United Group Insurance

KENNY LEHMAN, 78, of Guthrie Center (Svcs. 5/2/19)

Obituaries

April 30th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

KENNY LEHMAN, 78, of Guthrie Center, died Tuesday, April 30th, at the Guthrie County Hospital. Funeral services for KENNY LEHMAN will be held 10-a.m. Thursday, May 2nd, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Guthrie Center. Twigg Funeral Home in Guthrie Center has the arrangements.

Visitation at the funeral home is from 6-until 8-p.m. Wednesday, May 1st.

Burial will be in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery in rural Guthrie Center.

KENNY LEHMAN is survived by:

His wife – Janice Lehman

His daughter – Sherry (Daryl) Gettler

His son – Paul (Brenda) Lehman

His sisters – Betty Coffman, of Arizona, and Linda (David) Webber, of Guthrie Center.

4 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren.

Person of interest sought in Council Bluffs murder

News

April 30th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The Council Bluffs Police Department needs your help in identifying a female that may have valuable information regarding the murder of Adam Angeroth, in January 2019. Authorities are looking for a person of interest described as a white female, who uses the nickname “Zee‐Zee” (or ZeZe or ZZ). She’s between 18‐23 years old, about 5’5” tall, 120 pounds, with shoulder length dark hair. The woman is a known associate of Liam Stec, who is currently being held and charged with Murder 1st degree.

A reward, of up to $5,000, has been authorized for information regarding the identity and whereabouts of “Zee‐Zee”. Anyone with information is encouraged to call 712‐328‐STOP (7867); all incoming calls and any subsequent reward payment will remain 100% anonymous.

Creston woman arrested Tuesday

News

April 30th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports 32-year old Trisha Breanne Moffitt, of Creston, was arrested late Tuesday morning at the Union County Law Enforcement Center. Moffitt was taken into custody on a Union County warrant for failure to appear and serve jail time.

Moffitt was being held without bond in the Adams County Jail, for Union County.

Cubs to option Russell to Triple-A when eligible to return

Sports

April 30th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

SEATTLE (AP) — The Chicago Cubs will option shortstop Addison Russell to Triple-A Iowa when he’s eligible to return from his 40-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy later this week.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon said the team wants to give Russell more time in the minors before rejoining the major league roster. Maddon said Tuesday before Chicago opened a two-game series in Seattle that he didn’t expect Russell to be in the minors for long.

Russell was suspended last fall after a series of allegations made by his ex-wife. Without getting into specifics, Russell said in February that he was accountable for his past actions and apologized for “the hurt and the pain” he caused.

Russell had been working out in Arizona, playing in extended spring training games and meeting with a counselor twice a week before joining Iowa last week to begin getting ready for the season.

Parts of downtown Davenport, Iowa, flood as barrier fails

News

April 30th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Crews evacuated people from some buildings and cars Tuesday afternoon after a flood barrier failed along the Mississippi River, sending floodwaters rushing into downtown Davenport, Iowa. The National Weather Service sent an alert around 4 p.m. of a flash flood emergency in Davenport, urging people downtown to immediately seek higher ground. Public works officials reported that a temporary flood barrier had failed and that many people sought shelter on the rooftops of downtown buildings.

“It was just the one barrier, so we’re not expecting the flooding to spread beyond what we’re seeing now,” Davenport Public Works Director Nicole Gleason said. “That could change with heavy rain.” Gleason said crews and volunteers scrambled Tuesday afternoon to fill sandbags for other downtown businesses looking to keep the floodwaters out of their buildings.

The breach hit as communities in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri prepare for record or near-record crests along the river. The National Weather Service already issued flood warnings for areas directly on either side of the river in 10 states, “all the way to the Gulf of Mexico,” said meteorologist Mike McClure in Davenport.

The floodwaters had overtaken vehicles and the first floors of some buildings on the river’s edge, and rescue crews could be seen launching boats into the floodwaters to retrieve people stranded by the sudden surge. Mayor Frank Klipsch said there were no reports of injuries. He asked that people stay away from downtown while officials work to evacuate the area.

In Iowa, some cities on the river’s banks — including Davenport and Muscatine — had already closed some low-lying streets and erected flood walls and sandbag barriers. Flood watches have been issued for larger tracts around in the river in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri, as well as sections of Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, as heavy rain that began in some places Monday was set to continue into Wednesday.

The rain comes as the Mississippi River is set to reach record or near-record crests in Iowa, Illinois and northern Missouri. At 5 p.m., the Mississippi River at Davenport was recorded at 21.88 feet — the fifth highest for the spot ever recorded, according the National Weather Service. That’s approaching the record crest of 22.6 feet set in July 1993.

The river’s expected to crest Wednesday evening a few inches short of the record.
The gauge in nearby Muscatine showed the river just under 3 feet below the July 1993 record of 25.6 feet. It’s expected to crest a little more than a foot under the record at Muscatine, where officials have placed new berms and are diverting downtown traffic.

HELEN E. LONGSTRETH, 83, of Tulsa, OK (Svcs, 5/4/19)

Obituaries

April 30th, 2019 by Jim Field

HELEN E. LONGSTRETH, 83, of Tulsa, OK died Sunday, April 28th at Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, OK.  Funeral services for HELEN E. LONGSTRETH will be held 5-p.m. Saturday, May 4th, at the Roland Funeral Home, in Atlantic.

A Remembrance service will be held at Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian Church in Tulsa, at a later date. Condolences may be left at www.rolandfuneralservice.com.

Burial will be held 10-a.m., Sunday, May 5th, in the Atlantic Cemetery.

