ADEL, Iowa (AP) — A former Iowa school district official has been given three years of probation for embezzling nearly $217,000 over the course of several years. Dallas County District Court records show 35-year-old Melissa Lantz was given a 10-year suspended prison sentence during a hearing Friday in Adel. The judge also ordered her to pay restitution and perform community service. Lantz had pleaded guilty to theft from Woodward-Granger Community School District. She was hired in 2012, assigned to payroll duties and eventually became business manager.

Her arrest followed a state audit that identified improper and unsupported disbursements by the district over five years, including 101 checks that Lantz issued to herself on top of her authorized paychecks. The district serves around 1,000 students about 20 miles northwest of Des Moines.

The Iowa State Patrol was investigating a serious injury accident this (Monday) morning, north of Cumberland. Rescue crews from Cumberland and Massena, along with Medivac ambulance were dispatched to the scene on a bridge 690th Street (County Road N-28), just south of Oxford Road (County Road G-43), at 7:40-a.m. One person, a female, was injured. The “Jaws of Life” was used to extract her from the vehicle. LifeNet transported the victim to the UNMC in Omaha. The accident remained under investigation, and no other details are currently available.

The Creston Police Department reports 20-year old Kane Allen Michael Farlow, of Creston, was arrested at around 3:40-a.m. today (Monday). Farlow was arrested at a residence in the 800 block of Laurel Street, on a Union County Warrant for Probation/Parole Violation, Possession of Paraphernalia, Possession of a Controlled Substance Methamphetamine and Felon in Possession of a Firearm. He was being held in the Union County Jail without bond awaiting magistrate appearance. And, on Sunday, 19-year old Conner Callison, of Creston, was arrested at his residence on the charge of (Simple) Domestic Abuse Assault. He was being held in the Union County Jail on a $300 bond.

ONAWA, Iowa (AP) — Court records say a man accused of killing his grandmother in western Iowa will use an insanity defense. Monona County District Court records say 21-year-old Eliot Stowe has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder . He’s accused of fatally beating 66-year-old Cheryl Stowe at the home they shared in rural Castana. Her body was found June 27 about a mile and a half (3 kilometers) from the home.
On Thursday Eliot Stowe’s attorney filed notice of the defense, as required by Iowa law. The court records say his trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 12.

(Radio Iowa) — Along with getting formal attire, flowers, dinner reservations and a limo, many Iowa high schoolers also book a tanning bed to prepare for prom. Leslie Van Bogart, who grew up in eastern Iowa, addressed students at a pre-prom event in Cedar Rapids this past weekend. She discussed her bout with skin cancer. “I was 16 years old and working at a tanning salon and constantly in tanning beds,” Van Bogart says. “I ended up getting diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma at the age of 19, just from using tanning beds so frequently.”

Many states bar people under 18 from using tanning beds. Iowa is among fewer than a half-dozen remaining states that have yet to impose tighter restrictions on U-V tanning beds, which she says are completely banned in some states. “Tanning beds are in the same category as booze and cigarettes, proven carcinogens,” Van Bogart says. “Now that it’s been classified and people are more aware, I think UV tanning beds will honestly be obsolete in the next five to ten years.” Being a skin cancer survivor, Van Bogart now runs a spray-tan business called Your Tanning Bar, with salons in Cedar Rapids and Coralville. She says it’s by far the safest alternative to having healthier-looking, darker skin. “The technology behind spray-tanning is truly amazing, the fact that we can air-brush a tan right onto you, customize it to your skin tone now and make it look just like a natural tan outside without the harmful side effects,” Van Bogart says. “We, at our salon, use all-natural, organic products so it’s actually great for your skin.”

She says spray tans often last seven to ten days. The pre-prom event included hair and makeup tips from industry experts, as well as a fashion show highlighting the latest dress and tuxedo styles, in addition to a vendor fair, refreshments and prizes. Van Bogart is among two skin cancer survivors who spoke with the high school students who attended.  “I’m not that much older than them, I’m only 30, so hopefully they can connect on a level with me that I was in their shoes not that long ago and I was in and out of tanning beds,” Van Bogart says. “Hopefully, they can take my story and learn from it.”

The cancer center at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids hosted the event on Sunday. Cancer is Iowa’s leading cause of death with more than 17-thousand-400 Iowans diagnosed every year. Skin cancer is the most common of all cancers. Melanoma, a more dangerous type of skin cancer, accounts for almost 10,000 skin cancer deaths nationwide each year.