Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports a man wanted on a burglary charges was arrested last Friday in Greenfield. 33-year old Ryan Lee Woosley, of Osceola, was arrested on the warrant stemming from the April 2015 theft of a nearly new 2015 Polaris Ranger UTV from a residence in the 3200 block of 310th Street, in Adair County. The machine, valued at $12,745, was later recovered May 4th, 2015, in a garage located in the 2700 block of 300th Street, in Adair County.

An investigation led authorities to suspect Woosley, who lived at a residence in the 2900 block of 300th Street, in Adair County. Woosley later admitted to having stolen the UTV, which he intended to sell. In Feb. 2015, he also allegedly stole a 2006 Suzuki ATV from a barn in the 2800 block of 300th Street in Adair County. The machine was recovered on June 2nd, 2015. Another ATV, a Kawasaki Prairie 360, was stolen from a machine shed in rural Adair County in Feb., 2015. Both ATVs were sold to Woosley’s brother or brothers, and recovered without incident. The brothers were not charged in connection with the thefts.

Woosley was being held in the Adair County Jail on a $15,000 cash only bond.

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater, today (Tuesday), reports two arrests took place last week. 27-year old Kenny Joe Cunningham, of Creston, was arrested at around 4:35-p.m. June 29th, for Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Driving Under Suspension. His arrest followed a traffic stop in Greenfield, after the man allegedly ran a stop sign and failed to yield the right of way.

As Deputy James Paup was speaking with Cunningham, he noticed a syringe in the center console of the vehicle. He asked the man if he had diabetes, to which he replied he had “Type B” diabetes. Knowing there is no “Type B” form of diabetes, the Deputy asked Cunningham when he last used meth, to which he answered 3-to 4- days ago. He also asked about “track” marks on Cunningham’s arms. Cunningham then fessed-up that he did not have diabetes, and that he shoots meth with a syringe. He also admitted to possessing a scale used to measure illegal substances. The scale had a white residue which field tested positive for meth.

In addition to being arrested on the drug and driving under suspension charges, Cunningham was given a written warning for Failure to Stop and Yield the right of way. He was later released from the Adair County Jail on a $1,000 cash bond or surety.

Officials with the Council Bluffs Police Department report the Council Bluffs Police and Fire Departments along with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office will be offering the public a Fireworks Amnesty program this Saturday, July 8th.

The program is designed to provide the public with a safe alternative for the disposal of unused fireworks following the Holiday weekend. The drop off location is no longer at the Family Dollar/Auto Zone parking lot. The new drop off site is in the parking lot of Pottawattamie County Sherriff’s Office at 1400 Big Lake Road.

Fireworks can be dropped off Saturday between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

The Atlantic City Council will meet 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, at City Hall. During their regular session, the Council will consider an exception to the ordinance banning chickens inside the City Limits. Atlantic resident Paul Fischer had contended at a meeting last month, that he was given verbal permission to keep his three chickens and coop last year, by City Administrator John Lund.

During a meeting with the Community Protection Committee June 14th, City Administrator Lund acknowledged that over the past six-years or so, less than a handful of individuals were told they could keep chickens on their property as pets, as long as they were not for commercial use. The Committee agreed that the City was at fault for providing incorrect information, and that Fischer should at least be given consideration for an exception. Fischer has submitted a letter of support from his neighbors, who have no problem with the chickens. Lund will recommend to the Council that they grant Fischer permission to keep his birds.

In other business, the Council will act on appointing Gene Fischer and Greg Williams to the Library Board, and awarding an electrical upgrade project for City offices, to Brown Electric for $72,975. Funds to pay for the project will come from a bond that was approved in the Spring of 2015, originally designed for the design and engineering costs of a City Hall elevator. Because a referendum for $990,000 failed to pass that would have allowed additional renovations at City Hall, the bond funds can only be used for certain aspects, one of which is an electrical upgrade.

The Atlantic City Council will also act on an order entering into an agreement with SWIPCO for their SWITA Bus Service for FY 2018 (the fee for which is $8,000), a Resolution authorizing and approving a CAT grant amounting to $175,000 for improvements at the Schildberg Rec Area. The resolution is needed before the City proceeds with the improvements.

Another resolution to be considered by the Council, Wednesday, is with regard to Public Access to Official City Records. City Administrator John Lund says the problem is with online companies or out-of-state real estate businesses who produce online forms and are very demanding of the City to provide at no cost, the labor to research information that ultimately ends up being paid for by City taxpayers. Iowa Code, he says allows cities to establish their own policies a fee structures to govern requests for public records.

And, the Council is expected to recognize during their meeting, Atlantic Police Sgt. Dustin Pieken, on his 10-year work anniversary. Pieken was promoted from Officer to Sergeant late last year.

A member of the Boone City Council for more than 13 years is challenging Kim Reynolds in the 2018 Republican Primary for governor. Forty-six-year-old Steven Ray has worked in Iowa law enforcement since he was 17. Ray put himself through college working as a dispatcher for the Boone County Sheriff and he currently oversees Iowa State Patrol communications centers in Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines. Ray’s grandfather was the long-time sheriff of Story County.

