A Newton man and woman are accused of forcing another Newton woman they know, to withdraw money from her bank accounts. Newton Police Lt. Bill Henninger says 24 year old Jeffrey Lee House and 43 year old Melissa Logue face 1^st Degree Robbery and False Imprisonment charges. The 24 year old victim told police House and Logue threatened her with a dangerous weapon and forced her into a car. She claims she was taken to two ATM’s in Newton, and was forced to withdraw money and give it to them. The incident was reported February 16^th. Lt. Henninger says House was arrested 2 days later, and remains in jail on a 75-thousand dollar bond. Police claim he destroyed evidence during his arrest. He faces an additional interference charge, and is wanted on a felony warrant issued in Colorado. Logue was taken into custody this past Monday February 29^th…and is free on a 15-thousand dollar bond.

A 26 year old man with ties to Lynnville was sentenced to 5 years in prison this week. Anthony Keith Dommer has a substancial criminal record. This latest prison sentence stems from a theft at the Knoxville Wal-Mart last September. He guilty to 2^nd degree theft. Dommer did what officers call a “pushout”, filling a shopping cart full of expensive merchandise and then rushing out the door. He then quickly loaded a truck he had stolen in Jasper county and drove away. Dommer was arrested four days later after a high speed chase in Poweshiek County, on a stolen motorcycle. He’s pled guilty to a string of felonies and been sentenced to prison in several area counties since the beginning of this year.

A 19 year old Prairie City woman has been sentenced to 2 years in prison for threatening another woman with a knife, and causing minor property damage. Katelund Elizabeth Jeffrey pled guilty to 1^st Degree Harassment. Newton Police say the offense occurred around 2a.m. September 1^st 2014…at South 3^rd Avenue West and West 4^th Street South. Jeffrey reportedly damaged a woman’s car tire with a knife, and told the woman she wanted to see her blood on the knife. Jeffrey received another 365 days behind bars for a September 12^th 2015 possession of meth charge. That jail time will be served simultaneously with her prison sentence. She was also fined 315-dollars and directed to pay a 125-dollar surcharge. She was stopped in Monroe around 1a.m….for driving while her license was under suspension. Inside her car…officers reported finding a 24-inch club under the driver’s seat, a glass pipe containing marijuana, and a small amount of meth in a tin container. Additional charges of carrying weapons and possession of marijuana were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. Those identical charges against Jeffrey were also dismissed from a July 10^th incident in Monroe last year. During a traffic stop on South Commerce Street…an officer noticed a marijuana odor in Jeffrey’s vehicle. A subsequent search turned up a big club wrapped in black tape by her seat; a digital scale…baggies…and syringes in a backpack; and a small amount of marijuana in a container attached to her purse.

State Senator Chaz Allen is against the privatization of Medicaid. But since the change is going to take place, Allen joined his fellow Democrats and six Republicans in the Iowa Senate yesterday…in passing a bill to establish more oversight of the three private companies that will begin managing care for Iowa Medicaid patients April 1st. The legislation would create a new legislative committee that would meet quarterly to review the program, plus there would be some limits on how much the private companies can profit from the new arrangements.

Allen says this legislation responds to the lessons learned by other states who have privatized Medicaid. The bill faces an uncertain future as it heads to the Republican controlled House of Representatives.

A vacancy on the Lynnville-Sully School Board was filled by appointment this morning. During a special school board meeting, Gerry Van Dyke of Lynnville was selected to fill the seat of longtime board member and President Duane Rozendaal. Rozendaal was just re-elected to another 4 year term, but resigned when his daughter open enrolled to the Pella School District. He felt he should leave the school board because he no longer had children in Lynnville-Sully Schools. Superintendent and High school Principal Shane Ehresman says Van Dyke has 4 children in the school system, and is a Lynnville-Sully graduate. His appointment is effective up until the next school board election, which is about a year and a half away.

The Iowa Sculpture Festival Committee is going to be focusing on fresh new endeavors. On Wednesday the committee announced this year’s festival will not take place as scheduled June 11^th and 12^th. Instead…the committee is looking to hold some other event, smaller in scale.

