(DES MOINES) – The Iowa Dept. of Corrections reports Cody Michael Gibbs, convicted of two counts of Robbery 2nd Degree and other crimes in Polk County, failed to report to his place of employment as required yesterday.

Cody Gibbs

Gibbs is a 22-year-old white male, height 5’8″, and weighs 193 pounds. He was admitted to the work release facility on October 25, 2018.

Persons with information on Gibbs’ whereabouts should contact local police.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Snow continues to fall on the lower half of Iowa, snarling traffic as the snow blankets roads. The southbound lanes of Interstate 35 near Decatur City remained blocked mid-morning Saturday after a semitrailer jackknifed and tipped over amid the winter storm around 2:30 a.m.

The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that a passenger bus then hit the overturned semi, leading to minor injuries for one bus passenger. Seven passengers were on the bus at the time of the crash.
Some reports show 10 inches of snow had fallen spots in the southwestern corner of Iowa, and the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for a large section of the state near the Missouri border until 6 p.m. Saturday.

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — A central Iowa man has won $300,000 in a state scratch lottery game. Jonathan Moss claimed the first of eight top prizes in the Iowa Lottery’s “$300,000 Platinum Cash” scratch game that debuted last month. Moss bought the winning ticket at Hy-Vee gas station in Altoona and claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Clive. The game is a $30 scratch ticket. More information on it and the number of prizes still available can be found online at www.ialottery.com .

The Iowa Lottery says that since its start in 1985, players have won more than $4.2 billion in prizes. The lottery also has raised more than $1.9 billion for state programs, including support for public schools and veterans and their families.

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

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

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A man from Nebraska was arrested Friday night in Red Oak, on charges of Public Intoxication and Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense. Police say 24-year old Austin Wayne Hale, of Omaha, was arrested at around 9:34-p.m. at the intersection of N. 6th and Joy Streets. Hale was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

A pursuit in eastern Iowa’s Tama County early Friday morning resulted in the death of a man from Montour. The Iowa State Patrol reports 22-year old Royce Grayson Timberwolf, who was not wearing a seat belt, died after being ejected from a 2014 KIA Optima that rolled several times after it left the road and struck a driveway in Montour.

The crash happened at around 12:10-a.m. in the 300 block of Northwood Drive, as the car was being pursued by Meskwaki Nation Police on the Meskwaki Settlement. The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Tama County Sheriff’s Department, Toldeo Police & Meskwaki 1st Responders, along with Toledo Fire and EMS, and Meskwaki Nation Police.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Des Moines say they’ve arrested a suspect in the death of a man at a homeless camp on the city’s north side. Police said in a news release Friday that 21-year-old Donterius Jamar Bomar, of Des Moines, was arrested Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of assaulting a business employee and stealing the employee’s car within hours of being released from jail on a separate attempted murder charge. Police believe Bomar was driving the stolen car when he hit 69-year-old Charles Michael Childs.

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (AP) — A former Sioux Center teacher already serving a federal prison sentence for having sexual contact with young boys has been sentenced to additional time in state prison on similar convictions. The Sioux County Attorney’s office says 37-year-old Curtis Van Dam was sentenced Friday to 60 years in state prison. The sentence will be served after his 15-year federal prison term. Van Dam was implicated in dozens of incidents involving boys under age 12 or 13.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Iowa Republican congressman Steve King is under new criticism for remarks on white nationalism and white supremacy. They’re coming from South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott, who penned a Washington Post op-ed saying King’s remarks in The New York Times questioning how those terms became offensive damage the GOP and the nation. King on Friday said he is not a racist but rather an advocate of Western civilization and American values. House GOP leaders condemned King’s remarks to the Times.

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) — An arrest has been made in the death of a woman whose body was found earlier this week on the side of an eastern Iowa highway. The Muscatine Journal reports that police arrested 35-year-old Douglas Foster, of Marion, Thursday night in the death of 20-year-old Lea Renae Ponce, of Fairfield. Investigators say Ponce was last seen alive early Tuesday getting into a pickup truck Foster was believed to have been driving.

(FORT MADISON) – A correctional officer was assaulted by an inmate at the Iowa State Penitentiary at approximately 11:52 a.m., Friday. Staff were alerted to a fire alarm triggered in a living unit at the prison. As they began evacuating inmates from the building to the yard, they discovered that one inmate had started a fire in his cell, and had used his mattress to barricade himself inside. As a team of staff attempted to remove the inmate from the cell in order to extinguish the fire he had started, the inmate attempted to assault the responding correctional officers with closed-fist strikes.

The staff used pepper spray to subdue the aggressive inmate, and then quickly extinguished the fire.  The staff that were involved with the aggressive inmate were evaluated and treated by institution medical staff for smoke inhalation and minor physical injuries, and were released to finish the remainder of their shifts. The inmate that is suspected to have started the fire has been taken to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics to be treated for self-inflicted injury.

The institution was placed on restricted movement while the smoke was cleared from the living unit, but has since returned to normal operation.  The incident remains under investigation.