Officials with Guthrie County ISU Extension and Outreach report Guthrie County 4-H has been challenged to raise $50,000 to be used toward building a new 4-H STATIC building for the 2020 Guthrie County Fair. If you can help, consider giving your tax-deductible donation to the Guthrie County 4-H Foundation on Giving, Tuesday, December 3, 2019.

Donations can be made online at http://bit.ly/2oxM0DY (specify that your donation is for Guthrie County or by mail to: Guthrie County 4-H Foundation, 212 State Street, Guthrie Center, IA 50115.

The Union County Sheriff’s Department reports 21-year old Wade Dwight Hiatt, of Truro, was arrested Wednesday night, at the Marion County Jail. Hiatt was taken into custody on a Union County warrant for failure to appear on the original charge of criminal mischief 3rd degree. He was being held in the Union County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — A judge won’t consider written testimony from a man who claims he was unaware of his legal rights when he allegedly confessed to killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. Judge Joel Yates ruled today (Thursday), that he will not allow lawyers for Cristhian Bahena Rivera to submit a written affidavit from their client unless he agrees to submit to cross-examination by prosecutors.

Lawyers for Rivera, who is charged with murder, say they won’t allow him to testify. Yates rejected the affidavit. Yates is considering a defense motion to suppress statements Rivera made during an interrogation in August 2018 in which he implicated himself in Tibbetts’ death. She disappeared a month earlier while running.

Rivera says in the affidavit that he was unaware of certain rights and scared to invoke others.

(Radio Iowa) — A central Iowa man is jailed on charges he fatally stabbed his wife. The Story County Sheriff’s Office got a 911 call Wednesday evening from a Zearing resident who said a neighbor had just confessed to killing his wife after a domestic dispute. Deputies responded and found the body of 62-year-old Betty Jean Pillman outside the home. She had severe lacerations to her upper body.

Deputies also found 70-year-old Gary Pillman suffering from cuts on his arm. He was taken to the hospital for treatment, then arrested on a charge of second-degree murder.

(Radio Iowa) — A new report from the American Lung Association shows Iowa has one of the lowest survival rates for lung cancer in country. The association found 19 percent of lung cancer patients survived five years after their initial diagnosis. That’s more than three-and-a-half percent worse that the national average. Alyssa DePhillips is a spokeswoman for the American Lung Association. “Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer of men and women, but it just doesn’t get the same attention as other cancers because other cancers may be more common, but they’re more curable.” Lung cancer is often diagnosed at later stages of the disease when surgery is not an option. “That’s usually the best way to get rid of the cancer,” DePhillips says.

The American Lung Association is recommending that Americans over the age of 55 who are current tobacco users or who have quit in the past 15 years get their lungs scanned to check for cancer. “Iowa has just a little bit higher smoking and tobacco rates than the rest of the national average of the US because Midwestern states have higher tobacco use rates,” she says. “Rural areas have higher tobacco use rates.”

Iowa’s lung cancer rate is impacted by radon levels, too. “Iowa has the highest radon levels across the US and radon counts for a little less than 10 percent of lung cancer cases,” DePhillips says. “so 90 percent of lung cancer cases in Iowa are due to smoking or being around second-hand smoke and the the majority of the rest of the cases are from radon.” Less than one percent of lung cancer cases in Iowa are linked to poor air quality or exposure to pollution. This is the second year the American Lung Association has issued its “State of Cancer” report.

Former Iowa 3rd District Republican Congressman David Young is stepping-up efforts to win re-election in November, 2020. Young launched his campaign in May to try and recapture the District in the U.S. House of Representatives from Democratic Representative Cindy Axne. He says he’ll run on his record of being a voice for southwest and parts of central Iowa. He says Axne’s record “has not been very good for Iowa.”

David Young at the KJAN Studios 11-14-19

Young says the nation is bogged down with partisan politics (the impeachment proceedings), and issues important to Iowans aren’t getting taken care of. For instance, the USMCA trade agreement, he says “Should have been done 6 months ago. It’s just sitting there gathering dust, and Iowa needs that.” The lack of an agreement with China, and the RFS, is also hurting Iowa’s economy. Young said he’s disappointed the Trump Administration “Isn’t quite yet understanding the need to fulfill the law of the 15-million gallons a year for ethanol to be blended.”

Young says “the Left…The Democrats…are fixated on overturning the 2016 elections, and impeaching this President.” He says “There are no Articles of Impeachment. It’s almost like they’re looking for them. Meanwhile, I think Iowans are saying ‘Hey, just trust us. We’ll figure it out in 2020. Young who was a two-term representative of the 3rd district, says if he’s elected next November, he’ll work to bridge the partisan divide, just as he did when he was in office before the 2018 election was held.

After his announcement in May, a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) released a statement on Young’s decision to run. The DCCC said “Iowa voters rejected David Young because he broke his promise to lower heath care costs and protect coverage for Iowans with pre-existing conditions. Young can run for Congress, but he can’t run away from his Washington record of putting special interests ahead of the needs of hardworking Iowans.”

