The Red Oak Police Department reports an accident occurred in the 900 Block of Broadway in Red Oak Friday (today). A 1995 Chevy 1500 owned by James Leroy Bentson of Red Oak was being operated by 16-year old Mackenzee Leigh Benston of Red Oak was traveling Southbound on Broadway. A 1993 Chevy S10 owned by James Jayson Davis of Essex, was being operated by 33-year old Morgia Jane England of Essex, who was also traveling Southbound on Boundary, following Bentson.

According to the parties involved, Bentson began to slow for traffic either stopping for the light at Broadway and Corning Street or was slowing for traffic turning into Fareway. England said she looked down for a moment and upon looking back up saw that Bentson had slowed or stopped. England attempted to brake but struck Bentson’s vehicle in the rear causing approximately $1,500 damage.  England’s vehicle sustained approximately $2,000 damage.

England was issued a citation for following too closely. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and Red Oak Fire and Rescue assisted the Red Oak Police Department at the scene.

A 59-year old southwest Iowa man was sentenced Thursday to spend six-months in prison for possessing child pornography. Following his imprisonment, Danny Joel Hummel, of Essex, must serve ten years of supervised release.  Hummel pled guilty to the charge of possession of child pornography on February 15th, 2013. The charge was the result of an investigation conducted by law enforcement agencies who were advised by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an Essex resident was in possession of child pornography.

Based on the information provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, law enforcement located several computers in Hummel’s residence upon which numerous images and videos containing child pornography were found. While on supervised release, Hummel’s activities will be monitored by officers of the United States Probation Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

The investigation was conducted by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Cyber Crimes Unit, and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a former Pottawattamie County resident was sentenced Wednesday to seven-years in prison on a child pornography charge. 26-year old Edward S. Robertson, a resident of Spirit Lake, received his sentence for receipt of child pornography. Upon his release from prison, Robertson will be placed on ten years of supervised release, during which he will be monitored by the United States Probation Office for compliance with conditions of release set by the Court at the time of sentencing.

Robertson was found guilty by a jury of receiving child pornography on January 15th, 2013. The guilty verdict was returned after the jury heard evidence showing that Robertson, while residing in Neola, was obtaining images along with videos of prepubescent and adolescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct over the internet from October of 2008, until March 24th, 2009.

The investigation was conducted by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations, Cyber Crimes Unit; the Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office, and Department of Homeland Security. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

A Council Bluffs man was sentenced Tuesday, to two and a-half years in prison for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.  32-year old Jason Lee Garza received his sentence in United States District Court by Judge Stephanie M. Rose, to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.  Garza pled guilty to the charge of a felon in possession of a firearm on February 8th, 2013.

The charge was the result of an investigation conducted by the Council Bluffs Police Department, after the officers heard gun shots being fired in the area of 1200 block of Sixth Avenue and responded to that area on October 24th, 2012. Officers located several people who reported being shot at by Garza before he had fled the scene. A short time later, officers located Garza in a nearby residence, and the firearm used by Garza was found hidden in a wall of the residence.

The investigation was conducted by the Council Bluffs Poice Department, the Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest on of a Griswold woman Tuesday, on drug charges. 45-year old Lisa Marie Bruning, was taken into custody on charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Bruning was brought to the Cass County Jail and released later that day on $1000 bond.

Deputies in Cass County also arrested 69-year old William Henry Scanlan, of Massena, Tuesday, on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault Simple. Scanlan was taken to the Cass County Jail where he pled not guilty before the magistrate the next day and was released on his own recognizance.

And on Friday (today) 28-year old Daniel Marc Chevalier,  of Hancock, was arrested in Cass County on a State of Iowa warrant for Parole Violation. Chevalier was taken to the Cass County Jail where he is being held without bond.

GRAND JUNCTION, Iowa (AP) — Crews repairing a train derailment in central Iowa have reopened one of two affected tracks. Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis says the track was reopened at 11 a.m. today (Friday) and trains are operating on it. The other track was expected to open this (Friday) afternoon.

