A Sheriff’s Deputy in Pottawattamie County who was dispatched at around 12:30-a.m. today (Thursday) to a residence in rural Council Bluffs, arrested a man on two charges. 35-year old Mathew Allen Kochen, of Plattsmouth, NE., was arrested for Violation of a No Contact Order, Domestic Abuse Assault with a weapon, 1st offense, Criminal Trespass and Violation of a No Contact/Protective Order – Contempt of Court. Kochen was being held in the Pott. County Jail.

And, 25-year old Henry Thomas Beadle, of Council Bluffs, turned himself-in to the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office late Wednesday morning. Beadle was wanted on a warrant for Violation of a No Contact Order – Contempt of Court. He was transported to the Pott. County Jail and turned over to Corrections Staff.

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

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(Radio Iowa) — The former director of the Congressional Budget Office says changes in federal immigration policy should aim to ease the U.S. labor shortage. During remarks in Iowa yesterday (Wednesday), Douglas Holtz-Eakin said without new immigrants, the U.S. population will decline.

“The native born population doesn’t have enough babies to keep us even the current size,” he says. “If we literally shut the borders, the United States would shrink. It would get older, smaller, be less vital, the economy would less powerful and our capacity to influence world affairs would be more limited.”

Holtz-Eakin, who also served as an economic advisor to President George Bush, is now president of a Washington, D.C.-based group called the American Action Forum. He and his group are touting a plan similar to the merit-based immigration changes President Trump proposed earlier this month. It calls for using a “point system” to determine who may enter the U.S.

“This should change the debate about immigration from what divides us to the thing we all have in common,” Holtz-Eakin says. “We all want to have a more vibrant economy. We all benefit from having a more vibrant economy. Let’s build a new immigrant system that supports a vibrant economy.”

Jacqueline is the American Action Fund’s immigration policy director. Varas says her group’s proposal would help ensure immigrants would be productive workers. “We crafted it in a way that would capture both the high-skilled individuals with lots of education and English language ability,” she says, “and then also the individuals that are in trades, with lower skills as defined by education, but consistent work experience.”

Varas says the current immigration system is primarily “an avenue to bring families together” and should, instead, be geared to primarily benefit the overall economy.

Police in Creston, Wednesday, arrested 49-year old Derek Reha, of Creston. Reha was taken into custody at around 11:30-a.m. at his home. He was arrested on a Union County warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense, and was being held in the Union County Jail while awaiting a bond hearing. Reha was also charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance and two-counts Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, the bonds for which amounted to $1,600.

And, just after 8-a.m. Wednesday, 35-year old Nichole Rinehart, of Creston, was arrested at her home on a Union County warrant for Theft in the 5th Degree. Rinehart was released from the Union County Jail on a $300 bond.

Police in Council Bluffs are looking for four, unknown persons who allegedly were going through vehicles in the Sulley Towing company parking lot this (Thursday) morning. Three of the white males entered the business at 15 S. 20th Street through a window, at around 2:50-a.m., while the fourth person remained outside. An employee was at the business. When the suspect saw him, they left the scene.

Still frame images of suspects (C.B. P-D photos)

At around 3:12-a.m. Bluffs Police were dispatched to a hit and run accident in the area of Ave D and North 16th Street. Upon officers arrival they were informed that after the crash, two males exited a black Acura and ran from the scene. One male was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and the other was wearing a black t-shirt. Officers were informed that Real Value Auto might have video of the accident. As they were reviewing the video they noticed the same males who broke into Sulley Towing were also on scene at Real Value Auto before the accident and they stole a GMC Yukon.

Both the incidents are being investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division. If anyone has any information regarding these incidents it is encouraged to call the Criminal Investigation Division at 712-328-4728 or anonymous tips can be given by calling 712-328-STOP (7867).

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

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President Donald Trump is set to attend a Republican Party fundraiser in Iowa in June. According to the Des Moines Register, the state party said the president will attend the private event June 11 in West Des Moines. A spokesperson for the Republican Party of Iowa told the newspaper Gov. Kim Reynolds, Sen. Joni Ernst, Sen. Chuck Grassley and U.S. Rep. Steve King will be invited.

President Trump last visited Iowa in October 2018 when he held a large rally in Council Bluffs.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The National Weather Service has confirmed one tornado in southeastern Iowa on Wednesday that injured a man. The Des Moines Register reports that the tornado hit Wednesday afternoon near Barnes City in Poweshiek County. The name and medical condition of the man injured was not immediately released. The tornado also damaged a farmstead in the area.

The National Weather Service says the tornado was among a spate of reported tornado sightings throughout the state on Wednesday. Chad Hahn, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Des Moines, said reports of tornadoes east and north of the Des Moines metro began around 4 p.m., starting in Sac County.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said they received a report at around 10:35-p.m. Wednesday, that a 16-year old had run away from Elliott. A little after 12-a.m. today (Thursday), the juvenile was located in Red Oak, and charged with providing false information to law enforcement. The juvenile was released to a parent.

19-year old Chloe Ann Milner, of Red Oak, was arrested for Harboring a runaway child. She was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $2,000 bond. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Red Oak Police during the investigation.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state court judge has temporarily halted enforcement of a new law that would have blocked Planned Parenthood of the Heartland from receiving federal grant money for sex education courses. Judge Joseph Seidlin signed an order Wednesday prohibiting the state from implementing the bill that Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law on May 3 until the court can decide whether the law is constitutional.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Disappointed in Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ veto of a bill that would have expanded Iowa’s medical marijuana program, two Democratic lawmakers are calling for a special session of the Legislature to override the veto. Sen. Joe Bolkcom and Rep. John Forbes called Wednesday for the special session, but that’s unlikely because it would require a request by two-thirds of lawmakers in the House and Senate. Republicans control both chambers.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Weather forecasters say conditions have been ripe for the kind of tornadoes that have swept across the Midwest in the last two weeks. On Monday, the U.S. tied its current record of 11 consecutive days with at least eight tornadoes confirmed on each day. And the National Weather Service received reports of at least another 27 tornadoes on Tuesday.