CLINTON, Iowa (AP) — A former high school teacher in eastern Iowa who sent nude photos of herself to a student has been given two years of probation. Clinton County District Court records say 32-year-old Ramsey Hinkle also was given a two-year suspended prison sentence and was ordered to register as a sex offender. She’d pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation by a school employee.

The records say Hinkle admitted sending the photos to a 17-year-old boy while she was a teacher at Central DeWitt High School in November and December 2015. The boy told a police officer that emails he exchanged with Hinkle were sexual in nature. He reported that they talked about having sex but didn’t because he was too nervous to follow through on the idea.

(Radio Iowa) — Hunter safety courses for middle schoolers in northeast Iowa, which drew national attention, are now underway in the North Butler and Clarksville districts in Butler County. Administrators announced in November that hunter safety, including firearms safety, would be implemented into the P-E curriculum for 7th and 8th graders. Steve Martin, a naturalist with the Butler County Conservation Department, is helping teach two classes daily and says students have to absorb a lot of information in the course. “The biggest challenge is probably having to do just one day at a time when we typically have done it, the entire course, over the course of two or three days and longer times so things kind of flow a little easier,” Martin says. “So, it’s been a little bit of a challenge just to make sure we get enough time on each topic that needs to be covered.”

Martin says they will teach nine different chapters on hunter safety as required by the Department of Natural Resources over the next several weeks. Topics include ethics and responsibility, preparation and survival skills, and firearms training. “We teach them about firearms and how they operate and then basic shooting skills, basic hunting skills, and most importantly, probably, how to safely handle firearms,” Martin says. “Even if they’re not going to be hunting and they happen to come into a situation where firearms might be present and that allows them to have an idea of the safety rules that they need to follow.”

Students will not fire live ammunition, nor will they use real firearms during the in-school hunter safety training. “We have dummy ammunition that we use to teach them how to safely load and unload a firearm,” he says. “Again, the firearms we use are inoperable as far as being able to be fired. They were designed without all the parts needed to fire.” The hunter safety training will run through the first week of March in the North Butler district followed by four weeks in the Clarksville district. Parents were able to sign waivers opting their child out the class if desired. Hunter safety courses, while part of the junior high curriculum, are optional for high schoolers in both districts.

(Radio Iowa) — Grocers and convenience stores, restaurants and the state’s horsing racing industry are competing with casinos for a piece of sports betting action. The debate played out this week in House and Senate committees reviewing bills to make bets on college and professional sports legal in Iowa — through a variety of venues. Iowa Lottery vice president Mary Neubauer briefed lawmakers on Delaware’s experience with a sports lottery AND sports book operations at casinos. “Real world examples show that different types of sports gaming products can co-exist within a state,” Neubauer said.

Doug Beach of Casey’s General Stores says basic bets on games could easily be placed through lottery terminals in convenience stores. “We think it’s important when you consider this type of legislation that you make it easy for Iowans to participate and that includes Iowans in all 99 counties and small-town Iowa,” Beach said. And Representatives for Iowa restaurants and grocery stores told legislators there would be an increase in foot traffic in stores in all 99 counties rather than just the 19 state-licensed casinos if their industries get to offer a sports lottery. Wes Ehrecke is president of the Iowa Gaming Association, representing the state’s commercial casinos, and he argued against the lottery’s involvement. “We do question having them involved with the sports betting aspect,” Ehrecke told lawmakers. “There’s a lot of risk and volatility.”

Ehrecke argued the casinos are best equipped to manage that risk. For the past six years Iowa’s horse racing industry has the contract for taking bets, in Iowa, on the Kentucky Derby and other horse races around the country. Representatives of the group are asking legislators to give THEM the only contract to manage sports betting within the state’s borders.

(Radio Iowa) — Clear Lake police are asking for the public’s help in finding heirlooms from fallen rocker Ritchie Valens’ family reporting missing after the Winter Dance Party festivities last week. The Clear Lake Police Department on Sunday responded to the theft report of two picture collages and one movie poster belonging to the Valens family. The items were reportedly taken from the Best Western Motor Lodge in Clear Lake on Saturday from a conference room during a family luncheon.

The return of the items is a primary concern for the family, saying they are precious heirlooms, with the actual value still being determined. If anyone has any information about this case, they are asked to contact the Clear Lake Police Department

The Atlantic Fire Department was called at around 8:10-a.m., to assist firefighters from Brayton, who are battling a residential structure fire. The blaze was at 3144 Goldfinch Place, northwest of Brayton. No other details are currently available.