(Clarinda, Iowa) – The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests took place, Saturday. According to Sheriff Lyle Palmer, 50-year-old Jacob Alan Blake, of Corning, was arrested by the Adams County Sheriff’s Office and then transferred to the Page County Sheriff’s Jail. Blake faces a charge of Assault with the intent to commit sexual abuse (an Aggravated Misdemeanor). His cash or surety bond was set at $2,000.

And, 44-year-old Jeremy Lynn Martin, of Clarinda, was arrested Saturday on three separate warrants:

Jeremy Lynn Martin

• Warrant #1 is a Aggravated Misdemeanor. The charge is Harassment in the 1st degree. The bond on this warrant is $2,000.00 cash or surety.
• Warrant #2 is a Simple Misdemeanor. The charge is Harassment in the 3rd degree. The bond on this warrant is $300.00 cash or surety.
• Warrant #3 is Simple Misdemeanor. The charge is Failure to Appear. The bond on this warrant is $300.00.

Martin was was booked into the Page County Jail.

“A charge is merely an accusation and that the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.”

(Primghar, Iowa) – One person died and another was injured Saturday afternoon, during a collision between a full-size pickup truck and an SUV. The crash happened east of Primghar, in O’Brien County, at around 2-p.m.  The Iowa State Patrol reports 66-year-old Mark Stanley Kirkholm, of Storm Lake, died at the scene of the crash at the intersection of County Roads L-54 and B-40.

Authorities say a 2000 Chevy Silverado driven by 56-year-old Laurie Ann Banks, of Sutherland, was traveling north on L-54 (Taft Avenue), and failed to stop at the stop sign with 390th Street (B40). Her pickup traveled into the west/eastbound traffic on 390th and struck a westbound 2020 Ford Escape driven by Mark Kirkholm. The SUV was hit on the driver’s side. Following the impact, the SUV entered the ditch and rolled at least once, partially ejecting Kirkholm. He was deceased at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt.

Banks -who wore a seat belt – was transported by Primghar EMS to MercyOne Primghar.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports there were three arrests last week. Friday night, 54-year-old Shelli Lin Madisen, of Mount Pleasant, WI., was arrested on the I-80 westbound Exit 93 off-ramp. She was taken into custody by Stuart Police for OWI/1st offense, following a car-vs-semi accident. When the Stuart Police Officer arrived on the scene at around 9:56-p.m., he saw a 2009 Nissan Cube facing the wrong way on the eastbound off-ramp, and that the vehicle had apparently struck a semi truck head-on. The semi was exiting the Interstate. Madisen tested .355% on the breath/alcohol test (more than 3-times the legal limit). She admitted to having been drinking, and failed the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests. She later tested .280% for intoxication at the Adair County Jail. Shelli Madisen was being held in the Adair County Jail on a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

Last Wednesday, Greenfield Police arrested 37-year-old Kristen Nicole Ladd, of Greenfield, on an Adair County warrant for Violation of a No Contact/Protective Order – Contempt of Court. He was released a short time later on a $300 c/s bond. And, 33-year-old Brett Michael Stacey, of Adair, was arrested last Wednesday, in Adair. Police in Adair took Stacey into custody at around 1:30-p.m., for a Controlled Substance Violation/less than 1/2 ounce of marijuana – Accommodation, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His arrest followed the execution of a search warrant at a residence in Adair, during which authorities found a cell phone with multiple conversations about selling drugs on the date of the executed warrant.

Stacey was released from the Adair County Jail the following day, on a $1,000 c/s bond.

(Onawa, Iowa) – An unusual pursuit occurred Saturday afternoon that ended with several police cars damaged and the suspect taken into custody. According to the Monona County Sheriff’s Office, an on-duty Deputy on patrol in Onawa at around 1:12-p.m., Saturday, saw a male subject driving a John Deere 333G skid steer, who was known to have multiple warrants out for his arrest.

While several agencies assisted the Deputy, the driver of the skid steer – 38-year-old Grant Dahms, of Onawa – used the machine to strike multiple police vehicles, in an attempt to elude officers on the streets of Onawa. A citizen with a Case front end loader assisted officers, and the pursuit was ended at 17th and Cameo Streets, in Onawa.

Dahms was arrested and transported to Burgess Health Center before being taken to the Monona County Jail. He faces charges, including: a Class-D Felony Criminal Mischief in the 1st Degree; Interference with Official Acts; 3 counts of Assault on a Peace Officer with using a dangerous device (A Class-D Felony; Eluding law enforcement; Driving while barred; numerous traffic violations, and on the original warrants. Dahms was being held without bond in the Monona County Jail.

The Monona County Sheriff’s Office was assisted during the incident, by the Iowa State Patrol, and Mapleton Police Department.

(Des Moines County, Iowa) – A single vehicle accident Saturday afternoon south of Burlington, resulted in the death of a male juvenile passenger, and injuries to the 16-year-old male driver. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2007 Chevy Trailblazer SUV was traveling south in the 4200 block of Sullivan Slough Road at around 1:47-p.m., when the vehicle left the roadway for reasons unknown.

The SUV struck a tree before coming to rest. A male juvenile passenger in the vehicle died at the scene. He was wearing a seat belt. The driver who wore his seat belt, was transported by Burlington Fire to the SE Regional Medical Center in West Burlington.

No names were released. The accident remains under investigation.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A little more than a year and two-weeks after a fire heavily damaged the Atlantic Middle School (AMS), an Open House for the building is set to take place. According to Atlantic School District Superintendent Steve Barber, the event will take place August 12th, from 2-until 6-p.m. Members of the community are welcome to tour the newly reconstructed facility that sustained fire, smoke and water damage during a July 27, 2021 fire that began on the roof of the building.