That’s longtime Iowa Sculpture Festival Committee member Linda Klepinger. In a letter to supporters, the committee noted the economics and conditions have dramatically changed since the festival began 14 years ago…in how art is experienced, marketed, and sold. Travel expenses are up and social media has become a common mode of promoting art works. The letter also mentions new challenges personally and professionally that longtime committee members and volunteers are experiencing.

Klepinger says the committee is working on several ideas for an event later this year, and information will be released once plans are finalized.

It’s been almost a week, and Newton Correctional Release Center inmates Michael Amodeo and Jessy Foley still haven’t been found. They were reported missing from the facility last Saturday Night. During yesterday’s Board of Corrections meeting…board members indicated staffing shortages probably contributed to the February 27^th escape. Corrections board director Jerry Bartruff.

Bartruff notes there are two requests for funds going through the legislature designed to fix the problem. Both recommendations originated from the governor. Meanwhile….a “fugitive team” made up of the 5th District Warrant Team and the Federal Marshall Service continues to look for Amodeo and Foley.

John Deegan is in his 30^th year as Jasper County’s Assessor. Deegan filled the job on January 1^st 1986. He was hired after spending 10 years in Waterloo….working in the Black Hawk County Assessor’s office. He believes the fact that County Assessor’s are not elected, is a very good thing.

Deegan says the County Assessor’s Office is responsible for evaluating and establishing the value of all property, by following sales.

Deegan and the 5 other members of his staff have 97 years of combined experience in the office. And he notes he’s only as good as his staff, as they have over 28-thousand parcels of property too keep track of.

While spending 30 years in the same job may be considered unusual, Deegan doesn’t think it’s too out of the ordinary for government employees.

Jasper County Assessor John Deegan was the guest on last week’s “Proud To Know Newton” program on KCOB.

A Prairie City man who’s suspected of manufacturing drugs is in the Jasper County jail after a near 30-mile police chase from Pleasant Hill to Lambs Grove yesterday. Jasper County Sheriff John Halferty says Mid Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force officers were looking for 35 year old Derek Mullennax in connection with an ongoing investigation. Now he and his passenger, 25 year old Jessica Cubbage of Prairie City, face several charges. The Task Force had obtained search warrants for Mullennax’s home in Prairie City and his car. Their officers found him driving on Highway 163 west of Prairie City, but they couldn’t stop him. Assistance was requested from the Polk County Sheriff’s Department and Pleasant Hill Police. Sheriff Halferty says a Pleasant Hill officer also attempted to stop Mullennax, but couldn’t. The pursuit went from Pleasant Hill onto Highway 65 and then east onto I-80. Iowa State Troopers took over the chase in Polk County, and Mullennax reportedly fired several gunshots at them. The Prairie City man got off the interstate at Colfax and reportedly traveled several residential streets before returning to the interstate and heading east. At I-80 and Highway 117…Mullennax allegedly tried to ram officers as they were trying to lay down stop sticks. He left the interstate again at the Baxter exit. Newton Police officers were notified and set up to stop the fleeing car on Highway F-48 just west of town. As the Prairie City man approached, he turned north onto West 36^th Street North…which is a dead end road. Sheriff Halferty says the chase ended in a field when Mullennax’s car hit a tree. He and Cubbage then got out of the car. Mullennax, while armed with a handgun, tried to flee on foot. But Sheriff Halferty says he was taken into custody several minutes later. He adds no officers fired any gunshots during the pursuit or arrests, and no officers were injured. An Iowa State Patrol SUV did catch fire after it was driven through a fence in a field. The fire was put out by the local fire department. Mullennax is being held in jail without bond. His Jasper County Charges include Eluding, Possession of a gun by a felon, conspiracy to manufacture or sell a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and failure to have a drug tax stamp. Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Nathan Ludwig says Mullennax also faces their charges of attempted murder, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, felon in possession of a firearm and felony eluding. Cubbage is only facing Jasper County charges. They are conspiracy to manufacture or sell a controlled substance, failure to have a drug tax stamp, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Mullennax and her were taken to the hospital for an evaluation, and were treated and released. They are both being held in the Jasper County jail without bond. During the chase… Mullennax reportedly reached speeds up to 145 mph, and was throwing drugs out the car window.

