A Council Bluffs man faces 25 years in prison after being accused of sexually abusing a 7-year-old girl. The Daily NonPareil reports 50-year old Manuel Corrales-Rabago was arrested Wednesday, on suspicion of sexual abuse. He was charged with two counts of second-degree sexual abuse on Thursday. Fourth Judicial District Associate Judge Charles Fagan set Corrales-Rabago’s bail at $50,000 and appointed him a public defender. The Judge also filed a no-contact order, which prohibits Corrales-Rabago from contacting the victim.

A man who was trying to figure out why his pickup was making strange noises Thursday night, ended up hitting a road sign, and being cited for Careless Driving. Red Oak Police say 58-year old John Richard Mullenix, of Red Oak, was cited for the offense after officers investigated an accident at 8th Street and Chautauqa Drive, where a Yield sign had been struck.

After officers followed-up on information provided by a witness to the incident, they located the suspect vehicle and questioned the driver, identified as Mullenix, who admitted he had been traveling west on Chautauqa, when he leaned down to try and figure out where strange noises in his truck were coming from, and hit the sign. Mullenix said at the time of the accident, he didn’t know what he hit, so he drove away from the scene.

Damage to Mullenix’ 2003 Chevy Silverado pickup was estimated at $200.

A traffic stop at the intersection of Highway 34 and Dogwood Avenue in Montgomery County late Thursday night, resulted in the arrest of a Nebraska man on drug charges. 57-year old Steve Henry Russell, of Omaha, faces charges that include Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and OWI/Drugged- 1st offense. Russell was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond.

The Omaha World-Herald reports a Council Bluffs woman was arrested Wednesday night after being accused of neglecting her 6-month-old son. 19-year-old Kuira Lawton faces a felony suspicion of abandonment of a dependent person charge, after allegedly allowing her infant to be watched by the woman’s ex-boyfriend, 21-year old Rodney Weatherwax, who is known to allegedly have anger, drug and physical abuse issues.

According to the arrest affidavit, Lawton would often leave the infant with Weatherwax when she went to work or out with friends. Weatherwax was arrested Dec. 19th and later charged with child endangerment, abandonment of a dependent person and two counts of assault with intent to cause willful injury, all felonies. He remains in Pottawattamie County Jail with his bail set at $200,000.

Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope is reporting three recent arrests. The Sheriff says on Tuesday, an investigation in Farragut into reported animal neglect resulted in the arrest on a warrant, of Melanie Finchman, of Farragut. The woman was taken into custody on two counts of animal neglect resulting in death or serious injury. She was being held in the Fremont County jail.

On Thursday, deputies in Fremont County arrested a Thurman man on a warrant for Domestic Abuse/Assault. Scott McCart was taken into custody Thursday evening without incident, and brought to the Fremont County Law Enforcement Center, where he was being held without bond.

And, an investigation into reported criminal mischief at the County Line Bar on Highway 59 in Fremont County, resulted in the arrest of a Shenandoah man. Tyler Nothwehr was arrested on a charge of Criminal Mischief in the 5th degree. He was being held in the Fremont County jail on $300 bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) — The Muscatine County attorney says a deputy acted lawfully and with reasonable intent when he shot a man who is accused of stealing a vehicle and hitting a police car. County Attorney Alan Ostergren announced Thursday that deputy Eddie Cardenas’s actions were reasonable based upon the threat of the suspect’s actions. The deputy opened fire on 41-year-old Timothy Seefeldt, who was arrested and taken to a hospital.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Broadcast television viewers in New Hampshire should recognize Hillary Clinton’s stance on gun control by now. One of every four political advertisements she’s airing in the state is about tougher gun laws. But in Iowa, only 1 in 17 of Clinton’s spots features her stance on gun control. That’s according to an Associated Press analysis of Clinton’s campaign ads.

