w/ Chris Parks

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The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest of two individuals for Minor in Possession of Alcohol 1st Offense early Saturday morning. At 1:42am Officers arrested 20-year-old Jennifer Nichole Gibson and 19-year-old Jacob Anthony Anderson, both of Red Oak, at the intersection of Prospect and Elm Streets in Red Oak. Both were cited and released.

The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest of a juvenile after responding to a call about a family dispute. Officers were called at 12:42am Saturday to the 500 block of High Street and upon arrival Officers learned that a 17-year-old juvenile male had threatened his father with a knife and then ran from the scene. Red Oak PD then requested the assistance of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit to track down the boy. K-9 Rex and his handler were able to track the juvenile through several residential yards and located him in the 200 block of Oakwood Avenue.

The boy was taken into custody and charged with Aggravated Assault While Displaying a Dangerous Weapon, an Aggravated Misdemeanor. He was taken to the Juvenile Detention Center in Council Bluffs. No injuries were reported during the incident.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests on Friday evening. The first arrest occurred at 6:04pm at 904 Boundary Street in Red Oak. Deputies arrested 24-year-old Ozzy Ray Hunter of Red Oak on a valid Mills County Warrant for Violation of Probation. Hunter was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $2,500 bond awaiting transportation to Mills County.

At 6:55pm Deputies arrested 28-year-old Bruce Anthony Kaimann Jr. of Red Oak for Criminal Mischief 3rd Degree following an incident at the Montgomery County Jail where he did extensive damage to his cell. Kaimann Jr. was held on an additional $2,000 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines woman who pleaded guilty to leaving her three young children alone in a filthy, feces-covered home has been sentenced to probation. The Des Moines Register reports a judge Friday sentenced 26-year-old Destinee K. Miller to three years of probation, which she’ll serve in a women’s residential facility. She must complete substance abuse and mental health treatment, and she must maintain a job or pursue an education.

Miller pleaded guilty in February to neglect or abandonment of a dependent person.
Police arrested Miller in October after her children ages 4, 2 and 1 were found outside their home. One child was covered in feces and another had a full diaper.

Defense lawyer Nicholas Dial says Miller takes responsibility but noted she was overwhelmed and in a bad relationship.

BRANDON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say one person has died in an early morning fire near the small eastern Iowa city of Brandon. The Benton County Sheriff’s Office says firefighters were called to the house about 1:30 a.m. Friday.

The fire was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, but four people were able to escape. The body of one person was found inside the home. One person was flown to an Iowa City hospital.

Authorities are withholding the names of those involved until relatives can be notified.
Brandon is about 30 miles northwest of Cedar Rapids.

Officials with the Iowa Corn Growers Association said Friday, that the Harrison/Crawford County Corn Growers Association will host an Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Candidate Forum on May 23, from 7until 9-p.m., at the Boulders Conference Center at 2507 Boulder Drive, in Denison. The event will provide a special opportunity for a question and answer panel discussion with all six of the candidates vying for the Iowa Secretary of Agriculture position.

Those six candidates in alphabetical order include:

• Ray Gaesser, a farmer and former President of the American Soybean Association
• Tim Gannon a farmer, crop insurance agent and a former USDA official for Tom Vilsack
• Chad Ingels, a farmer and former Iowa State University Extension Watershed Specialist
• Craig Lang, a farmer and former President of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation
• Mike Naig, current Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, formerly the Deputy Sec. of Agriculture
• Dan Zumbach, a farmer, and current Iowa State Senator

The discussion will be moderated by veteran Farm Broadcaster and former Iowa Corn District 4 Field Manager Bruce Gaarder. Th candidate forum is free and open to the public. It will provide a unique opportunity for the citizens of West Central Iowa to hear from all six candidates in one location, helping them decide who to vote for in the upcoming primary on June 5 and ultimately the general election this coming November.

A man is in custody, and charges a pending against his significant other, following a domestic disturbance that took place at around 10:45-a.m. Friday, at their residence about 4-miles northeast of Essex. The Page County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were dispatched to 1138 C Avenue in response to the disturbance.

Bloomquist

Their investigation determined 28-year old Richard Allen Bloomquist, and 25-year old Tayler Rae McDaniel, had been involved in a physical assault on each other.  Bloomquist was arrested and transported to the Page County Jail on charges of Domestic Abuse Assault and three counts of Child Endangerment. He remained the Page County Jail without bond, Friday evening.

McDaniel was transported to the Shenandoah Medical Center Emergency Room by Essex Fire & Rescue.  The extent of her injuries was not immediately known. Charges are pending on McDaniel at this time.

