A man from Earlham died late Sunday morning, during a collision between his motorcycle and a pickup. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 1983 BMW motorcycle operated by 68-year old Kim Gardner Ferry, of Earlham, was traveling north on Clark Tower Road at around 11:20-a.m., as a 2019 Chevy pickup driven by 56-year old Ricky Dean Kimmel, of Peru, was traveling south on Clark Tower Road.

Kimmel failed to yield, and turned east on Peru Road in front of the motorcycle. Both vehicles came to rest in the intersection. Ferry died from his injuries. The accident remains under investigation.

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office and Madison County Ambulance assisted at the scene.

DES MOINES – The Iowa Secretary of State’s Office reports the 2020 candidate filing period for state and federal offices in the June 2nd primary and November 3rd general election begins Monday, February 24 and runs through Friday, March 13 at 5 p.m. Only candidates from the Republican and Democratic parties will file for the primary elections.

General election candidates that are unaffiliated or members of Non-Party Political Organizations, with the exception of those running for President, are required to file by March 13.

Candidates can file their nominating petitions and affidavits of candidacy with the Office of Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, either in the Capitol Building or in the Lucas Office Building.

Updated lists of candidates whose papers have been received and accepted will be published to the Iowa Secretary of States’ website, sos.iowa.gov, beginning Tuesday morning. There will be separate lists for primary and general election candidates. Democratic and Republican candidates will not be eligible for the general election until after the June primary.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Council Bluffs man has been convicted of first-degree murder in the death of a man whose body was found wrapped in a sheet near the city’s downtown. Prosecutors say 36-year-old Dubol Koat was convicted last week in the death of 35-year-old William Josephtong Dut.

Dut’s body was found Oct. 28 wrapped in a sheet. Koat was arrested nearly a month later. Police said Koat and Dut were roommates and co-workers.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The American Queen Steamboat Co. says its fourth cruise boat has passed its second sea trial and will make its first cruise in April from New Orleans to Memphis. The company based in New Albany, Indiana, says the 245-passenger American Countess went through the Intracoastal Waterway from Houma to Morgan City, Louisiana, as part of its trial.

A news release says the ship will move to New Orleans in late February for four weeks of finishing touches. The American Countess was built on the hull of a former casino boat from Iowa, but was lengthened by 60 feet.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Sioux City Journal) — Woodbury County leaders hope voters will approve building a new $50.3 million jail on the outskirts of Sioux City. The new larger jail would replace a building built in 1987 that is dealing with a number of mechanical problems. Consultants have identified $22 million in upgrades that are needed in the current jail’s heating and cooling system.

County Supervisor Keith Radig says it makes sense to invest in a new facility instead of repairing the current jail. Voters will decide March 3 whether to build a new 110,000-square-foot jail that could house 440 inmates. The current jail holds roughly 230 inmates.

 CEDAR RAPIDS – The Iowa Dept. of Corrections reports 24-year old Elijah Malik Hayes, who was convicted of Robbery 2nd Degree in Scott County, failed to report back to the Larry A Nelson Residential Center as required this weekend.

Elijah Hayes

Hayes is a 24-year-old black male, height 6’0″, and weighs 187 pounds. He was admitted to the work release facility on January 14, 2020. Persons with information on Hayes’ whereabouts should contact local police.

The Audubon School District’s Board of Education will hold a Special Meeting 6-p.m. Monday (Feb. 24), in their Boardroom at the High School. The only action item on their agenda comes during the “Communications and Updates” segment, when the Board will present its opening Bargaining Proposal to the Audubon Education Association.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Des Moines say they’ve arrested three teens suspected in a spate of robberies carried out after the victims agreed to meet up with people they met online. Police say they noted several similarities in a rash of robberies reported between Feb. 7 and Feb. 13 and were soon able to identify suspects. On Friday, detectives executed search warrants at two Des Moines residences, and police say evidence connected to the robberies was recovered. Police say three suspects were then arrested at a local high school. Police say two 16-year-old boys and a 17-year-old boy have been charged with robbery.

ROCK PORT, Mo. (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Omaha District says work crews have closed the final breach of a Missouri River levee in the far northwest corner of Missouri that broke open during massive flooding last year. The break just southwest of Rock Port was one of several along the levee section that saw thousands of rural acres submerged and a section of Interstate 29 and other roads in the region damaged and closed to traffic. The Corps says crews will continue restoring the levee section to its pre-flood height. Crews have been scrambling to make repairs ahead of spring and the likelihood of renewed flooding along the river in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Democratic Party is agreeing to recount the tallies in about two dozen of more than 1,600 precincts as part of the ongoing process to resolve the weeks-long question of who won Iowa’s tarnished presidential caucuses. Campaign officials for former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders asked for a combined 23 precincts to be recounted after the state party invited campaigns to request recounts in light of results of a recanvass which showed Buttigieg finishing a tiny fraction of a percentage point ahead of Sanders in the delegate equivalency.

The second house fire in a week to affect a residence near Villisca took place late Friday night, south of Villisca. According to reports, a home at 1372 Highway 71 was engulfed in flames by the time firefighters arrived a short time after 10:40-p.m.

Water tanker trucks from Clarinda and Stanton were called to assist crews from Villisca, with several trips being made between the department to keep the tankers filled. Highway 71 was closed to traffics in the area so those trucks could make it to the scene unencumbered. Also on the scene were the Red Oak and Villisca’s EMS units, Montgomery and Page County Sheriff’s Deputies, officials with the Rural Water District, and MidAmerican Energy.

The home was a complete loss. No injuries were reported. Firefighters were at the scene for about three-hours and 15-minutes, with activities wrapped-up by around 2-a.m., Saturday.  A cause of the fire had not been determined as of the latest report. The State Fire Marshall’s Office was contacted to complete the investigation.

You may recall, that at around 8:15-p.m. on February 14th, Villisca Fire & Rescue were paged to 3269 260th Street, also for a working residential structure fire. No injuries were reported with that blaze, which remains under investigation.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Des Moines say they’ve arrested three teens suspected in a spate of robberies carried out after the victims agreed to meet up with people they met online. Police say they noted several similarities in a rash of robberies reported between Feb. 7 and Feb. 13 and were soon able to identify suspects.

On Friday, detectives executed search warrants at two Des Moines residences, and police say evidence connected to the robberies was recovered. Police say three suspects were then arrested at a local high school. Police say two 16-year-old boys and a 17-year-old boy have been charged with robbery.