Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT

CAMANCHE, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa school board has voted to drop the district’s “Indians” nickname and mascot following renewed appeals to do so from Native American tribes and organizations. Television station KWQC reports that the Camanche Community Schools board voted 5-1 Monday night to stop use of the mascot by the end of the school year. The decision comes as teams on all levels across the country are changing or reconsidering mascots considered to be culturally insensitive. Most spoke in favor of keeping the mascot during the meeting’s public forum segment, citing pride in the nickname and some denouncing the move as “cancel culture.” But board member Shane Bark noted there have been calls for 30 years for the district to drop the mascot.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A decommissioned warship that is one of the main attractions at Buffalo’s naval and military park has been taking on water and an emergency fundraising campaign is under way to keep it afloat. The 78-year-old destroyer is named in honor of the five Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, who were killed in action during World War II. Crews recently discovered the USS The Sullivans listing and found that 15,000-20,000 gallons of water had poured in through three holes in its hull. The $1 million repair bill comes at a difficult time. Officials say nearly all of the park and museum’s revenue has dried up during the pandemic.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man awaiting trial on an attempted murder charge has been charged with killing another man during a robbery. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that Robert Lee Williams Jr., 32, of Waterloo, was charged Tuesday with one count of first-degree murder in the death of 49-year-old Vincent Hemenway. Authorities allege Williams was part of a group of men who approached Hemenway and his friends on Aug. 15 while they were working on a vehicle inside a garage and asked to borrow a lighter. Hemenway volunteered his lighter and then resisted when one of the suspects attempted to walk away with it. At that point, someone opened fire, striking Hemenway.

WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (AP) — Police in central Iowa’s Webster City say they’re investigating after a 7-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the foot by his father. Television station KCCI reports that the shooting happened Saturday. Webster City police say the father was pulling a gun out of his waistband when it went off and hit the boy in the foot. Officials say the boy is expected to recover. Police say the Hamilton County prosecutor is reviewing the case and will determine whether any charges are filed.

(Radio Iowa) – The debate over electricity versus natural gas as a heating source has reached the Iowa Capitol. Berkley, California was the first U.S. city to ban natural gas hook-ups to newly-constructed apartment buildings and commercial property in 2019. A bill that’s cleared the Iowa House would prohibit that kind of policy in any city or county in Iowa. Republican Representative Jon Jacobsen of Council Bluffs says it’s about ensuring the free flow of natural gas and propane.

“We know in some municipalities in the United States and even some of the attitudes in a few metro areas in Iowa, we’re concerned that there will be massive restrictions, impediments, regulations and prohibitions,” Jacobsen says. Representative Chris Hall, a Democrat from Sioux City, says he lives in a home that’s heated with natural gas and grew up in a house that’s still heated with propane.

“This bill is aiming at a threat that I don’t believe has reached our borders as a state,” Hall says. “…We don’t have communities that are currently trying to prohibit natural gas or propane hook-ups for the future, frankly because we know that so many Iowans currently use those heating mechanisms.” Sixty percent of Iowa homes are heated with natural gas and Jacobsen says this bill preserves that choice.

“I want to make sure that our children and grandchildren are warm in the winter, not clutching a sibling, dying of exposure,” Jacobsen says, “and sadly we saw this literally happen in Texas of late.” Last month’s winter storm knocked out natural gas production in Texas and natural gas fired power plants shut down for several days.

CAMANCHE, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa school board has voted to drop the district’s “Indians” nickname and mascot following renewed appeals to do so from Native American tribes and organizations. Television station KWQC reports that the Camanche Community Schools board voted 5-1 Monday night to stop use of the mascot by the end of the school year. The decision comes as teams on all levels across the country are changing or reconsidering mascots considered to be culturally insensitive.

Most spoke in favor of keeping the mascot during the meeting’s public forum segment, citing pride in the nickname and some denouncing the move as “cancel culture.” But board member Shane Bark noted there have been calls for 30 years for the district to drop the mascot.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A decommissioned warship that is one of the main attractions at Buffalo’s naval and military park has been taking on water and an emergency fundraising campaign is under way to keep it afloat. The 78-year-old destroyer is named in honor of the five Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, who were killed in action during World War II.

This photo, provided by the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park, in Buffalo, NY, on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, shows the destroyer USS The Sullivans, that’s taking on water and listing at its dock in Buffalo’s inner harbor and began emergency repairs. The 78-year-old vessel is named in honor of the five Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, who were killed in action when the USS Juneau was sunk by the Japanese in the South Pacific during World War II. (Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park via AP)

Crews recently discovered the USS The Sullivans listing and found that 15,000-20,000 gallons of water had poured in through three holes in its hull. The $1 million repair bill comes at a difficult time. Officials say nearly all of the park and museum’s revenue has dried up during the pandemic.

WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (AP) — Police in central Iowa’s Webster City say they’re investigating after a 7-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the foot by his father. Television station KCCI reports that the shooting happened Saturday. Webster City police say the father was pulling a gun out of his waistband when it went off and hit the boy in the foot.

Officials say the boy is expected to recover. Police say the Hamilton County prosecutor is reviewing the case and will determine whether any charges are filed.

Page County Sheriff’s Deputies, Monday, arrested a woman from Texas. Authorities say 26-year-old Krista Leighann Wheless, of Borger, TX, was arrested at the Page Courthouse, on a Page County Warrant for Burglary in the 3rd Degree. The warrant is in connection with the burglary that Sheriff’s Deputies foiled during the early morning hours of March 13th.

Krista Leighann Wheless

Wheless was transported to the Page County Jail and held on a $5,000 bond. On Monday, the Sheriff’s Office reported Deputies had been checking on a  property due to suspicious activity. At around 2:40-a.m., they arrested 37-year old Bradley Roy Lewis, of Broken Bow, NE, on an active warrant for Failure to appear on original Felony Drug charges out of Atchison County Missouri, and for Burglary 3rd Degree, in Page County.

Bradley Roy Lewis

Authorities are searching for a third, unidentified suspect. Lewis was currently being held in the Page County Jail on a $5,000 cash only bond for the Burglary, and $7,500 bond for the Atchison County Missouri warrant.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors met Tuesday, March 16th. During their session, they approved:

• Both the 2022 Cass County and Secondary Roads Budgets
• County Compensation Board’s recommendations for elected officers’ compensation for the 2022 fiscal year.
• The appointment of Jacob Reynolds as Sheriff’s Deputy. Reynolds will begin his duties next week.
• They also approved Laurie Ohms as the new Lincoln Township clerk. Ohms will hold the position until the end of the term on December 31, 2024.

There was also a brief discussion during the Supervisor’s meeting, with regard to COVID-19 numbers in the area. Unofficially, 50% of people aged 18 years or more have had the first round of the COVID-19 vaccine in Cass County. Over 1,100 vaccines were administered in a large event last week. Around 500 more vaccines are expected to be administered at another clinic Friday (tomorrow), March 17^th.

The Exira/EHK School District Board of Education, Monday night, approved a 30/70 Superintendent Sharing Agreement with the IKM-Manning School District. Superintendent Trevor Miller said the agenda showed an SBO (School Business Officer) agreement, but that was in error.

Miller said the Exira/EHK Board set April 12th at 6-p.m., as the date and time for a public hearing on the proposed FY21-22 School Budget, which will be posted within the next couple of weeks.

The Tax Rate, he said, will drop three-cents in the proposed budget. In other business, the Board approved Certified Teachers and Support Staff Salaries.

The Union approved the agreement last week. Contracts will be sent out soon. Certified teachers have 21 days from receipt of their contract, to return the signed document. Classified Staff have 14 days to do so. And, as with other area school districts, the Exira/EHK School Board has elected to extend the mask/facial covering mandate, for a few more weeks.

The mandate will remain in place until April until at least their next Board meeting on April 12th. The Exira/EHK School Board, Monday, approved the hiring of Nate McDonald, from Logan-Magnolia, as the new 6th-through 12 grade Principal. He currently serves as Activities Director, 5th/6th Grade Teacher, and Assistant Basketball Coach for the Logan-Magnolia Panthers. They also hired for some spring coaching positions, also.

The Audubon School Board, Monday evening, following a public hearing, approved the FY22 School Calendar, which Superintendent Eric Trager says is unchanged from last year. They also approved a tentative agreement with the Audubon Education Association.

The Board set April 6th at 7-p.m., as the date and time for a hearing on the District Budget, and they agreed to accept bids for improvements to the Weight Room.

Trager says they’ll be replacing all of the weight room equipment and flooring this summer. They’ll have an online auction for the old equipment and flooring via a Facebook notification, including pictures of the equipment. The Audubon School Board also approved technology updates, which includes updating all of the staff computers. There’s some tech upgrades for students in the lower grades.

There will be restroom improvements at the Audubon Softball Field, the hiring of an additional Kindergarten Teacher, if the Kindergarten Roundup numbers next week show the need for a third section. At that point, there would be a transitional Kindergarten program. The Board approved the hiring of an additional Special Education Teacher, as well. And, the Board also approved (at the end of the school year) the resignation of High School English Teacher Erin O’Brien, who has served the District for five-years.