(UPDATE 11:39-a.m. – TRAFFIC ALERT: Highway 59 South of Corley is closed due to accident and traffic is currently be rerouted via F58 by Corley . Closure is from Corley to Avoca. Please avoid the area or find alternate route if possible for the time being.

Rescue crews from Avoca and elsewhere, were dispatched at around 11-a.m., to what was described as a three-vehicle accident at Highway 59 and 200th Street, north of Avoca. Rescue crews said a male in his 50’s apparently was suffering from a laceration, but the injuries did not appear to be severe. LifeNet was asked to respond to the scene, where an individual (believed to be the same subject) was said to have been trapped in a vehicle. Additional details are currently not available.

(Radio Iowa) — The City Council in Sioux City is expected to vote to repeal the nearly decade old ban on pit bulls at its meeting this afternoon (Monday). Mayor Bob Scott says the vote will take place to comply with federal regulations under the Americans with Disability’s and Fair Housing Regulations for individuals that may possess service animals that are pit bulls or similar breeds of dogs. He says the interpretation of companion dogs and service dogs has changed dramatically since 2010 and he says it is almost impossible now to prove if a dog is a service dog or companion dog — and it is just easier to do away with the ordinance.

Scott says they will continue to enforce the ordinance that says if a dog of any breed that bites someone or is determined to be vicious — they will still be seized by animal control: “That’s not going to change that. Obviously if a dog has a history of biting — we are going to enforce that. The ordinance doesn’t describe what kind of dog it is — it’s any dog,” Scott says.

The pit bull ban was passed in April of 2009 and has been in effect since March of 2010.

(Radio Iowa) — Republican Congressman Steve King is suggesting his run for a 10th tern in the U.S. House is in better shape than Republican Senator Joni Ernst’s bid for a second term in the U.S. Senate. “I’m not the one that’s vulnerable here any longer,” King said. “Joni Ernst is the one we need to stand behind and get behind and that’s why we have to unify this party and the sooner we do it, the stronger we are going to be.”

Ernst has not endorsed King’s re-election bid, but she has not endorsed any of his four challengers either. King made his comments about Ernst at a Hamilton County G-O-P fundraiser in Webster City on Saturday night. The four Republicans who have launched campaigns to challenge King in next June’s primary also addressed the crowd. Jeremy Taylor, a National Guard chaplain who is a Woodbury County Supervisor, told the crowd he’s running because King and other Republicans didn’t accomplish much in 2017 and 2018 when they held both houses of congress and the White House. “They didn’t stand for life. They didn’t secure the border when they had the change and they could not cut $1 billion out of $4 trillion in spending,” Taylor said.

State Senator Randy Feenstra of Hull, a professor at Dordt College, touted recent endorsements from former Governor Terry Branstad and Branstad’s son. Eric Branstad managed President Trump’s Iowa campaign for the 2016 General Election. “First of all, I stand with President Trump. We must build a wall. We must get immigration under control,” Feenstra says. “Number two: we have out-of-control spending. We balanced the budget every year in the Iowa legislature and we must do the same in congress.”

Former Irwin Mayor Bret Richards and Steve Reeder, an Arnolds Park real estate developer — the other two announced G-O-P candidates in Iowa’s fourth congressional district — also spoke at the event.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The mother of a 4-year-old boy who shot himself after finding an unsecured gun in her vehicle in Des Moines has been sentenced to a year of probation. Polk County court records say 28-year-old Rachel Rowe also was fined $315 and given a deferred judgment. Under a deferred judgment, her conviction can be removed from her record if she were to successfully complete the terms of her probation. She’d pleaded guilty to allowing a child access to a loaded gun.

Kent Balduchi is Rowe’s attorney, and he told The Des Moines Register on Friday that she and her husband thought the gun was in a child-safe holster. It wasn’t. The boy found the .45-caliber handgun May 29 inside another container in her vehicle and shot himself in an upper arm.

The Cass County Auditor’s Office reports SAMPLE ballots are now available for you to view, in advance of the November 5th City/School Elections. The ballots are for viewing only, and not for actual voting. To see the ballots, go to: https://www.atlanticiowa.com/county/county-government/elections/city-elections/?fbclid=IwAR1aj-pWzBjirEgJuXB-A4-GxRBZiFhfACOhNtlPGbMQGEfeIdq_lhgImco

(UPDATED 10/15/19) — The Cass County Board of Supervisors, this (Tuesday) morning, will discuss and possibly act on an Economic Development Proposal. Board Chair Steve Baier told KJAN News Alan Williams with the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) has informed him a business is looking to add to their locations, with the idea to establish one in the Midwest. Cass County, Baier said, meets the criteria of the company, whose identity was not revealed.

