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

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A Council Bluffs man charged with shooting his father to death will be arraigned on a charge of 1st degree murder later this month. 21-year old Sean Schendel allegedly shot his father, 55-year old Robert R. Schendel several times in his father’s home on Aug. 12th, then allegedly stole his van and withdrew money from his father’s bank account. The Daily NonPareil reports Sean Schendel will be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 28th.

Schendel has not yet turned in a written plea. If he does plead not guilty to murder and theft charges, his trial could start as early as 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 17th. Court documents indicate Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber said he and Deputy County Attorney John Jacobmeier would lead the prosecution. Jennifer Solberg will be Schendel’s attorney.

Schendel, who was found in Sterling, Colorado along with his father’s missing van, was arrested on Aug. 15th. Schendel was brought back to Council Bluffs on Aug. 21st and remains in Pottawattamie County Jail on just over $1-million bond. In addition to the murder charge, Schendel faces two counts of second-degree theft.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Prosecutors have dropped all charges against an 18-year-old man who was accused of kidnapping and assaulting two men over a dispute about drug dealings. Isaiah Mothershed had been charged with two counts of kidnapping and two counts of willful injury.

Mothershed had been accused of binding and blindfolding two men who met him to buy marijuana on July 7. Court documents had said he burned their faces with a hot object and struck one of them with a shotgun. Authorities said Mothershed had accused them of helping someone steal his marijuana.

The documents said Mothershed forced the men into the trunk of his car, but they escaped when he stopped and left the car to go into a house. Woodbury County Attorney Patrick Jennings, who filed a motion to dismiss the charges Tuesday, said the investigation is ongoing to determine Mothershed’s involvement in the incident.

Several, no response calls from a person who dialed 9-1-1 resulted in an investigation, and the arrest of a man Thursday afternoon in Red Oak. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says 59-year old William W. Elliott, of Red Oak, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault shortly after 4-p.m., after authorities determined the location of the 9-1-1 calls and found the alleged victim with Elliott, northwest of Red Oak on 160th Street.

Elliott was being held in the Montgomery County Jail without bond, pending an appearance before a magistrate.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says his Iowa organization has picked up steam in recent months. The Vermont senator and 2016 hopeful appeared Thursday at a campaign office opening in Ottumwa. People packed inside the building and spilled out onto the street, enthusiastically cheering his appearance.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The first television ad backing Republican Governor Scott Walker’s presidential campaign to begin airing in Iowa next week highlights his 2011 battle with public sector unions. The 60-second ad was released Thursday by the Unintimidated super PAC that has announced it is spending $17 million in the next six months on an ad campaign backing Walker.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump ruled out a possible third-party White House bid Thursday and vowed to support the Republican Party’s next presidential nominee — whoever that may be. To the dismay of Republican leaders, Trump has emerged as the overwhelming front-runner in the party’s crowded field of candidates.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Court documents show an Iowa man charged with sexually assaulting and killing a woman told police that she simply was “in the wrong place at the wrong time.” The Telegraph Herald reports that 19-year-old Helmon Betwell is charged with murder, sexual assault and two counts of burglary. He made an initial appearance Wednesday in court, where his bond was set at $1 million.

The Stuart  Police Department reports a search warrant executed Wednesday at a residence in the 600 block of southwest 7th Street, resulted in one arrest and another person facing charges. Cole Aaron Molyneux, of Stuart, was arrested and charged with trafficking stolen firearms, possession of stolen property and possession of burglary tools. Charges were also filed on a juvenile male with connections to the case.

The warrant was executed as part of an ongoing investigation conducted by the Stuart Police Department regarding several recent car burglaries in the Adair, Guthrie and Dallas County areas. During the search, Stuart Officers recovered various items of stolen property including stolen firearms. Evidence collected during the investigation will be turned over to surrounding law enforcement agencies, as the majority of the vehicle burglaries occurred outside the city of Stuart. It is anticipated that those agencies will have additional charges filed from the result of this investigation.

