DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Court records say a mistrial was declared before testimony began in a Davenport murder trial. The Quad-City Times reports that a judge Tuesday granted a motion from the lawyer for Tremayne Thomas. Thomas has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in the May 30, 2017, death of 35-year-old Brandon Brooks. Brooks’ body was found burning near a Davenport street.

The request for a mistrial cited a comment made during jury selection, but the online court records don’t detail what was said by whom. Police say they believe Thomas was an accomplice of Brooks in a January burglary. Police say a search of Thomas’ home turned up blood evidence against him.

(DES MOINES) – Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered all flags in Iowa to be lowered to half-staff from sunrise on Thursday, July 12, 2018, to sunset on Friday, July 13, 2018, in honor and remembrance of former Iowa Governor Robert D. Ray. He passed away on Sunday, July 8, 2018, at the age of 89. “Governor Ray’s legacy lives on in the millions of people that he impacted as a tremendous statesman for Iowa and our nation,” Gov. Reynolds said. “His civility, courage and common-sense governing set a high standard for those who followed. May our prayers and thoughts bring peace to First Lady Billie Ray, her daughters and family at this time.”

Flags will be at half-staff on the State Capitol Building and on flag displays in the Capitol Complex. Flags will also be half-staff on all public buildings, grounds and facilities throughout the state. Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect.

(9-a.m. News)

More details are being released about a three-vehicle crash on Monday night in Webster County near Badger that killed a Humboldt man and seriously injured a Fort Dodge woman. Reportedly, a 2006 Land Rover driven by 24-year-old Aisha Ismail of Fort Dodge was traveling westbound on Webster County Road C-56 when she started to pass a 2008 Chevrolet Silverardo pickup truck and car trailer operated by 51-year-old Michael Heuck of Spencer. As Ismail was passing the Heuck pickup, she collided head-on with an eastbound Dodge Neon driven by David Fliehe of Humboldt.

The collision caused the Ismael Land Rover to be pushed into the driver’s side of the Heuck trailer. The Fliehe car ended up in the south ditch. The Ismael vehicle rolled onto its side and then ended up on its top in the south ditch. The Heuck pickup remained on the road and was able to stop without further problems. Fliehe was pronounced dead at the accident scene. Ismail was airlifted to a Des Moines hospital for treatment of her injuries. Heuck escaped injury.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Board of Supervisors, today (Wednesday), approved a request for permission to hold a Bible Reading Marathon on the courthouse block grounds. The event takes place Saturday, July 21st, beginning at 10-a.m., and is similar to the past two-years, except that it will be held one-day only, instead of two. It’s estimated to take two-hours for multiple individuals to read different sections of the Bible at the same time.

Supervisors Mark Wedemeyer expressed concern that another group, such as Atheists, for example, might also request a similar event espousing their beliefs, but it was pointed out by Board Chair Gaylord Schelling and organizer Renee Watson, that the event has been held the past two years in Cass County without issue. Watson said Governor Kim Reynolds passed a proclamation recognizing the state-wide event late last month, and that there have been no problems with any Bible Reading events in Iowa’s 99 counties.

In other business, the Supervisors approved a wage adjustment for Rich Hansen, assistant to County Engineer Charles Bechtold. His salary will be adjusted from about $62,239 to $63,000.

Two people were arrested early this (Wednesday) morning, in Red Oak. Authorities say 47-year old Ann Kristine Harding, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 1:45-a.m. on a Mills County warrant for Unlawful Possession of a Prescription Drug. While executing the warrant, Red Oak Police arrested 34-year old Marcus John Josephson, of Red Oak, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Harding and Josephson were transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where Harding was being held without bond, and Josephson’s bond was set at $300.

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

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DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa man who hid a camera in a bathroom to take pornographic images of children has been imprisoned. Prosecutors said Tuesday that 65-year-old Jack Coleman, of Wapello, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Davenport to 30 years. He’d pleaded guilty to production of child pornography. A child sexual abuse investigation that began in 2016 led to the porn charge.

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

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Police in Creston say a resident of the community reported Tuesday morning, that she had been the victim of a phone scam. The woman said that sometime between June 28th and July 3rd, she was scammed out of $15,000. Authorities said also, 27-year old Matthew E. Thomas, of Creston, was arrested just before 3-a.m. today (Wednesday), for Harassment in the 3rd Degree. Thomas was later released from the Union County Jail on a $300 bond. And, Tuesday evening, 33-year old Vincent Ray Bentley, of Lorimor, was arrested on a Madison County Warrant for Violation of Probation, for which there is no bond until he’s seen by a Judge. Bentley was additionally charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Paraphernalia, the bond for which amounts to $1,300.

(7-a.m. News)

While tornadoes can strike during any month of the year, Iowa is now out of the “peak” season for tornadoes and the numbers are well below the norm, according to meteorologist Craig Cogil at the National Weather Service. “So far this year across Iowa, we’ve seen 15 tornadoes,” Cogil says. “Typically by this point in the year, we’re much closer to 30 or 35 tornadoes, so, half of what we normally see.”  Even with the 15 twisters, none of them were very powerful and there were no reports of any injuries or significant property damage. “Out of the 15 tornadoes, 13 of them were EF-0s and there have only been two EF-1s,” Cogil says, “and most of them have been in just corn fields or soybean fields, causing very little damage.”

While some storms this spring and summer have dropped significant rain that caused severe flooding in parts of the state, Iowa has managed to miss most of the -very- bad weather.  “A lot of the systems that are really problematic for us just haven’t been occurring across the state,” Cogil says. “They’ve either gone south of us, some of them have been north of us. We just haven’t seen the set-up that really produces those big, dangerous days where we get a lot of the strong tornadoes.”

While Iowa’s only had 15 tornadoes this year, the state had 55 twisters in all of last year, including a dozen that were classified as EF-2s.

(Radio Iowa)