The Council Bluffs Police Department reports a man who became disoriented and drove his vehicle off an overpass early this (Friday) morning, was not seriously injured. 55-year old Jeffrey L. Porter, of Council Bluffs, was traveling east on the Avenue G viaduct at around 3:25-a.m., when his vehicle drifted onto the sidewalk.

Image from the Council Bluffs P-D Facebook page.

The vehicle then proceeded to crash through a section of chain-link fence before plunging nearly 25-feet and landing on its roof. Authorities say Porter was likely saved from serious injury because he was wearing his seat belt. The man was transported to Jennie Edmundson hospital as a precautionary measure, and later released.

Alcohol was not believed to be a factor in the crash.

U-S Senator Joni Ernst (A Republican from Red Oak), will hold a Town Hall meeting in Mills County next week, as part of her 99 county tour across Iowa. The meeting, which takes place 8:30-a.m. March 24th at the Glenwood City Hall, is open to the public.

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

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SPENCER, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa medical examiner’s office has concluded that the death of a Spencer High School wrestler who collapsed at a December match was likely caused by a congenital heart defect. The Sioux City Journal reports an autopsy on 18-year-old Austin Roberts’ body Dec. 22 determined the cause of death. The medical examiner’s office also listed “probable dehydration” and “other significance” in his death. The manner of his death will be certified as natural causes.

Roberts, at 220 pounds, collapsed at a tournament Dec. 19 in Spencer after taking injury time when he couldn’t catch his breath. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital later that day. He was ranked sixth in the state in Class 3A at the time of his death.

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

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In a follow-up to our report Thursday morning, additional details have been released about the arrest of a Glenwood woman who faces 11 felony counts of Dependent Adult Abuse and one felony count of Ongoing Criminal Conduct. According to the Daily NonPareil, 35-year old Tonya Fustos was arrested Tuesday after an investigation was conducted done by State of Iowa’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

She was released Wednesday without having to post bond, but is expected to make all of her court dates. Fustos’ next court appearance will be a preliminary hearing on March 30th. If convicted of ongoing criminal conduct, Fustos could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison. She could face up to five years in prison on each dependent adult abuse charge.

According to court documents, Fustos, while acting as the director for caregivers for dependent adults, committed a series of financial exploitation violations from August of 2014 to February of 2015. Assistant Pottawattamie County Attorney Shelly Sudmann, who will prosecute the case, said Fustos hired her husband’s painting company to paint the rooms of the dependent adults. Fustos reportedly charged the residents more than $100 for the work.

According to the arrest affidavit, Fustos allegedly directed her employees to use the dependents’ personal funds to pay for the invoices. Sudmann likened the allegations to renting an apartment and being asked to pay for maintenance, even though you are already paying rent. Sudmann also said it did not look like all the billed work was actually done.

At the time of the alleged financial exploitation violations, Fustos worked as a director for Developmental Services of Iowa. She currently works for AmeriHealth Caritas. Fustos has been ordered not to advise clients on their accounts until her case is resolved.

Investigators in Iowa have identified a man killed Sunday during a single-vehicle crash in Adair County. According to the Omaha World-Herald, the victim was 51-year old Douglas Jonathan Rector, of Fair Oaks, Indiana. Rector died after the Chrysler minivan he was driving east on Iowa Highway 92 east of Greenfield, veered off the road. The van entered the north ditch, exited the ditch, became airborne and rolled as it came back in contact with the road.

A man who allegedly violated the terms of his probation issued following an OWI arrest was taken into custody Thursday afternoon, in Red Oak. Police say 51-year old Brett Alan Black, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 4:30-p.m. and brought to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center, where his bond was set at $1,000.

Tiffany Torno received a surprise gift from Ashton Kutcher on Thursday morning. The Daily NonPareil reports the gift was part of a “surprise philanthropic flash mob,” native Iowa actor and entrepreneur, Kutcher funded for all the classroom projects in Iowa on fundraising website DonorsChoose.org. A total of 131 requests including four from Council Bluffs and one each from Lewis Central, Glenwood, Harlan, Red Oak, Shenandoah and Treynor received funding. In addition, several other southwest Iowa teachers had projects funded by the #BestSchoolDay campaign.

Among them:
• $551.16 for Erin Plagge at 20th Street Elementary School in Denison for 30 headphones for first-graders (along with one previous donor)
• $400.58 for Deborah Fajardo at Northeast Elementary School in Glenwood for 24 chair pockets for kindergartners (fully funded by Kutcher)
• $313.07 for Christine Skog at Harlan Community Intermediate School in Harlan for music books (along with three previous donors)
• $672.25 for Irene Blazek at Missouri Valley Middle School in Missouri Valley for four classroom tables (along with two previous donors)
• $2,150.01 for Amanda Brandon at Riverside High School in Oakland for a concert band bass drum (fully funded by Kutcher)
• $1,979.24 for Michael Moran at Red Oak Middle School in Red Oak for five archery targets (along with nine previous donors, including a match offer by ESPN)
• $734.79 for Sarah Martin at Shenandoah High School in Shenandoah for five Sphero robots (along with two previous donors)
• $194.95 for Shantelle Vohs at Treynor Elementary School in Treynor for book boxes, math activities and games (along with two previous donors)

In a video statement, Kutcher said he grew up as a product of Iowa’s public school system with “teachers who went above and beyond,” who sometimes “cared more about me than themselves.” He said “They inspired me. They made me believe in myself. They probably believed in me more than I believed in myself, and I probably wouldn’t be where I am today without them.” Kutcher, in addition to being an actor, is also a venture capitalist who invested in several technology companies. He dropped out of the University of Iowa, where he studied biochemical engineering, after winning a modeling contest in 1997. Outside of Iowa, Kutcher was among more than 50 athletes, actors, businesspeople and philanthropists Thursday who participated in the #BestSchoolDay effort. More than $14 million was given to fund nearly 12,000 projects nationally.