The Board will also act to establish the compensation rate for Township Trustees and Clerk. Other business includes the Assignment of a Tax Sale Certificate to the City of Atlantic (Lot 3, except a certain section, and the east 90-feet of Lots 1 & 2, and Lot 4, all in Block 16, of Atlantic). They may also receive scheduled reports from the County Attorney and Engineer, as available. The meeting begins at 9-a.m. in their Boardroom at the Cass County Courthouse, in Atlantic.

(Radio Iowa) — Around 20 Iowa communities are hosting local employers and state leaders this fall for what are known as Future Ready Iowa summits. Iowa Workforce Development director Beth Townsend says it’s an ideal opportunity to discuss Governor Kim Reynolds’ goal of continuing to build a skilled workforce in Iowa. Townsend says, “Future Ready Iowa is the initiative to align our workforce and education program so we can get 70% of Iowans between 25 and 64 upscaled and trained to have post-secondary credentials by 2025.”

Townsend says one goal of the summits is to get business leaders to sit down with their counterparts from within the same community in order to discuss what’s working. “You had local employers coming in to talk to other local employers about the benefits of work-based learning programs in their facilities, or working with the disabled, or recruiting from communities you may not have otherwise thought about recruiting from,” Townsend says. “It’s been a great way to share those success stories.”

The most recent Future Ready Iowa summit was held this past Friday in Manchester. Townsend says all of the attendees were encouraged to keep moving forward. “I am hoping that we’ll have employers who want to access and leverage the Employer Innovation Fund and put in an application to get some assistance or a match to help them address a barrier to training here in the community,” Townsend says. “It’s a program that’s going to keep going. We’re going to meet our goal by 2025 so we’re going to stay engaged.”

The summits began in September and will run into November. Upcoming summits are planned in: Cedar Falls on Tuesday, Indianola on Wednesday, Spencer on Thursday, Davenport on Friday, and in the coming weeks in: Jefferson, Conrad, Carter Lake, Cedar Rapids, Garner, Orange City, Ida Grove, Farley, Chariton, Cherokee and Ames.
http://FutureReadyIowa.gov

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports that at around 10-p.m. Sunday, his officers executed a search warrant at 718 East Washington Street, in Clarinda. Taken into custody was: 27-year old Devin Ray Wallace, of Clarinda, and 34-year old Brandy Annamae Strange, of New Market. Wallace is charged with felony delivery of over 5 grams of methamphetamine, felony ongoing criminal conduct, felony possession of methamphetamine, felony gathering where drugs are unlawfully used and failure to pay required drug tax stamp fees. He was being held in the Page County Jail on no bond until court appearance. Strange is charged with felony delivery of over 5 grams of methamphetamine, failure to pay required drug tax stamp fees and felony possession of methamphetamine. Strange was being held in the Page County Jail without bond, until making a court appearance.

Reports concerning the incident have been submitted to the office of Page County Attorney Carl M. Sonksen for review regarding the filing of formal charges.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports today (Monday), 43-year old Michael Paul Duke, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, following a traffic stop in Council Bluffs. Duke was arrested at around 2:22-a.m. and transported to the Pott. County Jail, where his bond was set at $1,000. At around 12:25-a.m., 33-year old Michael Scott Thomas, of Harlan, was arrested following a traffic stop in Avoca. Thomas was taken into custody for Driving While License Suspended or Revoked. His bond was also set at $1,000.

Just before midnight, Sunday, 50-year old Cindy Lou Hammerstein, of Council Bluffs, was arrested following a traffic stop in Council Bluffs. During the stop, the deputy noticed Hammerstein’s vehicle had struck a deer. He was also informed Hammerstein was wanted on a valid Mills County warrant. She was subsequently transported to the Pott. County Jail. Friday afternoon, 29-year old Rebecca Lynn Matzen was transported to the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office by Audubon County Deputies. Matzen was booked into the Pott. County Jail on a warrant for Violation of Probation.

Last Wednesday afternoon, 32-year old Nina Marie Camarillo, of Omaha, an inmate at the Pott. County Jail, was presented with a warrant for Absence from Custody. She was being held in the jail on a $3,000 bond, for Child Endangerment with Injury. 26-year old Damion James Sadler, of Carter Lake, was arrested Wednesday afternoon, for Criminal Mischief in the 5th Degree, with damage under $300. Sadler was being held in the Pott. County Jail on a $5,000 bond for a previous, assault with serious injury, charge.

An inmate at the Pott. County Jail, 36-year old Andrew Michael Hasbouck, of Council Bluffs, was served with a warrant last Wednesday, for Theft in the 5th Degree. He was then returned to Corrections Staff. Another inmate, 30-year old Brooke Ann Vacanti, of Council Bluffs, was served with a warrant for a Felony, Probation Violation charge.

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

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