A traffic stop on a vehicle traveling 75 in a 55 zone a little after 2-p.m. Saturday in Montgomery County, resulted in a pursuit into parts of Page County and a crash. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the vehicle was driven by 25-year old Nickolas Jordan Solt, of Hepburn. It fled through Stanton, running four stop signs, and a stop sign at the Page-Montgomery Road at O Avenue, and into the southern part of Page County. The vehicle went out of control at North Street and Prospect in Hepburn and crashed into a tree.

Solt was charged with Driving While Suspended, five Stop sign violations, reckless driving and eluding. His cash bond was set at $1,000.

Megan L. Jones

A passenger in the vehicle, Megan Leean Jones, of Shenandoah, was arrested at the scene by Page County Deputies on a warrant out of Page County Warrant for four-counts of Theft in the 5^th Degree. She was transported to the Page County Jail where she later posted $300 bond and was released pending future court proceedings.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:40 a.m. CST

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (AP) — A Marion County jury has said a 45-year-old man is responsible for the 2015 shooting death of his mother and that he must pay $10 million to her estate. The Des Moines Register reports the verdict came Friday in the bizarre civil case in which a father and son accused each other of the killing. Nobody has been charged in 68-year-old Shirley Carter’s death.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials are warning that state income tax refunds will be delayed in 2018. The Des Moines Register reports that Iowa Department of Revenue Director Courtney Kay-Decker says the refund delays are a result of her agency doubling down on fraud prevention efforts. Kay-Decker says her agency stopped nearly 10,500 erroneous refunds from being processed this year through Nov. 12. Those refunds accounted for more than $17 million.

CLEAR LAKE, Iowa (AP) — Some northern Iowa residents are seeking state approval to keep a popular dock at a state park amid revised rules that limit dock lengths. The Globe Gazette reports that the future of the Sunset Bay dock northeast of Clear Lake State Park remains uncertain due to its 496-foot length. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources capped commercial dock lengths at 300 feet from the water’s edge under revised regulations in 2008.

VERSAILLES, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri state trooper convicted of a misdemeanor for the drowning death of a handcuffed Iowa man has been fired. The Kansas City Star reports that that a Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman confirmed Anthony Piercy was fired Friday, more than 3 1/2 years after 20-year-old Brandon Ellingson, of Clive, Iowa, drowned in the Lake of the Ozarks.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) board approved state development funding for Liberty Diversified International (LDI) for a project in Milford. Economic Development Authority spokesperson, Brooke Miller, says the award will help the company’s Safco Products subsidiary, which make furniture, paper, packaging and other office products. She says they are expanding their production capacity and are buying an existing building in Milford.

Millers says the state gave them 500-thousand dollars in direct funding. The board also approved tax benefits of around 15-thousand dollars on the purchase of equipment. “The project is expected to create 100 news jobs at a qualifying wage of 16-83 per hour,” according to Miller. The building L-D-I is purchasing used to house the Polaris plant, which the company announced in April it is closing down. “It’s a great re-use of this location and it’s going to backfill some of the jobs that are lost by the Polaris move,” Miller says.

The company plans to spend some 15 million dollars on the entire project.

(Radio Iowa)

The leaders of many Salvation Army centers in Iowa are reporting deep declines in donations this holiday season at Red Kettle locations. Newton Salvation Army Captain Janelle Cleaveland says finding volunteers to serve as Red Kettle bell ringers has been difficult – especially on weekdays. Red Kettles are posted at just a few locations around Newton. “There are six spots and we normally ask people to volunteer for two hours. People can do one hour,” Cleaveland said.  The lack of volunteers, according to Cleaveland, has the annual fundraising campaign a long way from a goal of $33,000 – with just one week to go. “We’re only at 50-percent,” Cleaveland said. “So, we still have about $15,000 or $16,000 left towards our goal.”

The Red Kettle campaign in Newton and most other Iowa cities will end on December 23. In Council Bluffs-Omaha, the Salvation Army’s Jeff Beckman says Red Kettle donations are down just eight-percent this year over last. He credits a decrease in traffic at shopping centers. “Although I didn’t want to admit this the last couple of years, this year I think online shopping is beginning to impact the number of people who are out in the stores,” Beckman said.

Officials with the Salvation Army in Des Moines reported this week their Red Kettle campaign has raised around half of its $950,000 goal.

(Radio Iowa)

VERSAILLES, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri state trooper convicted of a misdemeanor for the drowning death of a handcuffed Iowa man has been fired. The Kansas City Star reports that that a Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman confirmed Anthony Piercy was fired Friday, more than 3 1/2 years after 20-year-old Brandon Ellingson, of Clive, Iowa, drowned in the Lake of the Ozarks.

In September, Piercy was sentenced to 10 days in jail and two years on supervised probation after pleading guilty to negligent operation of a vessel. Piercy had pulled Ellingson over on the lake in May 2014 for suspicion of operating while intoxicated. Ellingson drowned after being thrown from the boat by a wave while wearing an improperly secured life vest.

Ellingson’s father, Craig Ellingson, says he received an email Friday from Missouri State Highway Patrol Col. Sandra Karsten stating that Piercy was fired after the patrol’s procedural hearing board determined he had violated patrol policies in Brandon Ellingson’s death.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials are warning that state income tax refunds will be delayed in 2018. The Des Moines Register reports that Iowa Department of Revenue Director Courtney Kay-Decker says the refund delays are a result of her agency doubling down on fraud prevention efforts. The news comes after Iowa residents were told this past spring that their state tax refunds would be delayed several weeks as a measure to combat identity theft and fraud. But the Register found another cause: The state didn’t have enough cash to pay residents at the same pace as previous years.

Kay-Decker says her agency stopped nearly 10,500 erroneous refunds from being processed this year through Nov. 12. Those refunds accounted for more than $17 million.