DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A legislative committee narrowly recommended allowing medical marijuana to be grown and sold in Iowa. The 10-member committee was formed to look at problems with a new law that was supposed to allow some epilepsy patients to get marijuana extract. On Thursday, the committee also backed changing state law to reclassify marijuana so it would be easier to get as medication, The Des Moines Register reported.

In May, lawmakers vote to allow people to possess marijuana extract, an oil that doesn’t contain the chemical that makes people high, to treat seizures. But the law didn’t provide any way for people to make or distribute the extract in Iowa.

Parents who pushed for the bill have said in the months since that it’s basically unworkable. Most states where medical marijuana is legal don’t allow people from other states to buy it. And people from Iowa would have to break the law to bring it back home.

State Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, said he saw the original law as a giant step for families, but now it’s clear that it needs to be fixed. He and five other lawmakers voted to recommend the closely regulated production and distribution of medical marijuana for approved patients. It did not say what type of marijuana but did say it should not be taxed.

The committee voted 9-1 on a measure to recommend reclassifying marijuana in a way that would be a step toward making it legal for medical purposes.

An Exira couple injured during a motorcycle accident last weekend in Pottawattamie County, have succumbed to their injuries. 54-year old Lorena Riesgaard died Monday. Her husband, 61-year old Ronnie Riesgaard, passed away Tuesday.

The accident happened last Saturday afternoon, as the couple  was traveling east on Magnolia Road on a cycle driven by Ronnie Riesgaard. The bike went out of control on a curve and came to rest in the middle of the road.

The accident remains under investigation.

A Clarinda man had an interesting ride Thursday night. The Union County Sheriff’s Office says 20-year old Adam Johnson was traveling west on Rea Road at around 8:45-p.m., when he became distracted by a passenger in the 1996 Toyota SUV he was driving. The vehicle went through a stop sign at the intersection with 125th Street, and entered the west ditch.

After the SUV rolled once and ended on its wheels, Johnson managed to drive the vehicle out of the ditch and park the SUV on the road. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $3,500. There were no injuries reported, and no citations issued.

The Atlantic Student Council has reduced the entry fee for the Oct. 11th “Color the Town 5k Run/walk,” otherwise known as the “Color Run.”  Due to confusion having to deal with the registration website (the issues of which have since been resolved), the Council thought it would be fair to reduce the entry fee from 30-to $25. Registration ends Sept. 14th.

To register for the event, go to schoolathon.org. Click on the “Login/Register” link on the top right corner of the page, and the first option offered (“Register as a new participant”), and enter in the Group ID line 110006. The Group “AHS Student Council” should appear.

From there, enter your information… create a password, and then submit. (For Teachers/Section Leaders use Wiederien, and for Grade, enter High School). Read the message provided and click “Continue Registration.”

Enter $1 in the “Donation Amount” (but note that this number WILL NOT be added to your run fee of $25), then submit. Scroll through the message page and click on the “Proceed to Complete Registration” link at the bottom of the page. Read the message, and click “Continue.”

You will then be directed to the Registration site. Click on the “Visit My Site” link and scroll to the bottom of the page, where you will click on the “I want to participate” tool link. From there, you can continue with your registration for the run, and checkout.

If you would like to pay by cash or check, please contact either Pat Wiederien or Steph Freund, at (712)- 249-4251, or 254-2574. You may also contact Jen Hohenberger, at 712-249-5404.

Police in Creston report two recent arrests. On Thursday, 31-year old David Alan Hosfield, of Creston, was arrested on a charge of Harassment in the 3rd degree. Hosfield was being held Friday in the Union County Jail.

And, on Wednesday, 21-year old Devin Lee Heimke, of Corning, was arrested in Creston on a Union County warrant for OWI/1st offense. He was later released on $1,000 bond.

An anti-abortion group in Iowa is issuing a warning about a website that once offered sex education information to parents and schools but which now directs computer users to pornography. Jennifer Bowen, executive director of Iowa Right to Life, says the website “teenwire-dot-com” had been run by Planned Parenthood but now advertises teen escorts, online sex and other X-rated content.

Bowen says, “We are very concerned for students in Iowa as well as nationally, anybody that uses any curriculum that advises from Planned Parenthood or from the Ellen Guttmacher Institute is very likely using curriculum that points teens to that website, teenwire.com.” Any outdated literature distributed to schools in the past few years, she says, still directs people to that website. Bowen says her organization mobilized and contacted every school district in Iowa to give them a heads up about the website’s change.

“Unfortunately, we only heard back from one and they were not inclined to believe that we were telling the truth,” Bowen says. “We are very concerned about the lack of response that we’ve had from the school districts.” Bowen says the website, when run by Planned Parenthood, had used an Etch-A-Sketch in some of its videos months ago, so Iowa Right to Life contacted the makers of the toy in an effort to have the site shut down.

“At that time, teenwire.com came down for a period of time,” Bowen says. “It went back briefly but then, apparently it came back down again at some point in the last year or two. Unbeknownst to us, it went right into the hands of the porn industry.” Bowen says she’s been told the website is operating within the law so it won’t be forced to go dark.

(Radio Iowa)

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Authorities in southwest Iowa are warning residents to be cautious about phone calls and visits from persons offering home repairs, following the recent storms and heavy rain. The caller or person who comes knocking on your door may claim they represent the insurance company that handles your homeowner’s insurance.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office says if you do not know the caller, and/or question the reputability of the person you speak with, ask for your claim number and call your local insurance agent directly to verify the legitimacy of the call or visit.

Residents are also cautioned to be careful if you are asked to sign a contract to complete the work, and the contractor will file with your insurance company. Insurance companies provide their own insurance adjustors to handle an estimate and will provide you with a copy. Fraudulent operators will often ask for money in advance, then fail to perform as promised.

You’re also asked to report and fraudulent activity to your local law enforcement agency.

Police in Red Oak report the arrest Thursday evening of 23-year old Michael Eugene Sickels. The Red Oak man was taken into custody on a warrant for Trespassing, at around 5:45-p.m.  Following his arrest in the 100 block of west Coolbaugh Street, Sickels was brought to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and later released on $300 bond.