MEREDITH, N.H. (AP) — Chris Christie says that if wins the White House he’ll invite the leaders of six U.S. allies to “vent” about President Barack Obama. The New Jersey Governor is one of nearly half a dozen GOP candidates fighting to emerge from New Hampshire’s February 9th primary as an establishment alternative to Donald Trump.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Peter Jok scored a career-high 29 points and Number 9 Iowa shook off pesky Rutgers in the second half in posting a harder-than-expected 90-76 victory Thursday night. Jarrod Uthoff and Anthony Clemmons added 20 points apiece as the Hawkeyes won their eighth straight game.

Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson spoke to a large crowd during an event in Atlantic Thursday night. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, talked about coming from a broken family that was held together by the fortitude of his mother, the loss of a campaign staffer during a crash on Interstate 80 in Cass County, terrorism, and how to fix the economy. Carson spoke about the “Income Gap” Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders often speak of. He said taxing the rich more will not solve the problem.

He said one of the keys to getting the nation back on track is controlling the amount of government regulations.

Republican Ben Carson at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic (Ric Hanson/photo)

Carson proposed looking at regulations in terms of cost versus benefits. As an example, he said Clean Energy may lower the earth’s temperature by a slight margin over 85-years, but it will cost billions of dollars and millions of jobs. Carson said policies cannot be “ideologically driven.” Instead, we should want policies driven by evidence.

On the topic of terrorism, Carson said ISIS is an “Existentialist threat,” and that “We have to destroy the Jihadists, we can’t simply contain them, because they’re not going away.” He suggested the way to do that is to consult with military experts and find out what it is they need to take terrorist’s land away from them, and then give the military what they need, instead of tying their hands. He also said we “Have to take their oil,” which is their source of income.

On the home front, Carson suggested Americans be trained how to respond to terrorist situations. He said also we should be offering free courses for Americans on how to use their guns, not restricting who can legally purchase them. Carson was also in favor of term limits for Congress, and justices on the Supreme Court. When asked about Government Transparency, Carson said there needs to be a more open dialogue between the Executive and Legislative branches of government, and that those talks are public.

After he answered questions from the audience, Carson spoke briefly with the media. When asked about the low standing in the polls leading up to Iowa caucuses, Carson said Town Hall meetings are the way to get his message out.He said also “I’m not a politician…all I have to do is tell the truth.” Carson said his campaign team has pulled together even more over the loss of Brayden Joplin following the crash on I-80, and he never considered pulling out of the race, because the reason he got into the race still exists. And that is Our country is moving rapidly in the wrong direction, and if we continue down the same path, and if we continue doing the same thing, and we continue putting the same kind of people with the same kind of promises in, we’re gonna get the same results.”

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports three arrests. On Wednesday, deputies arrested 33-year old Juan Manuel Anaya Mendez, of Atlantic, on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Anaya Mendez was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released on $5,000 bond the following day. Also arrested Wednesday was 47-year old Dana Lee Charles, of Atlantic. Charles was taken into custody on a warrant for Failure to Appear. She was being held in the Cass County Jail, pending serving jail sentence.

Today (Thursday) Cass County deputies arrested 36-year old Heather Marie Christensen, of Atlantic, on District Court warrants for Probation Violation. Christensen was taken to the Cass County Jail where she remains held on $50,000 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Some House lawmakers have advanced legislation that would reinforce Iowa gun owners’ access to weapons during times of emergency in the state.  A divided three-member panel from the House Judiciary Committee approved the bill Thursday, and it now heads to the full committee. It needs approval there before a full House vote.

The bill would specify that neither the governor nor state officials can prohibit or curtail lawful gun possession during a public disorder or disaster emergency proclamation. Current law allows state officials to do so, though critics of the bill say such a situation would be rare. They called the bill unnecessary.

Rep. Matt Windschitl, a Missouri Valley Republican, says the bill protects Second Amendment rights. He has introduced several bills this session that focus on expanding gun rights.