A Council Bluffs man is recovering from a gunshot wound to his back after an incident early this (Monday) morning. Bluffs Police Sgt. Dave Dawson says 38-year old Craig E. Anson was transported by private vehicle to Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs, following a shooting that happened at around 1:36-a.m. in the 800 block of 2nd Avenue. Anson’s injuries were non-life threatening, and he has since been released from the hospital.

Sgt. Dawson says officers arriving on the scene spoke with several witnesses, who said they heard three-to four-gunshots and several unknown men running north towards an apartment complex across from 817 2nd Avenue. Police interviewed Anson at around 1:45-a.m.

The man said he heard a disturbance going on outside of his home and when he went to investigate, was shot once by a handgun. An attempted murder investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Council Bluffs Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division, or Crime Stoppers, at 712-328-7867.

Police in Red Oak report a woman from Pottawattamie County was arrested early this (Monday) morning. 32-year old Jennifer Lynne Ballard, of Council Bluffs (who is also known as Jennifer Lynne Voss) was arrested at around 5:15-a.m. on an active Red Oak Police warrant for Theft in the 5th Degree, and a Montgomery County warrant for Failure to Appear on a charge of Harassment in the 2nd Degree. Ballard was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,300 cash bond.

Three Nebraska residents were arrested Friday night on drug charges in Audubon County, following a traffic stop in the 1400 block of Highway 71. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office says 49-year old David Lee Hill, Sr., and 38-year old Zanyne Rochelle Gilmore, both of Omaha, and 55-year old Joseph Alan Pendley, of Bellevue, NE., was arrested at around 8:45-p.m.

All three suspects face Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, charges. Hill was also charged with Possession of Marijuana. Pendley faces and additional, OWI charge. The trio were transported to the Audubon County Jail. Hill has since posted a surety bond, and was released. Gilmore and Pendley were released as well, after appearing before a magistrate. A preliminary hearing for Gilmore and Pendley will be held April 23rd.

The operator of a motorcycle was transported by private vehicle to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic for treatment of minor injuries, following an accident in Exira early Saturday afternoon. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office says 57-year old Terry Ray Knutsen, of Exira, was injured, when he lost control of the motorcycle he was driving on sand and debris found on the road near the intersection of West Harrison and North Jefferson Streets, in Exira. The cycle toppled over onto its side during the accident and slid on the road before coming to rest.  The accident happened at around 1:15-p.m.

Police in Red Oak arrested a woman Sunday night for violating a Custodial Order. 32-year old Rachel Hope Shum-McAlpin, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 9:40-p.m. and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where she was being held on $1,000 cash bond.

Officials say her arrest followed an investigation that began April 1st, when the male, legal guardian of a minor child, reported that Shum-McAlpin had custody of the child without the guardian’s permission. Shum-McAlpin is the child’s natural mother. Officers went to her home several times but were unable to locate the woman.

On Sunday, officers found both the woman and her child present at the woman’s home, but Shum-McAlpin refused to turn the child over to the guardian or police, which was in violation of her Custodial Order. Police obtained a search warrant for the arrest of Shum-McAlpin. The warrant was executed without incident at the woman’s residence, with the end result being Shum-McAlpin’s arrest and the child taken into protective custody.

Red Oak Police were assisted at the scene by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies.

The new casino under construction near Jefferson is holding two job fairs this week as it begins hiring staff to get ready to open. Wild Rose Jefferson general manager, Mick Couch, says he’s hired a human resources manager and they will be looking to hire 250 people. “Casinos are like mini cities in the fact that they have a wide variety of jobs available. There’s housekeeping to security, to surveillance to food and beverage to accounting, to human resources and marketing, and the list just kind of goes on and on,” Couch says. He says some of the jobs require previous experience and some include training.

“The wages vary of course depending on the position. Positions like food and beverage and dealers, positions on the floor, will be at the state minimum — but those are also tipped positions — so those can vary widely,” Couch explains. The first job fair is Thursday April 9th at the casino’s temporary office at 300 Microsoy Drive in Jefferson from 1 p-m until 8 p-m. Couch has this advice if you are seeking a job.

“Bring a good personality, a smile and a resume,” he says. The potential casino jobs have already generated a lot of interest. Couch says they’ve already had inquiries form California to Colorado and New Jersey, along with a lot of local inquiries about the jobs. You can find out more about the jobs on-line.

He says you can go to www.wildroseresorts.com and apply on-line and also see a listing of the available jobs. You can also look at their Facebook page for updates. The second job fair is Friday in the same location from 10 a-m until 5 p-m. Couch says they will start bringing employees in for training in a few weeks after the jobs fairs. The casino is still on target to be open in August of this year.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — A University of Iowa student from suburban Chicago has died after being seriously injured earlier this year while studying abroad. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said 20-year-old Andrew Mogni died Sunday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The university announced earlier this year he’d been hurt in a fall on January 14, shortly after arriving in Rome.

Medical Examiner’s Office spokesman Frank Shuftan says a cause of death won’t be released until Monday at the earliest. Mogni was a third-year finance major from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, who was participating in a semester-long program at John Cabot University.

The university said initial police reports indicated the fall was an accident but authorities were investigating the possibility that Mogni was robbed. The school said Mogni was treated in Rome until late March, when he was flown back to Illinois.

A Council Bluffs man was in critical condition after a fire Saturday night that was considered suspicious by authorities. According to the Daily NonPareil, crews responded just after 11:15-p.m., to a garage fire at 1209 Fourth Avenue. Authorities say a roommate pulled 55-year-old Clinton Edie from the smoke-filled structure.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Cary Gordon isn’t a political operative, a top dollar donor or an elected official. But Jeb Bush’s team already has reached as the 2016 Republican presidential campaign heats up in Iowa. Gordon is a well-known evangelical Christian pastor with a church in Sioux City that can draw 600 people on Sundays.

When it comes to the Iowa Republican caucuses, evangelical pastors are kingmakers, with sway over a key bloc of participants. Lots of potential 2016 candidates are stepping up the courting. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul have appeared before groups of religious conservatives. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker talks frequently about being a pastor’s son.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, whose father is a pastor, and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal recently addressed pastors in Des Moines.