A manhunt is underway in Des Moines after a violent road rage incident on Thursday afternoon. Police say there was an argument between the drivers of two cars on the capitol city’s northeast side. It’s not clear what sparked the dispute but the driver of one car drove away and the other followed. Police say multiple shots were fired from the pursuing car and the victim’s car crashed in a ditch and hit a fence.

Road rage suspect vehicle

The driver was NOT seriously hurt. That driver snapped a picture of the suspects. The car police are seeking is a silver Toyota Camry with Iowa plates DMK905. It was reportedly driven by a white woman with two black men as passengers.

(Radio Iowa)

Heroin addiction is a very dangerous, growing problem in Iowa, according to a federal prosecutor for the state’s northern judicial district. Assistant U-S Attorney Dan Chatham prosecutes drug crimes, including dozens of heroin cases, the numbers of which have grown as users move from prescription meds to heroin. Chatham says the heroin on Iowa’s streets is getting more and more potent.

Chatham says, “We had a DEA resident agent-in-charge who came from down close to the border who was shocked when he started seeing us having 30% pure heroin in Iowa.” Speaking before the state’s Drug Policy Advisory Council in Des Moines on Thursday, Chatham says an especially powerful variant of heroin known as fentanyl started showing up in Cedar Rapids earlier this year.

“During that same time period, there were over 40 overdose-related calls for service, just in the first three months of 2015, just in this year,” Chatham says. “That’s an incredible number.” Chatham says dealers are meeting growing demand with the purer product. The Cedar Rapids Police Department has created a new position of heroin coordinator. A Des Moines police officer says heroin cases used to be rare and now they happen weekly. Chatham says bed space for critical detox is scarce and he adds, there’s a waiting list for a heroin opiate summit at the University of Iowa College of Public Health next month.

(Radio Iowa)

(RALSTON, Iowa) Oct. 23, 2015 —High school seniors pursuing a career in agriculture or an ag-related field are invited to apply for West Central® Cooperative’s 2015-2016 Excellence in Agriculture scholarship. The Excellence In Agriculture scholarship program awards four $1,500 scholarships for any accredited post-secondary program. Applications are available at any West Central location, from area high school guidance counselors, or online at west-central.com

Scholarship Requirements:

1. Applicant and/or parent must be a voting member, in good standing, of West Central.

2. Applicant must be a high school senior and graduate in the spring of the 2015-2016 school year.

3. Applicant must have a cumulative high school GPA of 2.5 or better on a 4.0 scale through his/her junior year.

4. Applicant must pursue a career in agriculture or enter an ag-related field of study at any accredited post-secondary school of his or her choice.

5. Dependents of directors and officers of West Central are not eligible to apply for these scholarships.

Applications must be returned by Jan. 29, 2016. If you have questions regarding West Central’s Excellence In Agriculture scholarship program, please contact Alicia Clancy, Director of Communications, at (712) 667-3334.

Officials with the Iowa Tourism Office and the Travel Federation of Iowa presented 27 awards recognizing excellence in the tourism industry Thursday night (Oct. 22nd), in Fairfield, during the 2015 Iowa Tourism Conference. Carla Eysink, president of the Travel Federation of Iowa, said “The Iowa Tourism Awards are the highest honor given in our state’s tourism industry The winners are truly the best of the best.”

Awards to both metro and rural areas were made in 13 award categories. In addition, conference attendees voted for the People’s Choice Award; nominees were the second-highest scoring nominations in 12 of the categories.

In the category of “Outstanding Attraction,” the Hard Rock Hotel in Casino, in Sioux City, won the award in the Metro communities division. Manning’s “Kinderfest” event won an award for “Outstanding Event” in the rural division. Among the persons receiving an “Outstanding Individual Leader” awards, was Cindy Thompson, with the Pottawattamie County Conservation Board (Metro division), and Jay Hartz, with the Hotel Pattee, in Perry (rural division). The Hotel Pattee also won the “Outstanding Niche Marketing Initiative” award in the rural division.

The annual Iowa Tourism Conference brings together nearly 300 industry representatives from across the state to network, attend educational sessions and discuss emerging industry trends. Officials say tourism in Iowa generates more than $8 billion in expenditures, employs 66,500 people statewide and generates $374 million in state taxes.

