A chase in Council Bluffs early this morning, ended with a man taken into custody on multiple charges. According to Council Bluffs Police, 59-year old Michael J. Flanagan, of Council Bluffs, was booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail on charges that include: OWI/2nd offense; Leaving the Scene of a Personal Injury Crash; Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage Crash; Eluding; Interference with Official Acts; Driving While Disqualified; No Proof of Insurance – Accident related; and Improper Use of a Controlled Access Facility.

Michael Flanagan

His arrest followed an incident that began a little after 1:45-a.m.. Authorities say a Council Bluffs Police officer, in a fully marked vehicle, was driving north bound on South Expressway. As he was approaching the 900 block of South Expressway. he noted a vehicle, a Gray 2014 Ford Focus, driving directly at him. The vehicle was traveling in the wrong direction, south bound in the north bound lanes. The officer activated his emergency lighting in attempts to warn / stop the driver.

The vehicle continued south bound as the officer pulled to the side of the road to try to avoid being struck. The vehicle sideswiped the police cruiser causing minor damage and continued south bound. After striking the police cruiser, the car then struck another vehicle that was northbound behind the cruiser on South Expressway. The driver of the second vehicle was a 46-year old man from Council Bluffs. The Focus continued south bound after striking the second vehicle.

The officer was able to get turned around on the vehicle and attempted to initiate a traffic stop on it. The Focus refuse to yield and fled from the officer. Officers pursued after the vehicle and were able to deploy stop sticks on it flattening all four of the Focus’s tires. The vehicle was disabled and came to a stop in the parking lot of Casey’s General Store (at 510 23rd Ave). Officers were able to take the driver, later identified as Flanagan, into custody.

The 46 year old male driver of the vehicle Flanagan struck after striking the police cruiser suffered minor injuries and was treated at the hospital. The officer struck was not injured.

Police in Red Oak report the arrest Thursday evening, of 36-year old Daniel Edward Miller, of Elliott. Miller was taken into custody at the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on a valid Montgomery County warrant for Willful Injury. He remains in the jail on a $5,000 cash bond.

President Trump has nominated an Iowan who was a top policy advisor on Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign to serve as the U-S-D-A Undersecretary for research, education and economics. Sam Clovis, formerly of Hinton, Iowa, has been working in the U-S-D-A since Trump took office, serving as a liason to the White House. A year ago, this is how Clovis described being part of the Trump campaign.

“This may be the last rodeo I ever have. I can’t believe I’ve had this experience,” Clovis said. “But I will tell you this: I can’t imagine anything more important than what I’m doing right now because it’s about the country.” His nomination to be the top science advisor in the U-S-D-A has sparked controversy, as Clovis has said he’s skeptical of climate science.

“I have looked at the science and I have enough of a science background to know when I’m being boofed and I think a lot of what we see is ‘junk science’, so I’m a skeptic.” Clovis was asked about the topic during a 2014 interview on Iowa Public Radio. “Does man have an impact on the environment? Absolutely, but there’s a difference between having an impact on the environment and leading us to something that we have now changes from global warning now to climate change,” Clovis said,” because I’m not sure what climate change means.”

Clovis says he’s wary of efforts to restrict human activity deemed damaging to the environment.”What we see about a lot of this…is really about income redistribution from rich nations that are industrialized to nations that are not and it comes down to this false premise…that we ought to consume based on population rather than on the strength of our economy,” Clovis said. “If we have 20 percent of the world GDP, it wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that we consume 20 percent of the energy of the world.”

Clovis finished second in the June 2014 Republican Primary for U.S. Senate and then he ran as the Republican Party’s nominee for state treasurer in the 2014 General Election. Clovis worked on Rick Perry’s presidential campaign, but after Perry dropped out of the race Clovis joined the Trump team in August of 2015. Clovis helped edit Trump’s most recent book as well. Clovis is a U-S Air Force veteran who was a Morningside College economics professor and talk show host on K-S-C-J Radio in Sioux City before he entered politics.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:50 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Corrections tells The Associated Press that about 80 inmates at a maximum security prison could face disciplinary action in connection to a large fight this month. That’s a far greater number of people than the state corrections department has publicly said were directly involved in the July 1 melee at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison. The estimate could add weight to union claims that the state agency previously has downplayed the fight.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has issued a disaster proclamation for four counties in the northeast corner of Iowa that suffered storm damages. The governor’s office said Thursday that the proclamation covers Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette and Winneshiek counties raked by storms Wednesday. The proclamation allows state resources to be used to aid in recovery efforts. It also activates the Iowa Individual Assistance program for qualifying residents of the four counties.

