The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a Council Bluffs man was taken into custody Thursday morning at the Pott. County Courthouse, on a valid warrant through the State of Iowa. 35-year old Nolan Lee Al-Jaddou was wanted on the warrant for Harassment in the 1st Degree – Threatening Forcible Felony. Bond was set at $2,000.

And, a man being held in the Lincoln, NE., Diagnostic and Evaluation Center was transported to the Pott. County Jail, Thursday afternoon, on a Felony, State of Iowa warrant. The warrant charges 21-year old Marlon Elvidio Martinez-Lopez with six counts of Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree-Forcible Rape/1st offense, involving a victim 14 or 15 years of age. No other information is available. Pott. County Corrections staff took custody of Martinez-Lopez without incident, and booked him into the jail.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans who look around the workplace today (Friday) are likely to spot someone sporting a crimson sweater, dress or tie as part of National Wear Red Day. Jolene Bopp, spokeswoman for the Iowa chapter of the American Heart Association, says this day means more than just tossing on an Iowa State sweatshirt. Bopp says, “It’s an opportunity for all of us to spread awareness and support those that we love and honor those that we have lost and unite together in a fight against the nation’s #1 killer, heart disease.”

She says it’s easy for Iowans to get involved in helping the worthy cause. “If you’re working with a company and you want to rally everyone together, you can organize an event at work,” Bopp says. “You can have a Jeans Day or sell extended lunch hours for $5 each, or host a healthy bake sale and compete against departments and see which one can show the best red pride.” Nearly seven-thousand Iowans die of heart disease every year, the leading cause of death in Iowa since 1920. Also, stroke is the 4th leading cause of death in Iowa with another 14-hundred deaths per year.

“Eighty percent of cardiac events can be prevented through education and lifestyle changes such as moving more, eating smart and managing blood pressure,” Bopp says. “These are simple things we can do in our day to day life. It’s all important and it all effects the heart.” Learn more at www.heart.org.

The Lenox and Griswold School District Boards of Education held a Special Joint Board Meeting Wednesday evening, to discuss and act on a continuation of the shared Superintendent Agreement, and for Lenox, an individual contract. Shared Superintendent Dave Henrichs told KJAN News both Boards unanimously approved having Henrichs as their shared Superintendent for a fifth year, with no changes.

The Lenox Board then addressed Henrichs’ individual contract. The only change was with regard to an increase in the health insurance premium package. Since the district has not received the renewal rates yet, it’s not clear what that the amount of increase will be. Griswold did not vote on the matter, because the individual contract only pertains to the Lenox District. Henrichs said the Griswold Board, fully supported the contract renewal, and provided that input to the Lenox School Board.

Henrichs said the biggest thing for him, with regard to the shared superintendent agreement, is the quality of people who make up the administrative team. He says “I have great people in both districts that support me greatly. Without that, I couldn’t do it…I’m very fortunate to have people that I have at both schools.”

Henrichs said it’s important for people to understand why the districts are sharing a superintendent. He says both districts benefit financially. The agreement qualifies for Operation Sharing dollars, which means both districts get an additional eight students worth of funding, or about $56,000 each, per year. Salary and benefits cost are split between the districts. The cost savings for each district each year, amounts to about $110,000, or one-half million dollars altogether, by the end of year number five.

(Radio Iowa) — The new director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources appears to be on track be confirmed for the job by the Iowa Senate. Republican Governor Kim Reynolds appointed Kayla Lyon as D-N-R director last summer. Some criticized the appointment because Lyon has worked as a lobbyist for farmers and agribusiness. Lyon discussed that with lawmakers this week. “Yes, my background is in agriculture,” she said. “I’m proud of my agriculture roots. Iowa has a strong culture and heritage in agriculture, but that does not mean agriculture and natural resources cannot coexist and they should, in order for agriculture in Iowa as a whole to be successful in the future.”

Senator Rob Hogg, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says while some have raised concerns about Lyon’s previous work, he predicts she’ll be confirmed.  “It’s not necessarily the worst thing to have people from outside perspectives come in,” Hogg says. Lyon had served as the governor’s lobbyist at the legislature before she became the first female to lead the Department of Natural Resources in June. State agency directors must win the votes of at least 34 senators to be confirmed to their jobs.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A house fire in Sioux City has left two people dead and one critically injured. Firefighters were called to the fire Thursday morning in the rental home and found residents of the main floor outside. The Sioux City Journal reports that while extinguishing the fire and searching the basement, firefighters found three people and rushed them to a hospital. A man and a woman later died, and another man was in critical condition. Authorities haven’t released their names. Sioux City Fire Marshal Mark Aesoph said fire investigators didn’t find any working smoke alarms in the house. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.