(Walnut, Iowa) -The victim of a collision Wednesday afternoon near Walnut that involved a train and a semi-tractor trailer hauling grain, was identified this (Thursday) morning, as 54-year-old Ronaldo Huntoon, of Council Bluffs. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office the accident happened at around 2:40-p.m., Wednesday, south of Walnut, on 510th Street, between Rosewood and Pinoak Roads.

The train dragged the semi approximately 100-150 yards, according to law enforcement. Authorities say when first responders arrived on the scene, the truck was on fire — “fully involved.” The train was traveling east and the grain truck was traveling south when the accident occurred.

No one on the Iowa Interstate Railroad train was injured.

Des Moines, Iowa – A man from south-central Iowa was sentenced Wednesday to prison for assaulting law enforcement officers with a firearm. According to the U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, a judge sentenced 31-year-old Nathan Mason Nosley, of Montezuma, to 92 months (7.6-years) in prison.  Nosley’s sentencing followed his earlier guilty plea to the offense.

The assault occurred on November 20, 2020, when officers attempted to arrest Nosley for unrelated child pornography crimes. As the officers tried to take Nosley into custody, he pulled a loaded handgun from his waistband and fought with officers as they tried to get control of the firearm. During the struggle, Nosley bit an officer’s hand, causing the officer to bleed. The officers ultimately were able to secure the gun and take Nosley into custody. Nosley’s gun contained a loaded magazine and a live round in the chamber. A search of Nosley’s person revealed additional ammunition in his pocket.

Nosley was later convicted at trial of the child pornography offenses and was sentenced to 140 years in prison in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. The 92-month sentence for assaulting the officers was imposed consecutively to Nosley’s sentence in the child pornography case.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This matter was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Iowa State Patrol, and the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – Separate search efforts are underway this (Thursday) morning on waterways in central and eastern Iowa for girls who went missing on Wednesday. Des Moines police say the search is back underway on the Raccoon River for an 11-year-old girl. She’s presumed drowned after rafting with friends on the river last night (Wed. night). Police say the girl got off the raft, went underwater and didn’t surface.

Another girl is believed to have met the same fate at Palisades-Kepler State Park in Linn County. Witnesses say the girl was struggling in the water mid-afternoon and vanished in the Cedar River. A helicopter and drones were being used in that search.

WASHINGTON – As historic numbers at the U.S.-Mexico border continue to rise, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) will join a delegation of her Senate Republican colleagues led by John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on a trip today (Thursday) and Friday to the Rio Grande Valley to survey the current state of the Southern border. The senators will be briefed by the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDPS), Texas National Guard, local law enforcement, landowners, and others.

In a statement issued Thursday morning, Ernst said “Month after month we continue to see complete chaos at the Southern border under this administration. With our Border Patrol agents more overwhelmed than ever, we need serious action to restore law and order at the border. I’m looking forward to meeting with the men and women on the frontlines of this crisis and bringing back potential solutions to my colleagues in the Senate.”

During the trip, the delegation will:

Participate in a night border tour with law enforcement.
Partake in a CBP aerial border tour.
Meet with local landowners to discuss the impact of the open border on Texas communities.
Receive briefings from the NBPC and CBP about the challenges these agencies face.
Receive a briefing from the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety about state efforts to secure the border, known as Operation Lone Star.
Hold a press conference to discuss the state of the U.S.-Mexico border.

(Pottawattamie County, Iowa) – Officials with the Council Bluffs Police Department today (Thursday), said “Since our last Speed Enforcement Project on 4-29-2022 we have received several more complaints of speeding and red light traffic violations, in the area of I-29 and 9th Ave. The efforts to make motorists conform to the posted speed limit began Nov. 8, 2021, when the Iowa D.O.T. closed Northbound Interstate 29 between 9th Avenue and Avenue G and then opened the Northbound Frontage Road to accommodate that Interstate traffic. This section of road includes four separate traffic lights and a posted speed limit of 35mph. In addition to speeding there have been several accidents and complaints of semis using engine brakes.” On Wednesday, July 13th, Traffic Officers conducted another Speed Enforcement Project in the same area. The project involved six officers in fully marked cruisers; two of the six officers were on motorcycles.

Authorities say Officers began the project at 8:00 AM and concluded at 11:00 AM. They focused on excessive speed, which on Wednesday ranged from 61-to 81-mph in a 35-mph speed zone, “It means these people are traveling at least 30mph over the posted speed limit,” Police said. Included in the excessive speeds were two separate semis clocked traveling at more than 70mph. Police say 70 citations were issued including for no insurance and no registration. Authorities warned, “After [Wednesday’s] project results we will be stepping up our daily enforcement.”

On Wednesday, Traffic Officers focused their Special Traffic Enforcement on vehicles traveling 20-mph or more over the posted speed limit of 35mph. The top speed was checked at 80mph.  Council Bluffs Police say they “will continue to step up speed enforcement in this area. Always be aware of your speed.”