A group called “The Well Armed Woman” is opening its first chapter in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area. Co-founder Patricia Harrold says the club will introduce women to shooting and gun safety skills while improving their marksmanship and confidence. “I definitely have worked with women who have tried and not been successful working with a male instructor,” she says, “especially those who are brand new to firearms.”

Harrold says for some women, it’s easier to learn from another woman. “I worked with one lady who was 73 years old and she had never fired a firearm before,” she says. “I spent several hours with her, working her through the basics because she just couldn’t get it from her husband. She felt uncomfortable and a bit intimidated. The approach I take obviously caters to women and what they need.”

Harrold says more women are buying guns and they want to learn and practice with other women. “Women ownership is increasing, up 47% in the past few years,” she says. “We’re beginning to dominate the industry. A lot of people are catering to us, creating their own brands. I just wanted to make a formal group that would advance the cause and pick up the connection between men and women who are interested in firearms.”

The group is teaming up with Cabela’s and the Omaha Gun Club. Harrold’s goal is 150 members.

(Radio Iowa)

Pella residents are preparing to host thousands of people for their annual Tulip Festival which begins Thursday. Pella Convention & Visitors Bureau director, Jill Vandevoort, says warm weather made the 200-thousand or so flowers bloom early, but there will still be plenty of them to see. “We do plant them over the course of four weeks here in Pella. So we have our early blooms as well as our later varieties,” Vandevoort explains. “Right now I would say we have still probably 60 percent of our tulips still in bloom.” The early blooms led to the unusual situation where Pella planners were happy to see things cool off a little bit.

“The dampness and rains last week, and the coolness were able to hold the tulips in place longer for us — and we are kind of grateful for that rain,” Vandevoort says. She says the rain is going out in time for people to attend all the festival events. “Each day our guests can enjoy a number of tours, including our city tour. They can climb aboard our open-air wagons and learn a bit about our community, as well as see a number of other tulip-blooming locations around the community,” Vandevoort says. “We also of course have our Pella Historical Village and Vermeer Windmill. The Vermeer Windmill is the largest working grain windmill in the United States. If you haven’t seen that, it’s a very interesting tour to enjoy.”

There are many other activities, including the street cleaning prior to the parades. This will be the 81st festival and Vandevoort says it’s a great celebration of the community’s heritage. She says many of the residents come out to celebrate in their Dutch costumes and she says it is alright to ask to take pictures. “I think it’s just a great way for us to come together as a community. All of us are volunteers, and obviously if we didn’t have all of that volunteer effort that we have in our community, we couldn’t continue to host this event.”

Vandevoort has a couple of things that are at the top of her list when it comes to the Tulip Festival. “Probably the first thing I like to do is eat all of those many things that are available at our curbside vendors,” she says. “There’s a number of Dutch specialties that we don’t get to enjoy year-round either. So, probably eating my way around town is the thing I enjoy most.” She also looks forward every year to greeting the visitors that come into town on tour buses.

“Some of them have been coming for over 30 years, every single year. So, we know that those guests who have come in the past actually very much look forward to coming back on a yearly basis. And a lot of those are from out-of-state,” Vandevoort says. There can be as many as 150-thousand people who visit the festival. For more information, go to www.visitpella.com.

(Radio Iowa)

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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(Corrects to say the meeting is for the Griswold School Board only – The Lenox Board will NOT be in attendance. We apologize for the misunderstanding)

A little more than a week ago, members of the Griswold and Lenox School District Boards of Education held a joint meeting in Lenox, to discuss the subject of Superintendent sharing between the districts. The Griswold School Board will meet again Wednesday evening (May 4th), in Griswold, to revisit the matter.

During the 5-p.m. Special Meeting in the Central Office Board Room at the Griswold Middle School/High School building, the Griswold School Board will discuss and possibly make a decision on further exploring the possibility of sharing a Superintendent.

After the meeting adjourns, Board members will sit in on Superintendent-led interviews of Griswold Middle School/High School Principal candidates. No action or decision will be made on the matter.

Two people were arrested on Theft charges, and one person was arrested on a drug charge Monday, in Creston. According to Police, 51-year old Ronald Lee Griffin III, of Creston, was arrested just before midnight, for Possession of a Controlled Substance. Griffin was being held in the Union County Jail on $5,000 bond.

And, 20-year old Fransisco Martinez, along with 36-year old Ryan Rinehart, both of Creston, were arrested Monday night on separate warrants for Theft. Martinez was taken into custody on a Union County warrant for Theft in the 4th degree, while Rinehart was arrested on an Adams County warrant for Theft in the 5th degree. Rinehart was released from the Union County Jail on $300 bond, while Martinez was released on $1,000 bond.

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Some veterans have given themselves a new mission: restore the cannon at Memorial Park Cemetery in Sioux City. Veterans of the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force met Friday at the cemetery to brainstorm ways to save the 4-ton artillery piece. The wooden wheels and spindles on the gun carriage are rotting, and some spindles are missing. Rust is found under the peeling paint on the metal.

The Sioux City Journal reports that the U.S. War Department awarded it in 1942 to the Sioux City chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart after the cannon’s World War I service. The chapter no longer exists.  Kie Ahrens is commander of American Legion Nash Post 140 in Kingsley, and he says the cannon is “something to be proud of.”

Cass County Extension in partnership with Cass County Health System will offering two opportunities for youth ages 11-to 15 to participate in a Babysitting Basics and Beyond course. The course will be instructed by Atlantic native, Bethany Clark of New View Training in Omaha.

Two sessions will be offered to accommodate schedules: May 23rd & 24th, from 5:30-until 8:30-p.m., or, June 21st, from 10-a.m. until 4-p.m. All classes will be held at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic. The training is encouraged for any youth who are interested in starting a babysitting business.

Beth Irlbeck, Extension Youth Coordinator, says “This course will provide an opportunity to learn about many aspects of babysitting, including safety, first aid, age appropriate play activities and much more!” A $25 registration fee covers all class materials and snacks. Registration forms can be picked up from the Cass County Extension office or at the Cass County Hospital information desk or Educational Services office.

Registration forms are also available online at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass to print and return. Pre-registration is requested by May 18^th for the May classes, June 15^th for June classes. Each class is limited to 10 participants. For more information, call the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132 or email irlbeth@iastate.edu.

Police in Council Bluffs are looking for a man suspected of robbing a convenience store early this (Tuesday) morning. Officers were called to the D & S Express at 2924 N. Broadway St., at around 5:18-a.m., with regard to a panic alarm being pushed from the cash register “hold-up” button. Upon arrival and making contact with the clerk, it was determined the store was robbed by an unidentified white male, who entered the business and demanded money from the cash register.

The suspect did not display a weapon, but told the clerk he had one in his pocket. The clerk gave the suspect an undetermined amount of cash from the register. The suspect then left the area in an unknown direction of travel. He was described as wearing a striped shirt and blue jeans.

Surveillance video was not available at the time of press release about the crime.