Residents in four states neighboring Iowa started seeing television commercials today touting some of the great places in Iowa to visit, including the Iowa Speedway. Jessica O’Riley, with the Iowa Tourism Office, says the new series of commercials features Napolean Bonaparte, who was in the state tourism ads last year.

According to O’Riley…many people are starting to plan their summer vacations and they ought to consider Iowa as a destination.

The tourism office spokesperson says tourism is a vital industry for Iowa.

The commercials are being aired in Chicago, Minneapolis, Kansas City and Omaha. You can see them at www.traveliowa.com.

The Old Juice and Junk Convenience store building just off Highway 14 on the west side of Newton will be coming down, and so will the four storage unit buildings on the property at 1205 West 19^th Street South. Last night the Newton City Council unanimously agreed to buy the 10 and a half acre property from Dan Moellers for 550-thousand dollars. The current assessed value is 322-thousand dollars. Moellers bought the property in 2003 and 2004 for 450-thousand. City staff says the 550-thousand dollar offer accounts for inflation. Bryan Friedman, the City’s Director of Finance and Development, says the money for the purchase comes from the 1-million dollars the Council authorized this past spring, for a Commercial Dangerous and Dilapidated Building acquisition fund.

Moellers Corporation, CSOI, also owns the Newton 66 complex on the opposite side of Highway 14. As a condition of the sale, Moellers has required some restricted convenants on the property. Those convenants prohibit businesses on the site that would be in direct competition to the Newton 66. Friedman says that would include such things as a gas station, convenience store, sub sandwich shop, liquor store, and car washes. While getting a new business on the property is the ultimate goal, Friedman notes the visible improvement to having those buildings gone is also significant.

2^nd Ward Councilwoman Evelyn George says she drives by the property frequently, and believes having vacant land there is better than seeing a dilapidated building.

The City hopes to close on the sale before the end of the month, and demolish the buildings in May. Friedman notes the City intends to immediately notify the storage unit tenants they need to find a different location for their stuff. All 56 units are filled, and he says City officials will do what they can to help the tenants find other storage facilities.

The Jasper County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the County’s 2016-2017 Fiscal year budget this morning. It will raise rural property taxes 29-cents per thousand dollars assessed value, while the levy rate for in-town residents is up 45-cents. Dennis Stevenson, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, says the increases should minimize any future levy hike in the next few years.

County Auditor Dennis Parrott defended the levy increase. He says the Supervisors have not raised the levy the last two years, and implemented only meager increases before that.

The Rural levy is going from 11-dollars and 34-cents to 11-dollars and 63-cents. The in-town County levy jumps from 7-dollars 84-cents to 8-dollars and 29-cents. The County expects to collect over 14-million 84-thousand dollars in property taxes in the coming fiscal year. The total County budget is increasing from 26-million 254-thousand this current year, to nearly 27-million 63-thousand dollars in 2016-2017.

A local company has submitted the lowest bid by far….for demolition of the former Jasper County Care Facility and old Youth Shelter Services Building. The County Board of Supervisors opened bids this morning. Of the 6 bidders, Lanphier Excavating LLC of Reasnor had the lowest price for the complete project at 297-thousand 500-dollars. The next lowest bid was from Wayne McIntosh/Iowa Demolition of Des Moines, at 417-thousand 350-dollars. The highest of the 6 bids was from a Bay City Michigan company at 743-thousand 200-dollars. The engineers estimate was 475-thousand. Chris Bower with the West Des Moines architecture engineering consulting firm Shive-Hattery has been overseeing this project for the county. He explains what the total bid price involves.

Bower will be reviewing all the bids and the Board of Supervisors expect to formally award the demolition contract at their meeting next Tuesday. Board Chairman Dennis Stevenson is very happy to be at this point.

In order to get lower bids, the Supervisors set an October deadline for completion of the demolition. This gives the contractor plenty of time to do the work.

