A Creston man was arrested this week on a warrant out of Madison County. The Creston Police Dept. reports 31-year old Joseph Baze-Gaiser was taken into custody at the Union County Law Enforcement Center on a warrant for Burglary in the 3rd degree. Baze-Gaiser was subsequently transported to the Madison County Jail.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City man has been charged with attempted murder, accused of shooting his uncle as the man lay in bed. The charges of burglary and attempted murder were read to 40-year old Eric Riley on Wednesday, in a Woodbury County courtroom. Riley remained in custody today (Thursday), according to Woodbury County Jail records.

Authorities said Riley shot his uncle, 66-year old Ben Steffe, twice in the chest in Steffe’s home on Tuesday. Steffe’s wife, who lay next to Steffe, wasn’t injured. Steffe was taken to Mercy Medical Center.

Sioux City police Lt. Mark Kirkpatrick said Riley returned to Steffe’s home while officers were at the scene and was taken in for questioning. He was arrested late Tuesday afternoon.

The latest area news with KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The Mills County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, released details concerning a single-vehicle, personal injury  accident that took place on Aug. 30th. Officials say Dustin Swagel, of Red Oak, was driving a 1995 Honda motorcycle on Jamison Road at around 5:30-p.m., and had attempted to pass another motorcycle.

Swagel told authorities his cycle began to drift across the road and he was unable to correct its course. The cycle went into a ditch on the south side of the road and came to rest in a pool of water. Swagel’s wife and passenger on the cycle, Tanya Swagel, was injured and transported to the Montgomery County Hospital in Red Oak, by Red Oak Ambulance.

An investigation into drug activity in the Hamburg and Farragut areas of Fremont County has resulted in the arrest of four persons, along with the seizing of marijuana and cash. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Department reports a deputy observed two persons near the 1000 block of Park Street, in Hamburg. When he attempted to speak with the individuals, they fled on foot. 19-year old Bradley Perry, of Hamburg was subsequently taken into custody. Perry was arrested on two counts of Delivery of Controlled Substances, Possession of a Controlled Substance with the Intent to Deliver, and Interference with Official Acts. He was being held in the Fremont County Jail on $15,300 cash bond, only.

As part of a continuing investigation, two simultaneous search warrants were executed at residences in Farragut. As a result, $3,000 in cash and about 80 grams of marijuana were taken into evidence. Officials say 17-year old’s Kaleb Hudson and Jacob Boeser, both of Farragut, were arrested and charged with Conspiracy to Deliver. The teens were later released to their parents. 19-year old Judson Kreim, of Sidney, was arrested on an Accessory After the Fact, charge. Kreim was being held in the Fremont County Jail on $2,000 bond.

Sheriff Kevin Aistrope says additional charges are pending.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – A Greenfield artist known for painting patriotic scenes on large boulders has agreed to create another freedom rock in Cedar Falls. Ray “Bubba” Sorensen the Second has completed 20 such rocks and hopes to paint freedom rocks in all of Iowa’s 99 counties, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported. He said he has accepted a proposal from the Cedar Falls American Legion Post 237 to paint one in Black Hawk County.

Sid Morris and Tom Hagarty, both veterans and members of the organization, said they will try to raise about $5,000 to cover the artist’s expenses. They said a committee will be formed to propose themes or ideas for the rock’s design to Sorensen. Morris said the rocks offer an opportunity for veterans to be recognized in each Iowa county.

Sorensen has already painted 21 Freedom Rocks, beginning with the first location about a mile south of Interstate 80 off Highway 25 in Adair County. Other rocks are available for viewing locally, in: Earling; Corning; Sac City; Kimballton; Manning, Guthrie Center and Clarinda. Rocks have been commissioned to be painted in other areas counties, including Cass, Harrison, Pottawattamie, Mills, Montgomery, Fremont, Page and Taylor.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports three people were arrested following an investigation into an alleged incident of assault on a school bus. Authorities say the incident occurred following dismissal from school on Monday, Sept. 8th. No injuries were reported.

Officials say on Monday, Wyatt D. Baldwin, of Villisca, was arrested on two counts of Simple Assault in connection with the incident. And on Wednesday, Nicole M. St. John and Jonah L. Kirsch, both of Villisca, was arrested on one count each of Simple Assault.

All three juveniles were booked into the Montgomery County Jail and then released to the custody of their parents. Their cases have been referred to juvenile court. No further arrests are expected in connection with the incident.