Ray has been a state employee since 1995. Ray says he would have vetoed the bill former Republican Governor Terry Branstad approved in February that drastically reduced collective bargaining rights for government workers. Ray’s private email address uses the moniker POTUS 2024, a reference to the presidential campaign that starts in about seven years.

Ray filed the paperwork last week and he’s an official candidate for governor. Ray is planning to hold a rally in Boone in late August to formally kick off his campaign. Ray is joining Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett in challenging Governor Kim Reynolds’ bid for a four-year term as governor.

(Radio Iowa)

An eastern Iowa man is behind bars, charged in the death of a child. Williamsburg Police say 29-year-old Cody James Stevenson is NOT related to the child. Stevenson was initially arrested and charged with willful injury Monday morning, but the charges were upgraded to first-degree murder after the child died Monday evening. The child’s name and age and other details about the case have NOT been released.

(Radio Iowa)

The state law that allowed someone to sign a lifetime self-ban for gambling changed July 1st to give people the option of also signing a five-year ban. Anyone who signs the ban is prevented from entering the gaming floor at Iowa’s casinos. Iowa Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer says they sell lottery tickets at thousands of retailers across the state, so they had to take a different approach to the ban.

)”Obviously we can’t ban folks from going to a convenience store or from a grocery store because they have other business that they need to be doing on in those locations,” Neubauer says. “So the way we came at the motivation to play was to have folks who sign our self-exclusiong agreement to ban themselves from lottery offices across the state.”

Neubauer says keeping them out of the Iowa Lottery offices ensures they can’t chase big jackpots. “Any lottery prize of more than 600 dollars in Iowa has to be claimed at a lottery office,” Neubauer explains, “so in the process of banning yourself from a lottery office — you are preventing yourself from ever being able to claim a big lottery prize.”

It’s believed the change to allow for the five-year ban option may encourage more people who see they have a problem to sign up. “What we’re all trying to do is give someone who is trying to deal with the issue of dealing with compulsive gambling more tools that they can use to try to make a healthy recover from the difficulty that that has caused in their life,” Neubauer says.

She says the ban itself won’t help if people don’t follow through and get some help with the problem, and that’s why there also want to ensure people know how to get that help. Neubauer says the casinos and the Iowa Lottery are working with the Iowa Department of Public Health to develop a brochure that they will give to people who sign up for the ban, to ensure they know about 1-800-BETTSOFF and the Iowa Gambling Treatment Program.

Neubauer says the law allows those who think they have taken care of their problem to be removed from the banned list. “Someone who has signed up for a self-exclusion from an Iowa casino or from the Iowa Lottery has the option if you’ve been on the self-exclusion list for five years to request that your name comes of the list,” Neubauer says. “But that does not mean that you can just walk into a casino or walk into a lottery office and the process is done.”

She says you will have to fill out the proper paperwork to get your name off the exclusion list, and then wait to get a confirmation it has been processed. “For the first couple of months after July there may be some bumps in the road in that regard if folks aren’t paying attention to the details and aren’t taking the steps necessary to get off the exclusion list. So, we’re doing everything that we can to make it very, very clear how the process works,” according to Neubauer.

You can contact the Iowa Lottery or the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to find out more about the changes to the gambling ban.

(Radio Iowa)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Two local wildlife refuges are hosting events this summer to teach youths about nature. The DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge is hosting a fishing clinic on July 26 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. All youths from kindergarten through age 15 are encouraged to attend. Fishing poles, tackle and bait will be provided along with instruction. Participants should meet near the South Gate Area near the fishing dock. Nebraska and Iowa residents younger than 16 can fish without a license.

The Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge is hosting a guided nature hike on Aug. 5 at 10 a.m. The hike will focus on ecosystems. Participants will learn about prairies and forestland and will look at important plant species for each biome.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (7.3MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Fireworks sales have been legal in Iowa since June 1st. A businessman whose company has been selling consumer-grade fireworks in four neighboring states for years says the most popular sellers are called “cakes” — that’s because the effects are “layered.” Vince Bellino, of Omaha-based Bellino Enterprises, says “You have one fuse you light. Depending on the cake itself, the multi-effect item, you might have six to eight shots go up in the air. It’ll have an audio effect and it’ll also have a visual effect as well.”

His company has operated 130 fireworks stands in South Dakota, Kansas and Missouri. Just last month the company opened another 55 fireworks stands in Iowa. Bellino says they’re offering customers 200 different types of consumer-grade fireworks. “A smoke item to a novelty item to firecrackers to multi-effect items to fountains to single-shot tubes to artillery shells,” Bellino says.

Iowa’s new law calls for fireworks sales to end July 8th. There’ll be another fireworks sales period at the end of the year, but the fireworks may only be sold from permanent structures, NOT from tents or road-side stands.

(Radio Iowa)