The Iowa Department of Public Safety says a graduation ceremony was held Friday morning for 24 recruits from the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s 41st Basic Academy. The graduates were sworn-in as peace officers for the State of Iowa at Camp Dodge. Guest speaker for the ceremony was Colonel Timothy A. Glynn of the Iowa National Guard. Among the graduates was:

• Trisha Huerta, from Griswold. Before joining the Iowa State Patrol, Huerta graduated from The University of Iowa where she attained a BA in Criminology, Law and Justice. She will be assigned to Pottawattamie County in District 3.
  

  Trooper Trisha Huerta

• Tyler Mathis, who comes to the State Patrol from Lawton, Iowa and will be stationed in District 4 – Harrison County. Tyler is currently serving in the Iowa Army National Guard. He also serves as a volunteer firefighter and EMT in his free time. Before attending the academy Tyler received his BA in History and BA in Criminal Justice from the University of South Dakota.
  

  Trooper Tyler Mathis

• Zachary Jensen, who is originally from Greenfield, was assigned to Shelby County in District 4. Zach is currently serving the country in the Iowa Air National Guard. Before joining the Iowa State Patrol, he was active duty in the Air force for eight years.
  

  Trooper Zach Johnson

For the past 18 weeks, the recruits completed courses on laws of arrest, search and seizure, defensive tactics, arrest techniques, precision driving, firearms, emergency management services, criminal law, human relations, physical fitness, motor vehicle law, and several other courses in law enforcement.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a woman from Page County was arrested Friday night on drug and other charges. Deputies arrested 35-year old Sara Jane Carnes, of Clarinda, following a traffic stop at Highway 71 and High Street, in Villisca, at around 7:10-p.m.  Carnes faces charges that include Possession of drug paraphernalia, Driving while Revoked and Failure to provide proof of SR-22 insurance. All charges are simple misdemeanors. Carnes was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $300 cash bond.

(Radio Iowa) — The leader of the food products company that created a subsidiary to become the first to produce medical marijuana in the state believes there can be a lot more good things ahead. Kemin Industries C-E-O Chris Nelson says more research into medical cannabis could yield results. “There’s no question, over 400 compounds are known to be contained within cannabis. Only a few have been explored medically. We really believe that there are some other cannabanoids within the material that can probably affect some types of diseases that we haven’t even explored as of yet,” Nelson says.

He compares it to research done in the food additive field.”One great example — our supplement lutien made by Kemmin — we knew it was good for eyesight, but now some of the latest data shows that it helps with memory,” Nelson says. “Again you start in and you start to apply these things and you can often times discover things that were completely unknown.”

Nelson says bringing science into the equation can go a long way towards changing what people think about the issue. “There’s know doubt that as we know more about T-H-C and know more about the various cannabnoids within cannabis we’re going to have much more of an idea of what we can apply it too — and I think people’s attitudes will also change simultaneously,” according to Nelson.

https://www.kemin.com/na/en-us/home

(Radio Iowa) — The state medical cannabis board has approved recommending that one of four conditions proposed to it be approved for access to medical marijuana. The board recommended that children with severe autism be given access — while deciding not to add P-T-S-D, bipolar disorder, or A-D-H-D as qualifying conditions The eight-member board voted after hearing emotional testimony from a mother who says she’s tried everything to treat her daughter’s autism. The issue now goes to the Board of Medicine for final approval.

Randy Mayer oversees the state’s medical cannabis program. “I think all the physicians have indicated a willingness to reconsider any of these conditions if there’s more information available.” The board did not recommend any change to the three-percent T-H-C cap on medical cannabis produced for sale in the state. Advocates and cannabis producers say that limits the program and pain relief.

Medical marijuana advocate Sally Gaer of West Des Moines says the T-H-C cap is one of the thing she’ll keep pushing to have changed. She says she’ll push for adding more conditions to those approved for medical cannabis use, getting rid of the T-H-C cap, and looking at other cannabanoids that she says could help with other types of diseases.

Gaer made her comments Thursday, following the ribbon cutting ceremony for the state’s first medical producer.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A lawyer representing a high-profile Iowa murder suspect has removed a Facebook post in which he attacked another one of his clients as an “idiot” and “terrible criminal” who deserved to be jailed. Attorney Chad Frese says his post is being misinterpreted but that he doesn’t believe it violated ethical rules. Frese and his wife are representing Cristhian Bahena Rivera, who is charged with killing 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts. In the post, he described a dispute with another one of his clients.

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) — Marshalltown Schools has paid nearly $603,000 in IRS penalties after a district employee failed to properly process payroll tax deposits for 14 months. The Marshalltown Times-Republican reports that former payroll tax specialist Allison Meyer resigned in June after the issue came to light. Officials say the district was required to make payroll tax deposits the day after employees were paid, but that didn’t happen.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A jury has found a Waterloo man guilty of manslaughter and child endangerment resulting in death for the 2017 beating death of his girlfriend’s 4-year-old son. The Courier reports that Walter Cordell Williams was convicted Friday in Black Hawk County District Court. The 24-year-old man faces more than 50 years in prison when he’s sentenced at a later date.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa father on trial for murder in the gruesome death of his infant son has taken the stand in his own defense and blamed the baby’s mother. The Courier reported that 29-year-old Zachary Paul Koehn took the stand Friday, saying he “put his trust in the wrong person” in expecting the boy’s mother to care for him. But under cross-examination from the prosecutor, Koehn admitted he took better care of his dog than he did 4-month-old Sterling Koehn.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A jury has found a Waterloo man guilty of manslaughter and child endangerment resulting in death for the 2017 beating death of his girlfriend’s 4-year-old son.
The Courier reports that Walter Cordell Williams was convicted Friday in Black Hawk County District Court. The 24-year-old man faces more than 50 years in prison when he’s sentenced at a later date.
Prosecutors had sought a first-degree murder conviction, which would have brought a mandatory life sentence.

