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Orient (IA) man arrested on warrants related to Lascivious Acts & Sexual Abuse

News

April 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Creston Police, early this (Wednesday) morning, arrested 26-year old Jeffrey Schaefer, of Orient, on warrants related to Violation of Probation on original charges of Lascivious Acts with a Child, and Sexual Abuse in the 3rd degree. Schaefer was arrested at around 1:30-a.m. at the Union County Law Enforcement Center (LEC), where he was being held while awaiting a bond hearing. Creston Police report 41-year old Joel Gross, of Creston, was arrested today at around 2:15-a.m., for Public Intoxication. He was being held in the Union County LEC on a$300 bond.

At around 11:45-p.m. Tuesday, 29-year old Kayla Hoffman, of Creston, was arrested on a charge of Criminal Mischief in the 5th degree. She was later released on a $300 bond. And, at around 7:30-p.m. Tuesday, 28-year old Rachel Colburn was arrested in Creston for Domestic Assault. She was being held in the Adams County Jail, while awaiting a bond hearing.

Creston Police said also, at around 10:30-p.m. Tuesday, someone attempted to break into a residence in the 200 block of N. Cedar Street. The front door of the residence sustained about $300 damage.

(Podcast) KJAN Morning News & funeral report, 4/4/2018

News, Podcasts

April 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

Play

Cass County Extension Report 4-4-2018

Ag/Outdoor, Podcasts

April 4th, 2018 by Jim Field

w/Kate Olson.

Play

Couple sentenced for beatings of child in northwest Iowa

News

April 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

ORANGE CITY, Iowa (AP) — A northwest Iowa man and wife have been sentenced for the beatings of an 11-year-old boy. Sioux County District Court records show 36-year-old Matthew Spaans was sentenced Monday to four years in prison, and 34-year-old Nina Spaans was given two years of probation and a suspended prison sentence of four years. Both had pleaded guilty to four counts of child endangerment. Prosecutors dropped several other counts in exchange for their pleas. The two live in Hawarden.

Records say that at least three times since September, Matthew Spaans beat his stepson with his hands, a 56-inch sword and another item, severely bruising the boy. The documents say the boy was told to make up stories about his bruises or his next beating would be worse.

Officials release name of woman found dead in Warren County

News

April 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a woman whose body was found in a north Warren County home. She’s been identified as 25-year-old Mercedes Wathen, of Cambridge. Officers and medics were called to the home just south of Des Moines around 7:30 a.m. Monday.

An 18-year-old man has been taken into custody as a material witness. Online court records don’t show that he’s been charged. Authorities have not said how Wathen died but have characterized the case as a homicide.

UNI to visit Iowa in Wednesday softball clash

Sports

April 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

An in-state softball contest in Iowa City today (Wednesday), will feature Iowa hosting Northern Iowa. The Panthers are 18-14 overall and coming off a Missouri Valley Conference series that saw them take two of three games from Missouri State. UNI coach Ryan Jacobs who says the Panthers will face an Iowa team that has gone up against a very challenging schedule. Iowa is 15-17 after dropping all three games of a weekend series at Maryland. The first pitch is set for 5-p.m.

Congressman King says US in the beginnings of ‘all out trade war’

Ag/Outdoor

April 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Republican Congressman Steve King says he is “uneasy” about the Trump Administration’s moves on trade. “Where we are today is we’re in the beginnings of an all-out trade war,” King says, “and I hope and pray that it is not.” China slapped import duties on dozens of U.S. products Monday, including a 25 percent tariff on pork, as a response to President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum. King says he had a “direct conversation” over the phone with Trump “several months ago” about the importance of trade, including the “complex negotiations” over the North American Free Trade Agreement. “I’m uneasy about where we have gone,” King said. “I would not have initiated any of this, actually. I’ve always been working towards the most stable trade situation we can have that’s going to allow us to increase our exports of agriculture and our exports of manufacturing.”

King says he hopes China concludes it needs the American market and the Trump Administration decides American consumers want cheap Chinese goods, but if neither side “backs off,” King says agriculture will be hurt “a lot.””This is an escalating thing that has the looks of how a trade war begins,” King says. And King predicts a trade war will lead to fewer family farms. “We’ve lost about half of our market value in our commodities from the peak about 10 years ago and that’s caused our producers to spend some of their equity down, especially our young guys that are trying to build that equity so they can sustain themselves through the hard times,” King said. “This is hurting them the most.”

