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

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The Creston Police Department says a Creston man reported Monday evening that sometime between Nov. 30th and Dec. 9th, his camper was stolen while parked at 312 N Division – property owned by the reporting party. The stolen camper was described as being a white 2002 Four Winds Travel Trailer, valued at $6,000.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A man accused of beating to death his grandmother in Council Bluffs has been sentenced to 50 years in prison. Court records say 30-year-old Jacob Heyer pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder. Prosecutors lowered the charge from first-degree murder in exchange for Heyer’s plea. Heyer was arrested in August 2018 for the assault of 71-year-old Karen Fort. She died within a month, and his original charges were raised. Heyer’s grandfather told officers that Heyer had said Fort tried to kill him.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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(Radio Iowa) — Rescuers who arrived at the Cricket Hollow Zoo near Manchester on Monday discovered some of the animals were missing. The judge had ordered that all exotic animals at the zoo be removed immediately due to “deplorable” conditions. The zoo’s owners, Pam and Tom Sellner, appealed the case, but last week, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled the rescue could continue. The Animal Legal Defense Fund has said they will be comparing their inventory of animals transferred with the one from the U-S-D-A’s reports to see what animals were missing and then investigate when the animals were transferred.

If the animals left Cricket Hollow Zoo after the court order, that would mean the zoo is in violation of the court order and in contempt of the court – which could result in jail time of up to six months.

(Radio Iowa) — Most Iowans will be off work and out of school on January 1st and they’re encouraged to begin 2020 with a healthy New Year’s Day hike through a state park. Todd Coffelt, chief of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ State Parks Bureau, says this will be the ninth year for the so-called First Day Hikes in Iowa and there are dozens of options from which to chose. “It’s a fantastic event for family, for friends, for something to do to get the new year started the right way,” Coffelt says. “The big part of this year, we have 49 different hikes all across the state and it’s the kickoff of our 100th anniversary for Iowa State Parks, so it’s a big deal to be a part of it.”

With more than four-dozen hike locations, each event is offering its own take on the trek through the woods, though most are just a mile long with options for longer hikes, depending on conditions. “We have lodges in several of the parks, but not all of them. Those lodges give us a chance to warm up because it’s not going to be 60-degrees and sunny, we all know that,” Coffelt says. “But it gives us a chance to come in there for fellowship, for community gathering, there’s hot cocoa, there’s coffee, there’s snacks.” Last year, Coffelt says more than 14-hundred people took part in New Year’s Day hikes across Iowa, hiking more than 11-hundred total miles at dozens of state parks.

“Every park is different so every park has something to offer that’s unique to its location and its resources,” Coffelt says. “With the right people, they can give a hike, whether it’s 8 in the morning at Ledges, 9 o’clock at Walnut Woods or in the evening at Prairie Rose where they’re going to do an Owl Prowl.” The hikers can expect to be surrounded by the quiet beauty of nature in winter, he says, while experiencing spectacular views, beautiful settings and the cultural treasures offered by Iowa’s state parks.

More online at www.iowadnr.gov/firstdayhikes

(Radio Iowa) — A study of drug overdose deaths finds there several different simultaneous opioid epidemics in the country rather than just a single crisis. Iowa State University associate sociology professor David Peters says one crisis is driven by heroin. “Where most overdoses are driven just by deaths from heroin –whether that’s black tar heroin or powdered heroin. The second one was the prescription opioid epidemic cluster — and that’s obviously prescription pills,” Peters says.

He says the heroin epidemic has taken root in states out west and in the Midwest, especially in urban areas near major interstates that experience heavy drug trafficking. The prescription drug epidemic persists in rural southern states where access to opioids centers on local pharmacies. A third epidemic of counterfeit pills is a major concern in urban centers in the northeastern United States. “They mix fentanyl with prescriptions and heroin and they mix those together to form a counterfeit pill,” Peters explains. “And then the last one we identified was one called a syndemic. And those are places that have a heroin epidemic and a prescription epidemic and this counterfeit pill epidemic all at the same time.” T

he syndemic exists in counties where the opioid crisis first erupted, particularly in mid-size cities in Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia that have experienced steep job losses in manufacturing and mining. Peters says Iowa is a split state when it comes to the drug epidemics. “On the east side of the state….long the Mississippi River, we primarily have heroin counties. Starting in Dubuque and the counties around Dubuque and then to Davenport and some counties in the extreme southeast corner of the state,” Peters says.