Hundreds of law officers gathered in the rotunda of the Iowa State Capitol today (Friday) for the annual ceremony honoring fallen officers. Rain forced the ceremony that’s normally held outside at the from Peace Officer Memorial site, up the hill to the capitol building. Iowa Department of Public Safety commissioner, Roxann Ryan, opened the ceremony to honor six fallen officers.

“This is always a time for heartfelt remembrance and a time to thank all of the peace officers who are here today. And every officer who serves across the state and across the country, and every retired peace officer who is here, so that we may show our respect for all of our law enforcement officers.”

Colonel Jeff Ritzman of the Iowa State Patrol read a description about how each officer died in the line of duty — with the most recent death being Pottwattamie County Deputy Mark Burbridge. “On May 1st, 2017, Deputy Mark Burbridge was shot after he and fellow deputy Pat Morgan transported two prisoners to the Pottawattamie County jail from the courthouse,” Ritzman says. Burbridge died following the shooting.

The others honored are: Special Officer Timothy O’Brien of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, who died October 2, 1893 after was shot by a man he found riding a freight train. Special Officer Charles E. Crill of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, died March 17, 1917 after being shot while trying to apprehend a man breaking into a boxcar. Deputy William A. Maxwell of the Plymouth Co. Sheriff’s Office, died November 16, 1919 after being shot by a pistol smuggled into the jail as he and his father Hugh who was the Sheriff, tried to feed the prisoners.

Deputy Robert McKinley of the Pottawattamie Co. Sheriff’s Office, died March 13, 1947 as he responded to an accident and his patrol car went into a creekbed. Officer William E. Hickman of the Indianola Police Department died December 6, 1957. He lifted a drain tile while investigating an accident and that led an injury and a blood clot in his lung. The family members or representatives of the officers were each presented a flag to honor the officer. Governor Kim Reynolds spoke about the fallen officers.

“Their courage, valor and tenacity will be eternally captured on the monument, so that we, all of us may never forget their selfless sacrifice on behalf of others,” Reynolds says. The governor also spoke to the law officers in the crowd. “We deeply appreciate your dedication, passion and bravery within this noble profession,” Reynolds says. “It is important to show our gratitude to all of those who serve protect us. In addition, we should recognize their families and loved ones as well. Because we know behind every uniform and badge is an officer who has others depending on him or her returning home after each shift.”

The Iowa State Patrol Honor Guard stood outside on the state capitol steps for the 21 gun salute. The Peace Officer Memorial was moved in 2012 and now sits down the hill from the Iowa State Capitol near the Department of Public Safety building.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the convictions of three top staffers on Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign who were found guilty of arranging for money to be funneled through a vendor to an influential Iowa state senator who dropped his support for another Republican candidate in favor of Paul.

Campaign chairman Jesse Benton, campaign manager John Tate and deputy campaign manager Dimitri Kesari were convicted in 2016 of causing false records to be filed, causing false campaign expenditure reports, engaging in a false statements scheme and conspiring to commit the offenses. Kesari was sentenced to three months in prison while the other two got probation. They have completed their sentences but are seeking to clear the felony convictions from their records.

The three argued that they broke no laws when they paid a video production company, which passed on $73,000 to then-Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson, who withdrew his support from Michele Bachmann and backed Paul six days before the 2012 Iowa caucuses. Sorenson also was convicted in the scheme and sentenced to 15 months in prison. He was released in April.

Benton, Tate and Kesari contend that campaigns pay vendors who pass money on to subcontractors all the time and there’s nothing illegal about it. Prosecutors said it was illegal to cause the campaign to file inaccurate documents to try to hide that Sorensen was paid for a campaign endorsement.

A three-member panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis on Friday upheld the rulings and conclusions of Judge John Jarvey, finding no reversible errors and that there is ample evidence to uphold their convictions. The men argued that Jarvey erred in denying their motions to dismiss the charges and for a new trial. They also challenged the judge’s rulings on jury instructions and certain evidence.

Among the things they challenged was whether prosecutors could apply a federal financial fraud false reporting statute to campaign expenditure reports and whether that violation falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal Election Commission.

The appeals court concluded that “the production of false financial records by a political campaign falls within that framework.” The judges also concluded that the FEC does have jurisdiction over campaign expenditures and the authority to establish penalties for false reporting. Kesari is considering whether to appeal Friday’s ruling.

The 46-year old Sorenson was convicted of willfully causing false expenditure reports to the FEC and falsifying records in contemplation of or relation to a federal investigation intending to obstruct justice.