MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) — Officials in an eastern Iowa county have suspended the use of a waste material on gravel roads because of concerns it could be harmful, especially to children. The Muscatine Journal reports that Muscatine County supervisors voted Monday to suspend the use of slag while they wait for further testing on the material. The move comes after an Iowa Public Health Department toxicologist issued a report that said slag, which is a byproduct of steel manufacturing, contains metals at levels that can be harmful.

County Supervisor Nathan Mather says the material hasn’t been used on roads since June. Glenn Hundertmark is the North American environmental manager at Harsco, the industrial company that provides the county with slag. He says there aren’t health or environmental risks tied with the material. Hundertmark requested time to provide additional information.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) has been notified by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, known in Iowa as Food Assistance, will be available for the month of February. Due to the federal shutdown, issuance of February Food Assistance benefits will be early. February benefits will be available on recipients’ electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards on January 17, 2019, instead of the regular February dates. These are normal February benefits, they are just being issued early.

The Department encourages recipients to budget their normal benefits to ensure they last through the month of February. The Department anticipates increased call volume, which may impact timeliness of returned calls. Contingency plans are being developed for the month of March, should they be needed and information will be shared as it available. The Department will continue to closely monitor the situation.

On January 11th, 2019 Governor Kim Reynolds appointed Cass County Attorney Michael Hooper as a district court judge in the Fourth Judicial District.  On February 15, 2019 the Cass County Board of Supervisors accepted Michael Hooper’s resignation as Cass County Attorney and further acted on process to fill the vacancy.   On Friday, February 1, 2019 the Cass County of Board of Supervisors will fill the vacancy of the Cass County Attorney by appointment pursuant to Code of Iowa §69.14A(2)(a).  This appointment shall be for the period of time until the next pending election.

The Board of Supervisors has chosen to take applications for the position.  Interested attorneys who are licensed to practice law in Iowa are encouraged to apply.  A person appointed to the office of county attorney shall be a resident of Cass County at the time of appointment. Applications/with resume will be accepted via email at auditor@casscoia.us or, in person at the County Auditor’s Office, Cass County Courthouse, 5 West 7th Street, Atlantic, Iowa 50022.  Completed applications are due no later than 4:30 p.m. on Friday, January 25, 2019.  Application forms are available on the Cass County website: casscountyiowa.us

(Radio Iowa) — Legalizing sports betting is one issue the Iowa Legislature is expected to take up in this new session, and the state-licensed casinos are preparing to get into the action when they do. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission recently approved an agreement requested by Prairie Meadows in Altoona to create an area for a sports book at the facility. “The plan if for William Hill to operate a sports book on that site if sports wagering is authorized this legislative year,” according to Racing and Gaming administrator Brian Ohorilko. The agreement provides an eight-year lease for 86-hundred square feet of space. He says it’s unknown if sports betting will be approved by lawmakers — but the timing is right for Prairie Meadows to create the sports book space during their remodeling.

“It made sense to put that into the plans while they are starting their remodel,” Ohorilko says. “So that was why — at least our understanding — why this agreement came to be at this time of year,” Ohorilko explained. Ohorilko says all the casinos have been paying close attention to the issue — but there’s been no work done to prepare sports betting areas. “Many of them seem to have an idea or a plan for where they may put a sports book or have their sports gambling operations, ” he says. “Each facility looks a little different in Iowa, and so I’m sure every plan will be a little bit different.”

He says Prairie Meadows appears to be the facility that has done the most to this point. “I think most of the facilities are just keeping an eye be allowed for them to do,” Ohorilko says. The Iowa Gaming Association has been pushing to get lawmakers to legalize sports betting after a U-S Supreme Court ruled it should not be limited to the state of Nevada.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — The third of four people charged in the slaying of a man at a Council Bluffs homeless shelter has been imprisoned. Pottawattamie County District Court records say 20-year-old James McCauley was sentenced Monday to 10 years. He’d pleaded guilty to robbery after prosecutors dropped a murder charge. McCauley, 33-year-old Brandon Hollis , 47-year-old Vance Good and 21-year-old Cody Varnes were charged after the March 21, 2018, killing of 44-year-old Lee Johnson in a bathroom at Joshua House.

Good’s been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Hollis was sentenced last week to 20 years on charges of robbery and willful injury. Varnes has pleaded not guilty to robbery, but a plea and sentencing hearing is set Jan. 24 for him.