OSKALOOSA, Iowa (AP) — A state audit of a south-central Iowa animal shelter has identified more than $13,000 in improper spending. The audit report released Friday says the special investigation of the Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter in Oskaloosa found improper personal purchases by the shelter’s former director, Lindsey Sime, who used shelter credit cards.

Court documents say Sime pleaded guilty to theft and unauthorized use of a credit card. On Oct. 23 she was given a suspended prison sentence of two years, two years of probation and was ordered to pay more than $8,600 in restitution, fines and other costs.

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

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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have released the name of an employee who was killed at his Cedar Rapids workplace. Police identified the man as 46-year-old Daniel Heeren, who lived in Van Horne. He was run over by a semitrailer Wednesday morning at the DuPont Industrial Bioscience facility. Police say Heeren’s death didn’t result from a crime and say an industrial safety investigation is expected.

An accident in Creston at around 9:30-a.m. Thursday, happened because a driver wasn’t paying attention. According to Creston Police, 47-year old Brian Edward Nelson, of Blockton, was cited for Failure to Obey a Traffic Control Device, after the 2012 Ford F-150 he was driving went through a red light and struck a car driven by 19-year old Keigan Eugene Armstrong, of Fontanelle. The accident happened at the intersection of Adams and Sumner Streets, in Creston. Damage from the collision amounted to an estimated $1,500. Nelson told Police he had the red light, and “Just was not paying attention.”

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

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Police in Council Bluffs this (Friday) morning, arrested a Nebraska man following the chase of a Ford Escape (an SUV) that had been reported stolen from Lincoln, Nebraska back on Nov. 27th.  Authorities say 25-year old Bukjiok Dobuony, of Lincoln, NE., was apprehended after the vehicle crashed, and a short foot pursuit began. Dobuony was charged with Theft 2nd, Eluding, Possession of Controlled Substance (Marijuana) and No Driver’s License.

Dobuony

According to the Council Bluffs Police Department, at around 2:30-a.m. today (Friday), Bluffs Police responded to the area of Highway 92 (Veteran’s Highway) after a broadcast was made Nebraska law enforcement officers had just terminated a pursuit of a stolen vehicle at the state line on Veteran’s Bridge. The vehicle was observed by a Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Deputy in the area of Highway 92 and Harry Langdon Blvd.

When the Deputy attempted to stop the vehicle, it fled westbound on Veterans. As the deputy followed the SUV, Council Bluffs Police joined in the pursuit. The stolen vehicle, after striking a set of Stop Sticks, eventually stopped after went out of control, drove over a curb, and struck a small tree in the parking lot of ECHO Electric (4325 Gifford Rd).

The driver (Dobuony) fled on foot and was apprehended by officers.

SWAN, Iowa (AP) — A man has been accused of using a cattle prod to discipline two children in south-central Iowa. Court records say 36-year-old Travis Coker, of rural Swan in Marion County, pleaded not guilty Thursday to two counts of felony child endangerment causing injury. The records don’t show a trial date. Criminal complaints say the girls reported that Coker used the prod to shock them as a “form of discipline.”

Marion County Sheriff Jason Sandholdt says the 11- and 13-year-old girls weren’t doing their chores fast enough on the family farm, so Coker decided to use the prod — a hand-held rod that delivers an electric shock to control livestock. The court records also say Coker and his wife corroborated the girls’ statements.

Sheriff’s Deputies in Montgomery County report a man was arrested on a trio of charges a little after 1-a.m. today (Friday). 48-year old Mark Douglas Berggren, of Red Oak, was pulled over near the intersection of 215th Street and K Avenue in Montgomery County. He faces charges that include Eluding, Driving While Revoked and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Berggren was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held an $2,000 bond.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports that at around 11:45-p.m. Thursday, Deputies were called to a residence near the intersection of 130^th Street and 380^th Avenue, for a report of dog that had been shot. Upon arrival, deputies were advised by the home owner that he let his dogs outside around 11:05-p.m., and heard several gunshots outside his residence a short time later. The homeowner advised he found blood near the front door of his residence and after a search of the surrounding area, he discovered his dog with a fatal gunshot wound in a field near his residence.

Deputies discovered several spent firearm casings near the scene.Deputies are looking to speak to the owner of a dark green Ford Ranger, extended cab pickup, with side steps and large tires, that was possibly seen in the area at the time of the shooting. Anyone with information, please contact the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office at 712-374-2424.

The Republican leader in the Iowa Senate says legislators should make eliminating the state income tax a “big picture goal.” In the meantime, Bill Dix says lawmakers should CUT taxes AND cut state spending next year. “As a state, we need to challenge ourselves in how much it costs to run state government,” Dix says.

Kansas lawmakers dramatically cut state income taxes in 2012 and 2013, but Dix says that experiment failed because officials in Kansas did not make deep enough cuts in that state’s budget.  “We have to redouble our efforts to really reanalyze what our priorities are and how we use your money and what impact that has on the overall economy and growth,” Dix says.

Seven U.S. states do not have an income tax and Dix says the economy in neighboring South Dakota is booming because there’s no income tax in South Dakota. “The other 11 Midwestern states have all seen a loss in the last decade of wealth, real wealth, in their states,” Dix says.

Dix made his comments during a forum sponsored by the Iowa Chamber Alliance, a group that represents the state’s largest chambers of commerce. Critics of eliminating the state income tax altogether say Iowans will wind up paying more in other taxes.

Texas residents do not pay an income tax, but face steep property taxes, for example. Washington state residents don’t have an income tax, but that state’s gas tax is highest in the country.

(Radio Iowa)