DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Corrections said today (Tuesday), 35-year old Christopher Lee Sheets, convicted of Robbery 2nd Degree and other crimes in Polk County, failed to report back to the Fort Des Moines Correctional Facility as required last (Monday) night. Sheets is a white male, height 5’10”, and weighs 182 pounds. He was admitted to the work release facility on July 11, 2019.  Persons with information on Sheets’ whereabouts should contact local police.

Christopher Sheets

OGALLALA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska trial of a Kansas man charged with the collision deaths of four motorcyclists from southwest Iowa, has been delayed again. The new trial starting date for 24-year-old Jeser Cisneros-Hernandez, of Liberal, Kansas, is Dec. 3. Keith County District Court records say he pleaded not guilty in October 2017 to four felony counts of vehicular homicide, one misdemeanor count of reckless driving and one of failing to drive in his lane.

The North Platte Telegraph reports that Cisneros-Hernandez’s trial previously had been set to start in July 2018, then successively in April, August and October of this year.
Prosecutors say Cisneros-Hernandez’s vehicle hit two motorcycles carrying two people each on July 1, 2017, near Ogallala.

Authorities say 54-year-old Sheila Matheny and 61-year-old James Matheny, from Bedford, Iowa. The other motorcyclists were 58-year-old Michal Weese and 59-year-old Jerolyn Weese, who lived in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

In an update to our earlier reports, Mid-American Energy spokesman Geoff Greenwood confirms there are still issues with the power going on-and-off, in Griswold. Contrary to his initial report to KJAN, Greenwood said just after 7-a.m. today, that the fix crews made did not resolve the issue. They are continuing to find ways to circumvent the trouble area, and another crew was enroute with a replacement part. It’s not clear how soon the power issues will be resolved.

Issues that resulted in power outages a little after midnight today, in Griswold, were thought to have been temporarily fixed. Geoff Greenwood, spokesman for Mid-American Energy told KJAN News there was an equipment problem at a substation in Griswold. The piece that failed helps to keep voltage constant. Greenwood said crews took the time to identify what the issue was, and made a switch around the defective equipment until a more permanent repair can be made. There were still some intermittent outages, though, as of 6:30-a.m.

Greenwood said he will get in touch with the control center who told him the issue was resolved, to get an update.

About 400 customers had their power going on-and-off during the night, in Griswold, while the problem was being located and resolved.

(Radio Iowa) — Winnebago Industries says they’re buying another motor home manufacturer so they can expand into high-priced, luxury R-Vs. The Forest City-based Winnebago announced this morning that it’s entered into an agreement to acquire Newmar Corporation in Nappanee, Indiana for 344 million dollars. Winnebago president and C-E-O Michael Happe says Newmar brands of full-sized motor homes made them attractive to purchase. “Newmar’s talented leadership team, high-quality dealer network, and premium Class A and Super C offerings will enhance the capabilities and profitability of our motorhome segment. They will expand our overall RV portfolio and footprint in North America, and we anticipate it will drive significant value creation for our employees, customers and shareholders,” Happe says.

Happe says when he was hired as the company’s C-E-O in 2016 of the goals of the board of directors was to restore Winnebago’s leadership in the motorized R-V segment. “With the addition of Newmar’s high-quality brand or portfolio, we are taking a significant step forward towards that goal. At the same time, we remain unwavering in our commitment to the Winnebago brand of R-Vs as well and making those products more competitive in the market,” Happe says.”We continue to drive growth in Class B and make progress executing operational improvements across the Winnebago brand, and together with Newmar in the future, we will have a formidable lines of high-quality, innovative products across the motorized segment.”

Happe says Newmar gives them a product they don’t currently offer.  “Newmar offers six R-V models in the 400-thousand dollar to one million dollar high-end motorhome segment which is not an area that our Winnebago brand of R-Vs has traditionally played in,” according to Happe. “Newmar’s premium models will serve to nicely extend our reach and add balance across the segment and fill in the gaps where we traditionally have not had a competitive model or presence.”

Happe says the slight slowdown in the R-V industry in the last two years hasn’t dimmed his outlook for the industry. “We remain confident of the prospects of the North American R-V industry, both in the long-term but also in the short-term. We are extremely realistic about what has happened in the last 18 months, but we are confident that the R-V lifestyle is not disappearing and continues to be healthy in many ways, ” Happe says.

He says Newmar will continue to operate as a distinct business within Winnebago Industries with its headquarters and manufacturing facilities remaining in Indiana.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The City Council has approved a proposal for removal of a World War II chapel and airman’s housing project on Sioux City airport land. The Sioux City Journal reports that the council OK’d a memorandum of agreement Monday between the city, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Iowa State Historic Preservation Office. The chapel anchors the entrance to Sioux Gateway Airport and is one of the last standing remnants of the wartime air base built for B-17 bomber training.

City documents say the two parcels containing the chapel and housing were developed with uses not compatible with operations of the airport. Plans say the chapel will be moved off airport property, and a nonprofit group will take ownership and maintain it at a new location as a memorial and make it available for event rentals.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Board members of an obscure Iowa government insurance program have spent tens of thousands of dollars in public money traveling to out-of-state resorts for meetings. A review by The Associated Press finds that directors of the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool hold two meetings annually at posh locations such as Florida in February and Michigan in August.

Meeting minutes and spending records show that the practice makes the meetings virtually inaccessible to the public while increasing costs to the pool, which includes roughly 750 counties, cities, towns and other municipalities. One county supervisor says the board’s spending may be excessive, and an attorney calls the out-of-state meetings ridiculous.

Board chairman Jody Smith defended them, saying the Florida meetings coincide with a national conference and Michigan was close to the pool administrator.