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Page County Attorney’s report, 11/18/2024

News

November 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Clarinda, Iowa) – The Page County Sheriff’s Office today (Monday), released a report on the outcome of recent court cases.

  • Matthew Dillon Childs, age 19, of Red Oak, Iowa, appeared by counsel and admitted to violating his deferred judgment. The Defendant’s deferred judgment was revoked and the Defendant was sentenced to 30 days in jail, suspended. The Defendant’s probation was extended 3 months. The Defendant was ordered to pay court costs and court-appointed attorney fees.
  • Lori Ann Gibson, age 45, of Shenandoah, Iowa, appeared by counsel and pled guilty to Operating While Under the Influence-1st Offense. The Defendant was sentenced to 30 days in jail, with all but 2 days suspended. The Defendant was placed on probation for 9 months and was ordered to obtain a Substance Abuse Evaluation and complete any treatment recommendations and complete the Drinking Drivers School. The Defendant was ordered to pay a fine of $1,250, surcharges, court costs and court-appointed attorney fees.
  • Jacob Paul Gray, age 41, of Shenandoah, Iowa, appeared by counsel and pled guilty to Operating While Under the Influence-1st Offense. The Defendant was granted a deferred judgment for a period of 9 months. The Defendant was placed on probation for 9 months and was ordered to obtain a Substance Abuse Evaluation and complete any treatment recommendations and complete the Drinking Drivers School. The Defendant was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $1,250, surcharges and court costs.
  • Shanee Dawn Hamilton, age 51, of Shenandoah, Iowa appeared by counsel and pled guilty to five counts of Child Endangerment. The Defendant was sentenced to 90 days on each count, suspended and ordered to pay a fine of $855 on each count, suspended. The Defendant was placed on probation for 2 years on each count. The Defendant was ordered to pay surcharges and court costs.
  • William Bradley Hamilton, age 41, of Shenandoah, Iowa appeared by counsel and pled guilty to five counts of Child Endangerment. The Defendant was sentenced to 90 days on each count, suspended and ordered to pay a fine of $855 on each count, suspended. The Defendant was placed on probation for 2 years on each count. The Defendant was ordered to pay surcharges and court costs.
  • Misty Marie Herring, age 49, of Villisca, Iowa, appeared by counsel and pled guilty to Possession of Controlled Substance – Marijuana. The Defendant was sentenced to 2 days in jail and ordered to pay surcharges, court costs and court-appointed attorney fees.
  • Keith Benard Johnson Jr., age 46, of Red Oak, Iowa, appeared by counsel and pled guilty to Operating While Under the Influence-1st Offense. The Defendant was sentenced to 45 days in jail, with all but 5 days suspended. The Defendant was placed on probation for 9 months and was ordered to obtain a Substance Abuse Evaluation and complete any treatment recommendations and complete the Drinking Drivers School. The Defendant was ordered to pay a fine of $1,250, surcharges, court costs and court-appointed attorney fees.
  • Jace Reilly Lamb, age 18, of Clearfield, Iowa, appeared by counsel and pled guilty to Operating While Under the Influence-1st Offense. The Defendant was granted a deferred judgment for a period of 9 months. The Defendant was placed on probation for 9 months and was ordered to obtain a Substance Abuse Evaluation and complete any treatment recommendations and complete the Drinking Drivers School. The Defendant was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $1,250, surcharges, court costs and court-appointed attorney fees.
  • Jose Alberto Meraz, age 50, of Fort Worth, Texas, appeared by counsel and pled guilty to Operating While Under the Influence-1st Offense. The Defendant was sentenced to 30 days in jail, with all but 2 days suspended. The Defendant was placed on probation for 9 months and was ordered to obtain a Substance Abuse Evaluation and  complete any treatment recommendations and complete the Drinking Drivers School. The Defendant was ordered to pay a fine of $1,250, surcharges and court costs.
  • Lyle Francis Stogdill, age 41, of Shenandoah, Iowa, appeared with counsel and admitted to violating the terms and conditions of his probation. Defendant’s probation was revoked and the original sentence of 5 years in prison was imposed; Stogdill appeared with counsel and admitted to violating the terms and conditions of his probation. His probation was revoked and the original sentence of 10 years in prison was imposed; Stogdill appeared by counsel and pled guilty to Burglary in the 2nd Degree and Possession of Marijuana-3rd Offense. On the Burglary in the 2nd Degree, the Defendant was sentenced to 5 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $1,025, suspended. On the Possession of Marijuana-3rd Offense, the Defendant was sentenced to 2 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $855, suspended. The Defendant was ordered to pay court costs, surcharges, and court-appointed attorney fees.
  • Anthony David Titus, age 42, of Clarinda, Iowa, appeared by counsel and pled guilty to Child Endangerment. The Defendant was sentenced to 180 days in jail, with all but 5 days suspended. The Defendant was placed on probation for 1 year and ordered to obtain a substance abuse evaluation and follow any recommendations. The Defendant was ordered to pay a fine of $855, suspended, court costs, surcharges and court-appointed attorney fees.
  • Seth Derek Varellas, age 22, of Riverton, Iowa, appeared by counsel and pled guilty to Operating While Under the Influence-1st Offense. The Defendant was sentenced to 30 days in jail, with all but 2 days suspended. The Defendant was placed on probation for 9 months and was ordered to obtain a Substance Abuse Evaluation and complete any treatment recommendations and complete the Drinking Drivers School. The Defendant was ordered to pay a fine of $1,250, surcharges and court costs.
  • Cody James Walker, age 44, of Sidney, Iowa, appeared by counsel and pled guilty to Operating While Under the Influence-1st Offense. The Defendant was granted a deferred judgment for a period of 9 months. The Defendant was placed on probation for 9 months and was ordered to obtain a Substance Abuse Evaluation and complete any treatment recommendations and complete the Drinking Drivers School. The Defendant was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $1,250, surcharges and court costs.
  • Kalon Lee Whitehill, age 40, of Clarinda, Iowa, appeared by counsel and pled guilty to Operating While Under the Influence-1st Offense. The Defendant was sentenced to 45 days in jail, with all but 2 days suspended. The Defendant was placed on probation for 9 months and was ordered to obtain a Substance Abuse Evaluation and complete any treatment recommendations and complete the Drinking Drivers School. The Defendant was ordered to pay a fine of $1,250, surcharges, court costs and court-appointed attorney fees.

