SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Woodbury County supervisor has agreed not to attend a meeting Tuesday due to a dispute over where he is registered to vote. Supervisor Jeremy Taylor said he would not attend the weekly Board of Supervisors meeting after a decision by the county auditor over which of his two homes he could use for voter registration purposes.

The Sioux City Journal reports Sioux City resident Maria Rundquist had filed a legal challenge over Taylor’s use of a home as a primary residence in the city’s District 2 when he and his wife also spent time at a home in another district. Taylor accused auditor Pat Gill of partisanship in his decision.

Beginning Monday, February 3rd, 2020, voters in Adair County may request an absentee ballot be mailed to you for the 2020 Primary Election to be held June 2, 2020. Absentee ballots will be made available (in-office or by mail) no sooner than Monday, May 4, 2020.

If you have any questions regarding the Primary Election or absentee voting please contact the Adair County Auditor’s Office at (641) 743-2546.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a burglary and theft that occurred at the Exira Car Wash. The burglary occurred on the evening of Friday, January 24th, 2020. The suspect(s) took a larger amount of quarters as well as causing thousands of dollars in damage to the property.

Anyone with any information about this incident or that may have seen any suspicious activity in this area is urged to contact the Audubon County Sheriff’s Office at 712-563-2631 or Audubon County Crimestoppers at 712-563-2234.

(Radio Iowa) — A bill to make it illegal for motorists to drive with a smart phone in their hand has emerged in the Iowa legislature again this year. Susan Daemon is a lobbyist with the Iowa Sheriffs and Deputies Association — a group that’s been supporting this move for years.

“We appreciate the step that was taken a few years ago, but it really is hard to enforce,” Daemon says, “and this would make our laws more enforceable and, we believe, make our roadways safer.” A bill that would establish a 30-dollar fine for those caught using a cell phone while driving has cleared a Senate subcommittee.

A bill setting up a 100-dollar fine for smart phone use behind the wheel stalled in the senate last year.

The CAM school board has announced they would like to invite the community to discuss the current facilities and to begin gathering community input for future improvements. There are three meetings scheduled for February 9th, 10th and 11th to share information with the community of the process the board has started to study with Boyd Jones and Alley Poyner Macchietto.

The Sunday, February 9th meeting will be held in Cumberland at the Cumberland Community Building starting at 1:00 p.m. A light lunch will be served prior to the meeting. The Monday, February 10th meeting will be held in Anita at the high school commons starting at 5:00 p.m. The Tuesday, February 11th meeting will be held in Massena at the middle school commons starting at 5:00 p.m.

The CAM school board would like to encourage everyone to attend one of these three informational meetings. All three meetings will share the same information. Officials say as the district moves through this process, input from the community is vital for the district to make sound decisions for students’ future education. The improvements to [the] facilities will play a big part in the educational process.

(Left-to-right): Deb Frazee, SW IA Regional STEM Manager; Shelly Miller; Stacy Uhl, w/Kemin Industries. (Ric Hanson/photos)

A Business Education Instructor for the CAM School District was presented today (Monday) with a 2020 I.O.W.A STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Teacher Award for the Southwest region, sponsored by Kemin Industries. The award was presented to Shelly Miller in a surprise ceremony at the CAM High School.  She is one of only six teachers across the state to receive the award this year. As part of the award, Shelly Miller received $1,500 to use in her classroom, and $1,500 for personal use.

Deb Frazee, Southwest Iowa Regional STEM Manager presented Mrs. Miller with a Tiara, as part of the big surprise.

In 2014, the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council (established in 2011 by Executive Order) created the I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award in partnership with Kemin Industries. Kemin’s Stacy Uhl said the the award celebrates STEM teachers who are Innovative in their methods, Outstanding in their passion for education, Worldly in how they teach their students STEM is all around them, and Academic in engaging students both in and out of the classroom. Each of the six regional award winners will be honored in a special ceremony with Governor Kim Reynold held during STEM Day at the State Capital in Des Moines, on Feb. 19th.

Mrs. Miller told KJAN the award and ceremony took her by “pleasant surprise.” She said she feels completely humbled by the honor and that “A lot of other people would have been very deserving as well.” She has 30 students in her Technology program, which began last year.  The program size more than doubled, requiring a classroom that was bigger, too.

Mrs. Miller said their students are very active in numerous projects, both current and those that are in the planning stages. She said also, that they just received an additional $10,000 grant that will be used to upgrade the drone program, purchasing more computers and video editing software, and much more. Miller has been teaching for the past 10-years. She says her students are thriving in the program and in some case, teaching her new things.

Most of the Miller family was on hand for the special event.

The I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award was created to honor the hard work Iowa teachers do to help inspire student interest in and awareness of science, technology, engineering and math. It celebrates STEM teachers who go above and beyond to give their students a quality STEM education. And in addition to helping students learn to love what they do, these teachers are also preparing their students for some of the most in-demand jobs in Iowa.