(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court heard oral arguments Thursday in a case where a woman sued the state for negligence after a multi-state fugitive being chased by a State Trooper ran into her car in central Iowa. The Polk County district court judge ruled Amber Martinez’s lawsuit involving the chase by Trooper Brett Tjepkes could go forward. Attorney David Ranscht, argued for the state that there is no case. “No reasonable jury could conclude on this record which you have in front of you in video format and including audio as well that Sergeant Tjepkes acted recklessly so you should reverse and remand with instructions to enter summary judgment for the state,” he says.

The fugitive, Scott Grimes, had sped away at speeds of 90 miles an hour in Urbandale and was running through stoplights, when Trooper Tjepkes cut off the pursuit just before the crash. “That’s when you see Sergeant Tjepkes say ‘okay it’s going too far I’m going to shut this down’,” Ranscht says. Ranscht says that’s an indication there was no negligence in the case. Martinez’s lawyer, Molly Hamilton, says the district court ruling correctly said the issue should go to a jury. “There was a threshold finding of recklessness and there are facts to support that threshold finding to leave the question of recklessness to a jury,” Hamilton says. She says the radio transmissions the trooper had with other officers prior to trying to stop Grimes are an indication he started the pursuit despite the risk.

“Officer Tjepkes says three times, ‘If we don’t get him in the right place, if he runs, if there’s a pursuit there’s going to be disaster, there’s going to be a problem three times.’ And so, that is to me, that is the not just probable injury. He is consciously aware of that risk,” Hamilton says. Hamilton says Trooper Tjepkes had the duty to avoid that risk and the eventual injury to her client and her kids from the crash. The Supreme Court will consider the arguments and rule at a later date.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Sheriff’s Deputies in Montgomery County responded at around 10:50-p.m. Thursday, to a reported assault in progress. The incident occurred in the 1900 block of 203rd Street, in Red Oak. Upon investigation and a brief search, Deputies – assisted by Red Oak Police – arrested Michael Josephson for Domestic Assault/1st offense. He was booked into and held at the Montgomery County Jail. Red Oak Rescue also assisted at the scene.

(Radio Iowa) – The long-awaited renovation of the docks at the Storm Lake Marina is moving forward. D-N-R Conservation and Recreation Division Administrator, Pete Hildreth, told the Natural Resources Commission members Thursday, they’ve taken the first step in the process. “The Department has ordered new docks to replace the old ones. Utilizing marine fuel tax ,the Department is allocating just over a half a million dollars to get new docks,” Hildreth says.

Hildreth says the N-R-C will need to take action in November to get the docks installed. “That was a purchase for goods. And so there’s no requirements to bring a purchase of goods to the Commission,” he says. “But we still have to install those docks — and so next month you will be seeing an agenda item for your review and approval for the installation of those new docks at Storm Lake Marina.”

Hildreth did not indicate how much it might cost to install the docks. Hildreth says they continue working with Buena Vista County on the future of the marina.

(Radio Iowa) – A state panel is predicting state tax collections for this budgeting year will fall two-point-seven percent below the last one. Iowa Department of Revenue director Kraig Paulsen says tax cuts for retirees, corporations and individuals in the top state tax bracket are what’s driving that negative number.

“Definitely not pessimistic. I’m not pessimistic about what’s coming at all,” Paulsen says, “but it is somewhat conservative.” David Underwood, a C-P-A from Clear Lake, is another member of the Revenue Estimating Conference. Underwood says he’s heard from employers who have just about given up on trying to find employees — and that is limiting business growth in Iowa.

“The other thing with it is that the wage increases are just about to the levels of where we’re not going to see (that) wage growth going forward,” Underwood says. “I mean I’ve talked to a number of people who say: ‘I just can’t pay anymore. You know the profits aren’t there to support that.'” Holly Lyons of the Legislative Services Agency says while there are national economic headwinds, major indicators offer conflicting data.

“Suggesting that the economy’s not in a recession, but merely in a period of slower growth as it transitions from the rapid recovery from the brief, but harsh pandemic-induced recession,” Lyons says. Underwood says the state recovered quite rapidly from the economic freefall COVID caused in 2020. “But nobody has figured out how to continue that growth level,” Underwood says, “and that’s what worries me about the growth levels that we’re going to see in employment and profitability in Iowa.” Underwood says he wishes he had a more optimistic view of the state’s economy.

“It’s good in Iowa, but how long is it going to be good?” Underwood says. “And I know our leading indicators in Iowa don’t show the recession eminent in Iowa, but there’s a difference between a recession and just a slowness or a halt to our growth.” The last state fiscal year ended June 30th and state tax collections grew nearly 11-and-a-half percent during the 12 month period — far beyond officials’ predictions.

Iowa’s gross domestic product declined slightly in March, April and May. The governor’s top tax and budget advisor says that and other economic measures indicate the economy’s boom cycle has slowed, but is still in positive territory.

MAQUOKETA, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Public Safety today (Thursday), said 56-year-old Christopher Eugene Prichard, of Bellevue, Iowa, has been charged with First Degree Murder for the October 8, 2022, shooting death of Angela Prichard.

On October 8, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call at the Mississippi Ridge Kennels located at 31821 Highway 52 in Bellevue, Iowa. Upon arrival, law enforcement found Angela Prichard, age 55, dead from an apparent gunshot wound.  Prichard was later arrested during the early morning hours of October 9, 2022 on warrants for Violation of Protective Order.