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County report a Griswold man suffered serious injuries and two teens were transported to the hospital to be checked out, following a three-vehicle accident on the eastern outskirts of Council Bluffs, Wednesday afternoon. Sheriff Jeff Danker says deputies were dispatched s to the intersection of Hwy 92 and Stoneybrook Drive at around 3:20-pm.

Upon arrival, deputies found that a 2008 BMW K1200 motorcycle, operated by Aldon Pangelina, of Griswold, had collided with a 2012 Nissan Versa. The Nissan was being operated by an unidentified juvenile female who was traveling with another juvenile female.

An investigation determined both vehicles were initially traveling Eastbound on Hwy 92. Witnesses told authorities the Nissan was in the process of turning Northbound onto Stoneybrook Drive when the collision occurred. As the collision occurred the Nissan was pushed into the Westbound lane of Hwy 92, causing it to collide with a 2007 Mercury Mariner. The Mercury was being operated by a Jessica Luke of Oakland, with Laura Lajke of Macedonia, as the passenger.

Aldon Pangelina suffered head injuries and was transported by medical helicopter to Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha. Both of the juveniles were transported by Lewis Township Fire & Rescue to Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs as a precautionary measure.Officials say Jessica Luke and Laura Lajke both refused rescue at the scene.

Hwy 92 was closed for both Eastbound and Westbound traffic for approximately 3-hrs while Traffic Accident Investigators from the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office worked the scene. Further investigation will be conducted into the cause of the accident.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — First Lady Michelle Obama will campaign in Iowa next month for Democratic Senate candidate Bruce Braley, his campaign announced on Wednesday. Obama will appear at an event in October, but the Braley campaign said details on the date and location have not been worked out.

WEST BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — The police chief for West Burlington in southeast Iowa said he’s been hospitalized for damage to his spinal cord, and he’s unsure about his recovery. Police Chief Frank Newberry said Tuesday he is paralyzed from the waist down after a disc in his back ruptured. The injury caused damage to his spinal cord, he tells the Burlington Hawk Eye. The 57-year-old Newberry has been police chief since 2012.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A man suspected of fatally stabbing a Davenport woman and injuring her husband has been captured in western Illinois. Rock Island County Sheriff Jeff Boyd said Tuesday that Gary Fortune had been apprehended but didn’t provide any other details, the Quad-City Times reported yesterday.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — The University of Iowa announced yesterday plans to create a program that would allow some students to earn their undergraduate degree in three years. University President Sally Mason told the Iowa Board of Regents that the program will be implemented by the end of this academic year. For a limited number of majors, students will be promised a degree in three years if they take summer classes and meet certain academic milestones.

The ISU Theatre 2014-15 season marks the hundredth anniversary of organized theatre at Iowa State University. That was when Fredrica V. Shattuck organized a group of interested students and formed Iowa State Players. ISU Theatre’s opener, “Spring Awakening,” first performed under heavy censorship in Germany in 1906. “Spring Awakening” closed after just one night in New York in 1917 amid public outrage and charges of obscenity.

The story traces the dawning sexual awareness of four teenagers, Melchior, Moritz, Wendla, and Hanschen, who, in their painfully funny contradictions—-they are at once too innocent and not remotely innocent at all-—remain fresh and unsettling even in our own sex-saturated culture.

Stacy Hansen

“Spring Awakening” features as guest director Exira native and ISU alum Stacy Hansen, who graduated from Iowa State in 1992 with a degree in speech communication/theatre and education. Also appearing in the production is: Taylor Sklenar , a senior in performing arts, English, and chemistry from Treynor; Christopher Tedford, who is a senior in engineering from Cumberland;Emily Tigges, a senior in performing arts from Carroll, and Austin Farwell, a senior in performing arts from Council Bluffs.

Iowa State University Theatre’s production of “Spring Awakening” opens on Friday, October 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Fisher Theatre in the Iowa State Center.

Chris Tedford

Other performance dates are October 4, 10, and 11 at 7:30 p.m. and October 5 and 12 at 2 p.m. in Fisher Theater, Ames. The production features mature themes, sexual situations, and explicit language. Tickets are priced at $18 for adults, $16 for seniors, and $11 for students. Tickets can be purchased through any TicketMaster, the Iowa State Center Ticket Office in Ames, or at the door before performances.