DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s top attorney wants to excuse himself from defending the state in a lawsuit that challenges a new collective bargaining law. Attorney General Tom Miller announced Tuesday he wants to seek outside legal counsel to represent the state in a lawsuit filed Monday by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Iowa Council 61.

Miller says he wants to avoid questions about a potential conflict of interest because public sector unions have supported him in the past. His office has defended Gov. Terry Branstad in previous AFSCME lawsuits, but he felt the action was needed in “this highly charged legal dispute.”

AFSCME claims the law, which removes most collective bargaining rights for public workers, is unconstitutional. Branstad’s office says it won’t comment on the merits of the case.

The Glenwood Police Department reports three recent arrests, among them, 28-year old Nicholas K. Hunter, of Glenwood, who was arrested Saturday for OWI/2nd offense. Hunter was taken into custody following an investigation into an accident in Glenwood. A Glenwood Police Officer stopped at vehicle on S. Locust Street at around 12:40-a.m., Saturday, and noticed the 1998 Buick Century had both front air bags deployed and significant front end damage.

An investigation determined Hunter had struck a parked 1992 Chevy pickup in the area of Coolidge and Walnut Streets, in Glenwood. Damage to the pickup was estimated at $2,000, while the Buick had about $5,000 damage.

Glenwood Police said also, 49-year old Rochelle Dabney, of Pacific Junction, was arrested Saturday on a Pottawattamie County warrant for Probation Violation. Her bond was set at $2,000. And, on Monday, 47-year old Jeffrey Gross, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for OWI/3rd offense. His bond was set at $5,000.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – New Jersey-based megabus.com says it will resume service from Nebraska through Iowa to Chicago. Megabus.com said in a news release Tuesday that the service will begin March 1, with one bus daily in both directions and additional service on weekends and holidays as needed.

The buses will serve Lincoln and Omaha in Nebraska, stop in Des Moines and Iowa City/Coralville in Iowa and Moline and Chicago in Illinois. The service to Lincoln and Moline is new.

The company says Windstar Lines will provide buses and megabus.com will manage ticket sales and customer services. Megabus.com is based in Elizabeth, New Jersey. It announced in November that it was ending the service because low gas prices had reduced demand for service.

An IKM-Manning School bus loaded with 60 students, a chaperone and the bus driver was involved in an accident this (Tuesday) morning, in Shelby County. The Sheriff’s Office says three students and one adult suffered minor injuries, and were transported by Manning Ambulance to the Manning Regional Hospital, while the other school bus occupants were transported to school by IKM-Manning District buses.

The accident happened at around 8:15-a.m. east of Irwin, when the bus, which was traveling west on Shelby County Road F-24, struck a “Wide Load” sign on a vehicle that was turning north off eastbound F-24 onto Vine Road. The accident happened under dense fog conditions. Both vehicles were damaged in the collision.

Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputies, Iowa State Patrol Troopers, Iowa DOT personnel, along with rescue crews from Irwin, Defiance, Manilla and Manning, as well as Shelby County Emergency Management personnel, all responded to the scene.

Iowa motorists will likely have to pay considerably more to fill their gas tanks soon, according to a forecast from Triple-A. The motor club’s Iowa spokeswoman Rose White predicts the price of gasoline will rise at least 50-cents a gallon between now and Memorial Day, perhaps much higher. “Prices will be on the increase as more refineries switch to the more-costly-to-produce summer fuel blends,” White says. “That’s coupled with the higher demand you usually see with the onset of the summer travel season.”

On the plus side, White says there are no fuel shortages to worry about and crude oil inventories are up eight-percent from a year ago. “Crude oil prices remain low,” White says. “Right now, they’re still at $53 a barrel. A year ago, they were at $31 a barrel. Typically, with every $1 increase, you see retail pump prices increase 3 to 4 cents a gallon.”

While Iowa’s statewide average gas price is now two-30 a gallon, she says it’s possible some service stations could break three-bucks a gallon by summer. “We need to keep in mind that some of those communities might just have one single station in a rural area with low volume sales, but they still have the high overhead costs,” White says. “As a result, we always see a wide range of prices across the state.”

Among the state’s metro areas, Des Moines has the most expensive gas at two-44 a gallon, while it’s cheapest in Cedar Rapids at two-21. The statewide average of two-30 a gallon is two cents higher than the national average. Iowa’s highest-ever average gas price was $4.02 a gallon in July of 2008.

(Radio Iowa)

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports numerous arrests took place over the past few days. On Saturday, 37-year old Ryan Scott Lee, of Bellevue, NE., was arrested following a traffic stop, on a Possession of a Controlled Substance, charge. His bond was set at $6,000. The day before, 37-year old Patrick Astin Thompson, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on the same charge. His bond was set at $2,000.

