A Casey’s General Store in Council Bluffs was robbed early this (Friday) morning. Authorities say Officers were sent to the store at 510 23rd Avenue following the incident that happened at around 2:14-a.m.  Upon further investigation, Police were informed an unknown white male entered the store and showed the clerk a note, asking for cash in the drawer. The man left the store on foot and fled with an unknown amount of cash.

Still frame surveillance image from the store.

The suspect was described as wearing a black coat, red hooded sweatshirt, a white face mask and white gloves. If you have any information about the crime, or were in the area and may have seen the suspect, please call the Council Bluffs Police Crime Stoppers line at 712-328-7867.

(Radio Iowa) – Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate have approved spending 21-million dollars on new computer software for key state agencies. Governor Kim Reynolds approved a 21-million dollar contract with a company called “Workday” in 2019. Then, in 2020, Reynolds attempted to use 21-million dollars of federal funding for the computer system, but the U.S. Treasury ruled it was not an admissible use of pandemic relief money. House Democrat Leader Todd Prichard of Charles City says the original contract also sidestepped state competitive bidding rules. “To be perfectly frank, this is fishy,” Prichard says. “…I think there are too many unanswered questions as to why this process was handled the way it was and we deserve answers before we are asked to to approve something that has too many unknowns.”

Representative John Wills, a Republican from Spirit Lake, says the current system is antiquated and must be replaced.  “It uses code language called COBOL that was developed in 1959…costs $10 million a year to operate and has many problems,” Wills says. “…It has become increasingly evident that if we do not do something soon, our entire state payment system could stop at some point.”

The state has already paid to use the cloud-based computing system offered by Workday at Iowa State University and the Iowa Department of Transportation.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill providing public schools extra money to cover Covid-related costs has won bipartisan approval in the Iowa House. Twenty-seven million dollars would be split among all districts, but Republican Representative Dustin Hite, of New Sharon says districts that had the most classes in-person would receive the largest share of funding. “We all know in this room that kids in school is the best learning environment for the vast majority of our students in the state of Iowa, but this year is took a little bit extra to get them in the room and that’s what this bill does,” Hite says. “It helps with that extra cost.”

About two dozen Democrats voted against the bill. Representative Sharon Steckman, a Democrat from Mason City, says the funding distribution ignores the expenses of hybrid and remote learning.”This has been a tough year for our kids,” Steckman said. “…No matter what plan their school used and no matter how Covid affected their area, our kids had no choice, yet the funding in this bill is rewarding kids based on zip code.”

The House plan does give a financial break to districts that had buildings damaged in the August derecho and could not hold classes until repairs were done. Those districts will receive a full stipend, as if they had in person classes during the entire fall semester. The bill now goes to the Senate for review.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senate President Jake Chapman says if a court rules companies like Facebook and Google have illegally stifled the free speech of Iowans, those companies should lose all state and local tax breaks. “We have seen over recent months in particular where ‘big tech’ is censoring Americans and even Iowans from being able to express their views and opinions,” Chapman says.

Facebook and Google have data centers — so-called server farms — in Iowa. Chapman says those companies were awarded tax credits and property tax exemptions, plus a big break on electricity. “These are some of the largest consumers of energy here in Iowa and they’re exempted from paying sales tax on those utilities,” Chapman says. “…They have a choice to make. They can respect Iowans and respect our ability to voice our opinions or they can forego these special tax breaks.”

Chapman, a Republican from Adel, is the lead sponsor of a bill targeting internet sites and digital marketplaces with at least 20 million subscribers or members that block what Iowans may post online. That means the bill could impact Google, Amazon AND Apple for blocking Parler, a Twitter-like app promoted by conservatives. The companies made the decision, citing Parler content encouraging violence. Amazon is rebuilding a warehouse in Bondurant. Apple is set to receive 200-million dollars in state and local tax breaks for a data center in Waukee — a site that’s in Chapman’s senate district. Chapman says companies like Apple are operating social media platforms that have become the public square and therefore have a responsibility to allow unrestricted speech. “When you have these big tech companies arbitrarily deciding what’s going to be shown, what’s not going to be shown, I think that is extremely dangerous,” Chapman says.

Twenty-eight other Republicans in the Senate have signed on to co-sponsor Chapman’s bill. However, Majority Leader Jack Whitver of Ankeny, the top Republican in the Senate, is not among them.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds is considering a bill that would provide a $36.5 million increase to public schools in Iowa but will result in higher property taxes in 137 school districts where parents kept about 7,000 young children home due to the coronavirus pandemic. Since the funding formula is a per-pupil allowance and based on current enrollment, when the at-home students return in the fall state money won’t be there to cover them boosting local taxes for those districts. House and Senate Republicans agreed to increase base state aid by 2.4% in a bill sent to Reynolds on Wednesday. That increases state K-12 spending to $3.41 billion, up from $3.38 billion in the current year.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — House and Senate committees have passed an election bill that would significantly limit voting by mail and early voting, threaten criminal charges against county auditors who depart from state election guidance and remove voters from the active voter rolls if they miss one general election. The quick action Thursday with only Republican votes makes the similar House and Senate versions of the bill eligible for floor debate as early as next week. The House is planning a public hearing on the measure at 5 p.m. Monday. A Senate Democrat called it disgusting and an attack on democracy. Republicans deny it suppresses votes and say it improves election security and integrity even though no problems have been raised in Iowa in recent elections.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A 39-year-old Waterloo man accepted a plea deal during his trial in a man’s overdose death. Marcus Anthony Sallay on Thursday admitted to selling drugs to 49-year-old Adam Sharkey in February 2017. Sharkey died the next day. Testimony began Wednesday in Sallay’s trial. He pleaded guilty to four counts of delivery of heroin and fentanyl. In exchange, the state dropped a manslaughter charge and agreed Sallay’s sentences would run concurrently. Sallay also admitted to selling a fentynal and heroin mixture to a confidential informant several times following Sharkey’s death.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A 47-year-old Sioux City man has pleaded not guilty to shooting arrows at police officers during a standoff. Mitchell Smith entered his written plea Wednesday. He is charged with attempted murder, intimidation with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault on a peace officer. Officers were called to a home Dec. 1 on reports that Smith was threatening a neighbor’s wife. Police say when the officers were preparing to leave, Smith fired an arrow over one of the officer’s heads. When the officers got into their car, Smith allegedly fired another arrow. During a standoff, Smith reportedly fired two more arrows before officers were able to subdue him.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — House and Senate committees have passed an election bill that would significantly limit voting by mail and early voting, threaten criminal charges against county auditors who depart from state election guidance and remove voters from the active voter rolls if they miss one general election. The quick action Thursday with only Republican votes makes the similar House and Senate versions of the bill eligible for floor debate as early as next week.

The House is planning a public hearing on the measure at 5 p.m. Monday. A Senate Democrat called it disgusting and an attack on democracy. Republicans deny it suppresses votes and say it improves election security and integrity even though no problems have been raised in Iowa in recent elections.