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — A Lake Mills man has been found guilty of killing two people and trying to kill another in Mason City last year. The Globe Gazette reports that a jury on Thursday found 31-year-old Peter Veal guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Prosecutors say Veal shot Melinda Kavars and stabbed Caleb Christensen to death and tried to kill a witness, Ron Willis.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A Muscatine man has been sentenced to decades in federal prison for possessing and distributing child pornography. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa says in a news release that 36-year-old Casey John Blain was sentenced Thursday in a Davenport federal courtroom. Prosecutors say Blain admitted to having at least 369 images and at least 267 videos of child pornography that he shared with others on the internet.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Drought conditions in some areas and weak grain prices are among factors weighing heavily on the rural economy in parts of 10 Plains and Western states. The overall Rural Mainstreet Index for the region plummeted to 40.7 in July from June’s index of 50. The index ranges between 0 and 100, with any number under 50 indicating a shrinking economy.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says July’s was the largest one-month decline recorded in the index since November 2008, which was in the middle of the Great Recession. The confidence index, which reflects bankers’ expectations for the economy six months out, slumped to 38.4 this month from 48.9 in June.

Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer reported Thursday, that a Braddyville man was arrested Tuesday evening following a traffic stop four-miles east of Clarinda. 47-year old John David Stone, of Braddyville, was arrested for driving while license is barred, an Aggravated Misdemeanor. He was transported to the Page County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond, pending an appearance before a Magistrate Judge.

Officials with the Cass County Health System say the next session of “Healthy U” is scheduled for noon on Thursday, July 27th at Cass County Health System. Presenting will be CCMH Laboratory Director Mitch Whiley, who says “A hospital lab is a behind-the-scenes area, but the information that we are able to provide is critical to our providers and patients.”

The presentation will cover background information about the lab, including services offered and staff. Mitch will also present a general overview about routine lab tests and results.

Mitch Whiley, MLS (ASCP)

Whiley says “We really want all of our patients to have information about their overall health including things like their cholesterol, blood sugar, and organ function. But understanding your results and reading the reports can be confusing. We will go over the reports and [MW1] provide a brief explanation on our most common lab tests, however, we always encourage patients to talk with their providers directly about what their personal results mean.”

Healthy U is a free educational lunch series at Cass County Health System held monthly in Conference Room 2. The public is invited and welcome to attend, but reservations are required as lunch is provided for all attendees. Call 712-243-7479 to reserve your seat.

Police and animal welfare officials across the state are reporting an uptick in calls about dogs being left in hot vehicles. Josh Colvin, with the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, says dogs should just be left at home when temperatures rise to the level they’re at this week. “I know we keep harping on this throughout the summer months, but this is going to be a hot spell and we just have to remind people,” Colvin said. “We’re talking heat indexes of 110…a spell like this, it’s probably best for dogs to be in the air conditioning and keep them safe.”

In Des Moines on Wednesday, police and ARL staff were called four times to shopping center parking lots to rescue dogs that were left alone in cars. Temperatures in the capital city climbed into the upper 90s.  “Luckily, we found the owners and we weren’t having to impound those animals,” Colvin said. “We had to talk it through with the owners, you can’t do this because it could be tragic.” All four dogs survived.    

It takes a very short period of time for a dog to suffer heat stress or even stroke on days such as this – when temperatures across Iowa are in the 90s to around 100. “We always advocate for us to be with our pets. They’re part of our family, we get that. But, as being part of the family, people just have to realize when it’s too hot, it’s too hot. A very short time in a vehicle, just running into a store, could be tragic for your dog,” Colvin said.

“We just can’t emphasize that enough. You know, short-nosed dogs…just taking them for a walk in this weather could be tragic. They could be in distress very quickly.” Three dogs died of heat exposure after they were found locked in a vehicle on July 10th outside of a dog show in Ottumwa.

(Radio Iowa)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a 25-year-old man suspected of killing an Omaha man last September. The body of 30-year-old Ernesto Saavedra was discovered Sept. 7 behind a building in northeast Omaha. Authorities haven’t said how he died.

Police say the suspect, Marquez Sanders, was taken to Omaha on Wednesday from the Pottawattamie County Jail in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he’d been in custody. Nebraska court records say Sanders is charged with second-degree murder.

Griswold Fire and Rescue and Medivac Ambulance crews were called to the scene of a single-vehicle accident early this (Thursday) afternoon just across the Cass/Pottawattamie County line, at 490th and Highway 6. The call went out at around 12:15-p.m. According to reports, a vehicle went out of control and entered the north ditch. The female driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, was transported by ambulance to the Cass County Memorial Hospital. No other details are currently available.

(Photo credit Tamara Wiley)