(Griswold) – The Griswold Community School District’s Board of Education held a Special Meeting Monday evening, to act on a request from a teacher to be released from her contract. Superintendent Dave Henrichs told KJAN News the Board denied the request from TLC Teacher Taryn Maguire, based on a stipulation built into her contract.

Despite the stipulation, Maguire asked the Board unconditionally release her from the contract.

(They voted 4-2 with one member absent to deny the request until a suitable replacement can be found.)

(Radio Iowa) – The defense will present its arguments Davenport, during the Mollie Tibbetts murder trial today (Tuesday). This, after the prosecution rested Monday on the fourth day of the trial. Cristhian Rivera, is accused of confronting Tibbetts as she ran in her hometown of Brooklyn, then killing her and dumping her body in a cornfield in July of 2018. In a common procedural move, defense attorney, Jennifer Frese asked the judge to throw out the case. She said there was little evidence to link Rivera to the crime beyond a forced confession. “I think the state’s evidence is primarily the evidence elicited from the 11-hour interrogation of the defendant — and therefore the motion on behalf of the defense should be granted,” Frese said.

Prosecutor, Scott Brown, says everything they presented shows Rivera is the killer. “It’s our position that the evidence here is overwhelming concerning the guilt of the defendant on a first-degree murder charge,” Brown said. Judge Joel Yates agreed with Brown on the prosecution evidence presented. And we will proceed, and the defense’s motion for acquittal is hereby denied,” Yates said.

The trial will resume at 8:30 a-m today (Tuesday).

(Radio Iowa) – The popular fish finder site run by the D-N-R is back up after being changed over to a new provider. Fisheries Bureau spokesman, Jeff Kopaska, says the site includes information on species and numbers the fisheries staff gather during their surveys on lakes, rivers and streams. “We’ve actually updated our data collection and we are using tablets out in the field and updating all the data electronically while we are out there. We just upload it to the cloud and make that data available to the public,” Kopaska says.

He says it gives you the size and weight of fish by species. “If you are interested in going bluegill fishing and you want to know which lakes we caught the most eight to ten-inch bluegills in last year — you can compare all of the lakes that have fish from that size category,” Kopaska explains. “So, it’s a pretty useful tool for anglers.” He says there’s a lot of interest from anglers in this info. “Since April of 2018 when the site went down I get emails about every week asking when its going to be back up,” according to Kopaska. “We’ve finally got it to a point where we are happy with it and feel that it is good information for the public, and we’ve made it available to them once again.”

Kopaska says it provides good short-term information for anglers looking for fish — but the D-N-R uses the info for longer-term management of the fisheries. “We strive to make data-based decisions and have a solid scientific rationale for what we are doing and why we are doing it,” Kopaska says. “You have to have this data and this information available to make decisions on what we should be stocking, if we should be changing any regulations.” Kopaska says the numbers show the overall health of the fisheries are pretty good. “We have record numbers of fish being Caught. We have high-quality populations in numerous lakes across the state. And the ones that aren’t doing as well — we continue to strive to improve them,” he says. “Our overall goal in D-N-R fisheries is to shorten the time between bites — and to make each one of those bites count.”

You can go to the D-N-R website at www.iowadnr.gov to find the survey information.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Reynolds has signed a budget bill that includes 100 million dollars for state grants to companies that extend broadband to areas of the state that don’t have service today — or to significantly improve slow broadband speeds in other areas.  “Areas of the state with the least connectivity today will soon experience a significant improvement in high speed internet,” Reynolds said recently, “and gain access to high tech, high touch services that come along with it.” Reynolds says there’s a glaring need and this money, along with another bill that outlines grant specifications, addresses it. “The state of Iowa’s broadband infrastructure is about to reverse quickly and dramatically,” Reynolds says.

The move got bipartisan support in the legislature. However, Representative Chris Hall, a Democrat from Sioux City, says the state COULD have used 100 million in FEDERAL pandemic relief money rather than state tax dollars. “We know that the use of those funds for broadband expansion is accepted and that it is the best ways that we can keep our General Fund dollars also flexible,” Hall says.

Governor Reynolds had asked legislators for 150 million dollars and she plans to use 50 million in pandemic relief money along with 100 million in state money to reach that goal. Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls unsuccessfully sought to create a new state commission, similar to the Iowa Transportation Commission, to review grant applications. “To facilitate strategic plan to rapidly connect Iowa households and evaluate grant applications for the new broadband program,” Wahls says.

Republicans say the state’s Office of the Chief Information Officer has handled previous rounds of broadband expansion grants and it makes sense to keep that office in charge of this next round of funding. Reynolds plans to ask the 2022 Iowa legislature to provide an additional 300 million MORE state dollars for the program in each of the next two years.

