One person was injured during an apartment fire this morning, in Atlantic.

402 Maple Street fire in Atlantic (Ric Hanson photo)

Firefighters were called to 402 Maple Street at around 8-a.m. Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees told KJAN News the incident was reported by a resident in a neighboring apartment, who smelled smoke.

He said the resident couldn’t get a man living in the apartment to evacuate. Atlantic Police Lt. Dave Erickson also tried but was unsuccessful in getting the man out. McNees said firefighters made entry into the building and were able to remove the man from the home, along with the rest of the tenants. The victim was taken to the Cass County Memorial Hospital for treatment.

McNees said the fire, which apparently started in the kitchen, spread to the wall and into the ceiling. There are four apartments in the two-story structure, three of which were believed to have been occupied by a total of six-residents. The other occupants were expected to return to their apartments once the structure was ventilated. Atlantic Fire was on the scene for about 45-minutes.

Police in Council Bluffs say they think they know the motive behind the shooting of a Council Bluffs woman and her child, but they’re being mum on the reason, for now. According to the Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil, investigators say rumors, and comments by the wife of the Harlan man charged in the shooting that the incident happened over a tax refund, are not true. They say there is also no truth to the rumor the victim, 22-year old Heather Wilson, pulled a gun the alleged assailant, 30-year old Ronald Farr, of Harlan.

The shooting of Wilson and her 19 month old son Tyson Underwood happened early Tuesday morning outside an apartment complex, in Council Bluffs. Court documents indicate Farr’s wife, Lisa, told investigators the shooting occurred over a $6,000 tax refund payable to Farr, that was allegedly in the possession of the father of Wilson’s children, who refused to give it back.

Sgt. David Dawson with the Council Bluffs Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division told the paper that story is not true. Lisa Farr also told investigators that the shooting was self-defense. She claimed Wilson pulled a gun on Ronald Farr, Dawson said investigators have found no evidence Wilson had a gun. Wilson suffered eight gunshot wounds during the incident. Her son suffered a gunshot wound to his arm.

Farr, who was arrested without incident at his home in Harlan,  faces three counts of attempted murder, two counts of willful injury causing serious injury and one count of going armed with intent. He made his initial court appearance Wednesday during a video conference, where associate district court Judge Charles Fagan set a preliminary hearing for Friday, February 22^nd. Farr remains in the Pottawattamie County Jail on $1-million bond.

Construction on a two-story community center in the Montgomery County community of Stanton is set to begin soon. According to the Omaha World-Herald, work on the Viking Center in Stanton will begin on or about April 1^st. A non-profit group…”Stanton Friends”…has raised $3.2-million dollars through donations, to help pay for the community center, which is expected to open in December, 2013.

The facility, in a town of around 700 people, will feature a public library, a preschool, multipurpose/community room with a kitchen, a health and wellness area, gymnasium, and storm shelter. The idea for the 25,350-square foot Viking Center was formed during a community meeting in 2007. The following year, residents in the area formed the non-profit “Stanton Friends” group, to take the lead on bringing the concept to reality.

Officials say more than 400 people, businesses and foundations donated to the fundraising campaign for the multi-function building. Donations are still being accepted to develop the structure’s interior, purchase gym equipment and furnish the library.