As for his opponent in the upcoming elections, Young says “There are high expectations for her, primarily set from herself, but very low deliverables.” Young said “I’m very principled, and I will fight for my principles and I will fight those who I represent.” Young, who resides in Van Meter, is a graduate of Johnston High School and Drake University. Before being elected to Congress, he served at the chief of staff for Sen. Chuck Grassley.

United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum today (Thursday), announced that on Tuesday, November 12th, 35 year-old Kentriss Thomas Rhodes, 33 year-old Ashley S. Fleming, and 45 year-old Antoine Sanders, all residents of Chicago, Illinois, were sentenced in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, for their role in a Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance (Oxycodone).

The investigation of Rhodes, Fleming and Sanders began on August 16, 2018, when the Council Bluffs Police Department responded to a call from the Madison Avenue Hy-Vee on a report of a fraudulent prescription being presented at the store’s pharmacy. Council Bluffs Police arrested two individuals who had presented the forged prescription, and then obtained assistance from the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Administration determined that the two arrested persons were working for a Chicago organization that was sending out groups of people to obtain oxycodone by forging prescriptions and presenting them to area pharmacies.

Rhodes, Fleming, and Sanders used vulnerable adults from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to present forged prescriptions for the oxycodone. Using this method, Rhodes, Fleming, and Sanders obtained oxycodone from Council Bluffs, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and other locations in Iowa, in addition to pharmacies in Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri, and South Dakota. Rhodes, Fleming, and Sanders had obtained, or attempted to obtain, over 6,500 oxycodone pills through the use of fraudulent prescriptions during a nine month period. As a result of their conduct, Rhodes was sentenced to 72 months in prison, Fleming was sentenced to 46 months in prison, and Sanders was sentenced to 110 months in prison. All three were also ordered to serve three years of Supervised Release once they are released from incarceration.

The case was investigated by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; Nebraska State Patrol; Council Bluffs, Iowa, Police Department; Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Police Department; Iowa Division of Intelligence; Chicago, Illinois, Police Department; and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) — Due to the extreme demand for propane, an emergency declaration is being issued for Iowa and several other Midwestern states by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Deb Grooms, C-E-O of the Iowa Propane Gas Association, says part of the problem is that farmers across the region are trying to complete their harvest at the same time. Grooms says, “What I’m hearing from the farmers and my propane retailers is that it’s taking a lot more to dry the corn because it’s coming out so wet, so we’re using a lot more propane than anticipated for drying the corn this year.”

The emergency declaration means truckers hauling the propane don’t have to count the time they sit in line at a terminal against the hours they’re on the road transporting it. Grooms says the urgent situation has prompted a cooperative spirit. “One of the big things we’re doing right now is taking trucks to Conway, Kansas. There is plenty of product there, so we are having a lot of trucks go there to bring propane back to the state,” Grooms says. “We have had trucks from a lot of the Southern states volunteer to come up and help transport and that is a big thing for us to have other people helping us do that.”

The other states covered under the declaration are Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska and South Dakota. Grooms says some farmers have volunteered to delay drying their corn so deliveries can be made to homeowners and livestock producers who depend on the propane to keep themselves and their animals warm.

(Thanks to Pat Blank, Iowa Public Radio)

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a 15-year old male was arrested at around 9:20-a.m. Wednesday, following a disturbance in rural Honey Creek. The unidentified teen allegedly assaulted a 33-year old woman. He faces charges that include Assault with Intent to cause pain/injury, and Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree (property damage ranging from $300-to $750). And, a man was arrested Wednesday night in Underwood, for Assault – Use or display of a weapon, and a felony charge of Harassment in the 1st Degree (by threatening the use of force).  23-year old Ozzie Lee Palen, of Council Bluffs, was also charged with Willful Injury resulting in bodily injury.

BURLINGTON, Iowa — The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation has conducted the interviews of the  law enforcement officers involved in the November 7th, 2019, shooting which occurred in the 1100 block of Agency, in Burlington (IA). Law enforcement officers were dispatched to the area following reports of a male who was armed with a shotgun. The Burlington Police Department and Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office searched the area and upon arrival, the Des Moines County Sheriff and Deputies made contact with 18-year old Stone Thomas Graha, who immediately fired the shotgun at officers. The Deputies returned fire at Graham who suffered from one gunshot wound to the leg, and continued to flee the scene. Graham was later taken into custody without incident and was transported to the Great River Medical Center for medical treatment. The two deputies were:

Des Moines County Deputy Dilan Beaird
Des Moines County Sergeant Kevin Glendening

The deputies are cooperating with the investigation. The Des Moines County Attorney referred the review of the investigation to the Attorney General’s Office. The investigation continues and once completed, the findings will be submitted to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office for review. No additional information will be released at this time.