The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson
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The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.8MB)
Subscribe: RSS
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A man charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a Des Moines resident has been convicted of assault. The Des Moines Register reports that 32-year-old Cornelius Davis was found guilty Wednesday of two counts of assault causing injury. He’d been charged with robbery, willful injury and first-degree murder in the slaying of 42-year-old Thurmon Cole. He’d been killed Oct. 4 on Des Moines’ north side.
A defense attorney says Davis was attacked by Cole when Davis went to Cole’s apartment to sell him marijuana. Police had said Davis went there to rob Cole, thinking Cole had money and drugs. Cole’s girlfriend was injured during the incident.
West Central Valley School District Superintendent Lance Ridgely reports the West Central Valley School Board held a special meeting Wednesday night to address the issue of weather-related delays & cancellations for the 2018-19 school year. Ridgely says “Due to the number of weather-related school closings/delays/early releases we need to make up some of the time that we’ve lost. Our total lost time at this point is 55 hours (7 full days and some late starts and early dismissals).”
To compensate for the lost time, he says the Board approved the following adjustments to the 18-19 calendar.
1. Students will attend school 4/19, 5/28, 5/29. These will be full days of school and recover 19.5 instructional hours
2. The last day of school for students will be 5/30. This will be a 1:30 dismissal and bring the total instructional hours recovered to 24.
3. Students will attend 4/3, 4/17 & 5/8 as full days of school. This brings our total instructional hours recovered to 33.
4. Any further weather cancellations (full days) will be added to the end of the school year.
The remainder of the hours missed are accounted for through time spent during Parent Teacher conferences last fall and this spring.
(Radio Iowa) — The boys’ state basketball tournament isn’t the only state tournament that will hold its championship rounds in Des Moines this weekend. Some 19-hundred Iowa students from grades four through 12 will compete in the Iowa State Archery Tournament. Donise Petersen, the archery coordinator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says the sport is seeing healthy growth. “We have 300 schools that are actually shooting archery during the school day with physical education, most of those classes are going on,” Petersen says, “and then we have about 100 schools that are shooting actively within the competition program.”
The tournament features a full field of 88 teams shooting for nearly 17-thousand dollars in scholarships and other prizes, as well as a chance to go to the national competition this spring. Peterson says the local-level competitions got underway a few months ago. “Throughout the state of Iowa, schools started competing the first weekend in December all the way through the end of February,” Petersen says. “They have face-to-face archery tournaments and those schools that are the highest-scoring schools within their divisions — we have elementary, middle school and high school divisions — get to attend the state tournament.”
During this weekend’s state tournament, there’s a two-day bullseye competition in addition to a one-day 3-D competition using animal silhouettes. “The targets range between ten and 15 meters,” Petersen says. “There are targets such as a turkey, a deer, a bear, an antelope, a ram and a coyote. They’ll shoot those targets and depending on where their arrow hits within the target is the score that they receive.”
Unlike many other sports, Petersen says archery levels the playing field, “allowing students of all sizes and abilities to participate and excel.” The state archery tournament will be held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds both Saturday and Sunday.
The Atlantic High School team qualified both a bullseye and 3D team. The Atlantic Middle School team qualified for Bullseye.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported following a collision 2-p.m. Thursday, at the intersection of 203rd Street and J Avenue. Vehicles driven by 19-year old Cameron J. Pryor, of Red Oak, and 28-year old Tiffany J. Medenwaldt, of rural Red Oak, collided in-part due to icy road conditions. Authorities say Pryor was traveling south on J Avenue in a pickup truck and approaching the railroad tunnel, when he saw Medenwaldt’s SUV traveling northbound and entering the tunnel.
Pryor tried to stop, but the snow- and ice-covered road conditions prevented him from doing so. The 2007 Dodge Ram pickup he was driving slid and struck the 2015 Ford Escape on the left front side, causing sideswipe damage to the SUV. Authorities noted that the speed limit for the roadway changed from 55-to 35 mph on the south side of the tunnel, and there are no stop signs or control signs on either side, for tunnel traffic.
