ALTOONA, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines suburb is renting out the light color display on the city water tower. The Des Moines Register reports that Altoona charges people $50 an hour for the display. They make selections from the LED lighting colors and some limited effects. Officials say it’s a unique way to mark birthdays, the sex of a newborn or wins by sports teams. The tower is visible throughout the city and can be seen from Interstate 80.

Altoona regularly lights the tower with colors marking special occasions and causes such as cancer awareness, holidays and sporting events. The city lists the causes behind the colors on its online calendar .

The Adair Casey and Guthrie Center board of directors and search consultants met recently to screen eight semi-finalists for the shared superintendent position. Superintendent Steve Smith reports three finalists have been invited to the district for formal interviews with the board of directors and district stakeholders on January 23, 2019. Based on their application materials, references and initial interviews the following finalists have been selected:

• Shane Christensen: Mr. Christensen currently serves as a junior high principal in the West Des Moines School District. His prior experience includes teaching, coaching and serving as an assistant principal. Shane graduated from Guthrie Center High School. He has led various successful initiatives in his current role, some of which include project-based learning and district safety planning. He models instructional leadership utilizing the Student Administrative Manager (SAM) model. He is working towards earning his doctorate degree with anticipated completion in May 2019.
• Darren Hanna: Mr. Hanna currently serves as the Director of Elementary Education for Waterloo Schools in Waterloo, IA. His prior experience includes serving as a teacher, middle school principal and director of instruction and technology for Mount Pleasant Schools in Mount Pleasant, IA. Student achievement scores have improved considerably under Darren’s leadership. He is also engaged in the larger community serving on the steering board for the Cedar Valley Readers group and YMCA Academy.
• Dennis McClain: Mr. McClain currently serves as the Superintendent and Elementary Principal for Clay Central Everly Schools. He has served in this role for the past six years where he has created positive change while working through challenging financial events. His prior experience includes serving as the K-12 principal at Stanton and as lead teacher for Clarinda Academy. Dennis is highly active in his community where he supports the local county fair and is active in his church and helped to develop a nature learning center.

Staff from the district, parents, students, and community members will be contacted soon to serve on the formal interview teams. The feedback from the interview teams will advise the school board’s decision to offer a contract to the successful candidate. The new superintendent will begin his duties on July 1, 2019.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:40 a.m. CST

TAMA, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a woman died when a deer hit by a vehicle crashed through the windshield in eastern Iowa. The accident occurred about 5:20 p.m. Sunday on U.S. Highway 30, about 6 miles east of Tama. The Iowa State Patrol identified the woman as 57-year-old Donna Smith. She lived in Walford. The patrol says the driver, Amy Smith, was not injured.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — School districts throughout the U.S. are struggling to find school bus drivers, a challenge that has worsened with low unemployment and a strong economy. The problem has become so severe that some districts are offering sign-up bonuses for new drivers, while others rely on mechanics, custodians and other school employees to fill the gap. For parents and students, the shortage can mean longer waits for a ride to school and more crowded buses.

ADEL, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man has pleaded guilty to four charges related to the starvation death of his 16-year-old adopted daughter. The Des Moines Register reported 43-year-old Marc Ray pleaded guilty Friday to child endangerment resulting in death and three counts of third-degree kidnapping. The kidnapping charges were for the three children in his care whom he illegally confined in their Perry home. The charges stem from the May 2017 death of Sabrina Ray, who weighed only 56 pounds when she died.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa inmate convicted of killing his infant daughter in 2010 has died in an apparent suicide. The Iowa Department of Corrections says 28-year-old Ryan Nicholas Trowbridge was pronounced dead Saturday at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinic. Officials didn’t provide specifics about Trowbridge’s death but say an autopsy is planned and authorities will investigate the death. Trowbridge was serving a life sentence for first-degree murder after the 2010 death of his 4-month-old daughter.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowans who are headed to the state’s busiest airport this (Monday) morning will find it even busier than usual as this is among the heaviest air travel days of the year. Kevin Foley, executive director of the Des Moines Airport Authority, says you should expect longer lines at security, more traffic, less parking and plenty of company. Despite all of that, Foley says try to maintain your holiday spirit. “Everybody in the entire airport wants to get you to where you’re going as quickly and smoothly as possible and they’re doing their best, those airline agents are doing their best to accommodate you,” Foley says. “Patience and a smile go a long way. They go much further than becoming impatient and upset.”

Even infrequent fliers know they’re not supposed to bring firearms onto the plane, yet several people still try every year. While the T-S-A rules have relaxed since Nine-Eleven and once-banned items like nail clippers are now okay to bring on board, many passengers continue bogging down security checkpoints by making poor packing decisions. “People forget about weapons of any type, knives or any of those types of things just aren’t going to go through in carry-on luggage,” Foley says. “That doesn’t mean you can’t take them, you just have to put them in your checked luggage.”

Check the website T-S-A-dot-gov before heading for the airport to familiarize yourself with the latest protocols. Also, it’s a wise idea to log on to your airline’s website to double-check your flight status. While you’re at it, visit the airport’s website, too, especially if you’ll be parking your vehicle there. “This time of year, typically long-term and several of the economy lots that are very close to the terminal will fill and you may not be able to park where you normally park,” Foley says. “Know where our additional lots are. We will not run out of parking, however, it may not be where you normally park.”

To be safe, arrive 90 minutes before your flight. Remember to skip wrapping any gifts. Wrap them at your destination as they’ll have to be unwrapped to go through security.

A wrong-way vehicle traveling in the westbound lanes of Interstate 80 in Pottawattamie County early this (Monday) morning, collided head-on with another vehicle, resulting in injuries to both drivers. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2013 Chevy Equinox driven by 60-year old Debra Ann Havick, of Harlan, was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes at around 12:10-a.m., when her SUV collided head-on with a 2006 Nissan Altima, driven by 20-year old Joel William Becerra, of Walnut. The accident happened near the 12 mile marker of I-80 westbound. Following the collision, the SUV came to rest in the middle of I-80, while the car stopped partially in the median.

Both drivers were wearing their seat belts. Havik was transported by Underwood EMS to Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs. Becerra was taken by LifeNet to the UNMC in Omaha.

Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports that Sunday evening, the Fremont County K9 Unit stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation in the 3200 block of Highway 2. During the course of the stop two people were taken into custody for drug possession. 56 year old Scott Blackman and his wife, 55 year old Brenda Blackman both of Sioux City,IA, were found to be in possession of Methamphetamine and Marijuana.

Scott Blackman

Brenda Blackman

Scott Blackman was arrested for felony Possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana 3rd or subsequent, possession of drug paraphernalia, and Driving Revoked. Brenda Blackman was arrested for Possesssion of Methamphetamine and marijuana. Both parties were transported to the Fremont County Law Enforcement Center. Scott Blackman’s bond was placed at just over $7,866, while Brenda’s was placed at $2,000.