Fugitive caught in Nepal faces identity theft, passport fraud charges in Iowa

A federal grand jury in Iowa has returned an indictment against a 48-year-old man who was caught in Asia this summer after being on the F-B-I’s “most wanted” list for 14 years.
Neil Stammer owned a magic shop in New Mexico when he was arrested in 1999 and charged with kidnapping and child sex abuse. He failed to show up for a court appearance and was declared a federal fugitive. The U.S. State Department recently used facial recognition software to cross-check passport photos with the FBI’s Most Wanted list and got a hit on Stammer. Stammer was living in Nepal and going by the name Kevin John Hodges. News media in Nepal say that’s the name of a baby who died in 1972. Stammer is in a New Mexico prison, awaiting trial on the sex abuse and kidnapping charges, but now Stammer faces passport fraud and identity theft charges in federal court in Iowa. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa isn’t commenting on the case, but according to media accounts in Kathmandu, it appears Stammer lived in Des Moines after he left New Mexico. His fake passport listed Minneapolis as his hometown.

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The Red Oak Police Department arrested 26 year old Kristopher Edward Wayne Davies of Red Oak in the 3-hundred block of East Valley Street for Serious Assault Domestic Abuse. Davies is being held at the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on no bond.

A study by an environmental group is analyzing the vulnerability to climate change of more than 500 species of birds across the Midwest. The Environmental Defense Fund is working with teams of biologists in Nebraska, Illinois and Iowa. Alicia Hardin, an administrator with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, says some birds are becoming more scarce across the region. The report is finding between one-fifth and one-third of the bird species across the three states are vulnerable to climate change and some of them are beginning to thin in numbers. Farmers and ranchers can take pro-active steps to keep species off the endangered list, or to keep them from sliding further into decline. Hardin says many ag producers are already taking those important steps. Officials with the Environmental Defense Fund say strong, positive incentives are needed for farmers and ranchers to manage and restore habitat in ways that can help offset the ecological and agricultural impact of drought and floods. It can include restoring wetlands, floodplains and grasslands, the use of cover crops, no-till agriculture, and buffers to provide shade and improve water quality. In other parts of the country, the I-D-F is developing “habitat exchanges” to help farmers earn revenue for growing wildlife habitat alongside crops and improving drought conditions.

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Four Jimmy John’s stores in Iowa were impacted by a recent security breach.
According to a news release from the Illinois-based restaurant chain, customers’ credit card data was stolen from 216 Jimmy John’s stores in 37 states between June and early September. That includes four sandwich shops in Iowa located at 2801 Grand Avenue North in Ames, 2016 College Street in Cedar Falls, 202 South Ankeny Boulevard in Ankeny, and 4926 Southeast 14th Street in Des Moines. Investigators believe someone stole log-in credentials and remotely installed malware on machines used to swipe credit cards. The new release states Jimmy John’s has taken steps to restore its security.

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Election Day is 40 days away yet many Iowans are already casting their ballots as early voting begins today. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, who’s not up for re-election this year, typically votes absentee himself but says he’s not a fan of how the election process is evolving. While 30-percent of Iowans voted absentee in 2010, that number jumped to 43-percent in 2012. This year, 130-thousand Iowans requested absentee ballots, more than twice the number from the last midterm election. Grassley says people who are casting their ballots today might find themselves with a case of voter’s remorse if any sort of scandal errupts during the next 40 days before November 4th. Beginning this morning, Iowans can vote in person at their county auditor’s office, via absentee ballot through the mail, or at temporary “satellite” sites. If you’re annoyed by telephone calls from pollsters, one campaign official says if you vote early, you’ll be taken off all of the calling lists.

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Voting for the 2014 General Election in Iowa starts today. Matt Schultz, the state’s commissioner of elections, says over 130-thousand Iowans requested an absentee ballot before the “early voting” period even started. The number of absentee ballot requests is more than double what it was during the last midterm election in 2010. Schultz predicts early voting will increase again in 2014. Iowa Democrats have scheduled 13 different “kickoff” events around the state today to mark the start of early voting. Five Republican candidates running for statewide office this year will be together today, making stops at G-O-P events in five cities. There are a few ways to vote early in Iowa. You can go to your county auditor’s office and vote in person there. You can request an absentee ballot through the mail and, once you’ve marked up that ballot, you can either mail it back or deliver it in person to the county auditor’s office. Finally, many county auditors are setting up temporary “satellite” sites where voters can cast ballots.

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