Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County report a deputy on patrol Friday evening saw a vehicle traveling south on Highway 59, near Carson. When the deputy ran the vehicles’ license plate, he learned the registered owner had a warrant out for their arrest. A traffic stop was conducted near the intersection of Highway 92, and the driver/owner, 42-year old Glen Alan Vanderpool, was taken into custody on a warrant for Theft/larceny in the 4th Degree.

A disturbance a little after 12-a.m. Saturday, in Carson, resulted in the arrest 37-year old Christopher Lawrence Knoke. He was arrested for Assault/insulting or offense contact, and disorderly conduct.

A traffic stop in Shelby late Saturday evening on a speeding motorcycle, resulted in the arrest of 23-year old Stephen Caden Muhlbauer. He was arrested on a charge of OWI/1st offense, after failing the Standard Field Sobriety tests.

That same evening, a man was arrested in Neola after deputies were dispatched to Arrowhead Park, for a report of an intoxicated male trying to leave the area on a motorcycle. 32-year old Franklin Delano Lovings, III, was arrested for Domestic Abuse/Simple Assault.

And, late Saturday night, a traffic stop in Avoca on a vehicle that allegedly ran a stop sign, resulted in the arrest of 25-year old Mitchell Patrick Fuller, for OWI/2nd offense.

All subjects had either bonded out of custody or were otherwise released since their arrest.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports 63-year old Daniel Leo Hayes, of Creston, was arrested at around 8:30-a.m. Saturday, in Cromwell. Hayes was taken into custody on a Ringgold County warrant for harassment – 1st degree. He was transported to the Union County LEC for holding.

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities plan to resume their search this (Monday) morning for a boater in eastern Iowa. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office called off the search Sunday evening in and along the Cedar River in Palisades-Kepler State Park.

The missing man either jumped or fell from the boat Sunday morning. His name hasn’t been released.

The Creston Police Department reports 4 arrests over the weekend.

On Friday, July 5th Creston Police arrested 23-year-old Taran Austin of Creston on a charge of Failure to Appear on the original charge of Public Intoxication 1st Offense. He was later released from the Union County Jail on $500 bond.

On Saturday, July 6th at 3:30am Officers arrested 24-year-old Victor Parra Moreno of Creston on the charge of OWI 1st Offense. Moreno was arrested at the intersection of Elm and Union Streets in Creston. He was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on $1,000 bond.

Also on Saturday July 6th at 1:42pm Officers arrested 30-year-old Eric Shinn of Creston in the 900 block of North Sumner on three Union County Warrants: Failure to Appear on the original charge of Domestic Abuse Assault 2nd Offense, Failure to Appear on the original charge of Control of Firearm by a Felon, and Failure to Appear on the original charge of 2 Counts Harassment 1st Degree. Shinn was held in the Union County Jail on a total bond amount of $19,500.

On Monday, July 8th at 3:54am Creston Police arrested 56-year-old Mark Bagley of Creston in the 1000 block of South Sumner Street on the charge of OWI 2nd Offense. He was being held in the Union County Jail on $2,000 bond.

w/ Chris Parks

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Democrats in the early presidential contest states of Iowa and Nevada will be able to cast their votes over the telephone instead of showing up at their states’ traditional neighborhood caucus meetings next February, according to plans unveiled by the state parties.

The tele-caucus systems, the result of a mandate from the Democratic National Committee, are aimed at opening the local-level political gatherings to more people, especially evening shift-workers and people with disabilities, whom critics of the caucuses have long said are blocked from the process.

The changes are expected to boost voter participation across the board, presenting a new opportunity for the Democratic Party’s 2020 candidates to drive up support in the crucial early voting states.

“This is a no-excuse option” for participation, said Shelby Wiltz, the Nevada Democrats’ caucus director.

Party officials don’t have an estimate of how many voters will take advantage of the call-in option. But in Iowa, some recent polls show as many as 20% of Democrats will participate virtually.

In Nevada, most voters tend to cast ballots early during regular elections, and party officials expect many will take advantage of the early presidential vote.

While rolling out a new voting system holds the promise of more voter participation, it also comes with potential risk for confusion or technical troubles. But the party is moving forward to try and address long-standing criticism that the caucuses are exclusionary and favor some candidates over others.

The Iowa caucuses, a series of party-run, local-level organizing meetings that adopted a presidential preference element more than 50 years ago, have come under increasing criticism in the past decade for their fixed evening time and place. Such rules effectively barred participation in the first-in-the-country nominating contest, for instance, for parents unable to find child care or older voters hesitant to venture out in the dead of winter.

Hillary Clinton and her supporters complained that Iowa’s process “disenfranchised” those unable to attend after she finished a disappointing third place in the 2008 caucuses.

