w/ Ric Hanson

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(updates w/suspect’s name released)

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County have released additional details about a pursuit that ended in a crash early this (Thursday) morning. According to the sheriff’s report, at around 1:45-a.m., a broadcast was put out over the radio that Council Bluffs Police were looking for a stolen, red Monte Carlo, from the Lakewood Villa area. Officers with the Bluff’s P-D observed the vehicle traveling westbound on Veterans Memorial Highway (VMH) as it entered Omaha.

A Pott. County Sheriff’s Deputy entered Council Bluffs to assist the P-D in a search for the car, with the deputy positioning his vehicle at VMH and 35th Street. When the stolen car approached and passed the deputies’ position, the deputy took off in pursuit, having taken over the chase from authorities in Omaha. The Deputy pursued the car eastbound on the VMH at speeds reaching 100-miles per hour.

As he was approaching South 24th Street, the deputy saw an Iowa State Patrol cruiser traveling westbound. The driver of the stolen car attempted to jump the center median at 90-mph, which caused him to lose control of the vehicle. The car went airborne and landed on its top. It then slid down the roadway and into the south ditch before coming to rest.

The suspect, 30-year old Chadwick Rowland, of Pacific Junction, was taken into custody and transported to Mercy Hospital to be checked for injuries. He was treated at the hospital and released to law enforcement. Rowland was being held in the Pott. County Jail on $70,000 bond, 20-thousand of which was for warrants issued for his arrest out of Douglas County, Nebraska.

w/ Ric Hanson

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Authorities in Pottawattamie County are on the lookout for a man who robbed the Centris Federal Credit Union in Council Bluffs Wednesday afternoon. According to Council Bluffs Police, a white male subject wearing a light colored sweatshirt, ball cap and gloves entered the credit union at 2825 Avenue G at around 2:30-p.m.  The man approached a teller and asked to cash a check. Instead of handing her the check, he gave the woman a handwritten note demanding money. He claimed he was armed with a .38-caliber handgun and would use it unless she failed to comply. No weapon was ever shown during the robbery, however.

After the teller handed over an undetermined amount of cash, the robber fled on foot. He was described as being about 6-feet tall, with a slim build (Officials say he weighed about 160 pounds). An investigation into the crime continues. If you have any information about the incident, call  Crime Stoppers at 712-328-7867.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

(Update 10:35-p.m.) Multiple law enforcement agencies became engaged in a high speed pursuit late Wednesday night through three area counties. The pursuit began just before 10-p.m. on Highway 71 in Audubon County. It continued south into Atlantic at around 10:15-p.m., with the suspect vehicle, a dark colored BMW with paper registration tags only and no license plates, reaching speeds of up to 125-miles per hour. The pursuit entered Pottawattamie County on Highway 6 and had approached Oakland, where at least police two units were set up to intercept the BMW. The suspect was reported to be in custody as of 10:34-p.m.

The pursuit involved deputies with Audubon, Cass and Pottawattamie Counties, the Iowa State Patrol, Atlantic Police Department and other agencies. While additional details are currently not available, it appears the chase may have pertained to a domestic situation involving child custody.

Atlantic Developer Don Sonntag Wednesday, decided to pull his application for $250,000 in Tax Increment Financing funds from the City, which would have helped to bankroll a housing development on the City’s southern edge. In a letter he read before the council and provided to the media, Sonntag said since a meeting pertaining to TIF funds for the Southern Heights II project was held on November 30th, 2012 between himself, his grandson Austin, Attorney Dave Chase, and City Administrator Doug Harris, Harris has apparently been working behind the scenes to “Derail the project.”

Those efforts, according to Sonntag, included negative talking points about the project in City Council members’ packets. Sonntag said also he believes “Conversations were made with individuals from the public who would be opposed to using TIF funds for the project, and were given encouragement to speak out against it..”  Sonntag said even if the Council were to have recommended the TIF request be used for the project, he has “A strong feeling that drafting of a TIF agreement with the City Administrator, of (sic) who has been opposed every step of the way, would be very difficult and suspect of major risk for us financially going forward with this project.” Sonntag went on to say “past experience of his (Harris’) actions and characteristics leave us skeptical on what other roadblocks may arise in further into the process and project.”

He concluded by saying “I do not believe our present City Administrator has the same goals for Atlantic as some of us and therefore, I find the need to step back, stopping the process, and discontinuing my efforts on this project.” He said he deeply regrets “The loss of jobs that could have been created,” had the project moved forward. City Administrator Doug Harris was not present at Wednesday night’s meeting.

Afterward, Mayor Dave Jones said he differs from Harris, who’s TIF philosophy, according to Jones is “Not all development is good for the City.” Jones says “No development is not good for the City.”

Authorities in Fremont County are investigating a structure fire in Bartlett, the origin of which is being called “suspicious.” Sheriff’s deputies and firefighters, including crews from Tabor, were called to an abandoned house and garage located at 1119 Western Avenue in Bartlett at around 12:20-a.m., Wednesday. Upon arrival, deputies observed both structures fully engulfed in flames. The buildings were declared a total loss.  Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office at 712-374-2424.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources say crews with the city of Elliott discovered a wastewater discharge this (Wednesday) morning on the northwest side of the Montgomery County town. City officials are not sure when the discharge began, but they estimate up to 8,000 gallons per day of untreated wastewater is bubbling up in the middle of an unnamed tributary of Coe Creek. Coe Creek flows into the Nishnabotna River. The city has contracted with a company to dig up the sewer line and fix it. Work will begin March 21st.

The DNR cautions residents to keep children and pets away from the unnamed creek on the west side of Elliott for at least 48 hours after work is completed. The DNR will be on the site today to provide assistance to the city. DNR staff will continue to monitor the cleanup. The city will be sampling water quality upstream and below the discharge.