Two people were arrested on separate charges Thursday, in Creston. Authorities say 24-year old Courtney Laine Sanson, of Creston, was arrested at around 10:50-p.m. for Trespassing. Sanson was cited and released from the Union County Jail. And, at around 5:15-p.m., 21-year old Dakota Dean Rosch, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Revoked. He was released from the Union County Jail after posting a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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Officials in Ames have been busy through the night after nearly five inches of rain inundated streets and homes. Bob Kindred is the assistant city manager of Ames. He says they had 3-to 5-inches of rain which didn’t cause river flooding, but streets were flooded. A number of homes had water in their basements and cars were stalled out on the streets.

Kindred said the situation on the Iowa State University campus was not as bad, because of the lay of the land. A flash flood warning expired at 3:30 this morning but Kindred said there are still reports of flooded streets in Ames. He said water was still 2-to 3-feet deep on some City streets as of 4-a.m., and a number of cars were damaged, abandoned in-place.

Ames police, fire and city staff plus Story County Emergency Management spent much of the night assisting residents impacted by the high water.

(Radio Iowa)

Sheriff’s deputies in Montgomery County arrested two people from rural Stanton on assault charges late Thursday night. 50-year old Tony Wayne Ruple and 45-year old Tina Marie Seiler were taken into custody at around 10:35-p.m. in the 2800 block of 200th Street. Ruple and Seiler were charged with Domestic Abuse/Simple Assault, and brought to the Montgomery County Jail where they were being held without bond.

New census data shows the Latino population in Iowa increased by 116 percent from 2000 to 2015 which is a little more than 96-thousand (96,147) people. Latinos make up just under six percent of Iowa’s population, making them the largest minority group in the state. Thirty-two percent of the Latinos in Iowa were not born in this country. Seventy-eight percent of them came to Iowa from Mexico.

The median age of Latinos in Iowa is 22-point-two, while the state median age is thirty-eight-point-one. The median income of Latino households in 2015 was a little more than 38-thousand dollars, while the statewide median household income was nearly 55-thousand dollars (54,736.) The poverty rate was 25-point-six percent, while the corresponding rate for Iowa is 12-point-two percent.

The average family size for the Iowa Latino population in 2015 was three-point-eight-two, compared to the overall average family size in the state of two-point-nine-nine (2.99) Over half of the growth in Iowa’s Latino population from 2000-2015 occurred in seven counties: Polk, Woodbury, Johnson, Marshall, Scott, Pottawattamie, and Linn.

Polk County had the largest overall population of Latinos at 21-point-four percent. The Latino population in Ringgold County increased by 731 percent and by 652 percent in Lyon county between 2000 and 2015. When it comes to the overall population, 27-point-four percent of all residents of Crawford County were Latino, followed by Buena Vista (24.6%), Marshall (20.7%), Muscatine (17.5%), and Louisa (16.2%).

(Radio Iowa)

A northwest Iowa teenager faces a felony drug charge for allegedly distributing what are sometimes called “magic mushrooms.” A Storm Lake teen has been charged after police investigated a report of a boy ingesting illegal, hallucinogenic mushrooms at the Storm Lake High School. Police learned the juvenile allegedly acquired the illegal mushrooms at the high school from another student, a 16-year-old male from Storm Lake.

The victim was taken to the hospital in Storm Lake for treatment and later released. Police charged the 16-year-old with delivery of a controlled substance, a Class C felony. He was taken to the youth detention facility in Cherokee, awaiting an appearance in juvenile court.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says she called out U-S Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack over the happy picture his department is portraying when it comes to the current state of the farm economy. “A week or so back he had met with a group and was trying to paints a very rosy picture of the farm economy — but that’s not what I am hearing — and I really did press him on that issue,” Ernst says.

The Republican from Red Oak says the things she sees in the state goes against what the former Democrat Iowa governor is saying about the farm situation.”Right now we see corn is at three dollars and under ( a bushel), I’ve seen that at my own hometown at the Merch in Red Oak. It is really hard for our farmers to get ahead with commodity prices being so low,” Ernst says. ” So, I will continue to press him on that.”

Ernst says her concern is the U-S-D-A regulations and programs aren’t helping smaller farmers. “He tried to tout a number of programs that U-S-D-A has, but again I think the things that they promote — the GIPSA (Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration Rule) is a great example of that — it really does inhibit some of those small beginning farmers from even getting a fair start,” Ernst says. Ernst was asked if Vilsack is doing a good job as Ag Secretary.