In 2016, backers of Sen. Bernie Sanders cried foul over the Iowa results when Clinton won a razor-thin margin, 49.9% to 49.6%, despite some irregularities in reporting results. The dispute, replicated in part in Nevada, was a key factor in the push from groups on the left to overhaul the nominating process heading into 2020.

Nevada, the third state in the Democrats’ early contest sequence, has only been using caucuses for a decade, but has faced some of the same participation challenges, especially among Las Vegas casino workers who have shifts during the Saturday caucus meetings.

By opting for a dial-in program, the systems can reach people in Iowa’s and Nevada’s vast rural stretches where broadband internet coverage may be spotty. Iowa since 2014 has offered a smaller-scale tele-caucus, allowing out-of-state members of the military and Iowans living abroad to call in to live neighborhood caucus meetings and participate over the phone.

“One, we are a rural state. And let’s be honest, outside of Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada is a rural state. Everyone is connected by phone,” Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price said.

The DNC’s mandate has been a challenge for party operatives who sought to maintain security while also maintaining the spirit of the caucuses, which are chiefly local, party-building activities aimed at electing delegates to party conventions. Officials say by avoiding an internet-based program, they are reducing the risk of hacking, a key concern in an era of renewed concern about election tampering.

While Nevada Democrats said accessibility, not security, drove them to opt for a phone-in system, Iowa Democrats said they felt a lower-tech option was safer.

“With this system, it’s easier than making sure thousands of computers across the state are not filled with malware and not being hacked,” Price said.
Yet officials acknowledge that relying on phone systems does raise security concerns.

“Are they unhackable? Certainly not,” said Jeremy Epstein, a voting systems expert with ACM, the largest international association of computer science professionals. “None of these technologies are really bullet proof.”

The state parties presented their plans late last month to the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee. Committee members applauded the work and gave conditional approval but asked for more information about the security and functionality of the systems.

“We are working with every state party that is integrating these tools so they can make their voting process secure and successful. We look forward to working with Democrats in these states to address the committee’s questions,” DNC spokesman David Bergstein said in a statement.

Both state parties plan to require Democratic voters to register online in advance of their virtual caucus, verifying their identity with a “multi-factor authentication.” Voters will receive a PIN that they’ll have to enter when they call in to participate.

Iowans who register on time will have six times to choose from to participate by phone, including the in-person caucus night, Feb. 3. Nevadans who register for the virtual caucus can participate on Feb. 16 or 17. Unlike Iowa, Nevada is also offering three days of in-person early caucusing to give people more options.

Wiltz said security experts with the DNC will be vetting the systems later this year to test for vulnerabilities to breaches or hacking.

“This isn’t something that we’re taking lightly. We understand our responsibility,” Wiltz said.

SHAUN ALLEN AKERS

A Sidney man was arrested on Saturday on Domestic Abuse charges after leaving the scene of a disturbance on Thursday. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports that 41-year-old Shaun Allen Akers of Sidney was arrested on charges of Domestic Abuse 3rd or subsequent offense and Interference with Official Acts.

Deputies first received a report of a domestic disturbance at a home in Sidney on July 4th. When Deputies arrived on scene they found the suspect (Akers) had left the area prior to their arrival. He returned to the area on Saturday. After searching the home they found Akers hiding under a mattress. He was taken to the Fremont County Jail and held on $5,000 bond. Other charges are pending in the case.

IOWA CITY –The Iowa Department of Corrections reports 59-year old Larry Gene Nugent, who had been serving a 5-year maximum sentence out of Woodbury County for the crime of Operating Vehicle While Intoxicated, was pronounced dead due to natural causes at 11:30 p.m. Saturday, July 6, 2019. He died at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinic due to chronic illness. Nugent His sentence began on September 5, 2018.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A presidential campaign event focused on Native American issues is being planned in Sioux City, Iowa, next month. Several groups are working together to plan the forum on Aug. 19 and Aug. 20.

O.J. Semans of the voting rights group Four Directions says it would be a mistake for candidates to ignore Native American voters. The Sioux City Journal reports that organizers are working to get firm commitments from candidates to attend.

The event is named in honor of activist Frank LaMere, who died last month after battling cancer. He was a Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska member who fought for a variety of causes. He lived in South Sioux City, Nebraska.

Agents and crime scene personnel with the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) are investigating an early (Sunday) morning shooting in the Decatur County City of Leon. At around at 3:08 a.m., an officer with the Leon Police Department conducted a traffic stop in the 300 block of NW 3rd Street.

During the traffic stop, the driver of the vehicle, a male in is 50’s, sprayed the Leon officer with a chemical agent. In response, the officer fired his weapon, striking the driver. The driver was provided medical attention at the scene. He was then airlifted to Des Moines hospital, where he remains in critical condition.

The Leon officer is on paid administrative leave. The name of the involved officer nor the name of the driver are being released at this time. Authorities say additional information will be released as appropriate.