Davis says an eastbound coal train on its way from Wyoming to Crescent, Ill., derailed Thursday morning into a westbound cargo train going from Chicago to Oakland, Calif. The impact derailed 13 of the 135 cars on the coal train and 22 of the 106 cars of the intermodal cargo train. Davis says a team is investigating what caused the derailment. The crash shut down a section of the company’s mainline tracks near Grand Junction about 60 miles northwest of Des Moines. No injuries were reported.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa says a Villisca man was sentenced this week to prison on child pornography-related charges. 23-year old Scott Allen Gibbons, of Villisca, was sentenced Tuesday to 14 years in prison for receipt of child pornography. Gibbons previously pled guilty on January 10th, 2013, to the charge of receipt of child pornography.

The charge against Gibbons was the result of an investigation conducted by law enforcement agencies in Iowa and Florida after a complaint by a Florida mother of an eleven year-old boy regarding inappropriate “chats” between the eleven year-old and an adult in Iowa. Investigation showed that Gibbons had established an online relationship with the eleven year-old using a “chat room” component of an on-line game.

During the communication, Gibbons convinced the eleven year-old to send to Gibbons a picture of himself constituting child pornography via a text message. The child pornography was located on Gibbons’ cellular telephone by law enforcement, along with similar pictures from unknown prepubescent males.

The investigation was conducted by the Hillsborough County Sheriff Office, Tampa, Florida, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Republican Matt Whitaker says he has filed the paperwork to run for U.S. Senate in 2014.   The former U.S. attorney’s move come a week after Rep. Steve King announced he would not seek the seat being vacated by retiring five-term Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin.

The 43-year-old former University of Iowa football player from Clive was U.S. attorney for Iowa’s Southern District from 2004 to 2009. He ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer in 2002.   Other Republicans weighing entry into the race include state Sen. Joni Ernst, former Reliant Energy CEO Mark Jacobs, Secretary of State Matt Schultz and Sen. Charles Grassley’s chief of staff David Young.

Rep. Tom Latham and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds also passed on running. Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley of Waterloo is his party’s only candidate.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The wet start to the corn planting season may reduce the amount each acre produces this year, but farmers are planting so much corn they’re still likely to bring in a record crop. In a report released today (Friday), the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated farmers would bring in 14.1 billion bushels of corn this year, a billion bushels more than the previous record set in 2009.

The USDA expects farmers to grow an average of 158 bushels per acre, a 3.4 percent reduction from the 163.6 bushels predicted in February. The downward adjustment is due to delayed planting caused by a cold, wet spring.  Farmers are planting more than 97 million acres of corn, the most since 1936. That’s why even an average yield would result in a record crop.

The Trustee in the bankruptcy case of G & R Feed and Grain Co., Inc., in Portsmouth, has provided an update on the proceedings. Deborah L. Petersen says the Court has approved Del Peterson & Associates to auction the real estate, fixtures, machinery and equipment. The public online auction will be held on June 11, 2013. The online auction will open the week of May 13, 2013 and bidding will be available immediately. Details and information at www.delpeterson.com They can be contacted by phone at 800-492-9090.

A meeting to explain the bidding procedure will be held soon. The feed inventory and soybean meal has been sold as approved by the Court and all has been delivered. Petersen says as Trustee, she will be receiving $ 264,900.00 from the USDA for grain receipts from the sale of grain on hand at the time of filing. The Iowa Department of Ag is in the process of issuing their last few checks and amending their claim in the bankruptcy case.

Petersen says she is in the final stages of collecting accounts receivable that were due to G & R and will begin collection action for those remaining unpaid. She has filed an adversary proceeding against Cargill for the proceeds for the grain delivered in December. And, Petersen has started reviewing claims and still anticipates an interim distribution to creditors in late summer/early fall, again subject to the Court’s approval. The analysis of pre-petition preference claims and postpetition transfers will be done after the claims are reviewed.

The deadline for filing claims in the Bankruptcy is May 20, 2013. If you have a claim for a deferred price contract, or any other amount due you, you should take action to timely file a claim with the Bankruptcy Court. The Trustee has a recorded message that will be updated regularly. You can hear the message at 712-328-8808, option 8. If you have legal questions, including how to file a claim, the Trustee advises that you should contact an attorney of your choice.

(12-p.m News)