The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports one person suffered suspected serious/incapacitating injuries during a collision that occurred a little before 8-a.m., Thursday. Authorities say a 2018 Chrysler 300 driven by 53-year old Linda Kay Riaski, of Riverton, was attempting to turn left (south) into the boat ramp off of westbound Highway 25. As she turned and failed to signal her intentions, a westbound 2008 Harley Davidson motorcycle operated by 55-year old Kelly Matthew Adamson, of Creston, ran into the driver’s side of the car.

Adamson was transported by ambulance to the Greater Regional Medical Center, in Creston. Damage from the collision amounted to $7,000.

A Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Deputy on patrol received notice Thursday night, that an under-cover Omaha Police Officer was following a female with known warrants. The deputy then took 25-year old Jazmine Raeanne Putnam, of Council Bluffs, into custody on a Fugitive from Justice warrant, and a charge of Interference with Official Acts. Putnam was being held without bond for another agency, and on $300 bond for the Interference charge.

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

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(Radio Iowa) — Two long-time Iowa political foes will face off today (Friday) in a Des Moines courtroom. Former Governor Terry Branstad has flown back from his post as U.S. Ambassador to China and will be on the witness stand today. He’ll be questioned by Roxanne Conlin, the Des Moines attorney Branstad defeated in 1984 to win his first term as governor. Conlin is representing a state administrator who accuses Branstad of pressuring him to resign because he was gay. Branstad has denied the charge.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Time’s running out for Nebraska and Iowa homeowners, renters and business owners to apply for federal help to recover from this spring’s flooding. The Omaha World-Herald reports that Wednesday’s the Nebraska deadline for individual assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Iowa deadline is July 1.

FEMA aid can cover home repairs and renovations, rental assistance, the replacement of ruined belongings and other disaster-related costs not covered by insurance. The grants do not have to be repaid. They average between $3,000 and $5,000 per household nationally. FEMA spokeswoman Deanna Frazier says that number has been higher so far in Iowa: about $11,000 per household. Frazier also says homeowners can’t expect the aid to cover all the costs of renovating or rebuilding. She says FEMA is “not designed to make you whole again.”

More than 2,300 Iowa families have applied for assistance so far, and FEMA has approved $13.4 million in payments. At least 3,000 applications have been submitted so far in Nebraska, with $22.9 million in payments approved. Some Nebraska entities have until Thursday to apply for FEMA’s public assistance aid, which reimburses cities, counties, schools, tribal governments and some nonprofits for at least 75% of costs associated with debris removal and building and infrastructure damage.

Wednesday also is the deadline to apply for loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Those loans have to be paid back, with interest. Frazier is encouraging people to apply for help. “This is not a handout,” she said. “This is your tax dollars at work.” To apply for aid, go online at DisasterAssistance.gov, call 800-621-3362 or download the FEMA app and click on “disaster resources” then “apply for assistance online.”

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

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LE MARS, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City man has pleaded guilty to robbing a bank in northwest Iowa. Records say 33-year-old Phillip White entered the plea Thursday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City. Prosecutors say White robbed Iowa State Bank in Le Mars on Dec. 12 and was driven away in a U-Haul van by Karen Merrick, also of Sioux City. Officers managed to flatten the van’s tires and arrest the pair. Merrick’s trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 5 in Sioux City.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A man charged with first-degree murder has taken a plea deal in the shooting of an 18-year-old woman in Cedar Rapids. Linn County District Court records say 20-year-old Kyler Junkins pleaded not guilty Thursday to second-degree murder. His plea agreement calls for a sentence of 50 years in prison. He also agreed to pay $150,000 in restitution to the estate or heirs of AnnaElise Edgeton.

Junkins and three other people were arrested after the Jan. 13, 2018, break-in slaying of Edgeton at her apartment.

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission approved renovation plans for three casinos Thursday to create areas for sports books. Commission administrator, Brian Ohorilko,
says the Lakeside Casino in Osceola is using existing space. He says they had existing space in the lower deck of their boat and they are spending an estimated 150-thousand dollars to transform it into a sports book.  Ohorilko says the Grand Falls Casino in Larchwood included the sports book in with another renovation project. “There was a one-point-five million dollar renovation for a sports book. But then in addition to that — eight-point-five million dollars set aside for improvements to the hotel and R-V park,”he says.

The Hard Rock Casino in Sioux City is also a renovating an area in the current building. “It took some existing space in the wine bar, their high-limit area. There was a project conversion of approximately 895-thousand dollar total budget,” according to Ohorilko. “And that will essentially turn some of that area into a sports book.” Ohorilko says the 19 state-licensed casinos are moving as quickly as they can to have a sports book in place after the governor signed the bill legalizing sports betting into law in May. “It’s hard to say what we’ll see down the road. I know most of the properties are anxious to have things up and ready prior to the football season,” Ohorilko says. “There’s only so much that you can do in a few months. And so we are seeing remodels right now that just updates that existing space. It’s hard to say if we’ll see more material renovations as time moves on.”

Ohorilko says there are a lot of unknowns about how many gamblers might use the sports books or how many would use an online option. He says that is whey there is a lot of renovation of existing spaces. “I think a lot of it is everything is just moving so quickly and the facilities are wanting to make sure they’re not making material plans for their facilities until they really know what the impact will be at each of their locations,” according to Ohorilko.  He says they are on track with the rule-making so it may be possible that you could legally place a bet in Iowa on the first college football games of the year.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

KELLOGG, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in central Iowa say a Jasper County man has died after being trapped in a grain bin. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office and other first responders were alerted to a man trapped in the bin near Kellogg just after 8 a.m. Thursday. First responders found 78-year-old Bill Hotger, of rural Kellogg, inside the bin. Once Hotger was freed, he was flown by helicopter to a Des Moines hospital, where he died.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A fifth suspect in the shooting death of a man during a 2017 robbery has pleaded not guilty to charges in the case. The Quad-City Times reported Thursday that 35-year-old Christopher Dixon entered the written plea to first-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony in the Sept. 22, 2017, shooting that killed 20-year-old Brady Tumlinson and injured Tumlinson’s girlfriend.

MITCHELLVILLE, Iowa (AP) — The adoptive grandmother of a central Iowa teenager who starved to death faces new charges of trying to escape prison. Station KCCI reports that 64-year-old Carla Bousman was in court Thursday morning to face a charge of escape. The Iowa Department of Corrections says Bousman walked away from the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville in early May and was caught about half-a-mile away. She’s serving a 20-year sentence for her role in 16-year-old Sabrina Ray’s 2017 death.

DURANT, Iowa (AP) — The sheriff of an eastern Iowa county has declared that his jail will no longer book suspects arrested in one town because he doesn’t trust the officers who work there. Cedar County Sheriff Warren Wethington issued the directive last month, which applies to anyone arrested by the Durant Police Department. Wethington says one of Durant’s three officers has a history of being untruthful and using questionable force and the chief knows this but hired him anyway.