She focused her answer on the department and not Vilsack. “I’m not going to say yes or no about his role as ag secretary,” Ernst says. “But what I will say is that I think U-S-D-A as a whole is trying to paint an optimistic rosy picture of what is going on, but in reality that is not what is going on. And I hear that every day in Iowa.” Ernst says farmers need less government regulation not more. She referred back to the GIPSA Rule.

“What I fear is that this will cut out those small farmers, those small operations, they won’t be able to engage in the contracts like we see some of the larger packers doing. So, this is an issue that has been brought up by the Iowa Pork Producers, they have spoken to me about this, they have great concerns there. As, well as some of those packing houses,” according to Ernst. She says the packing houses want to have a supply of livestock from a variety of sources and are worried the rule will prevent that. Ernst made her comments during her weekly conference call with reporters.

A U-S-D-A spokesperson issued this response to Ernst’s comments:
“Secretary Vilsack is a tireless champion for American agriculture, and has said several times recently that ‘it is always the wrong bet to bet against the American farmer, rancher, and producer.’ Median farm family household income has held steady at historic highs for the last two years, as a direct result of the hard work and good management by our farm families. Meanwhile, farm debt-to-asset ratios are near record lows, showing the underlying fundamental strength of the American agriculture.”

“This is why yesterday Secretary Vilsack expressed cautious optimism about the state of the agricultural economy, but at the same time he understands the challenges many producers are going through right now because of prices and oversupply in some parts of the sector. USDA recognizes that 10 percent of U.S. farms are highly or extremely leveraged, and that is why we have used every dollar of our farm loan authority and every last dollar of our CCC authority to provide help and assistance to those who need it. Specifically, USDA enrolled 1.76 million farmers in the new Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs, which have provided $5.3 billion in financial assistance for crop year 2014, to more than one million farms. The past seven years have been the strongest in history for agricultural exports, while the past five years have been the best in history for median farm household income. Census data shows that incomes in rural America grew by more than 3 percent last year, on pace with income in metro areas. Rural communities are also beginning to see population growth, a dramatic fall in poverty and hunger, and more jobs in the last two years than at any point since 2007. There is concern, and the Secretary expressed that, but there is also cautious optimism. And that is why we have invested more resources than any prior Administration in the future of America’ rural communities, especially our young people and our new and beginning farmers.”

(Radio Iowa)

(re-posting due to server error)

Police in Council Bluffs are asking for your help in locating two suspects involved in the Thursday morning robbery of a bank. At around 9:30-a.m., two black males entered the Council Bluffs Savings Bank at 1751 Madison Avenue, and announced they were robbing the bank. One suspect then jumped the teller counter while the other suspect stood near the counter displaying a handgun. The suspects then fled the business with an undetermined amount of cash.

The classic red and white colors of Coca-Cola will be prevalent in Atlantic this weekend, as the community welcomes fans of the soft drink from all over the Midwest to town. Visitors and locals alike will be celebrating the communities’ 24th-Annual Coca-Cola Days this Friday and Saturday. It’s the second largest mini-convention of Coca-Cola collectors in the United States, second only to Atlanta, Georgia.

The schedule of events include, on Friday:

• A Tailgate Party for everyone from 5:30-to 6:30-p.m. at the Rock Island Depot (102 Chestnut Street)
• A Sneak Peek from 6-to 8-p.m. at the Herring Building, located at 2nd & Poplar.

On Saturday:

The Show, Swap & Sell takes place from 9-a.m. until 2-p.m. at the Herring Building.

There’s also the 2016 Coca-Cola Days Raffle, where, for $5 a ticket, you have the chance to win a custom Coca-Cola pop machine or a grill with a taste of Atlantic inside. The Coca-Cola Machine is custom made by Bob Lansdown of Atlantic Bottling and will be the final machine he builds for Coca-Cola Days. The Char-Broil grill being raffled is filled with items donated by area businesses.

The grill was donated by Cappel’s Ace Hardeware and will be filled with items donated by area businesses including: meat from Atlantic Locker, dinner for two at Weitzel’s Restaurant and Bar, Stay at American’s Best Value Inn and Suites (formally Atlantic Super 8) and custom Coca-Cola bbq tools.

Raffle tickets are available at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, Atlantic Coca-Cola Center and Museum.  Tickets can also be purchased from Coca-Cola Days committee members. The raffle will take place at 2-p.m. Saturday, at the close of the Show, Swap and Sell at the Herring Building.

For more information on Coca-Cola Days, call toll-free 877-283- 2124, or go to AtlanticIowa.com, on the web.