(Radio Iowa)  – A Carroll County man who was recently acquitted of several poaching charges says he has a warning for deer hunters and questions the tactics of the Iowa D-N-R. Sixty-one-year-old Kenneth Snyder of Glidden was found not guilty on four counts of illegal possession of antlered whitetail deer. Snyder says the experience led him to this advice for hunters. ” I would forewarn anybody who has a European mounted deer on the wall, or a shoulder mount, that if they are asked by our friends at the D-N-R how they got that deer, their five words need to be ‘this deer has been processed.’ If I would have said that the night they interrogated us, there would be no going to court,” Snyder says.

European mounting is a technique where the deer heads are buried in the ground so bugs and animals pick them clean and all that is left is the skull and antlers. It costs less than having the whole deer head-mounted. Snyder says it’s important to note the deer were legally taken before the process. “Hunters need to know, they need to know their dialogue, or they will spend their day in court. And it isn’t any fun,” according to Snyder.

Snyder has been on the Carroll County Conservation Board for about 25 years and has done volunteer work with the D-N-R for many years. He says it didn’t make sense when conservation officers came to his house at 1:30 in the morning to question him. “I’m the guy out there teaching, why would I? Why would I do something illegal? It would be absolutely insane,” he says. Snyder says they introduced a video of the European mount process, and body cam video from a D-N-R officer who recognized the technique at Snyder’s home. He says there’s only one reason he can think of that officers pursued this case. “They have a lot of time on their hands. When you can bring five game wardens to a case — one from Polk County, one from Pottawattamie County, and three others — and justify that for a 175-dollar misdemeanor, somebody’s got to explain to me how the D-N-R runs their ship. And I mean that, I mean, the enforcement side is, I don’t quite understand it,” Snyder says.

The judge found Snyder not guilty right after hearing the testimony — saying he did nothing wrong. Snyder says the D-N-R hasn’t explained or apologized. “No, they don’t apologize for anything. They sent me a note and said I could have the four European mounted deer if I wanted to drive to Taylor County and get them — although they’d pick them up in Carroll County. But I’m not falling into that trap. I have no idea what they’re up to. And I don’t want anything to do with them. They can have them. They’re just little deer heads,” Snyder says.

He says the D-N-R has lost a friend. Snyders’ attorney, William Kutmus, says the D-N-R made a “totally incompetent” decision to prosecute the case, and that was evident by the quick verdict in Snyder’s favor. A spokesman for the Iowa D-N-R told Radio Iowa the decision to move ahead with the case was made by the prosecutor. Taylor County Attorney Clinton Spurrier prosecuted the case due to a potential conflict of interest with the Carroll County Attorney.

Spurrier told Radio Iowa it was a joint decision with the D-N-R to move forward. He says the judge relied heavily on the information that was presented at the trial — and some of that information was not available at the time the decision to prosecute was made. Spurrier says it was a lengthy investigation and further interviews may or may not have impacted the decision to prosecute the case. He says hindsight is always “20-20” following a decision. Snyder’s son Joshua is also facing charges from the D-N-R, and is awaiting a trial.

(Corning, Iowa) – The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports six arrests took place from May 31st to June 11th. This past Saturday, a traffic stop at Highway 148 and Jonquil Road resulted in the arrest of 18-year-old Brianna Josephine Long. Long was wanted on a Council Bluffs P-D warrant for Failure to Appear. She was being held in the Adams County Jail on a $1,000 cash or surety bond. A separate traffic stop at around 7:45-p.m. Saturday, resulted in the arrest of 20-year-old Jose Dubon, Jr., of Omaha, for Poss. of Marijuana/1st offense, and Poss. of Paraphernalia. His cash bond was set at $1,300.

Friday night, a traffic stop at 190th & Pear Avenue in Adams County, resulted in two arrests. 33-year-old Margaret Jo Williams was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. And, 41-year-old Jonnie Todd Lovell was arrested for Poss. of Marijuana/3rd Offense and Poss. of Paraphernalia. Williams’ bond was set at $1,300. Bond for Lovell was set at $2,300.

On June 5th, 19-year-old Shawn Allen Farlow, Jr., was arrested in Adams County, for Assault Causing Bodily Injury. He remains in the Adams County Jail. And, on May 31st, 22-year-old Parrish Barbara Wright was arrested for Driving While Suspended.

*Any potential criminal charges identified above are merely allegations, and any defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

A man from Fremont County was arrested at around 10:45-p.m. Sunday, in Red Oak. Authorities say 29-year-old James Michael Cruz, of Tabor, was arrested following a traffic stop. During an investigation, it was determined Cruz was driving on a revoked license. He was taken into custody for Driving While Revoked, and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where bond was set at $1,000.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds is making it clear that if she’s re-elected, she’ll again push to give taxpayer support to parents who send their children to private schools. During a speech at the Iowa G-O-P’s state convention this weekend, Reynolds aired a litany of complaints about public schools.  “Drag shows for young kids, pornographic books in school libraries, elementary school lessons on pronouns and, sadly, the list goes on. This has to stop,” Reynolds says. “Ultimately, we’re going to make sure that every parent has a choice in their child’s education.”

The group One Iowa Action issued a statement a few hours later, saying the governor’s remarks were inflammatory and targeting L-G-T-B-Q youth. On Saturday, Reynolds spent a segment of her speech reviewing the income cuts she signed into law in March. “I’m going to get a nod from all the legislators here, but guess what? We’re not done yet,” Reynolds said, to cheers. Reynolds will face Democrat Deidre DeJear on the General Election ballot. Reynolds did not mention DeJear by name, but called her my opponent.

“She is what the Democratic Party has become and she wants to become your governor and turn Iowa into a liberal haven,” Reynolds said, prompting the crowd to boo in unison. “We can’t let it happen. We can’t let our guard down. We can’t slow down. We’ve got to keep energized and we’ve got to keep motivated.” Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann opened Saturday’s convention, urging delegates and activists to abandon internal party disputes and unite behind the winners of last week’s competitive primaries.

“Only we can mess this up folks. The people have spoken. We’ve had our primaries. We’re going to come together and now we’re going to move together as one. Together we win! Together we win!” Kaufmann shouted. The Iowa Democratic Party will hold its state convention Saturday in Des Moines.

(Van Meter, Iowa) – A collision in Dallas County Sunday afternoon, left on man dead and a teenager injured. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2006 Toyota 4 Runner SUV was traveling west on 360th at around 3-p.m., when it crossed the center line of the road and struck a 2010 Harley Davidson motorcycle, head-on.

The operator of the cycle, 39-year-old Jared Eklund, of Ankeny, died at the scene. The driver of the SUV, 16-year-old Judah K. Noble, of Waukee, was injured and transported by LifeFlight to Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines. He was not wearing a seat belt.

The accident remains under investigation. The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office assisted at the scene.