Creston Police report two arrests: Thursday night, 30-year old Brooke Carter, of Creston, was arrested at the Creston Walmart, for Theft in the 5th Degree, and Trespassing. Carter was cited for the offense and released from the scene on a Summons to Appear in court. And, at around 4:25-p.m., Thursday, 22-year old Taylor Giles, of Creston, was arrested at a residence in the 300 block of N. Oak Street. Giles was taken into custody on a Guthrie County warrant for failure to appear on an original, Possession of a Controlled Substance, charge. He was subsequently transferred to the custody of Guthrie County.

(Radio Iowa) – House Speaker Pat Grassley says there have been years of inaction to complaints about retaliation against conservative speech on the public university campuses and that’s why House Republicans are considering a bill to end the tenure system at the universities in Ames, Iowa City and Cedar Falls.

Grassley said also….

Republican lawmakers in previous years have proposed ending tenure for professors at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa, but for the first time a bill to accomplish that goal has won approval in a committee. Three Republicans on the House Education Committee voted against the bill and Grassley says he’s heard concerns from fellow Republicans. Grassley plans to have House Republicans discuss the proposal in private to see if there are 51 “yes” votes among Republicans to pass the bill out of the full House.

During a recent statehouse hearing, the presidents of Iowa, Iowa State and U-N-I said ending tenure would prompt professors to leave and make it harder to hire staff. Ag commodity groups have expressed concern that ending tenure will be a set-back for critical research at the three state-supported universities. Earlier today (Thursday), a bill to ban tenure was approved by Republicans on a SENATE subcommittee.

A Union County man was cited Sunday, for leaving the scene of a property damage accident in Creston. In information released Thursday, Creston Police said a 2008 Chevy Equinox was legally parked in the 200 block of W. Swan Street, facing north. A 2003 Chevy Malibu driven by 26-year old Matthew Hamm, of Creston, was traveling north on N. Maple Street at around 3:30-p.m., when the vehicle ran a stop sign at the intersection with W. Swan Street.

Officials say Hamm was driving too fast for conditions, and was unable to stop. His car hit the SUV on the passenger side, causing a total of $3,600 damage. Hamm failed to report the accident within the time required, and was cited for the offense.

(Radio Iowa) Republicans at the statehouse have settled on sending Iowa’s K-through-12 public schools 36-and-a-half MILLION more in general state aid for the next academic year. Representative Cecil Dolecheck, a Republican from Mount Ayr, outlined details during House debate.

Democrats say even if there’s another batch of money later, THIS decision setting per pupil spending means property taxes will go up in 137 school districts with lower enrollment this year compared to last. Representative Eric Gjerde, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says it’s the wrong move.

Representative Molly Donahue, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says it will be a double-whammy to property owners in Cedar Rapids, Marshalltown and other school districts that were hit by the derecho and have fewer students this year.

Republicans say it would be irresponsible to withdraw money from the state’s budget surplus for schools as that money may be needed next year if the state’s economy doesn’t rebound from the pandemic. The G-O-P’s plan for general state spending on schools has cleared the House and will be taken up in the Senate next week.

(Radio Iowa) – Two senators who helped launch the state’s medical marijuana program have begun working on a bill that would significantly reduce the fee for the state-issued card given to Iowans who qualify for the program. Senator Brad Zaun, a Republican from Urbandale, says his main aim is to make the products more accessible to more Iowans.

The bill would lower the cost for a medical cannabis card from one-hundred dollars a year to just 10 dollars every other year.

The bill would dramatically reduce the fees paid by the companies that are licensed to grow, produce and sell medical marijuana products in Iowa. Senator Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat from Iowa City, says the fees have to cover the 700-thousand dollars it costs a state agency to oversees the program.

Bolkcom says he totally supports the state tax deduction for the businesses that’s included in the bill, so they can write off expenses. Bolkcom and Zaun have voted to move the bill out of a Senate subcommittee, but that’s just the first stop in a lengthy process that both senators expects will lead to changes in the bill.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CST

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is defending her relaxation of mask wearing and other coronavirus reduction measures, even as public health officials warn against ending the measures when a new more contagious variant of the virus is spreading in the U.S. Reynolds says lower hospitalizations and other measures prompted her to lift the partial mask mandate and limits on crowd sizes. She says she trusts Iowans to do the right thing. Iowa reported 1,035 new confirmed cases on Wednesday and 29 additional deaths, increasing the state’s death toll to 5,174. Michael Osterholm, a University of Minnesota epidemiologist, says opening up now gives the U.K. variant a chance to spread quickly in the U.S.

HAMBURG, Iowa (AP) — The southwestern Iowa town of Hamburg has finally gotten federal approval to raise its flood protection levee. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday announced it had approved the city’s plan to raise the levee by about 8 feet. The decision comes nearly 10 years after the Corps scrambled to help the town of about 1,200 temporarily raise the levee, which saved it from devastating floods that year. But once the floodwaters subsided, the Corps insisted that the work be undone, and the town was later inundated by historic flooding in 2019. Hamburg will provide between $7 million and $8 million to raise the levee.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have announced the arrest of a man for the shooting death last April of a Des Moines woman. Police said in a news release Thursday that Antonio Markez Hodges has been charged with first-degree murder and intimidation with a dangerous weapon in the death of 33-year-old Catherine Bobbitt. Police called to an area just blocks southwest of the Drake University campus on April 3 found Bobbitt suffering from a gunshot wound. She was taken to a hospital, where she died. Police say that witness statements and video evidence led them to develop Hodges as a suspect in the case. He was arrested on Feb. 1 at a home in Des Moines and charged this week.

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) — A 37-year-old man has been charged in a shooting in Marshalltown that left a man dead and another injured. Robert Thomas was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in the March 2020 death of 22-year-old Johnqwez Deanthony Lewis. Another man, 27-year-old Devonte Allen Brooks, was injured. Thomas was charged with attempted murder in Brooks’ shooting. Police said Thomas was already being held in the Marshall County Jail on unrelated charges. He remains in custody pending an initial court appearance. Police said the investigation into the shooting is continuing.