The Harlan Police Department Tuesday (today) issued a report on arrests and incidents. Eight individuals were arrested during the period covering Sept. 19th through the 26th.  On Sept. 26th, 37-year old Joseph Hastie was arrested on an active warrant out of Pottawattamie County for failure to appear on a charge of unauthorized use of a credit card. Hastie was taken to the Shelby County Jail where he awaited extradition to Pottawattamie County.

On Sept. 25th, 36-year old Kelly Wood and 35-year old Lisa Briggs, both of Harlan, were taken into custody when officers were called to a suspicious vehicle in the Superior Storage parking lot. Both subjects were taken to the Shelby County Jail where Wood was charged with possession of a controlled substance and Briggs was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of contraband in a secure facility.

On Sept. 24th, 45-year old Clinton Scheffler, of Harlan, was arrested when officers were called to a domestic assault in the 1000 block of Park Street. Scheffler was taken into custody and transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with domestic abuse assault for allegedly striking David Peters, also of Harlan.

On Sept. 23rd, 23-year old Anthony Bennett, Harlan, was arrested when officers were called to the area of 12th and Willow for someone forcing their way into an apartment. Upon arrival no one was found in that area. A short time later, officers were called to HyVee where the owner of the apartment had gone to be safe in making the call. As a result of the investigation, Bennett was taken into custody and transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with burglary in the 1st degree, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

On Sept. 22nd, Police in Harlan were called to Express Lube where a male subject was seen going through vehicles on the lot. As a result of the investigation and with video surveillance, a search warrant was served on the property at 2006 7th Street. 30-year old Reid Hemminger, and 27-year old Joey Ranney, Jr., both of Harlan, were arrested and taken to the Shelby County Jail. Hemminger was charged with 2 counts of burglary in the 3rd degree, attempted burglary in the 3rd, possession of drug paraphernalia, and child endangerment. Ranney was charged with possession of a controlled substance.

On Sept. 19th, 26-year old Seth Rauterkus, of Manilla, was taken into custody following a traffic stop. Rauterkus was cited for open container, passenger, and released. On Sept. 20th, 46-year old Stephen Lytle, of Harlan, was taken into custody when officers were called to a domestic disturbance in the 500 block of Farnam Street. Lytle was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with domestic abuse assault for allegedly assaulting Tina Lytle, also of Harlan.

Police also investigated a couple of theft incidents. On Sept. 24th, Harlan Police officers were called to Blake’s Auto Sound and Security for a burglary in progress. While in route the officers were advised the suspects had left. Nothing was taken as the suspects were scared off by the owner. This case remains under investigation. And, on Sept. 17th, officers were called to the 900 block of Farnam Street where Kathy Campbell reported that a truck belonging to her son, Austin Hudson, had been broken into. Several items were taken from the vehicle including the stereo, a CB radio, and a sub. The case remains under investigation.

w/ Ric Hanson

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At least one person was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic, following a collision between a pickup truck and semi on Highway 6, near 22nd Street. The accident happened just before 7-a.m. near the entrance to Schildberg Construction.

Photo courtesy Mike Kennon, Cass Co. EMA

Additional details about the crash were not available as of 8:15-a.m.

Police in Creston say a resident reported to authorities tires on his vehicle had been slashed over the weekend. The vehicle was parked in the 800 block of west Taylor Street. The incident, which happened sometime between 9-a.m. Sunday and 7-a.m. Monday, resulted a loss of around $250.

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Medivac Ambulance and Atlantic Fire and Rescue were called to the scene of a two-vehicle accident this morning, just before 7-a.m.  According to dispatch reports, a truck rear-ended a semi near Schildberg Construction on west Highway 6 near 22nd Street. It’s unclear if there were any injuries. Both vehicles were still on the traveled portion of the road at 7-a.m.

(This post will be updated – please check back)

Most Iowa farmers haven’t started the harvest yet but already it’s clear there will be problems with moving the grain. U-S Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx says rail cars will be in short supply and he doesn’t foresee any solution coming down the tracks. “Our surface transportation board, along with our rail companies, and along with us in Washington, we’re going to have to figure out a way to create more capacity so that commodities can move,” Foxx says. Farmers need rail cars to move their crops, but many rail cars are being diverted to haul oil from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota and Montana.

