(update 9/7/12: Corrects charges – most are felonies)

The Atlantic Police Department reports a northwest Iowa man has been arrested on an Attempt to Commit Murder charge, a Class B felony. 38-year old Timothy Russell was also charged with Willful Injury causing serious injury (a Class C felony), Public Intoxication (Simple Misdemeanor), Going Armed with Intent (Class D felony), and Willful Injury causing bodily injury (Class D felony). Russell was being held in Cherokee County Jail in Cherokee, on $100,000 bond, awaiting transport back to Cass County. His preliminary hearing was set for 9-a.m. Sept. 13th, in Cass County District Court.

Atlantic Police Lt. Dave Erickson told KJAN News the charges against Russell stemmed from an altercation that took place at around 1:50-a.m. Monday morning in the 1200 block of Elm Street, where a man was attacked with a shop tool. The unidentified victim was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital before being transported to a hospital in Omaha for surgery.

A truck driver from Fremont, NE was injured this (Thursday) morning, when the tractor-trailer he was driving crashed on Interstate 80 in Cass County.

FCC Transport semi in the north ditch off I-80 westbound (Ric Hanson photo)

The Iowa State Patrol says 55-year old Robert G. Nolan was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic following the crash, which happened at around 10:30-a.m.  on I-80, about one-mile east of the Elk Horn, or Highway 173 exit. The eastbound semi crossed the median and the westbound lanes of traffic and entered the north ditch, where it collided with a tree. Following the impact, the trailer became separated from the tractor and fell onto its side, while tractor came to rest in the north ditch on its right side.

The accident remains under investigation, but State Trooper told KJAN News Nolan may have suffered from a medical problem, such as a diabetic reaction.

An Atlantic man was arrested this week on a drug charge in Audubon County. Sheriff’s officials say 21-year old Kyler Colten Cook was charged with Possession of Marijuana following an investigation that resulted from a traffic stop on August 19th on Highway 71, south of Brayton. Cook appeared before the magistrate this (Thursday) morning, and was released.

And, 24-year old Christina Marie Stevens, of Anita, was arrested this week following an investigation that resulted from a traffic stop near Nighthawk Avenue, on September 1st. Stevens was charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Stevens appeared before the magistrate this (Thursday) morning, and was subsequently released from custody.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Department today (Thursday) released a cumulative report on arrests and incidents which took place over the past couple of weeks.  Arrests made this week include: On Wednesday…36-year old Markus Eugene Johnson, of Red Oak, for Possession of a Stolen Vehicle and altering a VIN. Johnson was arrested at the Hastings Co-Op. His bond was set at $5,300, and, 47-year old Steven Jon Rumussen, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on a charge of Domestic Abuse. He was being held in the Mills County Jail without bond.

On Tuesday, authorities in Mills County arrested 35-year old Julia Hong Vogel on a warrant out of Amarillo, TX, for being a Fugitive from Justice/Probation Violation. Vogel was being held without bond. She was taken into custody at an Interstate 29 rest stop in Mills County.

On Labor Day, Mills County deputies arrested 35-year old Orrie Lee Gordon, of Malvern, for Driving While Revoked. His bond was set at $1,000. And, on Sunday, deputies arrested:37-year old Matthew Scott Bessigner, of Omaha, on Public Intoxication and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia charges. His bond was set at $600; 41-year old Daniel Kenneth Vanderpool II, of Malvern, was also arrested Sunday, on OWI/1st offense, Driving Under Suspension, Violation of a Protective Order, and Harassment in the 1st degree charges, as well as on two counts of Child Endangerment, and a charge of Domestic Abuse with Intent to Cause Serious Injury. Vanderpool was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail on the latter charge, while his bond for the other offenses was set at $7,566.

Sheriff’s Deputies also investigated four incidents of theft and/or burglary between August 28th and September 4th, and one incident each of trespassing and fraud.

For over one hundred years the Missouri River kept the steamboat Bertrand hidden away.  Last year the raging river almost claimed it a second time.

A model of the Steamboat “Bertrand”

On  Sunday, September 16th, the Historical Society of Pottawattamie county will present “Almost Lost a Second Time: The Rescue of the Bertrand Collection in 2011.”  The audio/visual program examines the evacuation of the Bertrand artifacts during last year’s devastating flood.

Bertrand Museum curator Dean Knudsen will explain plans for the new exhibits and answer questions about the Bertrand.  The presentation will be held at 2pm in the auditorium of the Western Historic Trails Center, 3434 Richard Downing Avenue in Council Bluffs.  The program is free and open to the public.

The steamboat Bertrand was bound for Virginia City, Montana Territory, when it hit a submerged log and sank April 1, 1885.  There were no fatalities but all cargo was lost.  Salvagers located the ship in 1968.  The recovered contents makes up the largest intact collection of Civil War era artifacts in existence today.  The Bertrand Museum at the DeSoto Bend National Wildlife Refuge told the story of the ill-fated steamboat but has been closed since the Missouri River flooded the refuge last summer.

For more information contact the Historical Society of Pottawattamie County at 323-2509 or visit www.TheHistoricalSociety.org.

The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency has announced a short term road closure will be in effect from today (Thursday), through Friday, and possibly through the weekend. The Secondary Roads Department in Shelby County  has closed a portion of Street F-58 ( east of the intersection with Road M-56, and west of Woodland Road), to all traffic. The Shelby County EMA will advise the media when the road is officially open, and we’ll pass that information along to you.