In the wake of the fire, school officials were forced to relocate some classrooms to different buildings within the District,  while crews worked to repair and rebuild the Middle School. Once the construction was complete and an inspection was conducted, teachers and staff began moving-in to the building. Mr. Barber and new AMS Principal Scot Aden will be on-hand during the Open House.

There will be no formal tour, but school personnel will be on hand to answer your questions. And, there will be refreshments available.

Drone view of the 7/27/21 AMS fire aftermath

(File photo) AMS damage during July 2021 fire

Des Moines, IA – The U-S Attorney’s Office reports a man from Keswick, Iowa, made his initial appearance Friday in federal court in Des Moines, to face tax and bank fraud charges. Thomas Sieren, age 59, is charged in a 24-count indictment returned on July 19, 2022.

According to court documents, Sieren was the Vice President of TCS Fabricating, Inc., a local fabrication company. TCS Fabricating, Inc. was required by law to withhold taxes from employee wages and to pay the withheld amounts to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on a periodic basis. These withheld taxes, sometimes known as “trust fund taxes,” include income taxes and Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare.

It is alleged that Sieren failed to pay the IRS over $440,000 from 2016 to 2020. On TCS Fabricating, Inc.’s behalf, Sieren also allegedly submitted two Paycheck Protection Program loan applications in which he falsely represented that the company had employees for which it paid payroll taxes.

“Business owners are required to withhold income taxes for their employees and remit those taxes to the IRS,” said Special Agent in Charge, Tyler Hatcher. “IRS-Criminal Investigation takes these crimes very seriously not only because of the impact on federal revenue, but more importantly because of the way employee benefits are impacted.”

Sieren is charged with twenty counts of Failure to Collect, Account for, and Pay Over Trust Fund Taxes, two counts of Bank Fraud, and two counts of False Statements to a Financial Institution. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa and made the announcement. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Essley is prosecuting the case. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa: On August 4, 2022 the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation conducted interviews of the two officers involved in the July 30, 2022 shooting of 23-year-old Brandon Lee Nelson, in Cedar Rapids.  On Friday, those Officers were identified as:

•    Officer Matthew Jenatscheck, a 26-year law enforcement veteran who has been employed with the Cedar Rapids Police Department for one year, and,
•    Officer Blair Klostermann, a three- veteran with the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

Both officers have cooperated with the investigation and per policy, remain on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

As we previously reported, the Department of Criminal Investigation was requested to assist the Cedar Rapids Police Department following the incident that occurred when a little before 4-a.m. on July 30, officers conducted a vehicle stop for erratic driving in the 2200 block of Glass Road NE. Authorities say Nelson brandished a firearm and gunfire was exchanged between Nelson and two Cedar Rapids police officers.

Brandon Nelson continues to receive treatment at the University of Iowa Hospital.  His release date is unknown.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – A District Court Judge in Pottawattamie County has sentenced a Nebraska man to nearly 6 1/2 years in prison on weapons charges. Authorities say 33-year-old Jesse Dean Seifert, of Omaha, was sentenced Wednesday to serve 77 months in prison for charges of Possession of an Unregistered Firearm and Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm. The sentence is consecutive to any state prison sentence. Seifert must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

In September 2021, police attempted to stop Seifert who was driving stolen dump truck. Seifert eluded officers and abandoned the truck in a residential neighborhood and fled on foot. Seifert dropped a firearm—a loaded sawed off shotgun—as he eluded police. Seifert was apprehended a short distance from the firearm. He was also in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Council Bluffs Police Department, Pottawattamie County Sheriff Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

(Dallas County, Iowa) – One person died and two others were were injured during two separate, multi-vehicle accidents Friday morning on Interstate 80 eastbound, in Dallas County. The Iowa State Patrol reports the first crash that happened at around 6:45-a.m., two-miles east of Des Soto, resulted in the death of 27-year-old Ryan Hougham, of Earlham. He was wearing his seat belt, but died from his injuries at Mercy Hospital, in Des Moines.

The second crash, which occurred at around 7:26-a.m., around one-mile west of De Soto, resulted in injuries to 62-year-old Jeffrey Munch, of Exira, and 74-year-old Teddy Anderson, of Webster City. Munch was wearing a seat belt. Anderson was not. Both were transported by EMS to Methodist Hospital, in Des Moines.

In the first crash happened near mile marker 112. The Patrol says a 2013 Chevy Impala driven by 27-year-old Ryan Hougham, a 2018 Jeep Wrangler driven by 42-year-old Melissa Woosley, of Redfield, and a third vehicle, were stopped on I-80 eastbound due to congested traffic from another crash.  A 2015 Ford F-550 driven by 38-year-old John Hillgren, of Bondurant, was approaching the stopped traffic but did not come to a stop. The pickup rear-ended the Impala, pushing it into the Jeep, which was pushed into the third vehicle.

The second crash happened near mile marker 109, and involved a 2005 Chevy Silverado pickup driven by 62-year-old Jeffrey Munch, of Exira, a 2014 Dodge RAM 1500 driven by 74-year-old Rick Willadsen, of Earlham, and a 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan driven by 37-year-old Tara Erickson, of Greenfield. The Patrol says the Dodge, the Caravan and a third vehicle were stopped on the road due to a previous collision, when the Chevy pickup failed to stop. It struck the rear of the RAM pickup and sideswiped the van before colliding with the left rear of the third vehicle.

Both crashes remain under investigation.