Authorities in Omaha have arrested the second suspect wanted in connection with last week’s brutal beating of a Council Bluffs woman. The Omaha-World Herald says the Metro Area Fugitive Task Force arrested 32-year old Travis Labno,  of Omaha, on a charge of first-degree kidnapping. The man was taken into custody without incident at around 2-p.m. Thursday, in a house near 132nd and Fort Streets, according to Deputy U.S. Marshal John Huggins, who the head of the task force.

The other suspect in the case, 38-year old Bryan Bey, of Crescent, Iowa, was arrested last Friday, also on a charge of first-degree kidnapping. Both men are accused of assaulting 29-year-old Tabitha Proplesch, who was found at around 2-p.m. Thursday, May 31st slumped over the wheel of a pickup truck located on the Mormon Bridge Road, near the Crescent exit off of Interstate 29. Her arms had been handcuffed behind her, and she had suffered blunt trauma to the head.

Officials with the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic said today (Thursday), patients in the CCMH Emergency Department will be seeing a familiar face when they visit the Cass County Memorial Hospital Emergency Department (ED).

Mark Johnson, M.D.

Dr. Mark Johnson, M.D., will be transitioning from his full-time position as a family medicine physician at Atlantic Medical Center (AMC) to working full-time in the CCMH Emergency Department. Dr. Johnson came to AMC in June 1987. His final day at AMC will be Friday, August 3rd, 2012.  Dr. Johnson has provided some ED care throughout his time at AMC, and officials say the change will expand his role in that department.

CCMH Administrator Pat Markham says some other changes are happening with Emergency Department staffing.  According to Markham, currently a staff of five medical providers, including two physicians, one nurse practitioner and two physician assistants, provide care in the Emergency Department 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  And, since that sometimes that can involve a provider working some long shifts, the medical staff and hospital administration have decided to increase the number of providers to decrease the length of shifts worked, which will improve quality of patient care and patient safety.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa said today (Thursday), two rural Audubon County men have pled guilty to their role in  a conspiracy to manufacture marijuana.  44-year old Paul Joseph Irlmeier and his co-defendant, 62-year old Randy Frank Irlmeier, both pled guilty on May 30th, to charges they conspired to manufacture at least 100 marijuana plants.   Based upon their pleas of guilty, the Irlmeiers face a mandatory minimum of 5 years imprisonment up to a maximum of 40 years imprisonment, a fine not to exceed $2,000,000, at least 4 years of supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment.

In addition, Paul Irlmeier has agreed to forfeit $104,503. The forfeiture allegations against Randy Irlmeier will be resolved at a
later hearing. Both defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on September 28th, 2012, before Chief District Court Judge James E. Gritzner in Council Bluffs.

As part of their guilty pleas, the Irlmeiers admitted to conspiring to grow, harvest and distribute marijuana at their respective rural Audubon County residences between approximately 2005 and October 27th, 2010. On October 27th, 2010, law enforcement located evidence of a sizable marijuana growing operation, including a large quantity of mature marijuana plants at the
residence of Randy Irlmeier in Audubon County. Both men admitted responsibility for at least 100 marijuana plants during the conspiracy.

The investigation was conducted by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and the Audubon County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Mitt Romney is returning to Iowa with a visit to Council Bluffs.  Friday’s visit will be his second trip to the state since effectively locking up the Republican presidential nomination. Romney will hold a roundtable discussion at 10:30 a.m. followed by an event at Bayliss Park at 11:15 a.m.
 
Iowa is among roughly a-half dozen states where Romney and President Barack Obama are expected to campaign most aggressively for the November election.  Romney came to Des Moines on May 15, his first trip to Iowa since campaigning for the January caucuses.