DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state court judge has heard arguments on whether to dismiss a lawsuit challenging a state law passed last year that would block Planned Parenthood of the Heartland from receiving federal grant money for sex education courses. Judge Paul Scott is considering whether to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa for Planned Parenthood.

It challenges the law passed on the last day of the 2019 session as a violation of free speech, due process and equal protection rights. A judge last May halted enforcement of the law until the court decides whether it’s constitutional.

Atlantic, IA — Officials with the Cass County Health System in Atlantic report, Dr. Edna Becht will present a program on “The 411 on URIs” (Upper Respiratory Infections), at the first session of a brand-new series, Healthy U & Baby, Too! The educational presentation is scheduled for Tuesday, February 25th from 5:30 to 6:30 pm at the Ann W. Wickman Child Development Center.

Dr. Edna Becht

Ann McCurdy, CCHS Public Relations Coordinator, says “Over the last five years we’ve built a really solid educational series, Healthy U, that we host at Cass County Health System. We are now expanding the same model to reach young parents at a time and in a way that’s more convenient for them. We’ll provide free dinner and childcare so that the parents can eat, relax, learn a little, and come away with good information that helps them care for their children. It’s also a great opportunity for parents to meet and get to know a few of our physicians that they may not know yet.”

Healthy U & Baby, Too! is a three-part series geared to parents with young children, and it is being held in conjunction with the support of Nishna Valley Family YMCA and Ann W. Wickman Child Development Center. The next two sessions will be held on March 17 and April 21; details will be released at a later date.

All Healthy U & Baby, Too! events are free and open to the public. Parents do not have to have their child enrolled at the Ann W. Wickman Child Development Center to attend; childcare will be provided free of charge to any family attending. Dinner will also be provided free of charge to families, but a reservation is required.

To register for Healthy U & Baby, Too! visit casshealth.org or find the details on how to sign up on the Cass County Health System Facebook page.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports Deputies received a 9-1-1 call at around 5:30-p.m. Thursday, with regard to a vehicle in the ditch on 240th at Clover Avenue, near Kent. When Deputies arrived on the scene along with EMS, they found the doors on the 2011 Chevy pickup were locked and the male driver, 48-year old Kennth Thomas Dingman, of Creston, was inside the vehicle and unresponsive.

After Deputies broke the rear window of the pickup, EMS crews pulled Dingman out of the truck and began CPR. He was transported to the Greater Regional Hospital in Creston, where he died. Authorities say Dingman had apparently suffered from a medical condition that lead to his death.

Separately, the Union County Sheriff’s Office said Friday (Today), 20-year old Autumn Lynn Vandry, of Omaha, was arrested in Mills County on Thursday evening. Vandry was arrested on a Union County warrant for Burglary in the 1^st degree, and Willful Injury causing serious injury. She was transported from the Mills County Jail and is being held for Union County in the Adams County Jail, on $35,000 bond.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of 19-year-old Dyllan Cattano of Omaha, NE on a Douglas County, NE Warrant for Possession of a Controlled Substance. The arrest took place at about 3:00pm on Friday. Cattano is being held without bond, awaiting extradition back to Nebraska.