In an update to our report over the weekend, Council Bluffs Police report 16-year old Sunni Sigmund- Johnson, who left home March 28th, and had not returned, was located at around 9:15-a.m. Today (Monday). Authorities say she was in good health, and returned to family members. No additional information was provided.

Sunni

OKOBOJI, Iowa (AP) — A city councilman in northwest Iowa says he’s contemplating leaving his post because he’s been charged with driving while under the influence. Court records say 59-year-old Bill Huse also is charged with possession of a dangerous weapon while under the influence. Okoboji police arrested Huse around 2 a.m. Sunday.

Huse said today (Monday), that he’s “very distraught about the whole situation” and is thinking about resigning from the Milford City Council. He called the situation “an embarrassment to the city.”
Huse also said he didn’t know yet how he’ll plead to the charges. Court records don’t list a date for his next hearing.

A woman from Nebraska was arrested a little before 2-a.m. Sunday, on drug and alcohol charges. 28-year old Malina Elizabeth King, of Omaha, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, and Possession of Drug paraphernalia (A glass meth pipe), after a Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Deputy was dispatched to 22840 Jasmine Lane, to investigate a car that was on private property with its lights on and running. King was booked into the Pott. County Jail. And, 26-year old Anthony David Dean Nelson, of Crescent, was arrested today (Monday), at around 12:45-a.m., for Assault with Injury.  The victim, a 40-year old male from Crescent, suffered apparent, minor injuries during the incident, which took place at the Aeroplane Inn, located at 28935 Old Lincoln Highway.

Spring is in the air, and plans are under way for gardening projects in Cass County. Local groups planning beautification, community gardening or education programs will again be eligible for assistance from the Cass County Master Gardeners. The group is offering grant money to be used in the 2018 growing season, to encourage gardening to grow food for education or donation, and/or improve local communities. The money may also be used for gardening education purposes. The Cass County Master Gardener Memorial Grants are offered in remembrance of the many years of service to the community provided by long-time Master Gardener volunteers who have passed.

Any Cass County not-for-profit group may apply. Schools, churches, libraries, 4-H clubs, Scouts, or other organizations/individuals working to improving their communities can apply for money to begin or improve gardens or landscaping for community benefit, or to provide education for their members or the public. To ensure the money is helping a wide variety of community organizations, those who were funded by 2017 grants will not be eligible to apply in 2018. Each grant has a maximum value of $300. Applications must include plans for teamwork and sustainability. Consideration for the environment is also an important factor in selection.

Applications must be received by Tuesday, April 24 for consideration. They may be submitted by mail or email. Grant recipients will be informed of their selection by May 1. For more information, or with questions, call the Cass County Extension office at 712-243-1132, email keolson@iastate.edu, or stop by the Extension Office at 805 W. 10th St in Atlantic. You may also contact Master Gardener Donna Reimers. Application forms can be picked up at the Extension Office, or printed from the Cass County Extension website- www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.

The Master Gardener program trains volunteers to develop their knowledge and skills in horticulture. These volunteers then give back to their communities through gardening service and education. The program is available in all 50 states and Canada through land grant university Extension programs such as Iowa State University Extension. Education courses are available throughout Iowa on a regular basis. For more information on the program, contact Cass County Extension Program Coordinator Kate Olson, at 712-243-1132 or keolson@iastate.edu.

The Cass County, Iowa Master Gardeners (CCMG) are offering a $1,000 scholarship, with applications due April 27. This scholarship is available to students who are graduating seniors or graduates of any of the following Iowa school districts, in which currently reside members of CCMG: Atlantic, Audubon, AHSTW, Clarinda, CAM, Exira-EHK, Griswold, Harlan, Red Oak or Riverside. The goal of the Master Gardener program is to support horticulture education and community service. CCMG members provide many hours of volunteer service in their communities. Accordingly, this scholarship is intended to provide post-secondary funds to individuals who are studying, or intend to pursue a career in, a horticulture-related field. The scholarship winner will be selected based upon academic success, history of community service, and career goals. Demonstration of interest and experience in horticulture will be very helpful.

