More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Closing arguments are expected Friday in the trial of a Sioux City man accused of killing another man in the northwest Iowa community of Sloan. Defense and prosecution attorneys rested their cases Thursday in Timothy Schroeder’s trial. He’s charged with first-degree murder and related crimes in the Jan. 9, 2015, shooting death of 29-year-old Dustin Wilder at Wilder’s home.

The defense moved for acquittal on all charges Thursday, saying there wasn’t enough evidence to convict Schroeder. But Judge Jeffery Neary denied the motion.

(8-a.m. News)

Creston Police are investigating two incidents of break-in’s or unauthorized entry into apartments. Two residents at an apartment complex in the 700 block of W. Jefferson Street, in Creston, reported their apartments had been entered sometime between 7:30-a.m. and 4-p.m. on July 18th and 21st, respectively. Items missing include a 32-inch TV and X-box 1 System, along with a laptop computer. The loss was estimated at $790 altogether.

The Iowa Department of Transportation is updating its rules for young drivers to reflect changes in law approved by the Iowa Legislature.  Sara Siedsma with the motor vehicle division says one update involves the restriction on passengers. She says a person under 18 with an intermediate license is restricted to driving with one unrelated minor passenger when driving without supervision unless the parent waives the restriction at the time the license is issued.

Drivers must have an instruction permit for one year without an accident or conviction for traffic offense before getting an intermediate license. Siedsma says drivers have to wait six months after a conviction before the clock can start again, but the year period does not have to be 12 consecutive months. “They would be able to count valid periods of hold that instruction permit prior to a conviction and then after a conviction,” she explains.

They’ve also updated the process for parents seeking a waiver of driver’s education. “Currently that must be submitted on a department form. This change would allow a parent or guardian to sign a written statement at the school rather than having to do the form,” Siedsma says. There’s also a change designed to give more flexibility for school permits.

“For minor children who have divorced or separated parents, they would be able to drive from the school and either parents’ residence —   as long as the parent resides in the district of enrollment, or a contiguous district,” Siedsma says. She says the students often alternate staying with each parent and this allows them to still drive using their school permit as long as they meet the requirements.

(Radio Iowa)

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Authorities are expected to resume their search of the Missouri River today (Friday), for a teenager who went under while swimming on the north end of Omaha. Rescuers were called to the scene north of Omaha’s N.P. Dodge Park around 7 p.m. Thursday. A helicopter, boats and a dive team were deployed without success before darkness.

Family members say the 17-year-old was on a sandbar before going into the river. They say he went under the water and didn’t resurface.

Police in Red Oak responding to reported domestic disturbance Thursday evening, arrested a man for aggravated assault while displaying a dangerous weapon, and child endangerment charges. Authorities say 39-year old Michael Lee Butcher, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 7:15-p.m. in the 600 block of E. Hammond Street, after officers investigated a call about a domestic disturbance involving a man threatening people with a machete’. Butcher was brought to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and held on a $2,000 cash bond.

In an update to our story Thursday morning about two Creston men arrested Wednesday evening on drug charges, authorities said later, that 39-year old Steven Knowles and 18-year old Kane Allen Michael Farlow were taken into custody following a pursuit. Creston Police say Farlow was driving a 2004 Nissan Ultima that was being pursued by law enforcement.

The car was traveling about 60-to 70-miles per hour in a 45-mph zone, when it went out of control at around 6:10-p.m., Wednesday. The vehicle hit a curb and concrete sewer before coming to rest in a field near the intersection of Highway 34 and Industrial Parkway. Farlow was transported by law enforcement to the Greater Regional Medical Center in  Creston, to be treated for a wrist injury. His passenger, Steven Knowles, had minor injuries that did not require a trip to the hospital.

Both men were arrested for Possession of Marijuana, Meth and Drug Paraphernalia. Farlow was served a warrant while being detained at the Union County Jail, for violation of Pretrial release on an original charge of Felony Eluding. He was also charged with Eluding causing bodily injury and Reckless Driving. Farlow may face an OWI charge as well, pending the result of lab tests.

