The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports two men were arrested on warrants for Violation of Probation. 57-year old Jose Figueroa-Garcia, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Thursday at the Pott. County Courthouse. And, 40-year old Jamar Dwayne Brown, of Omaha, was picked-up at the Douglas County, Nebraska Dept. of Corrections and transported to Pott. County, to address the warrant filed on him. Both men were booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.7MB)

Subscribe: RSS

The Creston Police Department reports two arrests took place Thursday. At around 11-a.m., 33-year old John Vanscoy, of Orient, was arrested in Creston for Driving While Barred. He was later released on $1,000 bond. At around 4:15-p.m. Thursday, 42-year old Joel Gross, of Creston, was cited for Trespass. He was released at the scene on his own recognizance. And, at around 9:40-p.m., 29-year old Anthony Short II, of Creston, was arrested on a Union County warrant for Failure to Appear in court on an original charge, of Driving While Suspended. Short was being held in the Union County Jail on a $300 bond.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.9MB)

Subscribe: RSS

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Davenport aldermen are considering adding a transportation network expansion plan for bicyclists and pedestrians to the city’s list of long-term goals. The Quad-City Times reports that the Davenport GO plan was nearly two years in the making. Backers say the plan components would increase pedestrian and cyclist safety, reduce vehicle emissions and draw more cycle enthusiasts to the city. They say more bike lanes and walkways would improve public health.

Several aldermen say they’ll vote for the plan at next week’s meeting. Alderman Kyle Gripp says big biking races and trails are a growing attraction in the area. Aldermen already approved next year’s budget without any money earmarked for Davenport GO projects, which means the plan’s dreams could take some time to realize.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — University of Iowa officials have decided to pay contractors millions the contractors said they were still owed for work on the Hancher Auditorium and the university’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital. The officials will ask the Iowa Board of Regents at its next meeting to raise the project budget in order to pay Merit Construction $9 million and Modern Piping nearly $18 million.

Modern Piping had sued, saying it incurred substantial expenses because of miscommunication, budget overruns and design changes. The university had appealed an arbitrator’s decision favoring Modern Piping and then appealed a district court ruling that said the university had to go through arbitration to resolve its dispute with Modern Piping. On Wednesday the Iowa Court of Appeals upheld the district court ruling.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says she is working with fellow Republican Senator Chuck Grassley to address one specific issue facing farmers hit hard by flooding. “One of the major concerns I am hearing from farmers across the state is the stored grain that has gone to ruin,” Ernst explains.  She says their proposal is to give farmers some compensation for that damaged grain. Ernst says they are moving forward on an amendment that would cover stored grain in the U-S-D-A disaster coverage. She says right now the coverage is only for crops that have been planted and are flooded.

Ernst says she is also working on some tax help for Iowa and Nebraskans in the counties declared major federal disaster areas. Ernst says some of the benefits include waiving penalties so people could withdraw from their I-R-A, and providing incentives for employers to keep employees on the payroll during tough times. Ernst talked about the issues during her weekly conference call with reporters.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says she plans to hold a field hearing for her Environment and Public Works Committee on how the U-S Corps of Engineers handles the management of water on the Missouri River. Ernst, who is a retired National Guard soldier, says she worked some flood duty in the guard, and what has happened in southwest Iowa is the worst she has seen. “I have spoken to the Corps about his. I understand that their job is very difficult in juggling all the different priorities up and down the river — but you know what — human lives and livelihood needs to come first,” according to Ernst.

Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, says they need to review the way the water is released by the Corps. “These structures further upstream — most of them were built for flood control — they are not being used for flood control. They’re being used for hydropower, they are being used for recreation,” Ernst says. “We need to be sure that we are managing the river properly.” Ernst says the hearing will be sometime later this month. “There is information that we need to do a deep dive into. Find out how the Corps is managing from these various priorities from different jurisdictions, and how can we do better,” Ernst says.

Iowa’s governor and the governors of Nebraska and Missouri met with Army Corps officials Wednesday afternoon in Council Bluffs, and said they talked about the same things. The governors plan to meet with the Corps again in three weeks. Ernst made her comments in her weekly conference call with reporters.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A western Iowa man has been sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison for having child pornography. Federal prosecutors for Iowa say 68-year-old Salvatore Lawrence Bruno was sentenced Wednesday in Council Bluffs to 97 months in prison for a count of possession of child pornography.

Prosecutors say a child told officials in January 2018 that Bruno had shown him or her child pornography. Council Bluffs police conducted a search of Bruno’s home and found a computer hard drive and memory card that contained over 5,700 images of child pornography. Bruno pleaded guilty to this charge in November 2018.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum announced on April 3, 2019, 23-year old Alexander Marcus Provencher, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger for Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm. Provencher was sentenced to 60 months in prison, to be followed by a term of supervised release for three years.

On August 7, 2018, a motorist contacted 911 and advised Provencher had brandished a gun when the motorist tried to stop a domestic disturbance. Council Bluffs Police Officers arrived and made contact with Provencher and his girlfriend. Provencher initially denied having a firearm, but eventually admitted it was in his girlfriend’s purse. Provencher was prohibited from possessing firearms as he had prior felony convictions for robbery and theft in Pottawattamie County District Court.

The matter was investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a Department of Justice program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.