iowans who don’t have access to employer-provided coverage or government plans.

Like Wellmark, Aetna cited instability in the insurance market. Aetna had already had stopped selling such policies in most states for 2017, citing turmoil in the wake of the Affordable Care Act.

Aetna says it had not decided whether to pull out of the three remaining states where it sells individual policies: Nebraska, Delaware and Virginia.

Shelby County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Seivert says the recent rain the county has received is great, but wind and abundant sunshine over the next few days will rapidly dry out dead grasses in the area, therefore, the County field and grassland Fire Danger index is being upgraded from “Low,” to “Moderate” until next Monday, (April 10th). Seivert advises businesses and local fire stations should placetheir fire danger signs in the Moderate category through the weekend.

Property owners considering a controlled burn should notify their local fire chiefs.

The Guthrie and Dallas County Sheriff’s Departments will hold an informational meeting on April 18^th, with regard to the Reserve Deputies Program. The meeting takes place in the Community room on the south side of the Dallas County Central Campus at 25747 North Avenue, in Adel, from 7-until 9p.m., April 18^th.

The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office is looking for persons over the age of 21, both male and female, who are interesting in applying for a Reserve Deputy position. The meeting is designed to inform applicants of the new standards implemented by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy, including the testing procedure that’s required to be completed by a Reserve Deputy.

If you have any questions about the Reserve Deputy program, contact Guthrie County Sheriff Marty Arganbright or Chief Deputy Jeremy Bennett, at 641-747-2214.