The news at 7:05-a.m., from Ric Hanson.

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(Updated Saturday afternoon) The last two days of this past week have been deadly for motorists in Iowa. The State Patrol reports a total of eight people died and seven people were injured in separate crashes that took place Thursday and Friday. The latest death was reported Saturday afternoon, when 15-year-old Rylon T. Cook, of Osceola, succumbed to his injuries that occurred during a crash Thursday afternoon.

MONTEZUMA, Iowa – The search for 10-year-old child missing from central Iowa’s Poweshiek County, continues. Xavior Harrelson was reported missing Thursday afternoon, May 27th. Authorities say he was possibly wearing blue pajama bottoms, a red T-shirt and black tennis shoes. And, while law enforcement appreciates the public’s desire to help locate Xavior, the investigative and search efforts today (Saturday, May 29), will be conducted by law enforcement and first responders only.

Xavior Harrelson

Montezuma residents are encouraged to check their own properties and surveillance systems. Law enforcement officials are asking for the public’s assistance with searching for Xavior tomorrow morning (Sunday). For those who are able to assist, please be at the Montezuma High School north parking lot at 9:00 a.m. Please dress appropriately for the weather and walking outside. Those wishing to assist with the search must be 18 years of age or older, have a valid photo identification and be in good physical condition.

Anyone with information related to Xavior’s disappearance, please call the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office at 641-623-2107.

The Iowa State Patrol, Friday afternoon, released more information about an accident that took place at 4:30-p.m. Thursday, in southern Iowa’s Clarke County. Two other teens died in the crash, and two others were seriously injured. The Patrol says a 2000 Chevy pickup driven by a 16-year-old from Murray, was traveling east on Kansas Street in rural Clarke County. A train was traveling northbound.

For reasons under, the pickup driver attempted to cross the marked railroad crossing in front of the train, before the vehicle was struck on its passenger side. Two of the passengers, a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old, both from Murray, died at the scene. A 15-year-old passenger from Osceola, suffered life threatening injuries, and the flown by helicopter to a hospital in Des Moines.

The 16-year-old driver was seriously injured and also transported by helicopter to a hospital in Des Moines. No one onboard the train was hurt. The collision remains under investigation.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, Friday, released information with regard to several incidents and arrests. Authorities say two people were arrested following a pursuit early Tuesday afternoon. According to the report, a Deputy waa requested to assist with a vehicle pursuit initiated by a Pott. County Sheriff’s Sergeant. With assistance from Council Bluffs Police and the Iowa State Patrol, the suspect vehicle, a 2011 Ford Crown Victoria, was stopped and the suspects were apprehended. As it turns out, both suspects: 35-year-old Fredrick John Nunes, from South Sioux City, Iowa, and 24-year-old Dominique Renee Whitebeaver, had active warrants in Iowa. Both were transported to the jail to be held on their warrants. Nunes was also charged with Eluding While Exceeding Speed Limit by 25 mph or more, which carries a $2,000 bond.

Sheriff’s officials report also:

• 27-year-old Zachary Nathan Gobert, from Red Oak, who was being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail, was served with a warrant for Unauthorized use of a credit card (under $1,000). He remains in the jail on $6,000 bond, associated with other charges.
• 27-year-old Lindsey Sue Rhodes was arrested Tuesday afternoon on a warrant out of Mills County.
• Wednesday afternoon, 35-year-old Jesse Charles Adams turned himself-in to the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office. Adams was wanted on a warrant for Violation of Probation. He was later released.
• Wednesday evening, 33-year-old Anthony Scott Byers was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault 2^nd Offense. According to the sheriff’s report, deputies were called to the intersection of Railroad Highway and Juniper Road after dispatch advised that a caller stated that her son and boyfriend were pulled over on the side of the road and were hitting each other. The caller’s son said he was hitting Byers because Byers was going to hit the caller. The son also stated that he was upset with Byers as he was playing chicken with other drivers. It was determined that Byers was the aggressor and he was placed under arrest.
• Thursday afternoon, 24-year-old Jadarian Andrew Jackson was arrested for Violation of Probation, after he turned himself-in to the Sheriff’s Office. He was later released.
• Thursday evening, 21-year-old Bryce Alan Wilke turned himself in on a warrant for Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage Crash. He was later released.
• Thursday night: 36-year-old Jessica Jo Clymer, of Council Bluffs, was arrested following an investigation in the 300 block of McKenzie Avenue in Council Bluffs on May 28^th. Clymer was charged with Criminal Trespass 1^st Offense, Possession of a Controlled Substance Methamphetamine 1^st Offense, and Providing False Identification Information. She was being held in the Pott. County Jail on $1,300 bond; 51-year-old Steven Craig Pleas was arrested Thursday night, after Deputies were called to the Jail with regard to an incident of criminal mischief at the jail. Pleas was charged with Criminal Mischief in the 5th, and held on $1,300 bond.; And, just before midnight, Thursday, a deputy on patrol saw a vehicle traveling north on N. 16th Street, just past Avenue N in Council Bluffs. He recognized the vehicle, a silver Chevy Equinox, as one reported stolen earlier in the city. As a result of a subsequent traffic stop, a 15-year-old male and a 14-year-old male were arrested and charged with motor vehicle theft and Theft in the 2nd Degree.
• At around 12:20-a.m. Friday, deputies responding to a rollover accident at 205th and Railroad, ended up arresting 37-year old Summer Rambo, for Public Intoxication. There were no injuries reported.

