(update 11:50-a.m.: Phone system is functioning again)

Cass County Courthouse phone system is once again not not working. Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman issued the notice of problems with the phone system at around 8:50-a.m.  The same system experienced problems early last week.

Notice will be sent when it has been repaired.

A man from northwest Iowa’s Ida County was seriously injured during a motorcycle crash Saturday evening, in Shelby County. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office reports 60-year old Brent Lindgren, of Arthur, IA, was traveling south on Highway 59 at around 5-p.m., and in the process of passing a semi tractor-trailer, when the motorcycle Lindgren was driving went out of control. The cycle crossed the northbound lane of the highway and traveled onto the east shoulder before flipping end-over, ejecting Lindgren.

He was transported to Myrtue Memorial Hospital in Harlan by Medivac Ambulance prior to being flown by LifeNet helicopter to Creighton Medical Center in Omaha for treatment of serious injuries. The accident remains under investigation.

An investigation into a sexual assault that allegedly occurred Sunday in Stuart, has resulted in the arrest of a man in Des Moines. According to the Stuart Police Department’s social media page, Officers from Stuart went to Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines Sunday night. to follow-up on an assault that allegedly took place earlier in the day, Sunday.

Corey Drake was subsequently arrested in the 3000 block of Garfield Street in Des Moines, on felony 1st Degree Kidnapping and 1st Degree Sexual Abuse charges. Drake was being held in the Adair County Jail pending an appearance before a magistrate.

No other details are currently available.

More area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Police in Creston arrested a woman from Afton, Saturday morning. Officials say 40-year old Robbin Creveling was taken into custody at around 4:30-a.m. for Domestic Abuse Assault. She was later released from the Ringgold County Jail on $1,000 bond.

Also arrested early Saturday morning, was 22-year old Marshall Keate, of Creston. Keate was charged with Public Intoxication – 2nd offense. And, 20-year old Clinton Bird, of Creston, was arrested Friday morning for Public Intoxication. Both men were later released on bond.

Creston Police report also, 17-year old Kane Farlow, of Creston, was referred to Juvenile Authorities at the Creston Alternative School, Friday, on charges of Interference With Official Acts, Criminal Mischief in the 3rd Degree, and Probation Violation. Farlow was released to the custody of Juvenile Services.

Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees was named President of the Iowa Firefighters Association during the Association’s 137th Annual meeting that began last Wednesday and ended Sunday, in Story City. McNees is the 10th Atlantic Firemen to be honored as IFA President. His term runs through 2016. Mark McNees was elected Fire Chief in Atlantic, in 2007.

In addition to McNees’ accomplishment, Atlantic Fire Department personnel who attended the meeting helped to win two awards, including those for “Best Fire Prevention” and “Best Motor Vehicle 1961-70,” both of which were including in the Firemen’s Parade at Story City.

Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees

Nineteen of the department’s 38 members attended the 2015 convention. The Iowa Firefighters Association is dedicated to the improvement of Iowa’s Fire Service and protection of the general public through legislation, better training, minimum standards for apparatus and equipment, fire prevention, public relations and information.

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

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A man from Council Bluffs is dead following a motorcycle accident early this (Monday) morning. Council Bluffs Police say 29-year old Jeffery Crane died in the crash that happened at around 2-a.m. on the Nebraska Avenue on-ramp to Interstate 29.

An investigation determined Crane’s motorcycle was northbound on the I-29 on ramp when he apparently lost control, causing the cycle to leave the road on the curve. Crane, who was not wearing a helmet, suffered fatal injuries when he was thrown from machine the during the accident. Authorities say at this time it is unknown if speed or alcohol played a part in the accident.

DES MOINES, Iowa – As the poultry industry in Iowa and across the Midwest works to rebound from the spring outbreak of avian influenza, there are predictions that another round of the disease will hit this fall.

Dale Wiehoff, director of communications for the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, says while it’s still unclear how the disease became so widespread, he notes that avian influenza will likely become a permanent part of industrial poultry production. “The model of industrial poultry production that we have confines thousands of birds together that have the same genetic makeup, getting the same food and the same water,” he explains. “So it is really ripe for the spread of disease once it gets inside a facility.”

Nearly 50 million chickens and turkeys in the U.S. were lost in the spring outbreak of the H5N2 strain of avian influenza, including around 32 million in Iowa alone. With that unprecedented number of dead birds, Wiehoff says there needs to be a serious review of the safety of the methods of disposal, including incineration, burial and composting.

“The risk is if all of the virus isn’t killed in the compost process, it could be just spread out on the field and contaminating and infecting other birds,” he points out. “And worse, the possibility of the virus mutating and spreading to humans and other animals.”

Wiehoff says the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service just launched a review of how to handle the carcasses from any future outbreaks, which could include prearranged disposal sites.

(Iowa News Service)

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports seven arrests over the past week. Late Saturday night, Deputies arrested 71-year old Corvis Mark Cooper, of Orient, for OWI/1st Offense. Cooper was released Sunday on $1,000 bond.

On Friday, Greenfield Police arrested 68-year old James Eugene Bakerink, of Fontanelle, for Violation of a No Contact Order. He was released Saturday on a Recognizance bond. Also arrested Friday, was 38-year old Joseph Eric Funke, of Fontanelle. Deputies took Funke into custody to serve a court-ordered sentence.

On Thursday, 38-year old Robin Korey Brazelton, of Des Moines, was arrested by the Iowa State Patrol on Interstate 80 in Adair County. Brazelton was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance, and released later that day on a Recognizance bond.

And, the Adair County Sheriff’s Department reports three arrests took place last Wednesday. 23-year old Francisco J. Bermudez, of Des Moines, was arrested by the Iowa State Patrol on I-80 in Adair County, for Possession of a Controlled Substance. He was released the following day on his own recognizance. 25-year old Matthew David Alluisi, of Greenfield, was arrested Wednesday on two warrants. He was released Friday on a $2,000 cash bond. And, 46-year old Lawrence Stanley Henry, of Salt Lake City, UT, was arrested Wednesday by the Iowa State Patrol in Adair County. Henry was picked up at the Rest Area near mile marker 80, on a Prescription Drug Violation charge. He was later released on $1,000 bond.