DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Democrats who hold the majority in the Iowa Senate want to boost state education funding for the 2015 school year, but the Republican governor and Republicans controlling the state House have shown little interest in considering the proposal this year.

Legislation to increase state funding for the school year that starts in the fall of 2015 was approved by a Senate subcommittee Monday. Under state law, the General Assembly is supposed to establish funding levels for kindergarten through 12th grade education over a year in advance.

Lawmakers have not always followed that law. Gov. Terry Branstad called the rule “outmoded” Monday. He also said the state could not afford the 6 percent budget increase that Democrats are seeking. Democratic leaders have said it’s important to abide by the law.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa legislative panel has unanimously approved a measure that would let active duty members of the military buy handguns without going through the usual permit process. A three-member House subcommittee approved the bill Monday and it now will go to the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

Currently, any person buying a handgun must first obtain a permit, meet certain requirements and pay an annual fee. The bill would allow active duty members of the military to skip this process. Republican Rep. Dwayne Alons, of Hull, says the bill would align Iowa’s law with 37 other states that let active duty members of the military buy firearms without permits.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Senate has unanimously approved legislation that would exempt military pensions from state income taxes. The legislative body, where Democrats hold a slim majority, backed the bill Monday in a 46-0 vote. The legislation now moves to the state House, where it is expected to get speedy approval.

The military pension exemption is a top priority for Republican Gov. Terry Branstad, who has made support for veterans a key part of his budget plan this year. According to the Branstad administration, the pension exemption would cost the state a projected $10 million in lost annual revenue. Currently, military retirees over the age of 55 can exempt a portion of their military pensions from state income taxes.

A U-S District Court judge has sentenced 40-year old Michael Phillip Castor, of Council Bluffs, to 110 months imprisonment, on a charge of felon in possession of a firearm. Castor will also be required to serve three years of supervised release, to forfeit the firearm and ammunition he possessed, and is required to pay a $100 special assessment for the Crime Victim Fund. Castor remained in the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation of the Federal Bureau of Prisons facility at which he will serve his sentence.

In sentencing Castor, Judge Robert W. Pratt found that Castor was subject to the enhanced sentencing provisions of the Armed Career Criminal Act, which increases the sentence of a convicted felon in possession of a firearm based on prior serious drug felony or felony violent crime convictions. Castor was found to have three prior violent crime convictions in Nebraska, including burglary, robbery, and the use of a firearm to commit a felony.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa says 41-year old Jason Shawn Allan, of Hastings, in Mills County, was sentenced Friday in United States District Court in Council Bluffs, on a charge of felon in possession of a firearm.

Senior United States District Court Judge Robert W. Pratt sentenced Allan to 24 months imprisonment, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Allan was also ordered to forfeit the firearm he possessed, and to pay a $100.00 special assessment to the Crime Victim Fund. Allan remained in the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation of the Federal Bureau of Prisons facility at which he will serve his sentence.

The charge arose from the response by Mills County Sheriff’s deputies to a call of a suspicious person on private property. Upon arrival, deputies found Allan with a disabled vehicle in a private driveway. Alan was observed to have bloodshot eyes, with an odor of marijuana emanating from his person. In the ensuing investigation, deputies found drug paraphernalia and an unloaded .22 caliber revolver in the vehicle, of which Allan was the operator and sole occupant. Along with other criminal history, Allan had previously been convicted of felony charges of theft, serious assault, forgery, and multiple charges of OWI 3rd.

The case was investigated by the Mills County Sheriff’s 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.

No injuries were reported following an accident Friday morning, here in Atlantic. Authorities say a vehicle driven by Jeffrey Salz, of Atlantic, crossed the center line of the road as Salz was heading north in the 1200 block of Maple Street. Salz’ vehicle struck a southbound vehicle driven by Sandra Neighbors, of Anita, causing a total of $8,000 damage. The accident happened at around 9:30-a.m.  Salz was cited for Failure to Maintain Control.

Police in Atlantic report four people were arrested recently. On Friday, 58-year old Blaine Buchanan, of Atlantic, was arrested on two Cass County warrants for Failure to Appear to serve jail time, twice. And, 24-year old Marshall Fischer, of Atlantic, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance (Marijuana). Both men were booked into the Cass County Jail.

On Sunday, 43-year old Carl Kemp, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault. That same day, 22-year old Brady Salberg, of Atlantic, was arrested for Simple Assault. Both men were booked into the Cass County Jail.

Residents of the city of Logan in Harrison County, are being urged to conserve water while workers try to determine where a break may have occurred in the system. Water for the city of Logan comes from four wells located several miles from town. The amount of water coming in from the wells has been gradually decreasing in recent weeks from approximately 250 gallons per minute to approximately 160 gallons per minute.

It is believed that the decrease in water production is due to a break in a line somewhere in the system. Crews spent most of the weekend trying to locate the problem, but have so far been unsuccessful.

The city currently has a full storage tank at 250,000 gallons, but uses and average of 160,000 to 170,000 gallons a day. Until the cause of the problem can be determined and repaired, residents are being asked to conserve water as much as possible to retain an adequate supply.

(12-p.m. News)

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) reports they recently launched a newly designed, Inmate List website resource, which is the latest stage of the PCSO’s public information website project. The new page provides a near real-time listing of persons currently incarcerated in the Pottawattamie County Jail.

Sheriff Jeff Danker says  “Crime victims, family members, law enforcement officials, attorneys, and the interested public will be able to view a current list of people who are confined in our jail facility.” The Inmate List can be found in the Public Awareness section of www.pottcosheriff.com.

The state’s 20 largest employers are promising to hire 25-hundred veterans over the next five years. Larry Zimpleman — the chairman, president and C-E-O of Principal Financial Group — is the incoming chairman of the Iowa Business Council. “The Iowa Business Council is made up of leading Iowa businesses, our three Regents universities and the Iowa Bankers Association,” Zimpleman says. “Collectively we employ one in eight Iowans.”

The pledge to hire more veterans has become part of the governor’s “Home Base Iowa” initiative to lure soldiers who’re leaving the military to Iowa.  “The returning veterans come to us with a variety of skills that often map into different disciplines that are more important for certain Iowa Business Council members,” he says.

Zimpleman estimates veterans make up about five percent of his own company’s current employee roster. “Home Base Iowa is an exciting program that builds our Iowa workforce with the most talented group I know: our returning veterans,” Zimpleman says.

This week the Iowa Senate is poised to approve a bill that would end state income tax charges on military pensions. It’s one of the items on Governor Terry Branstad’s list of actions he argues state government should take to make Iowa more attractive to veterans. “This shows that they’ve got it on the fast track,” Branstad says. “Good things are happening.”

Late last week the Iowa Board of Education voted to allow veterans, their spouses and their dependents to pay in-state tuition rates at the state’s community colleges.

(Radio Iowa)