Officials with the Atlantic Police Department today (Thursday) released additional details about an accident that occurred Tuesday evening. According to their report, 32-year old Narson Narios, of Atlantic, was leaving the Sundance Apartments southbound, and in an attempt to turn west onto 22nd Street, lost control of his 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The vehicle entered the south ditch and struck a utility pole, causing a total of $8,000 damage. Narios was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. The accident, which took place at around 7:35-p.m. Tuesday, remains under investigation.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) released today (Thursday) its yearly HIV Disease Surveillance Report. The report shows in 2016, Iowa experienced the largest number of people diagnosed with HIV since reporting by name began in 1989. Additionally, there was a notable increase in black/African American Iowans diagnosed with HIV in 2016.

U.S.-born blacks/African Americans diagnosed with HIV increased by 75 percent from 2015; foreign-born blacks/African Americans diagnosed with HIV increased by 110 percent. Although black/African Americans represent just 3 percent of Iowa’s general population, they make up 32 percent of all HIV diagnoses.

In 2016, 136 Iowans were diagnosed with HIV. People aged 25 through 44 years continue to make up the largest proportion (54 percent) of those diagnosed with HIV. The number of youth and young adults aged 15 through 24 years diagnosed with HIV fell from an all-time high of 33 in 2015 to 28 (21 percent) last year.

IDPH Bureau of HIV, STD and Hepatitis Chief Randy Mayer said “There are many contributing factors to these increases. However, we see this as a sign that targeted outreach efforts are reaching those at most risk of HIV in Iowa. It’s likely also a sign of improved access to health care.”

The proportion of people diagnosed with AIDS within three months of their initial HIV diagnosis (known as “late testers”) continued to drop. In 2013, 46 percent of people diagnosed were considered to be late testers. In 2016, only 24 percent diagnosed were late. This confirms those at risk for HIV are getting timelier access to testing.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) remained the leading exposure category for HIV in Iowa; of the 136 people diagnosed with HIV, 79 (58 percent) were among MSM. To see the entire 2016 State of Iowa HIV Disease End-of-Year Surveillance Report, visit https://www.idph.iowa.gov/hivstdhep/hiv/data.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to attend a popular political event in Iowa hosted by U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst. Ernst announced Thursday that Pence will appear at her annual “Roast and Ride” event on June 3. Other confirmed guests include U.S. Sen Tim Scott of South Carolina and much of Iowa’s Republican congressional delegation.

The event will feature a motorcycle ride that starts at the Big Barn Harley-Davidson in Des Moines. It concludes at the Central Iowa Expo in nearby Boone, where a pork roast will be held.

Ernst’s event is now entering its third year, and it’s become a destination for Republicans. Presidential candidate Donald Trump attended the event last year. Several presidential hopefuls in the party showed up during its inaugural event in 2015.

A Pottawattamie County man was sentenced 73 months in prison, Wednesday, for one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The judge also ordered 33-year old  Rodney Lee Koehrsen, of Council Bluffs, to serve four years of supervised release following his imprisonment.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa says Koehrsen entered a plea of guilty to the charge on January 4, 2017. His arrest followed a traffic stop that occurred on June 9, 2016, in Harlan, which led to the recovery of methamphetamine and other contraband items.

The Harlan Police Department and the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Division of Narcotics Enforcement conducted the investigation. 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 Harrison County man was sentenced to prison, Wednesday, following his conviction on a single count of Wire Fraud. Senior United States District Court Judge James E. Gritzner sentenced 35-year old Rodney Lee Crosby, Jr, of Pisgah, to 27 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Crosby Jr, was also ordered to pay $45,084 in restitution to the victims of his fraud scheme.

On January 30, 2017, Crosby pleaded guilty to the charge, which resulted from an investigation by law enforcement into Crosby’s scheme to defraud classic vehicle buyers through his business, Hot Rod Classics, in Pisgah. The scheme involved Crosby accepting monetary down payments from classic car purchasers and then failing to deliver the vehicles to the buyers. The estimated loss to the victims was approximately $45,084, based on Crosby’s fraudulent conduct.

The Harrison County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency reports 660th Street, between Hazel and Ironwood Roads, is set to close Monday, May 15th, for a scheduled bridge replacement project. The road will remain closed in that location for about 10-weeks. Emergency responders and other who normally travel 660th Street in Shelby County in that area, should plan to take alternate routes.

A traffic stop on vehicle traveling without its headlights on early this (Thursday) morning in Pottawattamie County, resulted in the arrest of a Council Bluffs man on a charge of OWI. Sheriff’s officials say Deputy Zach Norman saw the Chrysler 300 in the vicinity of Highway 92 and the South Expressway at around 2:45-a.m., and conducted a traffic stop. An investigation resulted in the arrest of 71-year old Dwayne Edward Sanders, of Council Bluffs, for OWI/1st offense.

Despite Wednesday’s heavy rain in parts of the state, Iowa State University Extension crop specialist Joel DeJong says Iowa’s farmers have been making good progress since the weekend U-S-D-A report that showed about half the state’s corn crop was in the ground.

“We’ve had magnificent days since Sunday,” DeJong says. “There’s been estimates that we’re planting well over a million acres a day in Iowa, probably closer to a million-and-a-half if you do the math, maybe even close to two-million acres a day. We’re making tremendous progress.”

The forecast calls for warmer temperatures for most of the state through the weekend, into the 70s and 80s, with no more chances for rain until Tuesday. With the warm-up, DeJong says corn that was planted a month ago is beginning to appear. “For those producers who planted in very early April, the 11th and 12th of April, we had a few people that planted then, that corn should be up by now,” DeJong says. “We saw some emergence for those hybrids last week, but we hadn’t accumulated a lot of growing days until we got into late last week.”

Corn planted around the 23rd and 24th of April should be emerging very soon. In recent weeks, Iowa has seen early spring snowstorms, wet conditions and very cold temperatures, which has been difficult for the emerging corn plants. “They struggled. You can see tissue damage from those 22-degree temperatures and the really cold nights we had in the mix,” DeJong says. “You can see tissue damage on the chute but it looks like most of them did get above ground and they’re leafing out okay. I’ve heard a couple of reports from a county that says the cold really did mess up the germination and we’ve had some real problems.”

DeJong says it’s likely a majority of the state’s corn farmers will not have to replant their seed.

(Radio Iowa)

Deputies with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Wednesday evening, arrested 19-year old Seth Dewayne Strong, of Elk Horn, following a traffic stop on Highway 173. Strong was charged with Driving with a suspended license, and failure to provide financial liability. He was transported to the Shelby County Jail and released this (Thursday) morning, after being given a date to appear in court.

And, late Tuesday night, Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 39 year old Jeffrey Lee Simpson, of Carroll, on outstanding warrants for two counts of Violation of Probation. Simpson was being held in the Shelby County Jail on $50,000 bond.

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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