SAC CITY, Iowa (AP) – A man has been given two years of probation for helping set fire to a corncrib in western Iowa. Sac County court records show Alexander Lilly was sentenced Wednesday and given a deferred judgment. Under a deferred judgment, his conviction can be removed from his record if he were to successfully complete the terms of his probation. The Sioux City Journal reported that Lilly had pleaded guilty to arson. Authorities say Lilly helped firefighter Brent Mack start the blaze Aug. 19. Mack, of Newell, is scheduled to stand trial in April for arson, burglary, criminal mischief and trespass causing damage.

A traffic stop south of Prescott early Wednesday afternoon in Adams County resulted in the arrest on drug charges, of a man from Oklahoma. Authorities report 55-year old Duane Sickles, of Oklahoma City, was taken into custody for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Methamphetamine – 2^nd Offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Adams County Sheriff’s K9 “Baxo” assisted in the investigation.

Sickles was being held in the Adams County Jail on a $2,300 cash bond.

Police in Red Oak arrested 26-year old Ozzy Ray Hunter, Wednesday evening. The Red Oak man was taken into custody at around 6:52-p.m. on a Driving While Barred, charge. He was being held on full bond in the Montgomery County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) – About 20 million dollars separates the public school funding plans Republicans in the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate are proposing. SENATE Republicans like Majority Leader Jack Whitever of Ankeny favor an increase of just over two percent in general state spending on K-through-12 public schools.

“This is an amount that we feel allows us enough money to continue to fund our other priorities as well,” Whitver says, “Whether that’s state troopers, mental health, health care issues — we want to make sure that fits in the larger budget picture.”

HOUSE Republicans have joined Republican Governor Kim Reynolds in calling for a two-and-a-half percent increase in per-student state funding. Democrats like Representative Ras Smith of Waterloo say schools really need more than two-and-a-half percent or roughly 100 million dollar boost.

“I don’t think it really digs our schools out of the hole,” Smith says, “understanding that we’ve dug a trench and we’re slowly filling it in like a teaspoon at a time and that’s not going to get us where we need to be.” Republicans control a majority of seats in the House and Senate, so G-O-P leaders will likely negotiate a school funding deal in the next couple of weeks. The decision is for general state aid for the school year that starts next fall.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is set to coast to victory in the first Republican primary contests of 2020, but that doesn’t mean he’s taking them for granted. Without a credible challenger, Trump’s team sees the first elections beginning next week as a test of the Trump campaign’s organizing prowess. It is pouring resources into the contests, dispatching surrogates and staging presidential rallies. The goal is to put Democrats on notice and to demonstrate that Republicans are excited about supporting the president. Trump’s campaign views Monday’s Iowa caucuses and the Feb. 11 New Hampshire primary as a challenge to meet sky-high expectations and an opportunity to flex political strength.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Joe Biden plans an address Thursday in Iowa at the same time President Donald Trump is to stage a rally in Des Moines. And the Biden campaign is promising an aggressive and direct counterstrategy ahead of Monday’s Iowa caucuses, as the former vice president fends off a new onslaught of GOP attacks over his son’s business overseas and faces piling pressure to show Democratic voters he can handle the incoming. Republicans have amplified their allegations against Biden in a series of charges stemming from Trump’s impeachment trial.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Hours after a group of Republican lawmakers proposed a bill to amend the Iowa Civil Rights Act to remove protections against discrimination for transgender people a committee chairman declared the measure dead. Gender identity was added to the state law in 2007 that already offered protections for race, color, religion and others. Nine Republican House members sponsored the bill introduced Wednesday morning to remove transgender protections. However, hours later Republican Rep. Steven Holt, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said he will not assign it to a subcommittee, killing it. He says it would have had many unintended consequences.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Billionaire Warren Buffett is giving up on the newspaper business. He’s selling all of Berkshire Hathaway’s publications to Lee Enterprises for $140 million. The deal announced Wednesday covers 31 daily newspapers in 10 states as well as 49 paid weekly publications with digital sites and 32 other print products. Buffett is a lifelong fan of newspapers but he has said for several years that he expects most of them to continue on their declining trajectory, save for a handful of national papers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Lee has been managing the BH Media publications since July 2018. Berkshire Hathaway is providing about $576 million in long-term financing to Lee.

The Atlantic School Board held a Work Session Wednesday evening to discuss matters that included conducting a Needs Assessment/Culture and Climate Survey. They heard via video connection from Tony VanderZyl, Surveys and Research Coordinator with the Iowa Association of School Boards, who said the survey would cost the District roughly $1,400.

All surveys with teachers, staff, students and parents would be done online, and completely anonymous. VanderZyl said the survey needs to be taken at least two months before the end of the school year, in order to better assess the data and formulate a course of action for the next school year.

The Atlantic School Board also discussed the District’s Protocol for Transportation incidents, such as when a bus became stuck last week. The current procedure includes:

• The bus driver ensuring that all students are safe, or if other actions are needed to secure their safety. Superintendent Steve Barber says the procedure is “thrown out the door,” if there is a bus rollover, or accident with injuries. In that case, 9-1-1 is of course called first, to elicit an emergency response.
• The bus driver communicates with the bus garage, to inform them of the situation and the bus’ location.
• Once the location of the bus in trouble is known, the policy is for another bus to be taken to the location of the disabled bus. Students on the bus with a problem, will be transferred to the new bus upon its arrival. The regular bus driver then assumes control of the replacement bus, and finishes the route or transports students to their school.
• Parents of the students who have not been picked up, will be informed that the bus is running late, and the district will try and provide them with a timeline for pickup.

Superintendent Barber says Transportation Director Mark Weis is working on a Hard Surface-Only plan. Once the plan  is completed, it will be communicated to parents. The option will primarily be used in the Spring, when gravel roads are soft due to frost removal.

In further discussion, Board member Laura McLean asked how the message is communicated to parents when there is an issue involving a bus. She suggested the message include more details as available, so students aren’t waiting outside for a bus (especially in the winter), and how the message is communicated to parents.

Steve Barber said the question is, should the message be sent to everyone via JMC, or just those parents whose students are on the bus with an issue?  Parents can also contact the Atlantic bus barn if they have questions about where the bus is and when it may arrive.

Board member’s Kristy Pellett and Jenny Williams said parents need to be aware with the use of social media, they may find out BEFORE they can be notified by the District, and in some cases before the bus barn/district itself is aware of an issue. Pellett said parents need to understand “We’re not going to be instantaneous with our communication. It is likely that you might hear about it from your child or somebody else before[hand], but we will do our best once we have the situation under control, to notify you what actions is being taken or if you are needed.”