No citations were issued. Damage from the collision amounted to $10,500.
FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — The Webster County attorney has cleared two officers who killed a man during an exchange of gunfire. Forty-five-year-old Matthew Hurley, of Wall Lake, died Dec. 31 after engaging in a gunfight while driving away from officers who had been called to a disturbance just outside Fort Dodge. Hurley’s vehicle eventually stopped in a field, and he was found dead inside.
The review released Thursday says each officer was “justified in the use of reasonable force, including deadly force, in that each reasonably believed that such force was necessary to defend himself or another from an actual or imminent use of unlawful force by Matthew Thomas Hurley.”
Audubon County Attorney Sarah Jennings issued a statement Thursday on her offices’ social media post, with regard to the sentencing of Ian Leib on drug charges. Jennings said on Thursday, March 7th, Leib was sentenced to 15 years in prison, the maximum time possible on his two offenses: Possession of a Controlled Substance (PCS), Methamphetamine, with Intent to Deliver (Class C Felony); and a Probation Violation on an Operating While Intoxicated (OWI), Third Offense charge out of Pottawattamie County. Jennings said “Since I took office, this is the second-longest sentence we have requested and received for any crime. Only Samantha Bailey’s 20-year prison sentence was longer. Both offenses were serious meth-related crimes, one involving a supplier and the other involving child victims. Law enforcement and I believe these stiff sentences send a clear message that we will not allow meth to continue to corrode the fabric of our community.”
Ian Leib
Jennings went on to say “By strangling the supply of drugs with aggressive policing and prosecution, we can work together to eradicate the scourge that is methamphetamine from Audubon County. Remember that this all started with a jury verdict—I cannot emphasize enough how important jury service is and how thankful I am to the jurors who served in this trial.” An Audubon County jury convicted Ian Leib of PCS Meth with Intent to Deliver on January 29, 2019. Because Leib was also facing a probation revocation on an OWI 3rd in Pottawattamie County, Jennings reached out to her former colleague, Assistant Pottawattamie County Attorney Kerrie Snyder, to coordinate the hearings.
She says thanks to Ms. Snyder’s petition to the court and hard work behind the scenes, she was able to move the probation revocation hearing to Audubon County and get it set before the Judge at the same time as Leib’s sentencing hearing. The change of venue and combination of the hearings streamlined the proceedings and allowed the State to make a compelling argument for the court to run Leib’s prison sentences consecutive rather than concurrent. Leib had received a five-year suspended prison sentence on his OWI 3rd, but he had violated the conditions of his probation multiple times and thus was facing the imposition of the original prison sentence.
The first portion of the hearing was Mr. Leib’s sentencing on his PCS with Intent to Deliver charge. The prison term on this charge is not to exceed 10 years, but the code allows for the prison sentence to be suspended if the judge deems it appropriate. The Audubon County Attorney argued, based on Mr. Leib’s criminal history and failed attempts at community supervision, for the prison sentence to be imposed, not suspended. Judge Dreismeier went along with the State’s recommendation and imposed an indeterminate prison term of ten years on this charge.
Ms. Snyder then handled the probation revocation hearing portion of the proceeding. Ms. Synder put on evidence and argument that Leib’s five-year prison sentence associated with the original OWI 3rd offense should be “stacked,” or run consecutive and not concurrent, with the 10-year prison term. That evidence included his abusive and abhorrent behavior while in custody at the Audubon County jail, the fact that the 10-year prison sentence carries no mandatory minimum anymore, and that consecutive sentences would allow him a more meaningful opportunity for substance abuse and mental health programming while in prison.
Leib’s behavior while in custody in the Audubon jail included violent outbursts and verbal abuse toward jailers, dispatchers, and inmates to the point that he had to be transferred to other facilities multiple times to provide a respite. He also threatened the young children of an Audubon County deputy on one occasion and created a “hit list” while in his cell. Additionally, he repeatedly made racist remarks to other inmates and intimidated cellmates by flaunting a swastika tattoo on his chest.