Friday afternoon, 60-year old Cynthia Jane Repasky, of Glenwood, was arrested on a Page County warrant for two counts of Contempt of Court. Bond was set at $2,000. Saturday night, 26-year old Noel Kerrie Dominguez, of Malvern, was arrested for Interference with Official Acts. Her bond was set at $300. At the same time and place, 28-year old Zachery Clay Younts, of Malvern, was arrested for Violation of a No Contact Order, with bond also set at $300.

Sunday morning, 33-year old Laura Lee Kathleen Grauman, of Allegan, MI, was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, for Theft in the 2nd degree. Sunday afternoon, 44-year old Michael Shawn Hart, of Malvern, was arrested for Driving Under Suspension (DUS). Sunday evening, 37-year old Jeremy Jacob Potts, of Glenwood, was arrested for DUS as well. Bond for both men was set at $300.

Members of the CAM Community School District’s Board of Education, Monday night, approved a bid of $684,250 from Jensen Builders of Ft. Dodge, for construction of an addition to the Middle School, in Massena. Board Secretary/Business Manager Linda Edwards told KJAN News the bid was well below the engineer’s estimate of $740,000 for the project. It involves work on the south Elementary Music Room and a Pre-school addition to one building.

Jensen hopes to begin construction on or before April 1st, with completion by August 1st. The Board also received an update on the bleacher stairs project. Linda Edwards said they are looking at modifying the bleachers in the high and middle school gymnasiums to add steps with handrails in the middle of the bleachers on both sides.

Recently, the SCORE (Spinal Cord Opportunities for Rehabilitation Endowment) organization fully funded modification of the bleachers to make a handicapped accessible area on one side of the high school gym, in Anita.

They also discussed the vehicle fleet at CAM, and the possibility of leasing a couple of more buses within the next few months, and maybe even a car. No decision was made on the matter, though. And, the Board accepted the resignation/early retirement of High School Math Teacher Julie Stender, effective at the end of the school year. They also approved a contract for Vanessa Hoover, as Para-Educator at the North Elementary School.

The Exira-Elk Horn Kimballton School Board has agreed to a two-year Master Contract with the District’s Certified Staff. The agreement includes a 2.9-percent total package increase for the 2017-18 School Year and a 2-percent increase for 2018-19. The agreement was reached last Friday, after the teacher’s union voted on Thursday to approve the same agreement.

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County, Tuesday (today), issued 12 separate arrest reports, many of which were OWI-related. Among those taken into custody recently, was 30-year old Melissa Diane Cloughly, of Avoca, who was arrested Sunday for Domestic Assault with Injury and Child Endangerment. The assault charge stems from two separate incidents whereby she allegedly assaulted her husband. The couples’ one-year old male child was in the home when the incidents occurred.

Authorities said also, 40-year old Timothy Lee Anderson, of Oakland, was arrested Friday evening for Domestic Assault with Injury, after he allegedly assaulted his wife, causing apparent, minor injuries. Anderson was also charged with 5th Degree Criminal Mischief for allegedly damaging a smart phone valued at $132.

An Oakland man was arrested Monday evening for Driving While Barred, OWI/1st Offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. 53-year old Christopher Scott Donaldson was taken into custody following a traffic stop on Highway 6 in Pottawattamie County. The owner of the vehicle was cited for allowing an unauthorized person to drive her vehicle.

And, a Gig Harbor, Washington, woman involved in a pursuit with the Nebraska State Patrol Saturday, was also allegedly responsible for the theft of 18-gallons of fuel from the Avoca Speedee Mart. 40-year old Heidi Rene Ford faces a charge of 5th Degree theft. She was being held in Nebraska on separate charges stemming from the pursuit.

The Audubon School Board met in a regular session Monday night and acted upon an offer from the Iowa National Guard for the purchase of a portion of the Guards’ property for a baseball field. Superintendent Dr. Brett Gibbs told KJAN News it covers roughly the infield into the Armory area. The rest is owned by the City of Audubon, which is in the process of turning their property over to the school district. The $20,000 cost for the National Guard portion of the land would be paid for through the PPEL.

The Board also set March 6^th as the date for a Public Hearing on the Fiscal Year 2018 School Calendar. More information is forthcoming prior to the next school board meeting. Following the hearing, the Board is expected to discuss changes to Chapter 20 (Collective Bargaining). Gibbs said one of the things that will likely change next year, is the elimination of Spring Break.

He said the teachers overwhelmingly requested not to have a Spring Break next year, which is something they’ve been doing for the past few years, and “The novelty has kind of worn off a little bit.” It’s also a way to wrap up the school year, sooner. The final decision is up to the School Board, but Gibbs said they generally follow the teachers’ recommendations.

The Audubon School Board discussed staffing options for FY2018, keeping in mind the current declining enrollment and decreased State Aid. He says they ended-up with four early teacher retirements, another teacher who didn’t qualify for early retirement but who indicated he will not be back next year, and a secretary who is taking retirement.

Also, as part of the Teacher Leadership Grant, the Model Teachers appeared before the Board to explain what they’re doing to help teachers improve.