Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police say a man has reported being shot in the back while stopped at a Des Moines intersection. The Register reports that the shooting happened just after 12 a.m. Friday. Officers were called to the Iowa Lutheran Hospital for a report of a shooting victim who was brought in by a private vehicle. The 25-year-old man was later taken to Iowa Methodist Medical Center with injuries not believed to be life-threatening.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City specialty plant that processes ribs and other pre-cooked meats is planning a $9 million expansion that will bring 30 new jobs with it. The Journal reports that Curly’s Foods, owned by Smithfield Foods, credits a boost in sales and demand for pre-cooked meats at national franchise restaurants. The City Council is slated on Monday to approve a state tax incentive application for Smithfield Fields.

SHELDON, Iowa (AP) — Ag Partners feed mill plant in northwest Iowa is planning an expansion with $7.2 million in improvements to increase the plant’s ability to make livestock feed. The Sioux City Journal reports that Ag Partners officials announced the expansion on Thursday. Officials say construction will begin immediately and is expected to be complete in 2016.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Motorists in Mason City could soon have their vehicles impounded for any one of 10 violations, including some misdemeanors. The Globe Gazette reports that the City Council will consider an impound ordinance at its meeting Tuesday night.

Police in Red Oak report the arrest Saturday afternoon, of 41-year old Michael Avery Forest Cave. The Red Oak man was taken into custody at around 4:20-pm at a residence on West Grimes Street, and charged with Trespassing. His bond was set at $300.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Federal money will be used to help Omaha’s bike share program double its number of stations in 2016. The Omaha World-Herald reports that a $900,000 federal grant administered through the Nebraska Department of Roads will help Heartland B-Cycle expand from 31 stations with 150 bikes to nearly 70 stations across the city.

Ben Turner, B-cycle’s coordinator, says the expansion will give Omaha much more connectivity.
Stations are currently scattered in downtown, midtown and north downtown, as well as Aksarben Village. Those interested in using the bike sharing program must buy a daily, monthly or annual pass. They can check out a bike from any station, ride it and return it to any station in Omaha or Council Bluffs, Iowa.

A man from Pottawattamie County was arrested late Saturday morning in Montgomery County, following a traffic stop. Sheriff’s officials say 41-year old Chad Randall McAlpin, of Underwood, was stopped at around 11:35-a.m. and subsequently charged with Driving While Barred, with 19 withdrawals in effect. McAlpin was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $2,000 bond. In addition, he had a one-day jail sentence to serve on a previous violation of No Contact protective order.

LE GRAND, Iowa (AP) — Law enforcement officials say they found nine rifles and shotguns in a storage unit rented by a man accused of threatening reporters. The Des Moines Register reports that officials found the guns, as well as ammunition and drug paraphernalia, Thursday night in storage units rented by 27-year-old Chad Bryant, of Le Grand.

News crew members of Des Moines television station KCCI called police Thursday, saying Bryant poured water over a cameraman’s head and brandished what looked like a rifle outside of a Le Grand home.

Reporters were at the home following Bryant’s arrest Wednesday on a false imprisonment charge and various other crimes in connection with a claim that a 16-year-old boy was being held against his will at the residence.

Police are still searching for Bryant.

With KJAN News Director, Ric Hanson

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Several hundreds of  riders on horseback from across the state are saddling up for the journey to Camp Sunnyside near Ankeny this Easter weekend. For 47 years, the riders have traveled to the Easter Seals facility, bringing with them money from dances, toll roads and other fundraising activities. Tim Allen of Whittemore is the president-elect of the Pony Express Riders of Iowa.

“We start in different towns and we all end up at the John Deere plant in Ankeny,” Allen says. “We relay it, mile for mile, on horseback along the side of the road with pilot cars and escorts.” More than 280-thousand dollars was raised last year by the Pony Express Riders to help with the camp that has been in operation for 80 years. After the ride to the camp, Allen says there’s a celebratory dance.

“It’s just a big thank you to all of the volunteers,” he says, “because everything that the Pony Express Riders do, everybody that’s part of that is a volunteer. There’s no kickback. Their time, their fuel, everything is volunteered.” Allen expects between 200 to 300 people will be riding their horses as part of the event this weekend. The ride has been held every year since 1968. Allen has some advice for motorists this holiday weekend.

“If you see a horse out on the highway, respect it,” Allen says. “There are going to be a lot of horses throughout the whole state. They’re going to try to be as safe as they can be but they’ll also appreciate it” if motorists use extra caution. Learn more at: www.ponyexpressridersofiowa.org.

(Radio Iowa)

Two people from Pottawattamie County were arrested early this (Saturday) morning on drug charges, in Montgomery County. The Sheriff’s Office says 18-year old Kacie Christina Karbowski and 19-year old Adam Cleary Poff, both of Council Bluffs, were taken into custody at around 1:45-a.m., following a traffic stop near Highway34 and Ironwood Avenue. Karbowski was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. She was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond. Poff was wanted on two Pott. County warrants for Probation violation and a Controlled Substance violation. His bond was set at $11,000.

Authorities say the pair were traveling in a 2000 Ford Explorer that was pulled over for a traffic violation. During an investigation, the Montgomery County K9 unit was deployed to conduct a free-air sniff around the SUV. K9 “Rex” alerted to the odor of narcotics coming from the vehicle. A subsequent search of the SUV resulted in the confiscation of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. The Sheriff’s Dept. was assisted at the scene by officers with the Red Oak Police Dept.

The Sheriff’s Office reports also, that at around 2:50-p.m. Friday, 31-year old Matthew Wayne Echternach, of Pipecreek, TX, turned himself into the sheriff’s office on a bench warrant for Violation of Probation. Echternach was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $5,000 bond.

Iowans should be able to get a good view of a total lunar eclipse early this (Saturday) morning. Linda Burkhart is director of the Sanford Museum and Planetarium in Cherokee. She says the attraction is commonly referred to as a blood moon. “A lunar eclipse is caused by the shadow of the earth going across the moon. The sunlight will still come through that shadow and will reflect the light, so only the red-orange colored light rays will get through the atmosphere, so it’ll make the moon appear a reddish color,” Burkhart says.

This morning’s lunar eclipse should begin around 5:15 a.m., with the total eclipse lasting for just five minutes at around 7 a.m.

(Radio Iowa)

The annual Prairie Chicken Festival is underway today (Saturday) in central Iowa at the Kellerton Grasslands Bird Conservation area near Des Moines. The festival begins before dawn and puts the mating behavior of the prairie chicken on display. Pat Schlarbaum, a wildlife diversity technician with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says patrons can expect quite a show.

“They’re stamping their feet, they’re spinning, they’re leaping, basically doing everything they can to get the female’s attention,” he says. The second part of the free festival moves to Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, where the Yankton Nation of Greenwood, South Dakota — a Native American group — will present its version of the Prairie Chicken Dance. Schlarbaum says prairie chickens were once all but gone from Iowa’s prairies but they’ve been brought back.

“We have been actively relocating prairie chickens from Kansas to Iowa because they were extirpated or they were lost to the Iowa landscape back in the 1950s.” Schlarbaum says he and his team work to protect populations of animals, like prairie chickens, which he calls a “keystone species” of the grasslands.

(Radio Iowa)