King also says it’s ironic that since a Chinese company bought U.S.-based Smithfield Foods, pork processed in the U.S. by Smithfield will be charged the tariff.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa pork producers’ fears realized with China slapping tariff on US pork

Ag/Outdoor

April 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

China’s new tariffs on U-S goods took effect Monday and include pork imports, which could create significant financial trouble for Iowa producers. National Pork Producers Council spokesman Jim Monroe says last year China imported more than one-BILLION dollars worth of American pork. “China is a very important market for us,” Monroe says. “It’s the number-one pork-consuming nation in the world and our industry’s growth is coming from exports.” China’s tariffs are in response to the Trump administration imposing higher taxes on steel and aluminum. Iowa State University economist Wendong Zhang says pork had been slated for a possible second round of tariffs, but in the end, China did just one wave of 128 products — including pork. “I think what the Chinese government wants to do is send a clear message that they are willing to fight,” Zhang says, “and they’re willing to target agricultural products.”

Zhang says the U-S ag sector doesn’t have the political clout in China that it has here to push for exceptions or reductions to the tariffs. China is also upping its taxes on a long list of products, including wine, nuts and fruit, to as much as 25 percent. Financial analyst Russell Barton with UrnerBarry says the new pork tariffs announced by China add up quickly. He says existing import duties and value-added tax were 25 percent and the new duty added to that equals 50 percent. “That’s significant. That probably prohibits quite a bit of trade,” he says.  But Barton says U-S pork producers might not see much of a difference in sales to China, with or without the new tariffs. He says China is not necessarily relying on U-S pork because their domestic supplies have grown and imports were likely to drop a bit regardless of the tariffs.

Barton says China relies on a lot of pork, but China accounted for only about seven percent of U.S. pork exports, totaling about one-point-five percent of the U-S pork supply. And, he says the European Union sells China more than double what U-S does. Barton says the U-S has seen slow expansion in other developing markets, and he’s encouraged by the recent trade agreement with South Korea. Barton says Mexico and Japan continue to be solid markets for U-S pork.

(Radio Iowa; Amy Mayer, Iowa Public Radio and the Brownfield Network both contributed to this story)

New Police Officer to be sworn-in during Atlantic CC mtg.

News

April 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones will have the honor, this (Wednesday) evening, of swearing-in a new Police Officer.

The event takes place just after 5:30-p.m., during the Atlantic City Council meeting, and is with regard to Jeremy Seufert. He joined the Atlantic Police Force after the Department was down one officer due to a member having joined the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, and Chief Dave Erickson began to look for a person to fill the spot. Seufert grew up in Atlantic. He’s a veteran of the armed forces and has a wife, Melissa. The couple has three kids, and live in Atlantic.

In other business, the Council will receive a presentation from a local auditing firm, with regard to the FY 2017 City of Atlantic Audit, which is conducted annually. City Administrator John Lund says “The results were good. Money is where it is supposed to be, ongoing practices shall continue as they always have to sustain the City as an organization and remain financially solvent.”

The Council will also act on an Order to close 6th Street, from Chestnut Street, west to the east side of the alley between Chestnut and Poplar, every Thursday evening from 4-until 7, for “Produce in the Park,” that begins May 31st and concludes Sept. 27th. The Council is also expected to act on passing a Resolution that approves the contracts and bonds with Carly Construction, for the 2018 Street Improvement Project.

They’ll also act on passing a Resolution “Approving [a] Bond Purchase Agreement, Providing for the Issuance of General Obligation Corporate Purpose Bonds, Series 2018 and Providing for the Levy of Taxes to Pay the Same.” Action is needed on the matter as the City proceeds to borrow $2.68-million from the open market, with the promise to repay it over 20-years, through property taxes. And, the Atlantic City Council will hold the second reading of an ordinance that would essentially remove the north/south stop signs at 6th and Sunnyside Lane, in an effort to improve traffic flow, and considering the amount of traffic expected to be generated by the ethanol plant currently under construction.

3 arrests in Red Oak

News

April 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Red Oak Police and officials with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office report three people have been arrested. At around 2:19-a.m. today (Wednesday), 27-year old Kirstin Lynn Wilwerding, of Red Oak, was arrested by Sheriff’s Deputies assisted by Red Oak Police. She was taken into custody for Violation of a No Contact Order. Wilwerding was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 cash only bond.

At around 9:20-p.m. Tuesday, Red Oak Police, assisted by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies, arrested 59-year old Rodney Lynn Vanderhoof, of Red Oak, for Public Intoxication. Vanderhoof was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

And, at around 4-p.m. Tuesday, Red Oak Police arrested 56-year old Tony Joe Christensen, of Red Oak, after citizens reported he fell down twice in front of kids playing in a park. Christensen was located in the vicinity of 3rd and Joy Streets. He was taken into custody for Public Intoxication, with a preliminary breath test result of .222 (nearly 3 times over the legal limit).