Jasper County taxpayers will be paying a little more to feed jail inmates over the next 12 months. This morning the County Supervisors extended a food service contract with CMB Managed Services of Sioux Falls South Dakota. The contract language remains the same, but there is an increase in the per meal cost. CMB has been providing food at the jail since 2005. Sheriff John Halferty reminded the Supervisors they re-bid this service last year, and CMB was retained with no price increase.

The new agreement begins next month…April 1st, and runs through March 31st of next year. Sheriff Halferty said he did not figure this increase into his budget for the coming fiscal year, but he believes it can be absorbed into it without increasing his bottom line.

Before next winter…the City of Newton will have a new snow plow truck that’s expected to increase street clearing efficiency. This week the City Council approved spending 154-thousand 170-dollars on a truck with a front plow, wing plow, underbody scraper plow, pre-wet system, sander, and dump box. Public works Director Keith Laube says the city has purchased two other snow plow trucks with wing blades, and they can do as much work as 2 trucks.

According to Laube…wing plow trucks allow snow plow drivers to clear streets in one pass.

The Public Works Director says it will be a couple of years before the City buys another new snow plow truck. This one will be delivered this fall, and replaces a 1995 plow truck that will be sold at auction. The new truck’s chassis is being purchased for 86-thousand 413-dollars from O’Halloran International in Altoona, while the snow plow equipment from Henderson Equipment Company of Manchester Iowa costs 67-thousand 757-dollars.

Jasper County Engineer Russ Stutt has been given a 2-thousand dollar pay raise. Yesterday the Jasper County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a new contract for Stutt.

That’s Board Chairman Dennis Stevenson. The new contract, effective this week, increases Stutt’s salary to 107-thousand 824-dollars according to the County Auditor’s office. It also moves the County Engineer onto the County Salary Pay Plan for Department Heads. Stutt gets 5 weeks of paid vacation along with insurance benefits, sick leave, paid holidays, and all other benefits granted to Secondary Road Department Employees. He’s been Jasper County’s Engineer since April 2010

Roughly 15,400 Wal-Mart employees across the state, including those who work in Newton,  will see an increase on their paychecks beginning tomorrow. This week the company announced workers hired before Jan. 1 at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club locations in Iowa will be paid at least $10 an hour. Workers hired after the start of the year will continue to earn $9 an hour, which will increase after completing a skills and training program. There are 69 Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores in Iowa. Wal-Mart claims it’s spending $2.7 billion over two years to fund wage increases, and provide better training programs throughout all of its U.S. stores.

Miller-Valentine Group is holding a Grand Opening ceremony tomorrow for Newton Place Apartments at 222 North 4^th Avenue West. The 11 a.m. event will include a series of speakers, property tours, and a reception. Newton Place Apartments has 53 two-bedroom apartments designed for adults 62 and over. Miller-Valentine says the complex has provided 4.6-million dollars in income for the local economy through employee wages and revenue for local proprietors, small businesses, and corporations. In addition….during construction, the company claims 80 new jobs were generated for local contractors and sub-contractors.

Contract negotiations have begun for a new labor agreement between Newton teachers and the school district. Both sides met late yesterday afternoon to discuss the initial proposal from the Newton Community Education Association, and the district’s response. The Union has proposed a 6 and a half percent salary increase for the coming school year. They’re also asking that teachers who choose to leave the district after at least 10 years; be given 1-thousand dollars for each year of Seniority in the district, be reimbursed for any unused sick leave at a rate of 10-percent of their per diem salary for the last year of their employment, and they be allowed to continue Health Insurance Coverage by paying the premium until the age of 65. The district is not receptive to that 3-part request due to the cost and adverse impact on the budget. In terms of a salary increase for the teachers….the district has proposed a 2-percent hike.

The Iowa Utilities Board is expected to release its decision on the Bakken oil pipeline today. The pipeline would cut across four states, and pass through Jasper and 17 other Iowa counties, carrying crude oil. The developer is asking to use eminent domain to put the pipeline on land where the owner doesn’t want it. The three other states involved, North and South Dakota…and Illinois, have already approved the pipeline. The Utilities board meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m.