w/ Ric Hanson

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A task force made up of members from three southwest Iowa law enforcement agencies and the FBI, conducted an undercover operation that netted six arrests, Wednesday. According to the Omaha World-Herald, the FBI’s Lost Innocence Task Force – which targets juveniles involved in prostitution — worked in conjunction with the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, to arrest the six individuals in a prostitution sting at a local hotel. The location of the operation, which was conducted Wednesday afternoon, was not disclosed.

Officials say a 31-year-old man from Lincoln, NE., was arrested after soliciting an undercover female officer posing as a prostitute. Five Omaha women between the ages of 21 and 44 were also arrested. Each was taken into custody on a charge of suspicion of prostitution. All of the suspects were booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail.

The task force which conducted the sting, included officers with the Council Bluffs Police Department, along with deputies from the Pottawattamie, Mills and Harrison county sheriff’s offices, and the FBI.

A Red Oak woman wanted on a Cass County warrant for failing to pay child support, faces additional charges following her arrest Thursday afternoon, in Red Oak. Authorities say 50-year old Casey Renee Bates faces a Possession of Drug Paraphernalia charge, after she confessed to having a syringe and a marijuana pipe in her purse, as she was being questioned. Her arrest took place after Red Oak Police received a tip Bates, who was wanted on a valid Cass County warrant, was located in the 1600 block of North 2nd Street late Thursday afternoon. Bates was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $300 bond.

Officials with ISU Extension say Cass County residents are being encouraged to participate in a new Iowa State University Extension and Outreach initiative – “Mid Life & Beyond: The Whole Picture.” The Mid Life & Beyond program helps communities talk together and find ways to make their community a place where people want to live during mid-life and beyond.

The average retirement age nationally is now 62 with a life expectancy of 78 years.  The 2010 census showed 50.2% of Cass County residents were over the age of 45, so this is very timely initiative for our county. Kate Olson, Cass County Extension Program Coordinator, says  “Cass County is setting up study circles to consider action for our future.”

Local study circles begin on Tuesday October 23rd in Atlantic, and Thursday October 25th, in Anita. They will be held from 3:30 to 5:30 PM in both communities, once a week for four consecutive weeks. There is no cost to participate and all interested local residents are encouraged to be involved. The study circles will be comprised of diverse groups of no more than a dozen people each, who will meet for four, 90-minute sessions. Each group will set its own ground rules to share responsibility for quality discussion. They’ll be led by an impartial, local facilitator who will manage discussion, but not teach the group. Discussion will include personal stories, and a look at some thriving communities.

Register for the Atlantic or Anita Study Circles by calling ISU Extension in Cass County by calling 243-1132 or emailing keolson@iastate.edu by Monday October 22nd. More information about the statewide program is available at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/midlifeandbeyond/

The Page County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported following two separate accidents earlier this week. Officials say 16-year old Jacob Baker, of New Market, was cited for Failure to Maintain Control following an accident Wednesday afternoon, east of Clarinda. The teen was driving a 2001 Ford Ranger pickup east on 210^th Street and rounding a curve, when he lost control. The pickup left the road and entered a ditch, where it struck some trees head-on. Officials say the truck sustained $5,000 damage, and was considered to be a total loss.

The second accident in Page County happened Tuesday morning, southwest of Clarinda. The Sheriff’s Department says 33-year old Aaron Roberts, of Clarinda, was cited for Failure to Maintain Control, after the 2009 Chevy straight truck he was driving left 230^th Street, entered a ditch and rolled onto its passenger side and slid to a stop. Damage to the truck, registered to Snap On Tools, in Kenosha, WI., was estimated at $50,000. The vehicle was considered to be a total loss.

The latest forecast shows severe weather making its way into Iowa tonight (Friday). National Weather Service Meteorologist Craig Cogill said late Thursday afternoon, that the initial primary threat will be heavy rain and hail, but the system has the potential to cause more serious damage on Saturday. “Right now, it looks like the best threat of severe weather is going to be across western Iowa where damaging winds, large hail and possibly a few tornadoes – especially during the late afternoon and evening hours – will be possible,” Cogill said. The much needed rain could range from one to two inches. If tornadoes touch down over the weekend in Iowa, it wouldn’t be unprecedented.

“Usually we see tornadoes in the fall about every other year or every third year,” Cogill said. “Certainly, it’s not a tornado season like we see from late April through June, but it’s not totally out of the question to see fall tornadoes.” The storm system is expected to leave Iowa Saturday night. The forecast for Sunday calls for highs mainly in the 60s.

(Radio Iowa)

The two incumbent Iowa congressmen who’re running against one another this fall would, under certain conditions, support bringing U.S. troops home from Afghanistan tomorrow.

