A former candidate to fill the Iowa Senate seat vacated by Joni Ernst has been sentenced to jail. The Daily NonPareil reports 69-year old Donald Brantz, of Glenwood, was sentenced Thursday to serve five days in jail for disturbing the peace in Sarpy County, Neb. He was given one day for time served.

Brantz was originally charged with third-degree sexual assault, third-degree assault, disturbing the peace and interfering with a public service company. After he pleaded no contest to disturbing the peace, Sarpy County prosecutors dropped the other charges.

According to court records, the charges against Brantz stemmed from an incident on Oct. 10, 2014, near 36th and Emiline streets in Bellevue, Neb. Prosecutors alleged that Brantz inappropriately touched an adult victim and threatened to choke her. When the victim called 911, prosecutors said, Brantz disconnected the phone line.

Brantz, a Libertarian and former Mills County Board member, was on the ballot in a special election Dec. 30 against two other candidates to fill Ernst’s District 12 seat.

(8-am News)

More area, and State News, w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Later this (Friday) morning, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley will present retired Iowa State Patrol Trooper Mark Domino with the State and Local Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery by Attorney General Eric Holder. The event will take place at 10:30-a.m., during the DPS Promotional Ceremony being held at the State Historical Building.

Trooper Mark Domino (IA State Patrol – Ret.) DPS Photo.

On October 30th, 2012, the Maynard Savings Bank was robbed by two heavily armed men. Following the robbery, the subjects fired shots at numerous law enforcement officers, disabling several emergency vehicles and wounding an officer. Trooper Domino located the suspect vehicle and began a solo pursuit, during which he was fired upon multiple times. A gun battle ensued and Trooper Domino was shot in the right bicep.

The Trooper continued the pursuit despite his injury, and returned fire. The suspects crashed into a ditch and fled on foot to a heavily wooded area.  Officers from local, county, state and federal agencies were able to locate the subjects and take them into custody without further incident or injury.

The Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Act of 2008 established the Congressional Badge of Bravery to honor exceptional acts of bravery in the line of duty by federal, state, county, local and tribal law enforcement officers. For more information about the Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery, visit
https://badgeofbravery.ncjrs.gov/index.aspx.

The 7:06-a.m. report w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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The Hard Rock Casino in Sioux City agreed to a five-thousand dollar fine Thursday, from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission for its second gambling violation in as many months. Iowa Racing and Gaming administrator, Brian Ohorilko, says the violation involved a person who had agreed to a self ban. “An individual that had signed up on the statewide list in 2007, that individual was able to obtain a player’s club card at the Hard Rock facility, so that was the triggering factor for the violation,” Ohorilko explained.

The fine was based on the casino’s history of violations. “The violation was one that was self-reported by Hard Rock. It is their second violation of this nature within the past 365 days, which past precedent called for a five-thousand dollar fine. That’s what the parties agreed to, and the commission did approve that stipulation,” Ohorilko says. The violation comes just one month after the casino was fined three-thousand dollars at the commission’s March meeting.

“The first incident occurred a few months prior to this, and the parties — Hard Rock and commission staff — entered into a stipulated agreement at that time,” Ohorilko says. The casino has only been open since August of last year. Ohorilko says management has been doing some retraining of staff following the violations.

“They’ve implemented additional procedures and controls to help prevent this,” Ohorilko says. “They do have a number of new employees at the new facility, however it doesn’t change our expectations and Hard Rock management recognizes that and has indicated that they are going to try to address it.”

The person in the first violation was able to gamble and was not caught until he tried to cash in the jackpot and his name turned up on the banned list.

(Radio Iowa)

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Google Inc. wants to expand its Council Bluffs data center spending an additional $1 billion and doubling the size of its staff to 70. The California company is asking the state for an additional $19.8 million in tax refunds bringing its total tax incentives to more than $36 million. The company received nearly $17 million in tax incentives to build the first phase of its data center in exchange for a promise to employ 35 people. Google’s total investment in Iowa will come to around $2 billion.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority is to consider the project expansion, today (Friday). Microsoft is spending about $2 billion to build two data centers in West Des Moines and Facebook has invested about $1 billion in two Altoona data centers.

Atlantic Fire and Rescue personnel, along with crews from Audubon, Exira and Harlan responded to an incident at a grain bin northeast of Audubon Thursday afternoon. According to officials, the accident happened just before 1-p.m. There’s very little in the line of information available early this (Friday) morning, but on the Harlan Fire Department’s Facebook page, officials said “Unfortunately the outcome wasn’t as good as we had hoped.”

Atlantic, Exira and Harlan crews provided mutual aid to the Audubon Fire Department in handling the incident, with Atlantic providing its aerial truck. We hope to have more information later this morning, on KJAN and on the web at kjan.com.

Deputies in Montgomery County, Thursday, arrested 36-year old Kale Allen Wenberg, of Red Oak. Wenberg was taken into custody at around 4:45-p.m. in the 400 block of West Washington Street, on a warrant for Probation Violation. Wenberg was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond.

And, the Red Oak Police Department reports 25-year old Jessica Faye Davis, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 3:30-a.m. today (Friday). Davis was taken into custody near the intersection of N. 1st and E. Hammond Streets. She was brought to the Montgomery County Jail where Davis was being held on $1,000 bond on an OWI charge.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

(Audubon, Iowa/ KJAN) – A man from Central Iowa is dead and two other men were injured during a collision Thursday evening, about two-miles north of Audubon. The Iowa State Patrol says the driver of a 2013 Chevy pickup, 42-year old Kurt Robert Sulzman, of Polk City, who was wearing his seat belt, died in the crash that happened just after 7-p.m. on Highway 71 at the intersection with 170th Street.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Google is asking for an additional $19.8 million in tax refunds from the state to double the size of its Council Bluffs data center staff to 70, a $1 billion investment for the California company. The Iowa Economic Development Authority is to consider the project expansion Friday. Microsoft is building two data centers in West Des Moines and Facebook has invested in two data centers in Altoona.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief veterinary officer says the poultry industry may have to live with a deadly bird flu strain for several years, which could be devastating. Iowa’s first case of the H5N2 strain of avian influenza showed up earlier this week. Dr. John Clifford says that new cases should drop close to zero once the weather warms up but there is likely to be a resurgence this fall.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The city of Des Moines has appealed an Iowa Department of Transportation order to remove its automated speed camera on Interstate 235. A DOT report said Des Moines’ camera location had a low crash rate before the cameras went up, contrary to rules dictating that cameras target “high-crash or high-risk locations.” But the appeal claims the site has the highest level of traffic flow in the state and complies with DOT regulations.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gannett Co. has hired an Iowa native as president and publisher of The Des Moines Register. Thirty-nine-year-old David Chivers replaces Rick Green, who is now president and publisher of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Chivers most recently worked as chief digital officer at Jostens, which sells yearbooks and class rings.