Helen Longstreth is survived by:

Her children – Elizabeth Asbjornson, and Scott Asbjornson.

Evacuation orders are lifted but many SW Iowans still can’t go home

News

April 30th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Even though evacuation orders are being lifted, many southwest Iowans still can’t return as standing water is making their homes unreachable. Sheri Bowen, a spokeswoman for Mills County, says people are mostly trying to get back to their houses to assess the damage caused by the record Missouri River flooding that started more than a month ago.

“They may decide to wear their hip waders and go in and get their prized possessions that they weren’t able to take with them,” Bowen says, “but no one is expecting anyone to move back in at this point.” The county did an unofficial survey asking people whether they would return home. About half of the families that answered said they were unsure about their next steps, while ten-percent said they would definitely leave.

South of Mills County, Hamburg residents are allowed to return to their homes in Fremont County, but in unincorporated areas of the county, about 250 families cannot go back yet. Fremont County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Crecelius says there’s still standing water in the south end of Hamburg.

“That is where the water hit the worst and was the deepest,” Crecelius says, “so I think that those folks are probably going to be looking for some place else to be living instead of moving back in there.” The mayor of Hamburg lifted the city’s partial evacuation order last week. The communities of Percival, Bartlett and McPaul are still evacuated.

(Thanks to Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

Mills County Sheriff’s report (4/30)

News

April 30th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports numerous recent arrests. Last Friday, 25-year old Hisham Nasser Alsaeed, of Omaha, NE – was arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance (Bond $1,000). At around 2-a.m. Saturday, 28-year old Cody Alan Hunkins, of  Imogene, was arrested for Driving Under Suspension (DUS) and Operating a Non-Registered Vehicle. (Bond $427.50).

Sunday evening, 20-year old Lacyrus Green, of Southaven, MS, was arrested for having a Concealed Weapon (Bond $2,000); 21-year old Marcus Deshawn Grantham, of Union City, TN, was arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance (Bond $1,000; 19-year old Logan Christopher Harding, of Glenwood, was arrested Saturday for Possession of Drug paraphernalia (Bond $ 300); and 30-year old Brandon Lee Barber, of Omaha, NE, was arrested for Eluding, OWI 1st, Possession of Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Prevent Apprehension, Speeding, Reckless Driving, No Valid DL, Improper Lane Change and Open container (Bond $7,000)

Sunday afternoon, 26-year old Daniel Joseph Polan, of Glenwood, was arrested on a warrant for Violation of Probation (Bond $1,000).

HILMER EUGENE MATHIS, 90 (Graveside Svcs. at a later date)

Obituaries

April 30th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

HILMER EUGENE MATHIS, 90, died Tuesday, April 30, 2019, at the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic. Graveside services for HILMER MATHIS will be held at a later date. Rieken-Duhn Funeral Home is assisting the family.

HILMER MATHIS is survived by:

His brother – Cleo Mathis.

His daughter-in -law: Pam Hall

3 grandchildren,  and 5 great-grandchildren

2 men stabbed in Council Bluffs assault/self defense case

News

April 30th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Two men who were allegedly trying to pick fights in Council Bluffs Monday evening, were stabbed by a man who they allegedly assaulted. Council Bluffs Police say just before 7-p.m. Monday, Council Bluffs police and fire personnel were dispatched to the area of North 42nd Street and River’s Edge Parkway for a stabbing. 19-year old Ronald Buchanan of Council Bluffs and 27-year old Tevin Vanderpool, of Omaha, were both on the ground, bleeding from their abdomens. Medics transported both to a trauma center in Omaha for treatment; each were found to have received one puncture wound. Buchanan was in stable condition and Vanderpool was in critical condition at last report.

Officers were able to quickly determine that their alleged target, 27-year old Andrew Poeckes, of Council Bluffs, who was still at the scene, had stabbed both Buchanan and Vanderpool. Poeckes, who was treated at a Council Bluffs hospital for facial injuries, was released after being interviewed by detectives. Poeckes told detectives after he left work in downtown Omaha, he was walking to his Council Bluffs home, crossing the Bob Kerrey pedestrian bridge. While on the bridge, Poeckes noticed Buchanan and Vanderpool on the bridge as well. He said the two men were being loud and aggressive, and attempting to start fights with other people on the bridge.

As Poeckes walked past them, Buchanan and Vanderpool reportedly made derogatory comments directed at him. Poeckes stated that he did not respond to the comments and continued to walk eastward, across the bridge. Buchanan and Vanderpool followed Poeckes and as he neared the bottom of the bridge on the Iowa side, Buchanan and Vanderpool began to assault Poeckes, repeatedly punching him in the face and pulling on his clothing.

While he was being attacked, Poeckes was able to pull out a small folding pocket knife that he was carrying in his pocket and stabbed both Buchanan and Vanderpool one time each in their abdomens. Several witnesses in the area gave statements that indicated that they saw Buchanan and Vanderpool assaulting Poeckes, with Poeckes eventually swinging back at them to protect himself. The witnesses did not realize that Poeckes had a knife in his possession until after both Buchanan and Vanderpool were laying on the ground, bleeding from their mid‐sections.

The case remains under investigation, but preliminary indications are that Poeckes was acting in self‐defense when he used his pocket knife to fend off Buchanan and Vanderpool. The County Attorney’s Office has been consulted and at this time authorities anticipate requesting arrest warrants for Buchanan and Vanderpool, charging each of them with assault. Detectives are interested in speaking with any other citizens who were on, or near, the Bob Kerrey pedestrian bridge Monday evening, who may have witnessed anything relevant to this case. Please call  712‐328‐4728 if you have any information to share.