DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The case of an Urbandale man accused of robbing a central Iowa bank at gunpoint has been sent to a federal grand jury.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa says 35-year-old Hussam Fayiz Abusharkh appeared in federal court Friday on a criminal complaint. He is accused of robbing the Farmers and Merchants State Bank in St. Charles on March 25, when Madison County deputies responded to reports of a man with a handgun ordering employees to fill a bag with money.

Abusharkh turned himself in to authorities Thursday on a state first-degree robbery charge. A judge ordered that Abusharkh remain detained pending the grand jury’s review of his case.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – Six people have been arrested after an investigation into sex trafficking in Sioux Falls. Attorney General Marty Jackley, Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead and Sioux Falls Police Chief Doug Barthel announced the arrests on Monday. Jackley says they resulted from a probe by the state Division of Criminal Investigation and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The suspects are from South Dakota, Iowa and Guatemala. They include 29-year-old Scott Robert Larson and 25-year-old Benjamin Lyle Iverson of Sioux Falls; 27-year-old Nathanuel Walter Downs of Sioux City; 29-year-old Lance Eugene Hunter of Little Rock, IA; 35-year-old Andrew Richard Krogman of Doon, IA; and 26-year-old Jose Joaquin Oxlaj of Guatemala.

They all face a felony charge of solicitation of a minor that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. One suspect also is accused of assault on a police officer and could face another 25 years if convicted.

A planning meeting for “Produce in the Park” will be held this Thursday, April 16th, beginning at 4:30-p.m. in the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce’ meeting room. Anyone interested in being a vendor, assisting with activities or having questions is invited to attend. The market will open June 4th in the Atlantic City Park. The hours will be 4:30- to 6:30-p.m.

Fresh produce, locally made baked goods and hand crafted items will high light the market. Entertainment, children’s activities, food demonstrations and tasting, and educational exhibits are being planned. Atlantic businesses are assisting with marketing.

Applications for vendors are now available. A vendor fee of $60 is charged for the entire season. For more information contact Emily Krengel, LaVon Eblen, Susan Retz or the Atlantic Chamber or Commerce.

The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, will act on accepting the site plans for the Ash Street Single-Family Housing Development Project. Boose Building Construction, L.C. has proposed the nearly $1.26-million dollar project, which would be constructed between 1405 and 1503 Ash Street. The City’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved the site plan during their meeting last week.

Boose is requesting a grant from the City in the amount of $80,000 in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to aid in making the project a reality. The first payment of $40,000 would be paid when public improvements (grading, street, water, sanitary and storm sewer) are installed. Construction of the first house is slated to begin this year, with two more houses next year, and three houses to follow. The second TIF payment of $40,000 would be paid when the third foundation is in place. Boose says the last two houses they completed in past two years sold before they were completed, which is indicative of the need for more, single family homes, according to the company.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, will act on accepting the site plans for a 6,813-square foot addition to the Heritage House at 1200 Brookridge Circle. The plans were approved 5-1 during the P&Z Commission meeting, with the dissenting vote only having concerns dealing with storm water, but otherwise was strongly in support of the project. A representative of Wesley Life will be on-hand at the meeting to address any such concerns.

And, the Atlantic City Council will act on approving a Resolution approving the contract and bonds for the 2015 Street Improvement Project. Their meeting in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall, begins at 5:30-p.m., Wednesday.

Iowans who love to hunt, cook and eat morel mushrooms are ready to start scoping out their secret areas in hopes of finding their prized growths of fungus. Maxine Stone has hunted the elusive mushrooms for years and says they have a distinctive look. “A morel is either black or yellow or grey and it has ridges and pits, definite ridges and definite pits,” Stone says, “and when you cut it down from the top to the bottom, it’s totally hollow inside.”

A Morel mushroom (ISU Extension photo)

Stone says those who are morel hunting for the first time should go with people who know what the mushroom looks like. She says you should never eat a wild mushroom without positively identifying it. “I think first time around, if you’re going to eat a mushroom, I wouldn’t go by a picture,” Stone says. “I would either take it to someone who knows what they’re doing or take really good pictures of the mushrooms and send them to someone who knows what they’re doing.”

Stone says her favorite way to cook morels is by sauteing them with onion, cream and cognac over pasta and bread. Some people prefer to bread and fry them, but she says that’s too “old school.” Stone adds, you should always cook a wild mushroom before you eat it. Morel hunter Malissa Briggler says morels can be found near dying elm trees but avid mushroom hunters keep quiet tabs on the places where they hunt.

Briggler says,  “A lot of times they’ll be popping up at the same spot next year so you want to kind of guard your area closely so you don’t let your secret out or you might have somebody beat you to the spot next year.” Briggler says you do not need a license to hunt morels, but hunters should get permission from landowners and check regulations on public land before collecting mushrooms.

(Radio Iowa)

The 8-a.m. Newscast w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.6MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Creston Police arrested three people on OWI charges over the weekend. Early Saturday morning, 38-year old Shane Lee Sanden, of Creston, was arrested for OWI/2nd offense. Early Sunday morning, Creston Police arrested 21-year old Robert Paul Campbell, of Orient, for OWI/1st offense, and, 53-year old Phillip Alan Hansen, of Creston, for OWI/2nd offense.

Sanden and Hansen were being held in the Union County Jail on $2,000 bond, each, while Campbell’s bond was set at $1,000.

The 7:06-a.m. report w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS

DES MOINES, Iowa – As Iowa slowly inches closer to summer, it’s becoming a common site on roadways across the state – vehicles hauling yard and garden waste or large, bulky items to area landfills – and drivers are being urged to secure their loads.
Leslie Irlbeck, program and outreach manager with the Metro Waste Authority in Des Moines, says making sure that loads are secure helps keep roadways clean and more importantly, helps keep drivers safe from the dangers of debris.

“According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, there are about 25,000 crashes that are caused each year and there are 80 to 90 deaths (in North America),” she points out. “And these are preventable if we all just take that extra step and make sure that things are safe.”

Irlbeck notes that many landfills in Iowa have strict policies for arriving with a secure load and those drivers who don’t can be charged a service fee of between $10 and $100, depending on the size of the vehicle.  Irlbeck says it really doesn’t take much for a loose item being hauled to fall or go flying, so if the load cannot be fully enclosed within a vehicle or trailer, it should be secured – either by tying it down or covering it with a tarp.

“And that’s especially important for smaller items – like maybe some recyclables, or some yard waste material as well,” she explains. “But even larger things need to be secured down, and that can be done with bungee cords or tie-downs, or twine. Things like sofas or large chairs are even at risk at flying out of the back of a truck.

(Iowa News Service)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Two former egg industry executives are scheduled to be sentenced in Sioux City on Monday for their roles in a 2010 salmonella outbreak that sickened thousands. Austin “Jack” DeCoster and his son Peter DeCoster pleaded guilty last June to misdemeanor charges of shipping adulterated food.  The two hope to avoid jail time, but prosecutors have argued for tough punishment because of the widespread harm caused by the outbreak.

Prosecutors also say the DeCosters knew their Iowa egg facilities were at risk for contamination. Federal health officials linked 1,939 illnesses to the 2010 outbreak, but they estimate that up to 56,000 people may have been sickened. The Quality Egg company agreed to pay a $6.8 million fine as part of a plea agreement, and the DeCosters will pay $100,000 apiece.