With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Some Iowans who had damage in last week’s severe storms still haven’t had a visit from their insurance adjustor, in part, because so many claims were filed over a wide area. The storms brought winds up to 95-miles an hour, heavy rain, large hail and flash flooding. Jim Hegerty, with the Better Business Bureau, says on a positive note, there are very few reports of repair scammers trying to dupe Iowans. “Fortunately, this time, it hasn’t been too bad,” Hegerty says. “I think because the storm skirted the metro and hit a less populated area, I’m not sure that it’s attracting the storm chasers.”

Parts of the Omaha-Council Bluffs area were pelted with baseball-sized hail, but the heavier wind and flood damage came in several rural counties in both eastern Nebraska and southwestern Iowa. Hegerty says people who had damage to their homes, farmsteads and businesses still need to be on the lookout for con artists.  “We’ve been issuing warnings pretty consistently since last week that you should really be careful,” Hegerty says. “Take a breath, take your time, make the emergency repairs that you need to make and then be really thoughtful about your repair process. Get a few estimates. Make sure you check out the contractors with the bureau.”

He says get everything in writing, never pay up front and avoid contractors who knock on your door and say they want to work for cash.

(Radio Iowa)

Two former Adair County roads workers who sold county scrap metal to fund Christmas parties and retirement gifts have been sentenced to probation. According to the Omaha World-Herald, both Duane Jameson, the former roads supervisor, and Cindy Butcher, the former shop clerk, also received suspended two-year prison sentences Tuesday. Jameson received three years of probation, Butcher two. The Iowa Attorney General’s Office says if they successfully complete probation, Jameson and Butcher will not go to prison. A judge still must decide how much restitution the pair owe the county.

The state is seeking a total of $26,150 in damages from the two, with $19,734 of proceeds related to the sale of scrap metal and other county property, just over 5-thousand dollars for the cost of an audit and a little more than 14-hundred dollars in attorneys’ fees related to the audit, according to court documents.
The misconduct came to light after the results of a special investigation by the State Auditor’s Office were announced on Feb. 1st, 2013. Both Jameson and Butcher pleaded guilty in March to third-degree fraud, an aggravated misdemeanor; and misconduct in office, a serious misdemeanor. Both were originally charged with misconduct and first-degree theft — a felony.

The 2013 Auditor’s Office report said Jameson and Butcher sold scrap metal, some of it material from old Adair County bridges, to at least one local salvage yard. Jameson told investigators that the money was going to fund employee Christmas parties and retirement gifts, according to the report. Officials placed Jameson and Butcher on administrative leave on Jan. 23, 2013. They resigned two days later, according to the county. Criminal charges were later filed against the pair, who were arrested last July.

LAKE CITY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a 16-year-old from Audubon has died in a tractor accident.
The Iowa State Patrol says the accident was discovered a little before 5:15 p.m. Wednesday about three miles southeast of Lake City.

The patrol says Austin Gosch was driving west on 390th Street when the tractor drifted left and entered the south roadside ditch. The tractor then rolled over and pinned the boy, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident is being investigated.

The patrol says Gosch had just finished his sophomore year at Audubon High School.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds welcomed a crowd of about 40 people to a Town Hall meeting in Harlan, Wednesday morning. When Branstad took questions from the audience, Shelby County Supervisor Board Chair Steve Kenkel asked about the secondary roads funding in the county and how the state was going to help. Kenkel told Branstad Shelby County currently does not have any bond debt, due to bonding for roads but he said if funding wasn’t made available in the near future, that will likely change. Branstad noted Iowa Department of Transportation Director Paul Trombino has laid out plans in several forms to help with the road funding for counties.

” “I asked him (Trombino) then, okay, we know we have a challenge, the gas tax is very unpopular and brings in less money because people are going to more fuel efficient cars. So we need to come up with a new way to provide financing. He put together a whole series of options. And, one of those was to replace the gas tax or a portion of it with an excise tax on gasoline, like a sales tax does. So that would go up when the price of gas goes up. Some of the other ideas would be to give a local option tax and raising the fees for excessive weight loads.”