Police said Williams called 911 on July 8, 2017, to report 4-year-old Jaheem Harris had accidentally drowned in a bathtub, but an autopsy showed the child had been so severely beaten that it caused fatal internal injuries.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa father on trial for the gruesome death of his infant son blamed the baby’s mother from the stand Friday. Zachary Paul Koehn, 29, said under questioning from his attorney that he had entrusted care of 4-month-old Sterling Koehn to the baby’s mother, the Courier reported. “I put my trust in the wrong person,” Koehn said repeatedly. He also pointed to the 70 to 80 hours a week he worked as a truck driver, while the baby’s mother, Cheyanne Harris, did not work outside the home.

But under cross-examination from the prosecutor, Koehn conceded he took better care of his dog than he did of the baby. He also admitted to being a longtime meth user and providing Harris with meth, as well. Koehn is on trial for murder and child endangerment in the August 2017 death of the baby. The infant was found dead in a maggot-infested diaper and baby swing, weighing only a few ounces more than his birth weight.

An autopsy showed the baby died of malnutrition, dehydration and an E. coli infection caused after he was left in a soiled diaper for up to two weeks. Harris is also charged and faces a separate trial at a later date. Koehn’s trial was moved from Chickasaw County to Henry County to counter pretrial publicity in the case.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Many wealthy politicians occupy governor’s offices and congressional seats, making it notable that Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds made an issue of Democratic candidate Fred Hubbell’s inherited wealth. GOP officials have called Hubbell “Prince Frederick,” and Reynolds says it’s a fair question whether Hubbell can relate to working Iowans. Hubbell says Reynolds has targeted his wealth because she doesn’t have a strong record to run on.

At least 11 current U.S. governors have millions in personal wealth. In Nebraska, a Democratic challenger, Bob Krist, has made wealth an issue, calling billionaire Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts “Wall Street Pete.” Political consultants say wealth doesn’t matter much to voters these days. Instead, they’re drawn to candidates who aren’t career politicians, but outsiders with business experience.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa attorney has filed documents in state court challenging the validity of Gov. Kim Reynolds’ appointment of an eastern Iowa judge. Lawyer Gary Dickey says Reynolds failed to appoint Judge Jason Besler within 30 days as required by the Iowa Constitution. Reynolds filed the paperwork to appoint Besler in June five days after the deadline had passed. She says she made the appointment by the deadline verbally to her chief of staff but acknowledges no documentation exists to prove it.

Dickey, who served as former Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack’s chief attorney, filed documents Thursday seeking permission of the court to challenge Besler’s appointment. Dickey also seeks to move it from eastern Iowa, where Besler sits as a judge, to Des Moines to avoid having fellow district judges ruling on his status. In October Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady said the governor’s word that the appointment was timely deserves respect unless resolved differently through the legal process.

An organization whose mission of “Veterans helping Veterans,” is looking to assemble gift packages for about 50 Cass County Veterans who reside in county care facilities.

Ben Batholomew

Cass County Deputy Ben Bartholomew says the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association (CVMA) is asking for the public to help them put together gift packages to deliver to Cass County Veterans residing in the five assisted living facilities in Cass County.

Bartholomew says the goal of their program is reaching out to veterans to provide them with whatever they may need.

(Some of the items veterans in a care facility may need and enjoy include: a package of socks; T-shirts or a package of white T-shirts; Cologne; Soaps and body wash [Old Spice is a popular item]; Crossword puzzles, word search puzzles and other activities to keep the mind active; and decks of cards.)

Deputy Bartholomew, of Atlantic, is a Marine Corps Veteran and a three-year member of the nationwide CVMA.

He says “The CVMA is an organization of all [combat] veterans who ride motorcycles.”

(He said they help with financial issues from time-to-time, but most often it’s spending time with veterans, especially those who are elderly and/or need help with PTSD [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder]. Bartholomew says 22 veterans each day commit suicide due to PTSD and other issues. CVMA members respond to their needs, by talking with vets 24/7, in hopes those numbers can be reduced.)

Veterans, he said, are more willing to open-up to fellow service members about their experiences than they are family members.

Anyone wishing to contribute new items for Veterans’ gift packages, can drop them off in specially marked boxes located in Cass County, at: the Atlantic Hy Vee;Olsens BP in Atlantic; The Tiger Mart in Griswold, and Casey’s General Store in Anita. Those items will be collected between now and a few days after Thanksgiving, while you’re conducting your “Black Friday” shopping, and the days after. They’ll gather all the items afterward and begin to assemble the gift packages the first week of December, with delivery through Cass County soon thereafter.