Sheriff’s officials in southeast Iowa’s Wapello County report a man allegedly attempting to break into a home was shot by the homeowner, and later died. Authorities received a 911 call at around 9:19-p.m. Thursday. The caller explained a man was attempting to gain into their residence, located between Ottumwa and Agency, on 97th Avenue. A preliminary investigation determined the suspect – whose name was not immediately released – did forcibly enter the home before being shot by the home owner.

The man was transported by helicopter to the University of Iowa Hospital, where he died. The incident remains under investigation by the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Iowa DCI, Iowa State Patrol, Wapello County EMA and Iowa DOT Motor Vehicle Enforcement.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Friday (today), issued a report on four recent arrests. On Feb. 13th, authorities arrested 34-year-old Jeremy Carrier-Tischer, of Harlan, following a traffic stop in Shelby.  Upon further investigation, it was learned that Carrier-Tischer’ driving privileges were suspended through the State of Iowa, and he had an active warrant out of Pottawattamie County. Carrier-Tischer was charged with driving while suspended. He was taken into custody without incident and transferred to the Shelby County Jail. He was released later after posting both required surety bonds.

On Feb. 11th, 40-year-old Bryan Christopher Heller was arrested and charged with driving while suspended, following a traffic stop on Peach Road.  Heller was taken into custody without incident and transferred to the jail. He was released the following morning on his own recognizance.

And, there were two arrests Feb. 9th, in Shelby County: Croix Karl Brink was arrested following a traffic stop on Highway 191 at F-32.  Upon further investigation Brink was charged with possession of controlled substance (marijuana), possession of drug paraphernalia, and fined for improper registration plate lamp.  He was taken into custody without incident and booked into jail, where he was held under a $1,300 bond, until the following morning, when he was released on his own recognizance.;  And, authorities were dispatched Feb. 9th to a residence in Shelby along Station Street, for a domestic assault situation taking place.

Upon further investigation, and visible injuries, 33-year-old Amanda Jean Thurman was taken into custody and formally charged with domestic abuse assault with injury.  She was held without bond, until making an initial appearance the following morning. Thurman was released on her own recognizance after her court appearance.

Red Oak Police report a woman from Shelby County was arrested Thursday at the Harrison County Jail, on two valid Red Oak P-D warrants. The warrants charge 26-year old Mariah June Isabella Clark, of Portsmouth, with Animal Neglect resulting in Death, and Cruel Treatment of Animals. The Neglect charge is from the State and holds a $2,000 bond. The Cruelty charge is by the City Red Oak, and carries a $300 bond.

Clark was transported from Harrison- to Montgomery County, and held on a total bond of $2,300.

A Casey’s General Store in Council Bluffs was robbed early this (Friday) morning. Authorities say Officers were sent to the store at 510 23rd Avenue following the incident that happened at around 2:14-a.m.  Upon further investigation, Police were informed an unknown white male entered the store and showed the clerk a note, asking for cash in the drawer. The man left the store on foot and fled with an unknown amount of cash.

Still frame surveillance image from the store.

The suspect was described as wearing a black coat, red hooded sweatshirt, a white face mask and white gloves. If you have any information about the crime, or were in the area and may have seen the suspect, please call the Council Bluffs Police Crime Stoppers line at 712-328-7867.

(Radio Iowa) – Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate have approved spending 21-million dollars on new computer software for key state agencies. Governor Kim Reynolds approved a 21-million dollar contract with a company called “Workday” in 2019. Then, in 2020, Reynolds attempted to use 21-million dollars of federal funding for the computer system, but the U.S. Treasury ruled it was not an admissible use of pandemic relief money. House Democrat Leader Todd Prichard of Charles City says the original contract also sidestepped state competitive bidding rules. “To be perfectly frank, this is fishy,” Prichard says. “…I think there are too many unanswered questions as to why this process was handled the way it was and we deserve answers before we are asked to to approve something that has too many unknowns.”

Representative John Wills, a Republican from Spirit Lake, says the current system is antiquated and must be replaced.  “It uses code language called COBOL that was developed in 1959…costs $10 million a year to operate and has many problems,” Wills says. “…It has become increasingly evident that if we do not do something soon, our entire state payment system could stop at some point.”

The state has already paid to use the cloud-based computing system offered by Workday at Iowa State University and the Iowa Department of Transportation.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill providing public schools extra money to cover Covid-related costs has won bipartisan approval in the Iowa House. Twenty-seven million dollars would be split among all districts, but Republican Representative Dustin Hite, of New Sharon says districts that had the most classes in-person would receive the largest share of funding. “We all know in this room that kids in school is the best learning environment for the vast majority of our students in the state of Iowa, but this year is took a little bit extra to get them in the room and that’s what this bill does,” Hite says. “It helps with that extra cost.”

About two dozen Democrats voted against the bill. Representative Sharon Steckman, a Democrat from Mason City, says the funding distribution ignores the expenses of hybrid and remote learning.”This has been a tough year for our kids,” Steckman said. “…No matter what plan their school used and no matter how Covid affected their area, our kids had no choice, yet the funding in this bill is rewarding kids based on zip code.”

The House plan does give a financial break to districts that had buildings damaged in the August derecho and could not hold classes until repairs were done. Those districts will receive a full stipend, as if they had in person classes during the entire fall semester. The bill now goes to the Senate for review.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senate President Jake Chapman says if a court rules companies like Facebook and Google have illegally stifled the free speech of Iowans, those companies should lose all state and local tax breaks. “We have seen over recent months in particular where ‘big tech’ is censoring Americans and even Iowans from being able to express their views and opinions,” Chapman says.

Facebook and Google have data centers — so-called server farms — in Iowa. Chapman says those companies were awarded tax credits and property tax exemptions, plus a big break on electricity. “These are some of the largest consumers of energy here in Iowa and they’re exempted from paying sales tax on those utilities,” Chapman says. “…They have a choice to make. They can respect Iowans and respect our ability to voice our opinions or they can forego these special tax breaks.”

Chapman, a Republican from Adel, is the lead sponsor of a bill targeting internet sites and digital marketplaces with at least 20 million subscribers or members that block what Iowans may post online. That means the bill could impact Google, Amazon AND Apple for blocking Parler, a Twitter-like app promoted by conservatives. The companies made the decision, citing Parler content encouraging violence. Amazon is rebuilding a warehouse in Bondurant. Apple is set to receive 200-million dollars in state and local tax breaks for a data center in Waukee — a site that’s in Chapman’s senate district. Chapman says companies like Apple are operating social media platforms that have become the public square and therefore have a responsibility to allow unrestricted speech. “When you have these big tech companies arbitrarily deciding what’s going to be shown, what’s not going to be shown, I think that is extremely dangerous,” Chapman says.

Twenty-eight other Republicans in the Senate have signed on to co-sponsor Chapman’s bill. However, Majority Leader Jack Whitver of Ankeny, the top Republican in the Senate, is not among them.