Judge Dreismeier imposed the five-year original prison sentence associated with the OWI 3rd and followed the State’s recommendation that it be run consecutive with the 10-year prison sentence on the PCS with Intent charge for a total of 15 years in prison. Mittimus issued immediately, and Mr. Leib was remanded to the custody of the Department of Corrections to serve his time at Oakdale. His appeal bond was set at $20,000.
“Today was a major victory for Audubon County law enforcement and a testament to the power of team work. In spite of having literally hundreds of other cases, Ms. Kerrie Snyder put Mr. Leib’s revocation hearing at the top of her priority list and drove 3 hours in inclement weather to be here today. The consecutive sentences would not have happened without her.
Thank you to Sheriff Todd Johnson and Chris Walla from probation for testifying today. I also want to thank Deputy Nate Tibbets and the brave dispatchers and jailers who spoke out against Mr. Leib and his despicable treatment of them to make sure justice was served. Law enforcement and I are also grateful to Judge Dreismeier for holding Mr. Leib accountable for his behavior and recognizing the seriousness of his crimes,” Jennings added.
A traffic stop in Adams County Wednesday night resulted in the arrest on warrants of a Missouri man. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports Deputies stopped a vehicle at around 10:37-p.m. near the intersection of Highway 34 and Sycamore Avenue. Upon further investigation, it was determined that the driver of the vehicle, Aaron Roberts of Sedalia, Missouri, had active warrants for his arrest through Kansas.
Roberts was taken into custody and held in the Adams County Jail on $50,000 Cash Only Bond awaiting extradition to Kansas.
Today: Areas of fog this morning; Partly cloudy to cloudy. High 31. E @ 5-10.
Tonight: Cloudy w/light rain and/or freezing drizzle developing late. Nearly steady temp in the low 30’s.
Tomorrow: Cloudy w/rain. High 41. SE-NW @ 10-20.
Sunday: P/Cldy. High 33.
Monday: P/Cldy. High 35.
We received .9″ of snow for the past 24-hours, for a total of 1.8″. Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 29. Our Low was 19. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 37 and the Low 14. The All-time Record High on this date was 76 in 1986, and the record Low was -12 in 1982.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said he had a feeling Ethan Happ would have a good game against Iowa.
He was right.
Happ did a little bit of everything to help No. 21 Wisconsin beat Iowa 65-45, scoring 21 points in his final home game and grabbing 14 rebounds. He also had three assists, two blocks and two steals, all the while helping keep Iowa’s post players in foul trouble for much of the game.
Fellow senior Khalil Iverson had the first double-double of his career with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
As much as things went well for Happ, Iverson and Wisconsin (21-9, 13-6 Big Ten), it was another disappointing performance for the Hawkeyes, who have now lost four of five. That includes three straight losses by double digits, the last two with coach Fran McCaffery missing from the bench as he finished a suspension for going after a referee following a 90-70 loss to Ohio State Feb. 26.
They shot 31 percent from the field for the game, their worst performance of the season, and their previous scoring low was 65 in a one-point loss to Maryland Feb. 19.
Meanwhile, their post players couldn’t stay on the floor. Luka Garza went to the bench in the first half after being whistled for his second foul with nearly 9 minutes left. Nicholas Baer followed a few minutes later.
Then it was Jared Cook’s turn in the second half. He was whistled for his third foul less than 4 minutes into the half, came back five minutes later and was promptly hit with his fourth.
After scoring 19 and grabbing 15 rebounds in the two teams’ first meeting Nov. 30, Cook was scoreless while registering seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin turned Iowa’s 25 fouls into 27 free throw attempts, though the Badgers made just 17. Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes were just 4 of 6 from the line.
Jordan Bohannon, who averages nearly 13 points a game, and Ryan Kriener led Iowa with eight apiece.
UP NEXT
Iowa: Travels to Nebraska on Sunday
Wisconsin: Travels to Ohio State on Sunday.
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