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Man admits Omaha bar was front for prostitution operation

News

May 20th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A 67-year-old man has admitted running a prostitution operation out of his exotic-dance bar in Omaha. Louis Venditte pleaded guilty on Tuesday to four federal prostitution charges, including one involving the transport of women from Iowa to Nebraska. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 10.

Venditte’s wife, Ruby Venditte, and John W. Wagstaffe have pleaded not guilty to prostitution charges, accused of being partners in the operation at the former Goodfellas bar. Law enforcement raided the bar in October 2013 while serving a search warrant. The bar has since closed.

Ruby Venditte and Wagstaffe are scheduled to go on trial next month.

JOHN VERNON GREENLEE, 87, of Guthrie Center (Svcs. 5/22/15)

Obituaries

May 20th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

JOHN VERNON GREENLEE, 87, of Guthrie Center, died Mon., May 18th, at the Panora Nursing & Rehab Center. Funeral services for JOHN GREENLEE will be held 10-a.m. Fri., May 22nd, at the 1st Baptist Church in Guthrie Center. Twigg Funeral Home in Guthrie Center has the arrangements.

Visitation at the funeral home, is from 5-until 7-pm Thursday, May 21st.

Memorials may be directed to the family.

Burial will be in the Highland Township Cemetery in Bayard.

JOHN GREENLEE is survived by:

His wife – Ann, of Guthrie Center.

His sons – John (Lauri) Greenlee, of Corning; LeRoy (Sue) Greenlee, of DeSoto, & Dale (Julia) Greenlee, of McMinnville, OR.

His daughters – Phyllis (Joe) Cooper of Independence, OR., & Brenda (Leland) Hall, of Mitchellville.

Numerous grandchildren and great children, his in-laws, other relatives & friends.

Man & woman arrested in Montgomery County Tue. evening

News

May 20th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Two people, a man and a woman, were arrested on separate charges Tuesday evening, in Montgomery County. Sheriff’s officials say at around 9-p.m., 48-year old Kristine Courtney Ryan, of Elliott, was arrested in Elliott, for Fraudulent Practice in the 4th Degree. Ryan was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond.

Earlier in the evening, 26-year old Chase Michael Samples, of Red Oak, was arrested in Red Oak, for allegedly violating a Protection Order. Samples was booked into the Montgomery County Jail and held on $300 bond.

Colorado man arrested in Fremont County on a drug charge & NE warrant

News

May 20th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Deputies in Fremont County arrested a Colorado man Tuesday morning following a traffic stop in Hamburg. A vehicle driven by 32-year old Nicholas James Buck, of Ft. Morgan, CO., was stopped at around 7:30-a.m., for having fictitious license plates. The deputy learned Buck was wanted on a warrant out of Lancaster County, NE., and detained him while the Fremont County K9 “Argo” conducted a search in and around the vehicle.

During the search, the dog alerted to the presence of a controlled substance. The deputy found just over 3/4 of a pound of a substance resembling methamphetamine in the vehicle, and several items of drug paraphernalia.

Buck was arrested for Possession of a Counterfeit Controlled Substance with the intent to deliver, failure to have insurance, operating a motor vehicle without a license, and operating a non-registered vehicle. He was being held in the Fremont County Jail on $100,000 bond.

Pott. County man accused of assaulting a 15-year old

News

May 20th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Prosecutors in Pottawattamie County say a Council Bluffs man has been charged with a felony after prosecutors accused him of choking, beating and kicking a 15-year-old boy after a traffic accident. The Omaha World-Herald reports 35-year old Ryan D. Linehan was driving a white Jeep Grand Cherokee in the 2800 block of North Broadway in north-central Council Bluffs just before midnight April 25th. He’s accused of passing a black 2001 Dodge Ram pickup truck, cutting off the pickup and striking it with his Jeep. The pickup’s teenage driver, who has a school permit and was on his way home from a function at St. Albert High School, pulled over to exhange insurance information.

Prosecutors say Linehan immediately attacked the boy, choking him to unconsciousness before putting him down on the street and punching and kicking him. A friend of the teen had been driving behind the two in his car and recorded the incident on his cellphone. The teenager came to and got up on his hands and knees in the street. Officials say Linehan kicked him again, this time in the head. The kick was so forceful, they said, that it caused the teen to fall over backwards and lose consciousness again.

Linehan took off, but Bluffs police later got a tip that he was involved, and they traced the Jeep to his girlfriend. During an interview, an officer noticed that Linehan’s knuckles were swollen and taped together. Linehan is charged with willful injury, a felony punishable by 10 years in prison if he’s convicted.