Republican Congressman Tom Latham and Democratic Congressman Leonard Boswell debated last night (Thursday) in Council Bluffs. Latham voiced concern that U.S. troops are required to operate under rules of engagement that do not allow them to protect themselves. “I honestly think that unless we actually are there to fight to win, that we pull out tomorrow,” Latham said, “because we can go after the people that we want — the al Qaida Taliban, the threats to the U.S. — with other covert operations, with drones, things like that, rather that put our men and women in jeopardy.”

Boswell mentioned a meeting he and other congressmen had with the president of Afghanistan a year ago. “You know, I said to him then: ‘We have shown you some possibilities of what you can do. We’re willing to help train your army. We’re willing to help you train your police, but you have to decide. You’re kind of at a fork in the road, Mr. Karzi. do you want to go back to where you were or do you want to go on and have the opportunity that you have ?” Boswell said. “And I said this to him: ‘It’s time to bring our troops home.'” In terms of domestic policy, Boswell repeated his call for a hike in the federal gas tax, to address the country’s crumbling transportation infrastructure.

“We’re falling very much behind,” Boswell said, “and so I think across the country and certainly on the infrastructure committee, we can’t keep up commerce-wise, we can’t move people if we don’t do those things and we certainly don’t want people to fall through a bridge like they did in Minnesota.” Latham opposes a federal gas tax increase. “I just think this is the wrong time,” Latham said. “And how that really penalizes us here in a rural state where a lot of folks have to drive 10, 15, 20 miles to work. They can’t get on a subway like they can in New York.”

The two congressmen have debated three times this week. Last night’s debate was sponsored and broadcast by Iowa Public Television. It will be replayed this evening at 7:30 and again at noon on Sunday.

(Radio Iowa)

Once again, it’s the time of year for the Cass County Conservation Board to ask residents of the county, “When do you think the first Trumpeter Swans will arrive at the Schildberg Quarry in Atlantic?” Officials say Trumpeter Swans have visited the Schildberg Quarry for at least, fourteen out of the last fifteen winters. Call in your prediction (by November 12^th) to the Conservation Board at 712-769-2372, leave a message and return phone number if we are not in.

Duplicate dates will not be allowed.  For example, if a caller predicts November 25th, no one else will be allowed to predict that arrival date.  Call anytime until November 12th to make your prediction.  Only one prediction is allowed per family. The sponsors of the contest will determine the official arrival of the swans.  The winner will receive a Trumpeter Swan 8×10 print from the Cass County Conservation Board.  The contest is only open to residents of Cass County

Arrival and departure dates of the swans over the past 14-years have been as follows:

1997/1998   December 18 – January 2

1998/1999   Nothing on record

1999/2000   December 25 – February 15

2000/2001   November 23 – March 6

2001/2002   December 25 – February 24

2002/2003   November 23 – March 15

2003/2004   November 26 – March 21

2004/2005   November 25 – March 18

2005/2006   November 17 – March 5

2006/2007 October 30 – March 9

2007/2008 November 22- February 14

2008/2009 November 18- March 12

2009-2010 November 19 – January 5

2010-2011 November 5 – February 10

2011/2012 November 17 – February 21

A south central Iowa man charged in connection with a fatal crash involving an Audubon resident last year, has been arrested in North Dakota. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday, 56-year-old Kendall Lee Ware, of Lineville, was arrested Wednesday in Minot, North Dakota on an Audubon County warrant charging him with vehicular homicide and serious injury by vehicle.

The charges again him stem from an October 19th, 2011 accident that resulted in the death of 17-year-old Kristopher Crawley of Audubon, and serious injuries to 22-year-old Jason Robert Rattenborg, also of Audubon.  The accident occurred on Highway 71 just north of Brayton.  Ware fled the area following the incident.

A warrant was issued on June 29th, 2012, following an extensive investigation into the crash.  The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office requested and received assistance from the U.S. Marshalls Service in conducting the arrest. Ware is currently being held in the Ward County Jail in Minot, North Dakota, and is awaiting extradition back to Iowa.

The Iowa State Patrol also assisted in the investigation of the accident.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Police are asking Iowans to help officers return a grave marker that was found in a recycling bin. Council Bluffs Police Capt. Terry LeMaster says that workers at the Council Bluffs Recycling Center found the marker last week.  The name on it is Megan Alaine Kjellberg, a 6-month-old child who died Jan. 2, 1986. The inscription on it reads: “Now you have the sun and stars to play with.”

LeMaster says area cemeteries and funeral directors have been checked, as well as funeral and obituary databases and reports about stolen items.  LeMaster thinks someone might have stolen the marker thinking it was solid copper. When it turned out to be only copper coated, it was tossed into a recycling bin.