He says the action slows down in the middle of the state. “Most of central Iowa — it doesn’t fall into any one of these opioid epidemics. But on the west side of the state along the Missouri River we have a couple of counties that are plagued by a prescription epidemic,” according to Peters. “So it tends to happen along our borders — on our eastern and western borders — and not in central Iowa. And they are mostly in rural counties.” He says the evidence of the split shows up in Des Moines. “For example Des Moines doesn’t rank high in terms of opioid overdose death rates compared to some of the smaller rural communities,” he says.

Peters says it is important for each area of the state to get a handle on what is happening in their community. “Instead of taking a more traditional law enforcement approach, really try to work with local social services agencies, local clinics, local churches to try to identify people who are risk for using these highly potent opiods and try ot divert them away from usage,” Peters says. Peters and his co-authors conducted a county-level analysis of death certificates from across the country that noted opioid overdoses as the cause of death. Peters said roughly a quarter of all counties in the United States fall into one of the epidemic categories noted in the study.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Deere & Co. plans to lay off nearly 60 more workers at its Davenport Works plant. The company said Monday that it notified the workers Dec. 2 and said the cuts would be effective Jan. 6. Deere announced earlier this fall that it was laying off more than 110 workers from the plant.

Deere spokesman Ken Golden says the cuts were a result of reduced building activity that is expected to lower sales of equipment. He says each Deere factory must balance its workforce number with customer demand for products from that factory.

The Moline, Illinois-based company makes equipment for construction, agriculture and landscaping.

The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports three drug-related arrests and one drug=related citation. Sheriff Jeff Vandewater says on Dec. 2nd, Adair Police arrested 21-year old Michael Edward Dickerson, of Schererville, IN., for Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense – Marijuana. He was taken into custody after his vehicle jumped a curb at the Casey’s Store in Adair. The driver appeared to be sleeping in the car, which was still in gear. Dickerson, who did not know where he was, and appeared confused, admitted to having marijuana in his possession. He was released later that same day on a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

47-year old Wesley Earl Tolley, of Winterset, was arrested by Adair County Deputies on Dec. 5th, and charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (2 meth pipes) and Possession of a Controlled Substance/3rd or subsequent offense – methamphetamine. Tolley was being held in the Adair County Jail on a $5,000 cash or surety bond. And, 29-year old David Gene Robbins, Jr., of Newell, was arrested Dec. 5th for Driving While Barred and Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense-Methamphetamine. His bond was set at $2,000. On Dec. 6th, 29-year old Rachel Marie Colburn, of Creston, was cited in Greenfield, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (A hypodermic needle), and released.

The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports also, 42-year old Tracy Rene Lehmann, of Des Moines, was arrested at the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, on an Adair County felony warrant for Violating the terms of her supervised release on original charges of: Burglary in the 3rd Degree; Theft in the 2nd Degree; Criminal Mischief in the 2nd Degree; Theft in the 2nd, and Burglary in the 3rd Degree – Motor vehicle related. Bond was set at $5,000.

And, 28-year old Cody Leon Zimmerline, of Adair, was arrested Dec. 6th for Harassment in the 1st Degree, by threatening to commit a forcible felony (Felonious assault or murder). Zimmerline allegedly resisted arrest and was forced to the ground before being handcuffed. His bond was set at $2,000.

Police in Red Oak arrested a central Iowa man early this (Tuesday) morning. 51-year old Richard Lee Seiberling, of Des Moines, was taken into custody at around 12:30-a.m., for Driving While Barred, Seiberling was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond.