A West Des Moines man has entered a written plea of not guilty, to a felony 1^st degree theft charge, in connection with an incident reported in Shelby County. According to Sheriff’s officials and on-line court records, 57-year old Jon Peter DePhillips is accused of asking a Harlan customer of D-C Associates in West Des Moines, to write a personal check to him in the amount of $11,500, for payment of windows he sold a few months after he was dismissed from the company for alleged misconduct related to fraud.

The complaint against DePhillips dates back to October, 2009, when he contacted a Harlan homeowner about having their windows replaced, and made financial arrangements for them to pay for the windows. DePhillips would later allegedly tell the homeowner D-C Associates was no longer in business, that he was the CEO of a new company in Clive that had taken over as creditor. He told the homeowner they could write him a check for amount still owed. The resident’s check was immediately cashed by DePhillips.

A Sheriff’s investigation however, revealed D-C Associates, was still in business, and has been for more than four decades. The company says DePhillips was fired after an internal investigation indicated he had interfered with the sale of $30,000 by another company salesperson.

The scam involving the Harlan resident came unraveled, after the homeowner questioned why they were receiving statements from a creditor who had financed the purchase said their account was delinquent. The creditor, G.E. Money, was notified of the ongoing criminal investigation, and DePhillips was arrested by West Des Moines Police. At the time of his arrest, he was also allegedly in possession of a stolen vehicle.

DePhillips is set to be arraigned on the theft charge July 18^th. His trial was set for August 30^th.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad thinks his state and four others should consider forming a group to seek changes in how the Army Corps of Engineers manages the Missouri

River. Branstad sent a letter in April to governors in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska that outlined his complaint that federal officials place too much importance on recreational needs in upstream stretches of the Missouri. The Associated Press obtained the letter through Iowa’s open records law.

Branstad wrote the letter before spring rain and a huge snow pack prompted the corps to begin months of record releases from its dams that have increased the flood risk downstream. Corps spokeswoman Monique Farmer says officials base their decisions on specific guidelines.

Other governors say they’ll consider Branstad’s idea after the floodwaters recede.

Authorities in Adams County report a Corning man was arrested Wednesday on a Minimus Warrant out of northeast Iowa’s Black Hawk County related to time-served. 55-year old Jack Pembrook Nevius, of Corning,  was taken into custody at around 1:50-p.m. and brought to the Adams County Jail.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office is reporting numerous arrests have been made over the past week. On Monday, 21-year old Cam Christopher Jahnke, of Lewis, was arrested on a charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance. Jahnke was taken to the Cass County Jail where he is being held pending pre-trial release.

Last Sunday, deputies arrested 32-year old Damon John Bucy, of Glenvil, NE, on a Cass County District Court warrant for Failure to Appear. Bucy was taken to the Cass County Jail where he is being held on $5,000 bond. That same say, 23-year old Rachel Marie Huggins and 22-year old Bryceton Lee Flathers, both of Cumberland, were arrested on charges of Public Intox and Interference with Official Acts. The pair were taken to the Cass County Jail and released later that same day on their own recognizance.

On Friday, July 1^st, 27-year old Robbie Troy Metheny, of Anita, turned himself in to authorities on a Cass County Warrant for OWI 1st Offense. Metheny was booked into the Cass County Jail and was released later that day on $1000 bond. That same day, 21-year old Kevin Damien Engles, of Atlantic, was charged with Use of a Person Under 18 in the Drug Trade. Engles remains at the Cass County Jail where he is being held also on charges of Possession with Intent to Deliver and Violation of Drug Tax Stamp. Bond on his prior charges is $5000; bond on the new charge is $10,000.

On June 30th, 26-year old Robin Lee Grieshaber, of Cumberland, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Possession with Intent to Deliver Controlled Substance. Grieshaber was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released the following day on $5,000 bond. And, on June 29^th deputies in Cass County arrested 34-year old Aimee Jo Nicholson, of Des Moines, on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Nicholson was taken to the Cass County Jail where she is being held on $10,000 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa health official says cases of Lyme disease are on the rise in the state. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection carried and spread by ticks that can result in fever, headache, fatigue and a characteristic “bulls-eye” skin rash. If left untreated, it can spread and damage the joints, the heart and nervous system.

Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, the Iowa Department of Public Health’s medical director, says the disease appears to be far more prevalent in Iowa than it was in the 1980s. In 2000, the state recorded 34 cases. That number jumped to 97 in 2006, and topped 100 cases from 2007 to 2009. Last year, 87 cases were reported across the state.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the offer of a conditional commitment for a $105 million loan guarantee to support the development of the nation’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant, to be located in northwest Iowa. Project LIBERTY, sponsored by POET, LLC, will produce up to 25 million gallons of ethanol per year and will be located in Emmetsburg.

POET estimates the project will generate approximately 200 jobs during construction and 40 permanent jobs at the plant. POET estimates the project will also bring approximately $14 million in new revenue to area farmers. Secretary Chu says the project “Will help decrease our dependence on oil, create jobs and aid our transition to clean, renewable energy that is produced here at home. “

Unlike many conventional corn ethanol plants, Project LIBERTY will use corncobs, leaves and husks – sources provided by local farmers – that do not compete with feed grains. The project’s innovative process uses enzymatic hydrolysis to convert waste into ethanol and will produce enough biogas to power both Project LIBERTY and POET’s adjacent grain-based ethanol plant.

Project LIBERTY will displace over 13.5 million gallons of gasoline annually and fulfill more than 25 percent of the projected 2013 Renewable Fuel Standard Requirement for biomass-based cellulosic ethanol. POET plans to replicate their unique process at 27 of their other corn ethanol facilities, which would have a projected combined annual capacity of one billion gallons per year of cellulosic ethanol. The company estimates that 85 percent of Project LIBERTY will be sourced with U.S. content.