SCHLESWIG— Officials with the Iowa DNR report that about 6:30 p.m. Thursday, a transport company reported a fertilizer spill about three miles southwest of Schleswig. DNR received three other calls about the incident. Kelly Garrett, owner of KSX Transportation, reported the spill occurred about 4:30 p.m. after a tanker became stuck on a gravel road. About 4,000 gallons of a plant fertilizer ran into a tributary of the East Soldier River.

KSX employees dammed and pumped the creek to prevent the fertilizer from moving downstream. They removed about 4,500 gallons of fertilizer and water Thursday evening. The mix of low levels of phosphorus, sulfur, potassium and nitrogen is used as a soil conditioner. DNR staff inspected the site this morning and noted no visual sign of the product in the creek or on creek banks. Field tests showed normal pH levels and no ammonia levels in the water. There were no dead fish.

The DNR inspector said Garrett’s prompt action removing fertilizer from the creek helped prevent more serious water quality problems or a fish kill. DNR will monitor the site and consider any appropriate enforcement action.

(HARLAN): Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) staff responded to a diesel spill in Harlan Thursday, meeting with local officials as they worked to track down its source. Officials say the Shelby County Emergency Management Service and Harlan Fire Department investigated a report of diesel odor and red sheen in a branch of the Nishnabotna River Wednesday night. Emergency staff placed booms with absorbent pads in the tributary to catch floating fuel.

Thursday morning, city staff lifted manholes looking for the fuel’s source and testing air quality underground. All air levels were normal and they did not see any sheen or diesel in water flowing under the manholes. Onsite Thursday, DNR staff noticed a residual sheen and odor in the stream beginning north of the intersection of Sixth Street and Cyclone Avenue, where a stormwater drain outlets and the tributary begins. The sheen disappeared by the time the tributary reached the west entrance of the Shelby County fairgrounds.

The source of the diesel spill is still unknown, but it may have originated on the north side of Harlan if it came through the stormwater drain. Rainfall Thursday morning likely washed much of it downstream. While it’s unknown if diesel reached the river, DNR staff saw many live fish swimming in the stream. At DNR’s request, the city placed more booms in the stream. The city and DNR will continue to monitor the situation and look for the responsible party.

DNR investigators encourage people to call in spills and fish kills as early as possible to the 24-hour spill line at 515-725-8694. Early reporting helps DNR staff determine the pollutant source before it washes downstream.

A jury has found Cristhian Bahena Rivera guilty of murdering 20-year-old college student Mollie Tibbetts in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, nearly three years ago. The jury’s decision that was announced in court shortly before two o’clock this (Friday) afternoon.

Hear the judge polling the jury, which reached a unanimous verdict after about eight hours of deliberations:

Prosecutor Scott Brown admitted to sleepless nights as the trial progressed, but stressed during a news conference in Davenport that the trial was about Tibbetts and her family.

Brown and Poweshiek County Attorney Bart Klaver met with the Tibbetts family privately following the verdict. Klaver says it was an emotional moment.

Bahena will be sentenced later. A first degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Bahena’s attorneys have indicated they will file an appeal.

AMES, Iowa – May 28, 2021 – From Abingdon to Zwingle, the newly released 2021-2022 Iowa Transportation Map will get you where you want to go within the borders of our beautiful land.

The Iowa Department of Transportation recently released the 2021-2022 Iowa Transportation Map in the standard fold-out paper form and it’s now available at Iowa DOT’s driver’s license service centers, county treasurer’s offices, all six Iowa DOT district offices, Iowa’s welcome centers, and the state’s rest areas. The electronic version to view, print, and download is available at www.iowadot.gov/maps along with a mobile app version and a link to order the map.

The map shows all highways, airports, rail lines, lakes, rivers, and major county roads. Detail maps are shown for the state’s 16 largest cities that identify highways, major streets, and city boundaries. The map information also includes a chart to find mileage between select Iowa cities; and an index listing the cities shown on the map, along with their populations and map location.

Because the transportation system is always changing, the Iowa DOT makes several hundred changes to the map with each printing. While the map is printed every two years, the online and mobile app versions are updated annually.