(Updated 7:45-a.m. 2/12) – The Union County Sheriff’s Office, Thursday, said one person was seriously injured during a head-on crash Tuesday afternoon. Authorities say at around 1:21-p.m., 30-year old Harley Stonehocker, of Lorimor, was driving a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado southbound in the 100 block of Redwood Avenue, when he crested a hill and collided head on with a vehicle driven by 53-year old Monica Headings, of Lorimor, who was northbound in a 2016 Jeep Cherokee.

Union County deputies investigated the crash and determined that both Stonehocker and Headings were traveling in the middle of the roadway at the time of the collision and the roadway was 100% snow covered. Headings stated she was looking at some cows in a fenced area when the vehicles collided. Airbags deployed in both vehicles. Stonehocker refused medical treatment. His vehicle was a total loss with a damage estimate of $12,000. Headings suffered incapacitating injuries. She was extricated from her vehicle and flown by helicopter to Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines, for treatment of serious injuries. Her vehicle was a total loss with damage estimated at $15,000.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the Iowa State Patrol. The Afton Fire Department and first responders performed the patient extrication and assisted GRMC paramedics.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, Thursday, said there were four recent arrests. Early this morning (Thursday), 46-year old William Roger Hardy, Jr., of Oakland, was arrested at a residence in the 300 block of Hill Street in Oakland, for Domestic Abuse Assault-1st offense/causing injury. On Wednesday, 30-year old Colby Jacob Schueman was arrested at Highway 6 and Hackberry Road. He was charged with OWI/3rd or subsequent offense.

Authorities say 77-year old Gary Wayne Wendelin was arrested Wednesday night for OWI/1st offense, following an investigation into a property damage accident at 310 N. Elm Street, in Avoca. Wednesday afternoon, 37-year old Sean Patrick Gifford was served with a warrant at the Pott. County Jail. The warrant was for Violation of Probation.

And, Tuesday afternoon, an investigation into a call about a parking problem in Crescent, resulted in the arrest of 43-year old Timothy James Doggett. He was taken into custody on a warrant out of Colorado, for being a Fugitive from Justice.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have announced the arrest of a man for the shooting death last April of a Des Moines woman. Police said in a news release Thursday that Antonio Markez Hodges has been charged with first-degree murder and intimidation with a dangerous weapon in the death of 33-year-old Catherine Bobbitt. Police called to an area just blocks southwest of the Drake University campus on April 3 found Bobbitt suffering from a gunshot wound.

She was taken to a hospital, where she died. Police say that witness statements and video evidence led them to develop Hodges as a suspect in the case. He was arrested on Feb. 1 at a home in Des Moines and charged this week.

(Radio Iowa) The Iowa House has unanimously passed a bill to prohibit defendants charged with a violent crime from claiming temporary insanity because they discovered the victim was gay or transgender. Representative Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton says defendants in several other states have used this so-called “gay panic” argument and their sentences were substantially reduced.

Before the bill passed the House, Representative Liz Bennett of Cedar Rapids asked for a moment of silence for Kedarie Johnson, a gender-fluid teenager who was murdered in Burlington in 2016.

In 2017, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent a federal lawyer with experience on hate crimes cases to Iowa to serve as the local prosecutor and both men were convicted of Johnson’s murder. The bill that has cleared the Iowa House would prevent a “gay panic” defense from being used in state court when someone is charged with a felony or rioting.

(Update 10-a.m.) The Iowa Department of Public Health, Thursday, reported 841 new cases of the COVID-19 virus since 10-a.m. Wednesday, for a pandemic total of 327,255 positive cases. There were 22 additional deaths reported, for a total of 5,196. Statewide, 4,690 COVID deaths are attributed to Underlying causes. COVID was a contributing factor to 506 deaths. Deaths at Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities account for 2,124 deaths. There were two more deaths in the KJAN listening area: One more in both Guthrie and Harrison Counties (see more data below).

Long-Term Care facility outbreaks went from 39 Wednesday to 38 today (Thursday). LTC patients testing positive amount to 1,046, with 678 having recovered from the virus. The State data show 273 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, which is down from 292 in the previous report. Officials say 64 patients are in an ICU, 32 were admitted over the previous 24-hours, and 26 patients are on ventilators. In RMCC Region 4 (Hospitals in western/southwest Iowa), 13 are hospitalized with COVID symptoms, seven people are in an ICU, one person was admitted over the past 24-hours, and one person was on a ventilator.

Iowa’s statewide positivity rate is up a bit. The 14-day positivity rate is 8.4% compared to 8.6% on Wednesday. The 7-day average was down slightly to 6.2%.   A total of 299,122 Iowans have recovered from the virus.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} – if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:

• Cass, 1,223 cases; {+2}; 46 deaths
• Adair, 755; {+31}; 25
• Adams, 313; {+0}; 3
• Audubon, 449 {+0}; 9
• Guthrie, 1,067 {+0}; 28
• Harrison County, 1,640; {+3}; 68
• Madison County, 1,352; {+1}; 16
• Mills County, 1,446; {+8}; 20
• Montgomery, 949; {+4}; 35
• Pottawattamie County, 9,538; {+30}; 138
• Shelby County, 1,116; {+3}; 32
• Union County,  1,165; {+6}; 31