City of Atlantic Personnel & Finance Committee to meet in a closed session Tue. afternoon

News

November 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City of Atlantic’s Personnel & Finance Committee will meet 2-p.m. Tuesday, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. According to their agenda, the Committee will hold a Closed Session as allowed under the Code of Iowa, to “Discuss the Purchase or Sale of Particular Real Estate Only Where Premature Disclosure Could be Reasonably Expected to Increase the Price the Governmental Body Would Have to Pay for that Property or Reduce the Price the Governmental Body would Receive for that Property.”

The Minutes and the Audio Recording of a Session Closed Under this Paragraph will be made available for Public Examination when the Transaction Discussed is Completed.

State snowmobile registration process changes

Ag/Outdoor, News

November 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – There’s a change this year in how you register you snowmobile before running the trails in Iowa. The Iowa D-N-R ‘s Jessica Flatt says it simplifies the process. “Residents of Iowa are no longer required to purchase the user permit. They’ll only be needing to register their vehicle annually. So previous to this law change, they would have had to register and buy a trail permit, and now they’ll only have to buy the registration,” she says. Flatt says the registration fee was increased, but it balances out with no permit required.

“You know, they’re basically netting out the same cost, but now it’s only a single item that they have to purchase is that registration fee, Flatt says. “So the registration fee did increase from, you know, 15 to 30, but now they’re not required to buy that separate permit.” Flatt says the fee goes to help the users. “All of the money from the permits and the registration go into a dedicated fund, and the department administers that fund, but we partner with the Iowa State snowmobile Association, and 70 percent of those registration funds go to them, and they run a trail program, and so they work with all the local clubs that have designated snowmobile trails,” she says.

(ISSA photo)

You can register your snowmobile on the D-N-R website.  “If a snowmobile has not been registered before, they’re going to need to go to their county recorder’s office. But to renew an existing registration, they can visit the county recorder, or they can just go online or use our go outdoors app if they already have that,” Flatt says. Flatt says they’ve been consistently seeing around 20-thousand registered snowmobiles each year.

Wintery weather looms for Iowa with snow possible this week

News, Weather

November 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – After a fine fall weekend, forecasters say we’re in for a much colder week ahead with the chance for snow in parts of Iowa midweek. Meteorologist Dylan Dodson, at the National Weather Service, says a storm front will move in later today (Monday) bringing showers, with many areas of the state facing a 100-percent chance of rain. “We’ll see the first signs of that as winds really pick up on the backside of this late tonight into Tuesday morning, and then we’ll also have windy conditions on Wednesday,” Dodson says. “On Wednesday, when those colder temperatures really set in, high temperatures will be getting down into the low 40s to upper 30s, which means our overnight lows are going to be even colder. By the end of the week, we could be seeing widespread lows in the 20s.”