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

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

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(Council Bluffs) — Three students at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs were arrested Thursday afternoon on various charges following an altercation over an allegedly stolen pot pipe. Council Bluffs Police responded at around 2:30-p.m. to the college, for a report of a subject that was reportedly armed with a gun. Prior to any officers arriving on scene, IWCC campus security personnel had been able to stop and detain a male student, who had been pointed out as having displayed a handgun at other students during an altercation.

A further investigation revealed that three male students had been gathered in the dorm room of 19-year old Ethan Grask, of Clive, smoking illegal drugs together, when 18-year old Anthony E. Sanders, of Omaha, went to leave the room while allegedly attempting to steal a piece of drug paraphernalia from Grask.

Anthony E. Sanders

Raekwon Gray

Ethan J. Grask

A fight between Grask and Sanders ensued, with Sanders eventually displaying and threatening 18-year old Conner Holdsworth, of Carroll, with what appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun, in order to exit the residence hall.

While fleeing, Sanders was stopped by campus security in a parking lot near the dorm building. After searching the scene, officers located a plastic “Air-Soft” pellet gun in some bushes near the area where Sanders was taken into custody. The pellet gun looked similar to an actual handgun, as the orange colored safety tip had been removed.

Grask suffered minor injuries during his altercation with Sanders, but did not require any medical attention. No other students were injured. The campus was not placed on “lockdown”, as Sanders was located and detained by campus security staff almost immediately after the incident took place.

Sanders, Grask and 18-year old Raekwon Gray, of Fredrick, MO., were booked into Pottawattamie County Corrections. Sanders and Gray both were charged with Robbery in the 1st Degree. Sanders faces an additional charge of Aggravated Assault. Grask was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

While being booked into corrections Gray was also found to be in possession of a controlled substance that is suspected to have come from Grask’s room. All three men face a charge of Gathering where controlled substances are unlawfully used. And, while the investigation continues, authorities say they do not anticipate any additional charges at this time.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Pres

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials cancelled afternoon classes at a Des Moines high school after many staffers suffered from food poisoning, apparently by a catered meal. The Des Moines Register reports classes were cancelled Thursday at Roosevelt High School and students were sent home early. School district spokeswoman Amanda Lewis says the Polk County Health Department believes the staffers were sickened by a meal catered by two businesses. The food wasn’t prepared by the school kitchen and no students are believed to have been sickened. Roosevelt Principal Kevin Biggs says classes were cancelled because there were too few staffers to continue classes.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will be in Iowa more as the leadoff presidential caucuses draw closer. His campaign also tells The Associated Press that Christie is opening his first office soon in suburban Des Moines.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tests on more than 750 ducks shot by Minnesota hunters this fall have turned up no signs of the kind of bird flu that devastated the Midwest poultry industry earlier this year. Wild waterfowl don’t normally get sick from these viruses, but they’re deadly to domestic poultry. Bird flu cost producers more than 48 million chickens and turkeys earlier this year, mostly in Minnesota and Iowa.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Plans have been canceled for placing a 40-foot-tall statue in a roundabout intersection near Cedar Falls Industrial Park. Former City Council member Barbara Brown told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier that the controversy about roundabouts proposed for University Avenue made it hard to collect donations.

As a follow-up to our story about Wednesday morning’s robbery at a Casey’s Convenience store in Creston (200 S. Elm St.), here are surveillance still images of the suspect. The incident took place at around 6:30-a.m. If you have any information about the suspect, call the Creston Police Department at 641-782-8402.

Photos from the Creston P-D’s Facebook page as captured by surveillance cameras in the store.

Officials with Audubon County Economic Development say a candidate forum will be held Monday evening in Audubon, for those candidates running for Mayor and City Council in Audubon. Current Mayor Sam Kauffman is not running for re-election.

On the ballot for Mayor during the November 3rd City Elections is Barb Jacobsen, and Write-in candidate Brandon Toft. City Council candidates include Brad Hemmingsen, Andy Griffith, Bob Jacobsen and John  Whetzal.

The candidate forum, sponsored by Audubon County Tourism, will be held 7-p.m. Monday, Oct. 26th, at the Audubon Memorial Building, on the square, in Audubon. Persons needing a ride to the event should call 712-563-3269.