On Friday, he posted 10 percent of a $30,000 bail — $3,000 — and was released from the Pottawattamie County Jail. A trial date was pending. The teenager was hospitalized for treatment of his injuries. He suffered a concussion and significant damage to his cheeks, gums and teeth. Prosecutors said he still has no memory of what happened — or of the previous eight hours before the run-in with Linehan.

NWS forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area, 5/20/15

Weather

May 20th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Early this morning: Showers. Steady temperature around 46. East northeast wind around 10 mph.

Today: Showers, mainly before 11am. High near 51. Northeast wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Tonight: Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 40. North northeast wind 5 to 8 mph becoming light and variable.

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 66. Northwest wind 7 to 9 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 44. West wind 5 to 8 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 69.
Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52.

Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 67.

2 injured in a crash Tue. evening in Pott. County

News

May 20th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Two men, one from Pennsylvania, the other from western Iowa, were injured Tuesday evening, during a collision on the Interstate, in Pottawattamie County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2014 Ford rental truck was stopped along the shoulder of I-680/-29 wwestbound at mile marker 40, and was about to re-enter the I-680. In doing so, the truck, driven by 44-year old Bernard Oguto, of Whitehall, PA., blocked both lanes of traffic. It was struck by a westbound 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee, driven by 35-year old Jason Parker, of Persia. Both drivers were transported to Mercy Hospital by Minden Rescue. Their injuries were described as minor. The accident happened at around 5:10-p.m.

Iowa early News Headlines: Wed., May 20th 2015

News

May 20th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

MISSOURI VALLEY, Iowa (AP) — A 17-year-old from Sioux City faces a charge after authorities say he led a high-speed car chase in western Iowa and shot at a transportation enforcement officer. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says Chauncy Jewett initiated the chase Monday afternoon following a traffic stop in Harrison County. The teen is accused of driving away from an enforcement officer with the state Department of Transportation. A 20-year-old Sioux City woman in the car is charged with identity theft and interference with official acts.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say the death of a man found near a road in Des Moines doesn’t appear suspicious. The Des Moines Police Department says 32-year-old Jesse Parish was found in a patch of trees and shrubs Tuesday on the south side of the city. Authorities say a cause of death will not be released until an autopsy is performed, but the Des Moines man’s death doesn’t appear suspicious.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Weeks after burned macaroni and cheese emptied out the Iowa Capitol, a charred pizza crust has done it again. The crust burned Tuesday morning in the Capitol cafeteria, prompting a brief evacuation. Department of Administrative Services Spokesman Caleb Hunter says property was not damaged and no one was injured. About three weeks ago, the Capitol was evacuated when someone burned a macaroni and cheese lunch in a microwave behind the Senate chambers.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The University of Iowa has fired a student health clinic worker and disciplined another for breaching the privacy of an athlete and his girlfriend by immediately discussing the results of their pregnancy test. The violations come after Iowa fired three and suspended two for accessing the records of football players who were hospitalized in 2011. The university has increased its training on health privacy rules.

 

Seattle sends Yoervis Medina to Cubs for Welington Castillo

Sports

May 20th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners bolstered their depth behind the plate, acquiring catcher Welington Castillo from the Chicago Cubs for right-handed relief pitcher Yoervis Medina. Castillo will back up Mike Zunino, who brought a .179 batting average into Tuesday night’s game against the Orioles.

Castillo appeared in 24 games with the Cubs this season, including eight starts, as one of two backups to Miguel Montero. He played parts of six seasons with the Cubs, appearing in 223 games during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Castillo is a .252 hitter with 29 home runs and 110 RBIs in 310 career games, all with the Cubs.

Medina will report to Triple-A Iowa with the Cubs organization. Medina was 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 12 relief appearances with Seattle before being optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on May 3. Medina has made 141 relief appearances with the Mariners the past three seasons.

 

Chiefs sign 4 players, waive 3 others after rookie minicamp

Sports

May 20th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs have signed four players from their rookie minicamp this past weekend and waived three other players to make room for them on their roster. With a big need for depth on the offensive line, the Chiefs kept former Kansas center Daniel Munyer, South Alabama offensive guard Melvin Meggs and Baylor offensive tackle Kelvin Palmer. The Chiefs also signed Sam Houston State running back Keshawn Hill.

To make room for them, the Chiefs waived offensive lineman Charles Sweeton along with fullback Manasseh Garner and tight end Earnest Pettway. The Chiefs begin their optional full-squad workouts next week.