DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) – John Deere has recently laid off hundreds of workers in the Midwest, but it has added jobs at its factory in Dubuque, where the company manufactures huge vehicles for construction and forestry. Last month, the company announced the layoff of 910 workers at five locations in Iowa and Illinois, citing reduced demand for farming equipment as the reason. But the Telegraph Herald reports that John Deer Dubuque Works has added more than 100 jobs since late 2014.

General Manager Byron Taylor says this addition brings the total number of people working at the Dubuque site to 2,500. Taylor says the rollout of new bulldozer models and forestry machines, which hit the market in January, have contributed to the company’s strong growth in a new customer segment.

Police In Glenwood report the arrest on Wednesday of a man and woman from Nebraska on forgery and other charges. Officers responded to the Bomgaars Store in Glenwood at around 1:10-p.m., following a report of a subject attempting to use a fraudulent check. After an investigation revealed other alleged, illegal activity, 31-year old Michael Dyer, of Omaha, was arrested for: Ongoing criminal conduct; conspiracy to commit felony forgery; 3 counts of forgery, and theft third degree.

33-year old Danelle Darling, of Bellevue Nebraska, was arrested for: Conspiracy to commit felony forgery; forgery, and theft 3rd degree. Both subjects were taken to the Mills County Jail
where Dyer’s bond was set at $47,000, and Darling was being held on $12,000 bond.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Catholic Health Initiatives officials say they’re confident that Creighton University Medical Center’s Level 1 trauma center status soon will be certified. The CHI Health officials say a state review team examined the trauma program on Wednesday and found no deficiencies.

The state’s chief medical officer told Creighton early last month that a review team found in October that the trauma center failed to meet four out of the more than 160 standards that must be satisfied for the Level 1 designation. Trauma centers treat people who require immediate and intensive attention, and Level 1 patients may need resuscitation or establishment of an airway.

Iowa Republican U-S Senator Joni Ernst, today (Friday) announced the latest stops on her ongoing, 99-county tour of Iowa. Ernst’s office says she’ll visit 18 counties to meet with as many Iowans as possible all across the state. The western Iowa tour begins Mon., Feb. 16th in Mills County, with stops in Glenwood, Council Bluffs, Missouri Valley and Harlan.

Tuesday’s schedule includes visits to Atlantic, Audubon, Guthrie Center and Jefferson. Ernst will be in Carroll on Wednesday, and in Denison, next Thursday.

Here is her western Iowa schedule (the meetings are not public events):

Monday, February 16

9:15AM CT Mills County American Legion Meeting in Glenwood, IA

11:00AM CT Council Bluffs Chamber Meeting, Council Bluffs

1:00PM CT Community Memorial Hospital Tour (Harrison County), Missouri Valley

3:00PM CT Iowa Western Community College Tour & Chamber of Commerce Meeting; (Shelby County),Harlan.

Tuesday, February 17

9:30AM CT MAHLE Engine Components Tour (Cass County), Atlantic .

11:15AM CT Quality Machine of Iowa Inc. Tour; (Audubon County), Audubon.

1:15PM CT Guthrie County Hospital Meeting & Tour (Guthrie County), Guthrie Center.

3:00PM CT Greene County Development Corp. Meeting, Jefferson

Wednesday, February 18

3:30 PM CT Mayor Schweers Meeting (Carroll County) Santa Maria Winery, Carroll.

Thursday, February 19

4:00PM CT Crawford County Farm Bureau Meeting (Crawford County), Denison.

A judge in Pottawattamie County, Thursday, sentenced a Council Bluffs man to serve 10-years in prison for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine. 48-year old Ronald Wayne Shenk was also ordered by United States District Court Judge Stephanie M. Rose to serve a consecutive term of 5-years in prison for possession a firearm in relation to drug trafficking.  Shenk’s term of imprisonment is to be followed by five years of supervised release.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa says during the course of the investigation, law enforcement served a search warrant on Shenk’s residence in Council Bluffs on April 17th, 2014. The search produced over one kilogram of methamphetamine, over ten thousand dollars in cash, and ten firearms. Law enforcement also located drug trafficking paraphernalia, including digital scales, multiple cellular telephones, drug notes and surveillance equipment.

Shenk entered a guilty plea to the charges on October 2nd, 2014. The investigation was conducted by the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, Mills County Sheriff’s Office, the Council Bluffs Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – An 18-year-old who’d been charged with robbery after a lockdown at Iowa Central Community College has been given probation. The Messenger reports that Garhoth Dak, of Storm Lake, was sentenced on Monday to two years of probation and five years in prison, suspended. Dak pleaded guilty last month to one count of extortion.

Prosecutors say Dak admitted threatening someone at an Iowa Central apartment on Nov. 10. College officials placed the school on lockdown when the student reported that men were in her room. Dak surrendered to Fort Dodge police the day after the incident. Robbery charges against three others arrested in the case have been dropped. The three are Joseph Odir and Molong Deng, of Des Moines; and Juma Deng, of Urbandale.

An Atlantic man was arrested this (Friday) morning on a charge of Public Intoxication. The A-PD says 24-year old Levi Stice was booked into the Cass County Jail.

(9-a.m. News)

Iowa is one of the nation’s leaders for volunteerism but an official with the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service says more help is urgently needed in one area — mentoring our youth. Mary Sheka, director of the Iowa Mentoring Partnership, says a study finds more than nine-million children are considered “at-risk” nationwide and the numbers are just as staggering in Iowa. “We just know there are tens of thousands,” Sheka says. “We talk about one in three children growing up without a mentor. Really, we’re just talking about youth in general. It’s not just at-risk kids. Every child needs to have a caring adult in their lives that is willing to help them grow up to be self-sufficient, responsible adults.”

When hearing about being mentors, many people will think of Big Brothers-Big Sisters, but Sheka says there are around 80 other mentoring programs statewide, based in schools, community groups and faith-based organizations.  “Really, the requirement is to be a caring adult,” Sheka says. “There are no special talents or abilities someone has to have. Just that they are interested in being that caring person and making a difference in the life of a child. Of course, there’s an application process and safety standards that programs need but just wanting to make a difference in the life of a child is the main requirement.”

Mentoring is proven to increase school attendance, academic achievement, social behaviors and responsible decision-making. Sheka says the mentors also reap benefits, with a new perspective on many issues, including their own standing in life. With many tens of thousands of Iowa children in need of strong role models, she says more Iowans need to step forward. “Right now, with our certified mentoring programs, we know we have over 8,000 mentors,” Sheka says, “but obviously, with those numbers, there’s still a huge need with youth on waiting lists in these programs across the state.”

A report released in December by the Corporation for National and Community Service ranked Iowa 7th in the country for the percentage of residents who spend time volunteering. Learn about the many mentoring options at: www.iowamentoring.org.

(Radio Iowa)

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