Creston Police report a woman from Creston was arrested early this (Thursday) morning, at the Union County Law Enforcement Center. 36-year old Candace Russell was taken into custody at around 1:35-a.m., for OWI/2nd offense. She was being held in the Adams County Jail for Union County, on a $2000 bond.

ORANGE CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Appeals Court has ordered a resentencing for a man imprisoned for beating an 11-year-old boy. The Sioux City Journal reports that the court ruled Wednesday that the trial judge considered an improper sentencing factor when giving 36-year-old Matthew Spaans four years in prison. Spaans and his wife, Nina Spaans, of Hawarden, pleaded guilty to four counts of child endangerment. She received a four-year suspended prison sentence and was placed on two years of probation.

Records say Matthew Spaans beat his stepson with his hands, a 56-inch sword and another item, severely bruising the boy. The documents say the boy was told to make up stories about his bruises or his next beating would be worse.

Police in Council Bluffs say two men, one wearing a Batman costume, the other a green, full-body suit, robbed a Casey’s General Store early this (Thursday) morning. The incident happened a little before 4-a.m., at the 2301 South 24th Street Casey’s in Council Bluffs. The men appeared to be brandishing a rifle and a sword. The robbers gave the clerk a bag, who filled it with an undisclosed amount of cash. The two suspects then left the store through the back door.

Robbery suspects 12-20-18

The incident remains under investigation. If you have any information that may help solve the crime, call the Council Bluffs Crime Stoppers at 712-328-7867.

An accident in Atlantic Wednesday afternoon at 10^th and Chestnut Streets resulted in one person being transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital. Authorities say a Toyota SUV traveling westbound on 10^th Street was struck by an eastbound SUV that was turning north onto Walnut.

One of the drivers suffered unknown/possible injuries, while the other driver was not hurt. A citation for Failure to Yield upon left turn was pending against the driver of the vehicle that struck the Toyota.

Additional details were not immediately available.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman has been given seven years in prison for stealing more than $192,000 from her now-dead fiance and his elderly mother. Robin Ann Bertelli, of Cedar Rapids, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. She pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft. Prosecutors say the 61-year-old Bertelli stole checks from July 2013 through September 2016 that belonged to former Navy SEAL Ken Martin Jr. and Martin’s mother and wrote them payable to herself, forging their signatures.

Prosecutors say Bertelli started a relationship with Martin around 2013 and moved in with him and his mother. Martin died in February 2016 while on vacation with Bertelli in Puerto Rico from what Bertelli said was an accidental drowning after hitting his head on a rock.

The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday evening, paid tribute to the 2018 All-State Music students, along with the Speech and Debate team. Three Atlantic High School Vocal and One Instrumental student were selected for the All State Music Festival held on Nov. 17th. (Click on the images below to enlarge. Click on the left side of the audio bars below to listen)

Troy Roach & Sarah Schorle (Speech/Debate students)

Avery Andersen, Genevieve Martinez & Sarah Schorle (All-State Vocalists)

All-State Music students attending the Council meeting included Vocalists Sarah Schorle, Avery Andersen, and Genevieve Martinez. Schorle explained they had practiced from August all the way through October before they auditioned on October 20^th against 62 competing schools, and more than 2,000 students.

Lex Somers was also chosen for instrumental. Erin Barrick was recalled for instrumental and Chris Krogh was recalled for vocal. Schorle and Troy Roach appeared before the Council on behalf of the Speech and Debate team, which had been practicing for the week-long competition since the beginning of the year.

Troy Roach explained he was nominated for the position.

Schorle explained in more detail how the selection process worked.

Mayor Dave Jones said many times young people get a “Bad rep” (reputation), but they rarely get recognized when they make an effort and succeed in their activities. He thanked the students in attendance Wednesday night, and the many other students recognized by the Council over the past few months, for their hard work and for being an excellent representative for the City of Atlantic at various events.

In other business, the Mayor wished citizens a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. He also recognized those who quickly responded to repair the building at 5^th and Chestnut Street, after a partial brick exterior wall collapsed Sunday night. Jones said 5^th Street will be open east of Chestnut, at the latest, Monday morning, but possibly as early as tomorrow (Friday) afternoon. When the work is finished, parking and the sidewalk on the north side of the building will be prohibited until Spring, when the weather will make additional work feasible.

(Radio Iowa) — New federal data shows Iowa’s population is growing but not as fast as most other states. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Iowa’s population now stands at 3.156 million people. That’s up 3.6 percent from 2010. The state’s growth rate is 28th in the country and trails the national growth rate of 6 percent. Iowa is now ranked 31st in the nation for its population, falling from 30th.

Utah leap-frogged Iowa into the number-30 position. Only three states in the U.S. have lost population since 2010; Illinois, West Virginia and Connecticut.