While parts of the Dakotas are expecting more than four inches of snow, Dodson says he doesn’t expect anywhere near those amounts in Iowa, though we may see some flakes flying on Wednesday. “We could see a dusting of snow more likely over the northern portions of the state,” Dodson says. “Not going to be much for accumulations, at least what we’re seeing right now for us, but we could certainly see some snow falling, and then further south and further east, we’ll be seeing more rain or maybe a rain-snow mix.”

The thunderstorms later today could be severe, with strong winds gusting up to 40 miles an hour. Tornadoes are unlikely, but are always possible, even in the final months of the year.) “We’ve had a lot of tornadoes across the state, December 15th, 2021 comes to mind. That had some of the highest tornadoes that we’ve ever seen in the state, and that happened in December,” Dodson says. “Tornadoes can happen any time of the year, so we’ve always got to stay aware. Obviously, the chances get lower when you get into the colder months, but it’s never zero.”

The National Weather Service recently confirmed an E-F-0 tornado hit near Bloomfield on November 5th. That adds to the record year for twisters in Iowa. The state’s now had 125 confirmed tornadoes this year, more than ever before.

NW Iowa man arrested after eluding law enforcement in an allegedly stolen police officer’s vehicle

News

November 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) —  A man from northwest Iowa was arrested Saturday afternoon, after eluding law enforcement in a stolen vehicle that belonged to a Sioux City police officer.  KCAU-TV in Sioux City reports, that according to the complaint documents, 34-year-old Elwood Freemont, of Sioux City, was listed as being involved in a police pursuit while driving a stolen vehicle.  The documents state that Freemont eluded law enforcement in South Sioux City and was then seen by the Sioux City Police Department driving the wrong way down 6th Street at 70 mph in a 35 mph zone.

Freemont crashed the stolen vehicle and continued to elude officers on foot before being apprehended, according to the documents. The victim was informed of stolen items that were valued at approximately $357.49 after the fact. He was charged with first-degree theft, fourth-degree theft, and eluding at speeds 25 mph over the speed limit.

Atlantic City Council to hold the 1st reading of an amended ATV & Snowmobile Ordinance

News

November 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A regular meeting of the Atlantic City Council takes place Wednesday (Nov. 20th) at City Hall, beginning at 5:30-p.m. Among the discussion/action items on their agenda, is the First Reading of an Ordinance “Amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Atlantic” by “Amending Provisions Pertaining to All-Terrain Vehicles and Snowmobiles.”

In his meeting notes, City Administrator John Lund reports Iowa Senate File 2130 was developed in response to a 2020 survey, asking ATV and UTV riders what they would like to see changed in Iowa law, to better support riders of those vehicles. The survey results determined riders wanted to ride on more County and State roadways in all 99 counties, under a uniform State law. Cities were then left to create their own rules, but were not allowed to charge permitting fees.

Lund says the City of Atlantic’s Community Protection Committee met last August to review the options for adopting an ordinance regarding the use of ATV’s and UTV’s on city streets, and has reviewed and recommended to the Council an amended ordinance, which includes:

  • A 1-year sunset for the ordinance, which will end after that year, if there are no issues.
  • A cut-off of 18-years (similar to what the City of Ankeny has).
  • ATV’s and UTV’s must have a working horn, headlamps and tail lamps, but will not require turn signals.
  • A subsection will be added to the ordinance, which disallows towing by ATV’s and UTV’s.
  • The ordinance exempts Park employees from being forbidden to operate the machines on City property.
  • It includes a section of the existing snowmobile ordinance and clarifies when police officers can issue citations addressing any related violations.
  • And, at the request of Atlantic Police Chief Devin Hogue, the amended ordinance states that ATV’s only be allowed for the purpose of snow removal during the snow season.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council is expected to approve a pay application to Hydro-Klean, LLC for the 2024 Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project, and act to approve a related resolution accepting the work for the project and Ultra Violet CIPP (Cured In Place Pipe) Lining Project.

After institutions for people with disabilities close, graves are at risk of being forgotten

News

November 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

GLENWOOD, Iowa — Hundreds of people who were separated from society because they had disabilities are buried in a nondescript field at the former state institution in Mills County. According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, disability rights advocates hope Iowa will honor them by preventing the kind of neglect that has plagued similar cemeteries at other shuttered facilities around the U.S.