The application form is available through the high school guidance departments, or on the Cass County Extension website at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/. Applications should be submitted to the Cass County Extension Office, 805 W 10th St, Atlantic, Iowa 50022, or emailed to keolson@iastate.edu.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Officials say the Omaha veterans hospital was rated in the top 10 percent nationwide after a surprise inspection. The Omaha World-Herald reports that the Department of Veterans Affairs Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System achieved a top five-star rating. That’s up from a three-star rating in 2015. A newly released report says the system was among the 10 best in two categories: speedy access to specialty care and low rate of readmission for the same problem within 30 days. It trailed other VA hospitals and systems in the turnover rate of registered nurses and mental health coverage in rural areas.
The audit didn’t cover unauthorized waiting lists for psychotherapy treatments at the Omaha hospital or for certain eye exams, which were discovered by Nebraska-Western Iowa VA officials last year.

It may be a rollercoaster week ahead where Iowans use both the heaters and air conditioners in their homes and cars. Meteorologist Kurt Kotenberg, at the National Weather Service office in metro Des Moines, says flurries were still flying this (Monday) morning after Sunday’s snowstorm that dropped between six and eight inches of snow in northern Iowa. “We even had a report from Clear Lake, just south of Mason City, that came in with nine inches of snowfall,” Kotenberg says. “It’s pretty widespread, six to seven to eight inches up in our north, all the way from Estherville to just north of the Waterloo area.”

While we’re 20 days into spring, it hasn’t felt like it in Iowa, with multiple snowfalls and temperatures some 30-degrees below normal. Kotenberg says spring-like weather will be arriving very soon, but it likely won’t last long. “We’re going to go from six to seven to eight inches of snowfall in northern Iowa on Sunday to 70s possible by Wednesday, 70s looking even more likely by Thursday and Friday,” Kotenberg says. “I wouldn’t be surprised if even 80s start creeping up in northern Missouri here.”

While many Iowans will welcome the warmth, the forecast calls for it to be gone by Saturday. “We’re dropping back down into the 30s and 40s and we cannot rule out another bit of snowfall for next weekend, especially for northern Iowa,” Kotenberg says. “There’s a lot of time between now and then, but we’re definitely going to be on a rollercoaster this week, in terms of weather.”

Thunderstorms and severe weather are possible on Friday, he says, as the arriving cold front collides with the warm air.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa transportation officials plan to make a near record $779 million of statewide road improvements for the upcoming construction season. The Des Moines Register reports that the largest project involves widening a 40-mile, two-lane section of U.S. Highway 20 in northwest Iowa to four lanes. The $286 million project is expected to be completed this fall. The Des Moines area, Ames, Council Bluffs, the Quad Cities and Waterloo are among the areas that will also see road work.

Stuart Anderson is the director of the state Department of Transportation’s Planning, Programming and Modal Division. He says a dime-per-gallon state tax increase on gasoline and diesel fuel that took effect in 2015 has generated an additional $200 million annually for Iowa road projects.

OSAGE, Iowa (AP) — A man has pleaded not guilty to supplying alcohol to a woman who authorities say was driving drunk when her vehicle hit a tree in northern Iowa, killing her. Mitchell County District Court records say the plea was entered last month for 22-year-old Justin Slaichert, of St. Ansgar. His arraignment hearing is scheduled for April 24. The charge: supply alcohol to an underage person, resulting in the person’s death.

Authorities say Slaichert’s girlfriend, 19-year-old Hanna Pfeifer, died when her vehicle rammed a tree Jan. 6 in St. Ansgar. Tests showed her blood alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit.
Court documents say Slaichert told officers he’d bought three beers for Pfeifer.

Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer reports three people were arrested Sunday. Just before 10-a.m., Deputies arrested 31-year old Joshua Michael Putney, of Tigard, OR, on an Multnomah County Oregon Circuit Court warrant, for Attempt to Commit a Class B Felony Robbery in the Second Degree. Putney was arrested at the Clarinda Correctional Facility in Clarinda, and transported to the Page County Jail where he is currently awaiting extradition proceedings and extradition to Oregon.

Joshua Putney

And, at around 1:40-a.m. Sunday, Page County Deputies arrested 27-year old Jasmine Jade Wilcoxson, and 29-year old Dallas Levi Head, both of Clarinda. They were taken into custody on Page County Warrants for Violation of a mediation agreement (failure to cause minor child to go to school), which is a Simple Misdemeanor. Wilcoxson and Head were transported to the Page County Jail, where they posted bond and were released pending further court proceedings.