(Radio Iowa) — Not having license plates on her vehicle led to a felony drug arrest for a Columbus Junction woman early on Wednesday morning. Authorities say 33-year-old Jessica Carrington was stopped in Burlington around 3:30 on Wednesday morning. They found her license was suspended indefinitely and she had warrants out of Louisa County. During a search of the vehicle police found three small baggies of methamphetamine hidden in a bag of Doritos. Authorities say the substance totaled 6.5 grams. Carrington was arrested on felony drug trafficking charges, also facing misdemeanor charges for driving with a suspended license. She’s being held in the Des Moines County jail on $10,000 bond.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A plea and sentencing hearing has been scheduled for a man accused of fatally attacking a woman in her Cedar Rapids garage and setting it on fire. Linn County District Court records say 39-year-old Timothy Evans has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and other crimes connected to the April 29 attack on 38-year-old Gina Frederiksen. The records don’t say to which charges Evans will be pleading. The hearing is set for Dec. 7.

Frederiksen was pulled from the burning garage but died at a hospital. Court records show Evans, who is homeless, had been released from jail just two days before the attack. He was being held on car burglary charges when he was released.

A woman from Creston was injured during rollover accident at around 9-a.m., Wednesday. The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports 58-year old Teresa Joann Deacon was traveling east on 205th Street, when she met another vehicle and drove her 2012 Toyota SUV close to the road edge to avoid a collision. Due to the slick road conditions, Deacon lost control of the vehicle, which entered the north ditch and rolled a couple of times before coming to rest on its wheels. Deacon suffered minor, non-incapacitating injuries, but did not require medical transport to the hospital. The vehicle sustained about $6,000 damage in the crash.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s new medical marijuana program will get started Saturday as dispensaries open in five spots around the state. Dispensaries are set to open in Council Bluffs, Davenport, Sioux City, Windsor Heights and Waterloo. The 2017 Medical Cannabidiol Act allows the use of cannabidiol that has no more than 3 percent THC, the compound in marijuana that causes a high. Iowa doctors can certify patients with one of several debilitating medical conditions, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, seizures, HIV, AIDS, Parkinson’s disease and Crohn’s disease.

MedPharm is manufacturing all of the state’s legal marijuana products, which include capsules, tinctures and creams. Sarah Reisetter is the deputy director of the Iowa Department of Public Health. She says the state’s medical cannabidiol board has a “compassionate use” goal.

The Atlantic School Board, members of the Facilities Planning Committee, an engineer and financial expert met at the High School Wednesday evening, to discuss a proposed $9.5-million proposal to improve certain district facilities. Superintendent Steve Barber told KJAN News the committee was able to present their proposal to the Board after a long planning process. He said they revisited what the needs assessments were back in 2016. The committee came to the Board with a different scope, Wednesday. The original proposal would have cost $23.2-million.

Barber said the latest proposal concentrates on improvements to the Middle School and redoing the softball/baseball diamond, refurbishing the Trojan Bowl, and creating a road from 11-th to 14^th to help with the congestion that occurs at Washington during student drop-off and pick-up.

Ball diamonds

Tennis courts

Trojan Bowl (click on pics to enlarge)

He said basically the scope is centered around creating safety at the Middle School Athletic Facilities, and making all of the facilities ADA compliant and accessible to everyone. Some of the proposed improvements to the Trojan Bowl include using an all-synthetic turf, a new and wider soccer field, a four-lane rubber track, visitor parking, and new bleachers with 1,500 seat capacity on the home side and 500 seat capacity on the visitor’s side. Grading, according to Barber, will be a big part of the project.

The proposal also includes lighting and sound improvements, and a new scoreboard. The baseball and softball complex improvements would include new dugouts, batting cages, six tennis courts and lights at the existing high school practice field. Barber said Piper-Jaffrey’s Travis Squires, the District’s Bond Counsel, presented to the Board Wednesday night, and said the costs are doable without a tax increase. The plan moving forward, is to meet December 12 during a regular session, and act on setting the date for a Bond Referendum as April 2^nd. A steering committee will be lead by community members. Barber said he would then be available to inform the public what the plans are. He said the goal is to be as informative and transparent as possible during the period leading up to a referendum vote, if it’s approved by the School Board next month.

Past attempts at placing a Bond Referendum before patrons of the District have fizzled out or been defeated. Barber says there’s a renewed energy to get something accomplished in the name of safety and to be more in-step with other Hawkeye 10 District schools. He said 6 out of the 10 H-10 Schools have upgraded their facilities. The Atlantic School Board is focused on safety. Right now, he said, they can’t say those fields are safe to play on, or accessible to persons with disabilities. Barber said they feel they are in a good position to get the projects underway while maintaining a reasonable tax levy.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Nearly 60 Iowa inmates who want their porn back are suing the state of Iowa. The 58 inmates at the Fort Dodge prison are seeking $25,000 each in damages. Their lawsuit blames the ban on “religious tyrants” who have no regard for the U.S. Constitution or Declaration of Independence. The federal lawsuit was filed in Des Moines before a new law that took effect Nov. 14 shut down designated “pornography reading rooms” in Iowa’s prisons. The law says Corrections Department funds can’t be used to distribute or make available to inmates any commercially published information or material that is sexually explicit or features nudity.

The law reverses a policy in place since a 1988 federal court decision that the state’s prison rules on pornography were unconstitutionally vague. Corrections spokesman Cord Overton says state prisoners were advised in July that the changes would take effect in mid-November.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors have a relatively light agenda for their weekly meeting, Friday morning. During their 8:30-a.m. session, the Board will act on an Abatement of Taxes for a parcel owned by the City of Anita. They’ll also act on a Resolution proclaiming the Board’s support for the Home Base Iowa initiative, and approve an application from Manatt’s Inc., for partial payment (the final payment) for the Glacier-to-Buck Creek to Echo Road paving project, as well as acceptance of work on the project. The final order of business, is to approve participation in an agreement to establish the position of Cass County Wellness Coordinator, and to partially fund the position. Other funding partners would include ISU Extension, the Nishna Valley YMCA, and Cass County Memorial Hospital.

Regular reports (as available) will be provided by the County Attorney, Engineer and Mental Health/General Relief Coordinator. The Cass County Board of Supervisor’s normally meet each Wednesday of the month.