The Governor said the legislature had taken a look at the options from Trombino but nothing was finalized. He stressed they would continue to fight for those options and work with legislation to get a common ground. After the meeting, Governor Branstad said he feels confident about his chance in November’s General Election. “I feel really good about this. First of all I think we made great progress in getting the state financial house in order. We made great progress in our jobs goals and I think we have the state going in the right direction. I think people see that.”

Branstad was asked about the lack of youth in Shelby County and Iowa as a whole, and how to get them back. “Well the key is jobs and I think as we are able to grow the economy and have more job opportunities that will be the key to attracting people back to Iowa as well as keeping young people here when they finish their education. That is the reason we put such a big focus on STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. One of the areas of growth in rural Iowa has been renewable fuels and all these other products made from corn and soil beans as well as revitalizing the cattle industry.”

On the topic of student loan debt, Branstad said the three major universities in Iowa will not see an increase in tuition for Iowa students for the second consecutive year. He also mentioned students need to be frugal. “The other thing is to encourage students to be frugal and don’t borrow every dime you can borrow. There are a lot of opportunities to borrow but you have to pay it back with interest. I didn’t get all my loans paid back until after I was Governor. But I never missed a payment and it was a good investment but I only borrowed what I had too. So that’s my advice to students; be careful, don’t live high off the hog. You know be frugal and don’t incur any debt you don’t have to.”

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

Two people were taken into custody early this (Thursday) morning, near Grant, following a pursuit and a brief foot chase. Details are sketchy but according to dispatch reports, the suspects allegedly stole a vehicle, which nearly ran over Cass County Deputy Ryan Johnson, as he was deploying stop sticks in an attempt to end the chase. The vehicle ended up in a field off of Spruce Road near Grant, and the suspects taken into custody at around 2-a.m.

Agencies involved in the pursuit and apprehension of the suspects include: the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, Red Oak Police and K-9 units from the Cass County Sheriff’s and Red Oak Police Departments.

More information will be posted when it becomes available.

Red Oak Police report the arrest Wednesday evening of a man wanted on a local warrant. 33-year old Luke Daniel Rinehart, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 6:20-p.m. on an active Red Oak warrant for Breach of Peace. Rinehart was brought to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and held on $300 cash bond.

Police in Atlantic said Wednesday that a Pottawattamie County man was arrested Tuesday on a charge of Public Intoxication. 31-year old Damian Morgan, of Council Bluffs, was arrested and booked into the Cass County Jail.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The nation’s wheat crop is smaller than earlier was predicted due to drought. But corn and soybean crop expectations have changed little in the latest report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The monthly update released Wednesday shows farmers producing a record 13.9 billion bushels of corn and 3.6 billion bushels of soybeans.

SOLDIER, Iowa (AP) – A western Iowa town is under a boil advisory after a hole in a well pipe drained the city’s water tower. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said yesterday that the hole in the pipe was repaired, and the city of Soldier’s system was running once again. But the loss of water pressure created the potential for bacteria to enter the water system.

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) – A state agency has begun an investigation into the death of an Illinois man at a Muscatine construction business. The Muscatine Journal reports 52-year-old David Bewley of Colona, Illinois died in an accident Monday at Heuer Construction. The Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Herky has returned to his spot on the Pentacrest at the University of Iowa. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports the fiberglass Reflections of U Herky is back on its concrete base on campus. Last month, a vandal broke off the statue beneath the university mascot’s knees. Cedar Rapids artist Kim O’Meara repaired the shattered legs, and the statue was bolted back into place Monday.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says it would like the public to be aware of a scam call that has been reported to authorities. Officials say during the scam, a caller will say your debit card has been locked and to push “1” to activate it.

The sheriff’s office says you should hang up on any such calls, and contact your financial institution to verify everything is ok.