(In an update to our post Wednesday- corrects 2nd vehicle as a tractor)

A passenger in a car that pulled out in front of a tractor Wednesday evening in Atlantic, was injured during the collision. According to Atlantic Police, the accident near the west entrance to the Mid-Town Apartments happened a little after 6:30-p.m.
Officials say an SUV driven by Shelly Schwenneker, of Atlantic, was turning left into the apartment complex parking lot in the 400 block of east 8th Street, when she pulled in front of an International tractor driven by Dennis Vogl, of Atlantic. A passenger in the SUV, 44-year-old Tracy Ollinger, of Atlantic, suffered minor injuries and was transported by Medivac Ambulance to the Cass County Memorial Hospital.

Police says Schwenneker was cited for failure to yield while making a left turn.

Police in Council Bluffs say a Carter Lake man was arrested Wednesday in connection with an incident at an apartment complex. 33-year old Sunny D. Hazen was charged with 1st Degree Arson, Criminal Mischief in the 2nd Degree, Burglary in the 2nd degree, assault on police and medics, eluding, and disobedience to Peace Officers.

Sunny Hazen

His arrest followed an investigation that began at around 3:30-p.m., Wednesday, when Council Bluffs police responded to the River Park Apartment complex at 20 S. 41st Street, for a male subject that was causing damage to several sprinkler heads, of one of the building’s fire suppression system. Officers were eventually able to locate and take the subject – identified as Hazen – into custody on the adjacent golf course.

A further investigation revealed that Hazen had entered the apartment of a female resident who was home at the time. Upon encountering Hazen inside the apartment, the female locked herself in her bedroom, and was not harmed. Inside the apartment building, Hazen ripped several sprinkler heads from the ceiling and used a lighter to activate the system. Damage to the River Park Apartment property is estimated at $5,000 -to $8,000.

Hazen, who appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance, assaulted three police officers and two fire personnel during the course of his arrest and transport to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment. He allegedly bit, scratched and spat on these police and fire officials, none of whom were seriously injured. Each has since returned to regular duty.

The Atlantic Volunteer Fire Department is holding its ninth annual can tab collection event to benefit the Shriners Hospital for Children. Second Assistant Fire Chief Tim Cappel says they collect tabs not only from local businesses and individuals, but other area fire departments, as well.

Aluminum can tabs twisted off cans or aluminum bottle caps are being accepted. Cappel says each year, many of the same people or organizations collect tabs for the cause. Many local businesses and restaurants are also helping collect the tabs, which take a while to accumulate, just to make a pound of aluminum. It takes 15-to 16-hundred tabs to make a pound.

Cappel says over the past nine-years, they’ve collected over 14,561 pounds, which means $10,000 has been redeemed by the Shrine Hospitals for the AFD’s efforts. Cappel says the department has a great relationship with the Shriners organization in Altoona, which has helped the grandson of local family recover from severe burns. Shriners are committed to providing the best care for children in specialty areas of Orthopaedics, Burn Care, Spinal Cord Injury, and Cleft Lip and Palate, regardless of a family’s ability to pay.

The Atlantic Fire Department will be collecting can tabs at the Depot this (Thursday) evening, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in front of the Depot on north Chestnut Street. If you can’t drop off your tabs this evening, you can drop them off at any other time at the Atlantic fire station, any fire station in Cass County, Cappel’s Ace Hardware and other participating businesses.

RED OAK, Iowa (AP) – Engineers with the Iowa Flood Center are mapping the East Nishnabotna River as part of an effort to better track areas at risk of flooding when heavy rainfall occurs.  The Daily Nonpareil reports that the data collected by the engineers on Wednesday will be used to create computer models and maps that’ll show what land likely will flood at a variety of river levels.

Engineer Tony Loeser sat on shore with a laptop Wednesday while his colleague, Dan Gilles, kayaked the river in a zig-zag pattern.  Gilles’ kayak had two pieces of equipment to help map the river. He had a sonar device that measured river depth by bouncing sound waves off the river’s bottom. He also had a global positioning device to measure latitude, longitude and elevation.