DES MOINES, IA – Today, 2020 Presidential candidate John Delaney announces his decision to withdraw from the 2020 race. This decision is informed by internal analyses indicating John’s support is not sufficient to meet the 15% viability in a material number of caucus precincts, but sufficient enough to cause other moderate candidates to not to make the viability threshold, especially in rural areas where John has campaigned harder than anyone. He strongly believes the Democratic Party should advance candidates with progressive values on the big issues of our time, but who are committed to governing with pragmatic, fact-based, bipartisan solutions.

This approach – which is what successfully won back the House in 2018 – beats Trump, unifies our nation and gets things done.  We have many candidates in the 2020 race, running in Iowa and otherwise, who meet these criteria.  John does not want the good work of his campaign to make it harder for those like-minded candidates on the bubble of viability in many Iowa precincts to advance in the Iowa caucuses and garner delegates.

Police in Creston say a man from Lorimor was arrested at around 6:55-p.m. Thursday, on assault/weapon & drug charges. 40-year old Michael James Wilson was arrested at 710 Main Street in Lorimor, for Domestic Abuse Assault, Assault with a weapon, Possession of drug paraphernalia, and Possession of a controlled substance. He was being held without bond in the Union County Jail until seen by a magistrate.

And, 32-year old Scott Andrew Johnston, of Essex, was arrested in Creston at around 1:10-a.m. today (Friday), for Driving While Suspended and Possession of a Concealed Weapon. Johnston was being held in the Union County Jail on a $1,300 bond.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) –  A Feb. 24 trial start has been scheduled for a Davenport man accused of killing his wife. Court records say 38-year-old Casey Klemme has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and to domestic abuse assault, strangulation causing injury. Officers were to the Davenport residence July 26 to check a report about domestic abuse. They found Tiffany Klemme lying on a floor, bruising on her left eye, a bloody nose and other injuries. Police say her husband acknowledged only grabbing and pushing her.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) –  (UPDATE)  Police in Des Moines have identified three people found shot to death inside a duplex on the southeast side of Des Moines. Police said 19-year-old Devonte Swanks, 16-year-old Malachi Swanks and 15-year-old Thayne Wright appear to have died of gunshot wounds. Police said Devonte Swanks and Malachi Swanks are brothers and lived in the home at 619 East Hackley. Wright was a friend who was visiting. He is also from Des Moines.

Officers and medics responding to a report about a shooting found the bodies around 11:30 p.m. Thursday. No arrests have been made. The incident remained under investigation.

(9:48-a.m. Correction on which truck hit the other via ISP):

BOONEVILLE, Iowa – One person died, another was injured Thursday night, when one semi tractor-trailer collided with another semi tractor-trailer on eastbound Interstate 80, in Dallas County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a truck driven by 53-year old Darryl Jones, of Grovetown, GA. was traveling east on I-80 just past the Booneville exit (mm 117.5), when the 2020 Volvo tractor-trailer he was driving rear ended a 1993 Volvo truck driven by 36-year old Felipe Dirzo, of Columbus Junction (IA), as he was also traveling east on I-80.The accident happened at around 7:25-p.m.

Following the impact, Dirzo’s semi rolled onto its side into a ditch. He died at the scene. Jones was transported by private vehicle to a hospital. A report on his condition was not available.

Red Oak Police responded at around 3:22-p.m. Thursday, to a residence in the 900 block of E. Washington Avenue, for a reported verbal argument. As a result of the call, authorities say 46-year old James Reed Mitroff II, of Red Oak, left the residence. At around  4:30-p.m., Officers were called back to the same residence for a reported broken window. Officials say Mitroff had returned to the residence and allegedly broke the window, with the dollar amount of damaged estimated at $150.

MItroff was on the scene when Officers arrived, and was taken into custody for Criminal Mischief in the 5th Degree. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 cash bond.

A traffic stop at around 9-p.m. Thursday in Council Bluffs resulted in a brief pursuit and the driver being taken into custody. Authorities say after an officer stopped a vehicle for a simple traffic violation, the officer suspected the driver to be intoxicated, and called for a back-up officer. Before the second officer could arrive, the suspected driver fled in the vehicle westbound on 2nd Avenue and hit “stop-sticks” that were deployed at 28th Street. The vehicle continued to elude officers, heading southbound on 28th St and eastbound on 9th Ave.

In the 1300 block of 9th Ave officers performed a P.I.T. maneuver on the vehicle, causing it to slide off the road into a business parking lot. When the driver refused to exit the vehicle, a less than lethal bean-bag shotgun was deployed, and the vehicle window was shot out. A Police K-9 was on scene but the subject became cooperative and exited the vehicle on his own power. He was taken into custody without further incident.

The driver was identified, but his name was not immediately released. He was arrested on numerous charges pending results for driving under the influence.

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa Democratic Party will declare a winner in this year’s Caucuses as it always has — based on which candidate tops the calculation for number of delegates for the party’s state convention. However, for the first time, Democrats also will release two other tallies. One will represent the raw vote count for each candidate at the start of the evening. The second will be how people re-align, since some candidates will not have enough support in precincts to win any delegates. Professor David Redlawsk, author of the book “Why Iowa?” about the 2008 Caucuses, says that means there’s the potential that three candidates will claim victory.

“We could have a different initial vote. We could have a different realigned vote and then because delegate allocation is not exactly one-person-one-vote because of the way they’re allocated, we could have something else on the delegate allocation. You know: ‘You’re a winner. You’re a winner. You’re a winner,'” Redlawsk says. “Of course, the key with Iowa is not as much winning as it is surprising and getting everybody to talk about you the next day.”

Redlawsk made his comments during an appearance on Iowa P-B-S. The Democratic Party will release ALL THREE FIGURES all at once, after ALL precincts have reported. That means there will be no “early returns” but just one announcement at some time Monday evening — or perhaps Tuesday morning.