WASHINGTON, Iowa (AP) — A second man has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a gender-fluid Iowa teenager that drew national attention. The Hawk Eye reports that a Washington County jury convicted 26-year-old Jaron Purham on Friday in the 2016 death of 16-year-old Kedarie Johnson of Burlington. Purham faces a mandatory prison term of life when he’s sentenced Nov. 19.

Purham’s cousin, Jorge Sanders-Galvez, also was convicted last year of first-degree murder in the case. Johnson’s relatives say he identified as both male and female. Prosecutors said Johnson was wearing a pink headband and hair extensions when Sanders-Galvez and Purham saw the teen at a store, followed him in their car, then took the teen to a Burlington home. Police say Johnson was sexually assaulted and tortured before being shot to death in an alley.

Purham has already served prison time in Missouri for his 2016 flight from police who were trying to arrest him in the Johnson case.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s governor has ordered flags on state property flown at half-staff this weekend to honor a fallen World War II soldier and firefighters killed in the line of duty.

Gov. Kim Reynolds requests that all U.S. and state flags be lowered during daylight hours on Saturday to honor Army Pvt. Donald E. Brown, of Thompson, who killed in action on July 28, 1944, when his tank was destroyed by enemy fire in France.

The 24-year-old’s remains were buried at an American military cemetery in France as an unknown soldier. His remains were disinterred last year and identified through DNA testing. He will be buried with full military honors Saturday in Thompson.

On Sunday, flags will again be lowered in observance of the Fallen Firefighters Memorial service.

The Atlantic Fireman’s Parade is set for Saturday, Oct. 13^th. And, while you may have known about that, what you may not have known, is that another parade will be held in conjunction with that event, and the City’s Sesquicentennial (150^th Anniversary) Celebration. Atlantic resident Steve Livengood told the Atlantic City Council, Wednesday evening, that there are five judged categories for parade entries. The first is “The Year 2068.” He says to think “outside the box” about what the City of Atlantic is going to look like in another 50-years.

Another category is “Civic Organization.” He said they would expect at least 20 members of your organization to participate. The third Sesquicentennial Parade category is “Agriculture,” and how it has affected the City of Atlantic. Livengood said he hopes the entry is more than just a tractor driving down the street.  The fourth category is “Historical People” in Atlantic.

The fifth and final category is “Judges Choice.” The City Council will act as the judges for this year’s Sesquicentennial Parade. Livengood said while they are still looking for some prizes for the parade entries, others have already been made available, including a $50 gift certificate from Fareway. The parade lineup starts at 4:00 p.m. Entries that want to be judged to show up no later than 4:30. Judging will begin at 5:00 and the winners will be given a banner to display on their parade entry before the parade starts.

Livengood encourages everyone to come out and watch the parade, which begins at 6:00 p.m.

Two males who absconded from the Clarinda Academy, Thursday, were apprehended in Adair County late this (Friday) morning. The Page County Sheriff’s Office was notified by PAGECOM, Thursday, that two black male juveniles were missing from the Clarinda Academy, which is located within the city limits of Clarinda. The Page County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Clarinda Police Department throughout the night in attempting to locate these males in patrol and following alleged sightings on the east side of the Nodaway River.

At approximately 8-a.m. today (Friday), Justin Dammann, rural Essex, reported to the Sheriff’s Office that his black / grey 2017 Ford F-350 Super duty pickup had been stolen from his driveway, sometime between 1:30-a.m. and 6:30-a.m. The vehicle was then entered nationwide into the NCIC computer system as stolen. At approximately 9-a.m., the Page County Sheriff’s Office was notified by the Adair County Sheriff’s Office that Dammann’s stolen vehicle had been involved in an a hit and run accident in the city limits of Adair, and Deputies were actively looking for the vehicle as well as the two juvenile males.

At Approximately 11-a.m., the Adair County Sheriff’s Office notified the Page County Sheriff’s Office that they had recovered Dammann’s stolen vehicle, and had apprehended the two Clarinda Academy Students. The Adair County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post, that the juveniles were caught in Adair, after the stolen vehicle ran out of fuel. Authorities said “After a short game of hide and go seek on the train tracks, the juveniles were apprehended.” The case is ongoing and charges will be filed.

On a possibly related note, at around 10-a.m. Thursday, Wayne Sederburg, of rural Essex, reported that sometime during the night someone had entered his garage (which is just under one-mile east of Dammann’s residence). Sederburg said that a pair of black winter gloves were found in his car. He said also, that the contents of the car had been thrown around and messed up. Sederburg said that nothing else appeared missing at the time of his report.

IOWA CITY — U.S. Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley sent a letter Tuesday to the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Health Care System with questions about allegations of improperly canceled diagnostic exams. “Iowa veterans rightly expect the VA to properly manage crucial medical appointments, especially with follow-ups, lab or imaging tests,” Ernst said in a prepared statement. “I remain concerned about the level of care that our veterans are receiving.”

The letter follows news reports about the Iowa City VA being audited, along with eight other VA hospitals nationwide, to determine whether radiology requests were processed in a timely manner and canceled appropriately. The U.S. senators also asked hospital staff to detail the process the VA used to follow up with veterans to make sure they are receiving proper imaging care.

“While we are glad to see corrective action by the Iowa City VA, this and similar issues over the past few years continue to raise questions regarding the level of care our veterans in Iowa are receiving,” the letter states.