“It’s an issue we have to deal with,” Foxx says. “The Surface Transportation Board has primary responsibility for it but clearly with the proliferation of the movement of crude oil by rail, it increases competition for precious rail space.” Foxx says there’s no easy fix to the looming rail car shortage. “Even if Congress funded us tomorrow, it would still take some time to get track on the ground and things going,” Foxx says. “It’s not going to be a short-term solution but again, the Surface Transportation Board has primary responsibility for trying to work out the issues that have to do with commodities moving.”

Many blame the rail car shortage on the delay on building the Keystone X-L oil pipeline across Nebraska. That pipeline could carry the Bakken oil, freeing up thousands of rail cars to move crops.

(Radio Iowa)

STORM LAKE, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say two teenagers have been killed and several people hospitalized following a car wreck in Storm Lake. The Buena Vista County Sheriff’s Department says a pickup truck collided head-on with another car Monday morning on a gravel road.

The Sioux City Journal reports a 17-year-old male and a 16-year-old female were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. A 15-year-old female was flown by helicopter to a Sioux City hospital. A 19-year-old woman was sent by ambulance to another hospital.  The pickup driver, 43-year-old Kent Erickson, suffered minor injuries in the collision. His passenger, 49-year-old Trent Jackson, was hospitalized.

Additional names and information has not been released.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A body found in a car trunk has been identified as that of an Iowa State University student from China who has been missing for more than three weeks. The Iowa City Police Department says the death of 20-year-old Ton Shao is suspicious. The cause of death is being withheld pending results of an autopsy completed over the weekend. Shao, a junior chemical engineering student, was last seen in Ames more than three weeks ago.

WEST UNION, Iowa (AP) — A pretrial conference has been delayed for a former Iowa mayor accused of sexual abuse. The date for Jason Manus’ pretrial conference was pushed back to Oct. 13 because his defense attorney died earlier this month. His trial is scheduled to begin on Oct. 22. The 36-year-old Manus is charged with five counts of second-degree sexual abuse. He is accused of sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl in 2010. He has pleaded not guilty. Manus was mayor of Oelwein until his resignation in August.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A Davenport man has been charged with vehicular homicide following a car wreck that killed two Illinois men. Twenty-four-year-old Kai Miller is charged with homicide by vehicle, operating while intoxicated and two counts of serious injury by vehicle in connection to the crash early Sunday in Davenport. Court records do not list an attorney. Authorities say Miller’s car collided with a vehicle carrying 21-year-old Andrew Scott Adams and 22-year-old Danny DeBacker,

ROCKWELL CITY, Iowa (AP) — Lab results show hundreds of capsules found at a northern Iowa prison tested negative for any controlled substances. The 300 to 400 capsules were found earlier this month at the North Central Correctional Facility in Rockwell City. The pills contained an unknown substance, prompting a state drug investigation. State officials have not said how the capsules got inside the prison.

It now costs Iowa grocery stores and other businesses more to accept payments through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Merchants now have to pay for their own equipment and processing services whenever SNAP cards are used. Kevin Concannon, the U-S-D-A’s Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services and a former Iowan, says the change was designed to prevent the illegal use of the program.

Concannon says, “We found that in some locations where a manual machine was used to record the expenditure on the SNAP benefit, there was a higher rate of fraud or trafficking.” About 421-thousand Iowans now receive SNAP benefits, or about 13-percent of the population. Concannon says the goal is to make the use of those benefits more secure.

“There are now 257,000 locations across the United States where one can use or spend your SNAP benefits,” Concannon says. “The requirement will be now that all of those outlets will be required to use electronic benefit capacity.” Iowans who make part of their living at the 230 farmers markets across the state will be glad to hear that there are a few exceptions to the rule.

“Those exceptions are basically farmers markets because it recognizes the nature of a farmers market is often on a vacant lot or in a rural area,” Concannon says. “It’s part of our effort to really reach out and support local agriculture and to encourage people to purchase healthier foods.” Other exceptions include military commissaries, direct marketing farmers and non-profit food cooperatives. Concannon is the former director of the Iowa Department of Human Services.

(Radio Iowa)