Christopher Prichard remains in the Jackson County Sheriff’s jail and is scheduled for an initial appearance on the afternoon of October 13, 2022.  If convicted, First Degree Murder carries a lifetime imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

*A criminal charge is only an accusation, and criminal defendants are innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

(Radio Iowa) – Officials in a northwest Iowa city have adopted changes to an ordinance that now gives the city authority to essentially evict a vicious animal. Okoboji Police Chief Jason Peterson says under the old ordinance, his only option was to write a ticket if a dog was off its owner’s property and attacked a person or another dog. “The change would be that we have recourse if there is multiple times that a dog has bitten other animals or attacked other animals unprovoked,” he says, “and if somebody’s hurt in a dog attack — or any domestic animal attack — the animal can be made to leave town.”

Okoboji City Administration Michael Meyers says the city council tightened up the language in the ordinance before approving it this week. “Under the previous language, it could have been argued that: ‘He only did that — he only killed the other dog once, so I’ve got one more,'” Meyers said. The Okoboji ordinance now addresses attacks that happen without provocation and cause serious injury.

Earlier this year, a two-year-old was bitten by a pit bull in the eastern Iowa town of Hopkinton and there’s been a long-running dispute over enforcement of Hopkinton’s ordinance which bans pit bulls from city limits. At least 20 other states have laws which ban cities and counties from having breed-specific ordinances. Okoboji’s refers simply to “vicious animals.”

(Radio Iowa) – A World War Two veteran who was a charter member of the Iowa Air National Guard and former commander of the 185th Air Wing has died at age 97. Colonel Warren “Bud” Nelson served in the military for almost 40 years. Brigadier General Larry Christensen, a recent commander of the 185th, says Nelson was a true pioneer of the Air Force. “He was there at the beginning of the Air Force and the Air National Guard coming out of World War Two. And so then you think about those guys and what they did, I guarantee there wasn’t a how to book back then, how to start an Air Force how to start an Air National Guard,” he says. “And that’s why I always say to retirees, especially up there at the 185th, that we’re standing on their shoulders, they’re the ones that created the foundation.”

Nelson had been working as a P-51 instructor pilot after World War Two and was determined to continue flying. At the age of 21, with three years under his belt, he moved to Sioux City to join the newly formed 174th Fighter Squadron. There he continued to fly the P-51 Mustangs until 1950 when he switched to the jet-powered F-84 Thunderjet.

Warren “Bud” Nelson (photo by Vince DeGroot,ING)

Christensen says Nelson was unique in flying several different aircraft. “A lot of people they only fly one airplane. I was lucky enough to do three, but he actually did eight,” Christensen says. “So again, we go back to the history that he had, the knowledge that he had, you know the different experiences. We’re gonna be hard pressed to find anybody with that kind of experience.”

Nelson volunteered to become part of the world’s first nuclear fighter bomber wing when he and other 174th pilots were assigned to the 20th fighter bomber wing in Europe. They flew regular missions along the West German border as a show of force against Soviet-occupied East Germany. The 174th eventually grew into the 185th tactical fighter group which was assigned the F-100 super saber and was activated again in 1968 for the war in Vietnam. Nelson became the wing commander in 1976 and went through his final airframe change when the unit transitioned to the A-7 Corsair in 1977, and then retired in 1980. Christensen says with all that Nelson accomplished, he was very humble about it.

“He’d sit and talk to you for as long as you want to talk — but he definitely wasn’t a person to brag. Even though he had the right to do so, he never did,” Christensen says. Nelson was a native of Jackson, Minnesota, but called Sioux City home for most of his life, and continued to live here after his retirement in 1980. The funeral for Nelson will take place at 10 a-m Friday at the First Presbyterian Church in Sioux City. Visitation is Thursday from 4-6 p-m. at Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel, with a Masonic service at 6 p-m.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Malvern was arrested Tuesday evening. 71-year-old James Edward Pontow was arrested at around 6-p.m., for Driving While Barred.

Deputies investigated an incident that resulted in property damage, Wednesday afternoon. Authorities say 48-year-old John Lindeman, of Defiance, was backing a 2020 Kenworth semi tractor-trailer up a driveway at 21505 Eastman Road at around 4:45-p.m., after he improperly turned down the driveway. The truck was unable to gain traction on the gravel road, and was privately towed back to Eastman Road.

The Sheriff’s Office said the semi’s actions caused significant ruts and damage to the gravel driveway that had just been resurfaced by the homeowner. Lindeman told Deputies that his GPS told him to use the driveway as he was delivering goods, but he realized too late that the address was not correct, and he was unable to back-up on the driveway. No citations were issued.

(Radio Iowa) – Triple A is reporting gasoline prices in Iowa are about 30 cents a gallon higher than a month ago. Meredith Mitts is a spokeswoman for Triple A Iowa. “The reason we’re seeing this is while crude oil is still hovering around roughly the same prices, we’re seeing an increase in demand,” she says, “which is driving some of those prices up.” Mitts says gas prices in the weeks ahead are expected to rise because of holiday travel and weather may be another factor.

“It could be a snow storm or a rain storm. It could be a hurricane hitting some of those pipelines,” Mitts says, “but severe weather has the ability to impact what gas prices we’re seeing locally even if hitting somewhere else, like down in Florida or on the east or west coast.” Council Bluffs is where gas is selling for the lowest price right now — three-59 ($3.59) a gallon, according to Triple A. Ames has the highest price at three-84 ($3.84) a gallon. “In the last week, though, we’ve really only gone up three or four cents, depending on where you’re at,” Mitts says.

Diesel fuels prices are averaging above five dollars a gallon in Iowa. That’s about 38 cents more than a week ago — and nearly equal to the nationwide jump in diesel this past week.