Adair County Sheriff Vandewater, Monday night, released a report on activity dating back to May 18th. On Sunday, May 22nd, 27-year-old Amanda Jo Herring, of Atlantic, was arrested at around 12:13-a.m. by police in Adair, for Interference with Official Acts, following a traffic stop. She was arrested after becoming upset at hearing the vehicle she was a passenger in, would be impounded because the driver had no insurance. She told police she wouldn’t let that happen, and would go with the vehicle. She then attempted to roll the window up. She was removed from the vehicle without injury, and placed under arrest. She was cited and released from the scene.

On May 20th at around 5:30-p.m., police in Greenfield arrested 40-year-old Donna Marie Ott, of Des Moines, for Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense, after allegedly placing her hands around her grandmother’s throat and pushed her down. She was released that same evening on her own recognizance.

Sheriff Vandewater says at around 5:30-p.m. on May 19th, Greenfield Police arrested 29-year-old Veronica Viola Lee Elwood, of Greenfield, for Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree, for allegedly using a blunt object to puncture the tires on two vehicles in the Greenfield Fareway Store parking lot, causing damage The vehicles were owned by the manager and a Fareway employee. The acts were caught on surveillance video. Elwood was released the next day from the Adair County Jail, on a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

And, on May 18th, at around 8:11-a.m., 20-year-old Jordan Benjamin Andrus, of West Des Moines, was arrested in Adair County on a Clive Police Department warrant. He was turned over to the Clive P-D. At around 2:10-p.m., 46-year old Mindy Jo Knapp, of Perry, was arrested by Stuart Police, for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense, Possession of a Controlled substance/Methamphetamine – 2nd or subsequent offense (she had a previous conviction in 1998 from Greene County), and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Knapp was taken into custody at a motel in Stuart, following the execution of a search warrant, during which a purse was located in a shared bathroom of a motel room.

The purse contained two clear plastic baggies of meth, two containers of marijuana, two torches, and a glass pipe. Knapp was cited for the offenses and released at the scene.

(Radio Iowa) – The state medical examiner who conducted the autopsy on the body of Mollie Tibetts testified this (Monday) afternoon in the trial of Cristhian Rivera, who is accused of killing her. Medical Examiner Dennis Klein says Tibetts’ body had deteriorated in the July heat — but he was able to find nine stab wounds — and there were possibly 12 overall wounds to her body. Defense attorney, Chad Frese, asked if Klein determined one knife was used.

Frese asked about how the wounds occurred.

Klein said he could also not say if the killer was standing over Tibetts. Investigators say Rivera killed Tibetts after following her while she ran in her hometown of Brooklyn and then put her in his trunk before taking the body to a cornfield. Frese asked what other information Klein found from the autopsy.

Frese also asked if the attack on Tibetts appeared to be frenzied, and Klein said he could not determine that from the wounds — he could only tell the location and number of wounds. Frese also asked about wounds to Tibett’s neck that would have severed arteries and veins.

Investigators had said they found a small amount of blood in the trunk of Rivera’s car which matched Tibetts’ blood. The prosecutor followed up with Klein — and asked him if blood from the killing could have been on the ground and deteriorated.

The prosecution rested their case, and the judge denied a motion by the defense to dismiss the case. The trial will resume at 8:30 a-m Tuesday.

The Glenwood Police Department reports the arrest on Saturday, of 20-year-old Kali Logan. The Glenwood woman was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance. Her cash/surety bond was set at $1,000.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra went to Van Horn, Texas, this weekend to tour what’s called the “Big Horn” sector of the U.S./Mexico border. Feenstra, who represents Iowa’s fourth congressional district, says illegal border crossings are at crisis levels and the Biden Administration needs to secure the border. Feenstra, who met with law enforcement officers in Texas, says fentanyl seizures have dramatically increased.

Republican Congresswomen Ashley Hinson of Marion and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa also have been to the southern border. All three Republicans from Iowa who are members of the U.S. House have called on Vice President Kamala Harris to visit the border.

President Biden has asked Harris to address the root causes of migration out of Honduras, Guatamala and El Salvador and he’s assigned the secretary of Homeland Security to address issues along the U-S/Mexico border.

(Radio Iowa) – A Fort Dodge woman has been sentenced to two years in prison for stealing an elderly relative’s life savings. 40-year-old Janice Jurgensen of Fort Dodge pleaded guilty to wire fraud. At her sentencing hearing, Jurgensen admitted stealing more than 120-thousand dollars from her relative, an elderly veteran who had suffered a severe stroke.

After getting power of attorney for the man, prosecutors say Jurgensen used his debit card to buy food, gas and even pay the fees for a dating website. Jurgensen drained the victim’s life savings and he was unable to pay for his nursing home care.