One person died, three others were injured during a single-vehicle accident Sunday morning in southeastern Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2006 Cadillac SUV was traveling south on Appanoose County Road S-70, just north of 490^th Street at around 4:40-a.m, when the vehicle left the highway and went out of control before rolling several times. The driver, 30-year old Chase W. McElvain, of Seymour, and two passengers were ejected from the SUV as it rolled. McElvain died at the scene.

Two passengers, 24-year old Kacey J. Wills, of Seymour, and 25-year old Brett M. Schultz, of Promise City, were flown by helicopter to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. A third passenger, 25-year old Courtney N. Hawk, of Corydon, was transported by ambulance to the Wayne County Hospital. Officials say Hawk was wearing a seat belt, while the other victims were not buckled-in.

The accident remains under investigation.

The Iowa State Patrol report one person died, another was seriously injured during a head-on crash Saturday night, in Carroll County. Officials say 49-year old David Alvin Riesenberg, of Carroll, died at the scene of the crash on 245th Street, southeast of Halbur. He was not wearing a seat belt.

A preliminary investigation determined a 2005 Chevy Silverado pickup driven by 26-year old Andrew Stephen Behrens, of Carroll, was traveling east on 245th Street, and a 2009 Ford F-150 pickup driven by Riesenberg was traveling west. The Chevy crossed the centerline of the road and hit the Ford head-on.

After the collision, the F-150 came to rest in the north ditch, while the Silverado came to rest in the south ditch. Behrens was transported by LifeNet Helicopter to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. Authories say alcohol is believed to have played a role in the crash that happened at around 9:48-p.m. An investigation into the accident continues.

Police in Red Oak are investigating two reported burglaries. One occurred at 510 W. Coolbaugh Street.  Indications are someone forced entry into the residence. Evidence was recovered at the scene. And, officers were called to a residence in the 700 block of E. Hillcrest Drive, where several items were taken. Authorities say there appears to have been no forced entry into the unoccupied residence. A list of the items stolen was pending completion of an inventory.

Red Oak Police are reporting several arrests took place Saturday. At around 12:30-p.m., 44-year old Tiffani Jo Bredberg, of Red Oak, was arrested on an active Montgomery County warrant for Violation of Probation. Bredberg was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $5,000 bond.

At around 6:55-p.m. Saturday, Red Oak Police arrested 18-year old Layn Michael Glander, of Kansas City, KS, for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. And, 20-year old Rock Pennington, Jr., of Kansas City, KS, was arrested for Possession of Stolen Property. Both men were transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where Glander was being held on $1,000 bond, and Pennington, Jr. was being held on $300 bond.

And, at around 4:56-p.m. Saturday, Red Oak Police arrested 17-year old Michael Wade Hamilton, of Red Oak, on charges of Serious Assault and Disorderly Conduct. Hamilton was cited into Juvenile Court and then released to his guardian.

w/ Chris Parks

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The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of an Omaha man on a drug charge on Friday. At 8:41pm deputies arrested 36-year-old William Glen Porterfield of Omaha in the 1300 block of Highway 34.  Porterfield was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance and transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $1,000 bond.  The Montgomery County K-9 unit assisted in the investigation.

Representatives from the Ann W. Wickman Child Development Center in Atlantic hosted area business and community leaders to a luncheon on Friday to discuss the deficit the center is facing.

The Nishna Valley YMCA is contracted to operate the center and Executive Director Dan Haynes informed the crowd that the center can’t continue to operate as it is now.  The center has lost $141,417 over the last five years, averaging out to $28,283 per year.

Haynes said the biggest reason for the centers operating loss is the high number of part-time users compared to full-time users.  He said that center Executive Director Diana Williams and Wickman Committee members have toured other area facilities and found that most of them have a high number of full-time users and most work on a contract basis.  The Wickman Center currently operates on an hourly charge basis which accommodates those part-time users.

Haynes said the YMCA is looking into a number of different options to turn the center profits around. Those options include seeing if someone else can run if more efficiently than the YMCA.  The center has considered changing to a contract rate structure or if staying hourly raising the rates especially for those not attending full time. Scheduling and meal planning is also going to be more strictly enforced for parents in hopes of becoming more efficient.  The purpose of the meeting was ultimately to get feedback from area leaders and see if annual gift funding would be an option to help the center operate as is.

Director of the Ann W. Wickman Child Development Center Diana Williams also spoke at the meeting and said the Center is a DHS licensed center that cares for children six weeks to five years old. The center operates Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m with six rooms separated by age groups. The center currently serves 119 children, averaging 72 to 85 kids per day and their is a waiting list for some of their rooms.

The Center has 32 staff working various shifts and Haynes also noted that another issue is the center’s inability to offer employees a competitive wage and benefits.  Staffing has been a huge challenge for the center with the large number of part-time kids causing fluctuating staffing needs.

The center will continue to explore options and have a meeting set up with the Atlantic City Council Finance Committee in the near future.

Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports deputies with the Fremont County Sheriffs Office Narcotics and K9 units conducted an investigation into narcotics activity in Fremont County, Friday night. The investigation led to the arrest early this (Saturday) morning, of 30 year old Brandon Gutheil, of Council Bluffs.

Deputies arrested Gutheil for the Delivery of a controlled substance/methamphetamine. During the arrest, over 30 grams of methamphetamine was recovered, along with $1,626 in U-S Currency.

Gutheil was transported to the Fremont County Law Enforcement Center where he was being held on a $100,000 cash only bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — More than 2,000 family, friends and public safety officers gathered at a West Des Moines church to honor one of two Des Moines police officers killed in a head-on crash. The Des Moines Register reports it has been a difficult time for the family of Carlos Puente-Morales, who died with officer Susan Farrell Saturday in a crash with a wrong-way driver.

During the Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Bishop Richard Pates acknowledged the family’s great loss in the past 16 months. Puente-Morales’ brother died in a November 2014 traffic accident and their father died months later.

Puente-Morales had worked as an officer in Ottumwa before moving to Des Moines police. A prisoner being transported by the officers and the other driver were also killed.

The Iowa Supreme Court rules on the definition of an accident in a central Iowa insurance case. An S-U-V traveling on Highway 5 near Hartford on April 29th of 2011 crossed highway and struck the trailer of a semi just before 5 a-m. Seconds after the collision, a motorcyclist ran into the damaged S-U-V. The driver of the S-U-V, John Crivaro, died in the accident.

Truck driver Marlin Just, and motorcyclist, Travis Hughes, both sued Crivaro’s insurance company for damages. The Farmers Insurance Company said Crivaro’s policy has damage cap of 500-thousand dollars for each accident. Hughes and Just sued saying there were two separate accidents.

The Supreme Court ruling says — while there were multiple vehicles involved — there was a minimal time between when the S-U-V struck the semi and the motorcycle struck the S-U-V, and it upheld the district court ruling that there was only one accident.

(Radio Iowa)