Iowa delegates at the Republican National Convention are leaving Cleveland today (Friday) in a mostly unified front, touting Donald Trump. Iowa delegate Jake Chapman, a state senator from Adel, says you “cannot discredit” what Trump has been able to do in his business life — and during in this campaign. “As the convention has gone along, as we’ve heard more speeches, there is definitely a unity coalescing,” Chapman says. Iowa delegate Robert Cramer, a businessman from Grimes, is on the board of directors for The Family Leader, a Christian conservative group. Cramer says picking Indiana Governor Mike Pence as the V-P nominee shows Trump not only wants to win, he wants to govern.

“He’s just a really solid, Christian guy who is humble leader and wants to do the right thing,” Cramer says, “and so I think he will be really good for Trump.” Bill Anderson, a state senator from Pierson, says Pence will “definitely” appeal to the party’s evangelical voters. “We’re building a positive message for November and that’s what I came here to do, that’s what I’ve been talking to my constituents about,” Anderson says. “Obviously, I didn’t support Mr. Trump during the Caucuses, but at the end of the day we have a process and this is the fulfillment of that process.”

Gregg Cummings of Lamoni, an alternate delegate at the convention, says Trump’s pick of Pence shows he’ll surround himself with good people. “Hopefully he’ll open the bag further and spill the beans on the rest of his cabinet,” Cummings says. “…If he does that, I think we will see a stronger, unified party.” Greg Heartsill, a state representative from Columbia, says the stakes are high in other races, too, as Republicans hope to keep a majority of seats in the U.S. House and Senate — and win statehouse races around the country.

“We can’t afford for folks to stay home because their candidate didn’t make it,” Heartsill says. First-time national delegate Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa says the convention experience does “motivate and inspirate” the delegates to dig in back home. “I think there’s a lot of enthusiasm and support for getting Donald Trump and Mike Pence elected as president and vice president this coming fall,” Miller-Meeks says. Cheryl Kramer of Dubuque was among the Iowa G-O-P’s guests in Cleveland, attending her eighth national convention. She has volunteered to work on the Trump campaign.

“I was with him nearly from the beginning,” Kramer says. “I’m very motivated anyway. Politics has been a part of my life. I first worked for Ronald Reagan’s campaign in 1966 in California. That’s what first got me going, so it’s 50 years this year.” Iowa delegate Amy Christen of Davenport supported Jeb Bush in the Iowa Caucuses and “cannot stand” Hillary Clinton. She’s offering this advice to Iowans who’ve told her they are upset with both Clinton and Trump:

“Don’t do the stay-home protest. Go and vote. Vote for the least worst alternative or, if you need to, vote Libertarian,” Christen says, “or write in — as long as it’s not Daffy Duck.” Christen says that will show party leaders that voters won’t “just stay home” because they’re faced with two unlikeable candidates. Democrats will gather next week in Philadelphia for their party’s national convention.

(Radio Iowa)

Republican Congressman Steve King has a “long history” with Tom Vilsack. And, as speculation grows that Vilsack might be Hillary Clinton’s choice as a running mate, King is praising the ag secretary’s “work ethic.” “He’s administered a huge department in our government, so I think he would be an asset to their ticket,” King says, “although you know I’d be working against him.” King first met Vilsack when the two were state senators. King says when he was first elected in 1996, some of the “seasoned” members of the state senate warned King not to debate Vilsack.

“He’s a very intelligent man. He has a good work ethic. He is well-prepared,” King says. “When I look at the preparation of his colleagues from back in those days, I think Tom Vilsack’s matched anybody’s and exceeded most.” Vilsack’s wife, Christie, ran against King in 2012. When Vilsack was governor, King successfully sued over Vilsack’s executive order that barred discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender state employees.

“We have a long history. We’ve been to court against each other and a number of other things,” King says. “They weren’t all pleasant and agreeable circumstances, but he has the capability.” And King says a Clinton-Vilsack ticket might make a difference in a swing state like Iowa. “I don’t know whether it’d be a dramatic thing in Iowa, but surely there’s always that piece of state pride,” King says.

If Vilsack is picked, though, King says he’ll make the case Vilsack hasn’t been a “stronger advocate” for ag policy during the past seven and half years, especially since the Obama Administration hasn’t increased required ethanol production levels. King also plans to bring up Vilsack’s approval of the state law which required all state documents to be written in English, something King championed as a state senator. King suggests Vilsack’s position on “English Only” laws may have changed.

(Radio Iowa)