The Glenwood Resource Center, was closed this summer in the wake of allegations of poor care. The last of its living residents were moved elsewhere in June. But the remains of about 1,300 people will stay where they were buried on the grounds. The graveyard, which dates to the 1800s, covers several acres of sloping ground near the campus’s brick buildings. A 6-foot-tall, weathered-concrete cross stands on the hillside, providing the most visible clue to the field’s purpose. On a recent afternoon, dried grass clippings obscured row after row of small stone grave markers set flat in the ground. Most of the stones are engraved with only a first initial, a last name, and a number.

During more than a century of operation, the institution housed thousands of people with intellectual disabilities. Its population declined as society turned away from the practice of sequestering people with disabilities and mental illness in large facilities for decades at a time. The cemetery is filled with residents who died and weren’t returned to their hometowns for burial with their families. State and local leaders are working out arrangements to maintain the cemetery and the rest of the 380-acre campus. Local officials, who are expected to take control of the grounds next June, say they’ll need extensive state support for upkeep and redevelopment, especially with the town of about 5,000 people reeling from the loss of jobs at the institution.

Iowa’s Glenwood Resource Center started as a home for orphans of Civil War soldiers. It grew into a large institution for people with disabilities, many of whom lived there for decades. Its population peaked at more than 1,900 in the 1950s, then dwindled to about 150 before state officials decided to close it. Two former employees of the Glenwood facility recently raised concerns that some of the graves may be mismarked. But officials with the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, which ran the institution, said they have extensive, accurate records and recently placed stones on three graves that were unmarked.

Spokesperson Alex Murphy wrote in an email that while no decisions have been made about the campus, the agency “remains committed to ensuring the cemetery is protected and treated with dignity and respect for those who have been laid to rest there.” Glenwood civic leaders have formed a nonprofit corporation that is negotiating with the state over development plans for the former institution. “We’re trying to make the best of a tough situation,” said Larry Winum, a local banker who serves on the new organization’s board. Tentative plans include tearing down some of the existing buildings and creating up to 900 houses and apartments.

Max Cupp, a retired supervisor of the grounds at Iowa’s Glenwood Resource Center, brushes away grass clippings so he can check a grave marker at the shuttered institution’s cemetery on Oct. 9, 2024. (Tony Leys/KFF Health News)

On a recent day, just one of the Glenwood graves had flowers on it. Retired managers of the institution said few people visit the cemetery, but amateur genealogists sometimes show up after learning that a long-forgotten ancestor was institutionalized at Glenwood and buried there.

Creston man arrested on drug charges last week

News

November 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports a man was arrested last week, on drug charges. Authorities say 28-year-old Carlos Ivan Cortez, of Creston, was arrested at around 2-p.m. Wednesday at a residence in the 600 block of N. Pine Street, in Creston.

Cortez was charged with Possession of a controlled substance, 2nd Offense Marijuana and Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drug. He was taken to the Union County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond.

Pickup strikes 2 Black Angus cows in Union County, Friday

News

November 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Afton, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Union County say the driver of a pickup escaped injury, Friday evening, after their vehicle struck two Black Angus cows near Afton. Authorities say a 2005 Dodge RAM 1500 pickup driven by 40-year-old Willhun Christopher Lee, of Afton, was traveling south on Creamery Road at around 6:05-p.m., when it struck the cows that were standing in the middle of the road, outside of their fenced-in area.

The pickup was disabled by the collision, sustaining an estimated $15,000, according to the Sheriff’s Department. The cattle, owned by Randal Pettit, of Afton, were valued at $5,000.

 

Search for lead drinking water pipes nearly over

News

November 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The search for lead water pipes in the state is near the end and some communities are already notifying residents of what they’ve found. Sioux City Utilities Director Brad Peutz (Pitts) says it’s part of a federal program to get rid of lead pipes. “All lead service lines, all galvanized lines requiring replacement, and those lines that are unknown to either be replaced or verified within ten years,” he says. Peutz says residents who have a line that needs attention will soon get a letter.

“Sioux City has roughly 26-thousand service connections. Of those 26-thousand service connections, the city has identified roughly 73-hundred service connections that could potentially need replaced by that November of 2037 date, the focus at this time is outreach,” he says.

The Iowa D-N-R is overseeing the federal program here. A spokesperson for the D-N-R says they are still compiling all the survey results and doesn’t yet have an exact statewide count on how many pipes need to be replaced.