The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports four arrests took place, Wednesday.

• 33-year old Cassidy Jozettie Bergei, of Omaha, was charged with Open Container, and 39-year old Matthew Joseph Tyson, of Pacific Junction, was arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance w/Intent to Deliver, Possession of Controlled Substance, No Valid Driver’s License, Reckless Driving and Improper Brake Lights. His bond was set at $12,000. Bond for Bergei was set at slightly more than $472. The pair were arrested following a traffic stop on 221st Street.
• 33-year old Shaw Aaron Peterson, and 36-year old Misty Bea Pettersen, both of Glenwood, were arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance w/Intent to Deliver. Their bonds were set at $10,000, each.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a Council Bluffs man was sentenced Wednesday in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, to 200 months (16.6-years) in prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance. 38-year old Jason Nicholas Feller was also required to serve a five-year term of supervised release, following completion of his incarceration.

Feller pleaded guilty in April of 2019. On December 30, 2018, Council Bluffs Police conducted a traffic stop on Feller, during which he admitted he had drugs in the vehicle. A search of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of two baggies containing approximately 12 grams of methamphetamine. Officers later located a container with a false bottom that held approximately 63 grams of methamphetamine.

The case was investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Department, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Marine Corps has corrected the identity of another of the men who were photographed raising the American flag at Iwo Jima during World War II.
The Marines said in a statement Thursday that after questions were raised by private historians who studied photos and films, it determined that Cpl. Harold P. Keller was among the six men who raised the flag. The Marines say Pfc. Rene Gagnon had helped in the effort but for decades was mistakenly identified by the Marines as one of the flag-raisers.

Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal shot the iconic photograph atop Mount Suribachi during an intense battle between American and Japanese forces in 1945.
In 2016, the Marines corrected the identity of another man in the photo after historians raised questions.

NBC News, which first reported on the Marines’ decision, says Keller died in 1979 in Grinnell, Iowa.

Des Moines, Iowa – October 17, 2019 –The Iowa Department of Revenue has finalized the 2020 interest rate, individual income tax brackets, and individual income tax standard deduction amounts for the 2020 tax year (applicable for taxes due in 2021).

Interest Rates:

Starting January 1, 2020, the interest rate for taxpayers with overdue payments will be:

7.0% annually
0.6% monthly
0.019126% daily

Iowa Code Section 421.7 specifies the procedures for calculating the Department’s annual and monthly interest rates. The annual rate is based on the average monthly prime rate during the preceding twelve month period, October through September. Iowa law requires that this average be rounded to the nearest whole percent and two percentage points to be added to it. The prime rate averaged 5.40 percent over the past twelve months. Rounded to the nearest whole percent, this average is 5.0 percent. Adding two percentage points results in the annual Department rate of 7.0 percent. The monthly rate is the annual rate divided by 12, rounded to the nearest one-tenth of a percentage point. The daily rate for 2020 is the annual rate divided by 366.

Individual Income Tax Standard Deductions

The tax year 2020 individual income tax standard deductions are:

$2,110 for single taxpayers
$2,110 for married taxpayers filing separately
$5,210 for married filing jointly
Individual Income Tax Brackets

Tax year 2020 income tax brackets are shown in the table below.

Indexation of the standard deductions is covered in Iowa Code sections 422.9 and 422.21. Iowa Code section 422.5 details indexation of Iowa income tax brackets. Iowa law provides for the indexation of individual income tax brackets and standard deduction amounts. These tax features are determined each year by applying inflation factors to, or “indexing,” the previous year’s amounts. Indexation is meant to protect taxpayers from paying higher income taxes solely as a result of inflation.

(Radio Iowa) — Three Iowa home health providers, including those in Logan and Red Oak, have agreed to a federal settlement involving Medicare claims. The judgment says three Iowa and two South Dakota companies submitted claims to Medicare for therapy services where the claims were false — or the medical conditions of the patients didn’t justify the need for skilled therapy services.

The judgment includes one-point-two million dollars against Sergeant Bluff Healthcare, 228-thousand dollars against Red Oak Healthcare, and 775-thousand dollars against Logan Healthcare. Federal officials say the companies were notified their claims for therapy services were inordinately high and the companies failed to take adequate steps to address their billing procedures. The five companies involved are all affiliates of Welcov Healthcare in Minnesota.

MANCHESTER, Iowa (AP) — A judge overseeing a trial to determine whether an eastern Iowa roadside zoo should be closed says she gagged on the ‘horrible stench” while touring the facility.
The Telegraph Herald reports that Judge Monica Wittig shared her reaction with those in attendance on Wednesday, the first day of the state trial in Manchester regarding Cricket Hollow Animal Park. Four plaintiffs have sued to have the animals removed and the zoo closed. It’s owned by Pam and Tom Sellner.

Wednesday’s proceedings included testimony by Tracey Kuehl, one of the four plaintiffs. Kuehl described the zoo stench during a 2012 visit and recalled seeing a lion repeatedly ramming itself into the side of the corncrib in which it was contained.

WAUKEE, Iowa (AP) — The Waukee school district has settled the last of three lawsuits filed by former employees who alleged they were retaliated against for exposing wrongdoing by the district’s former chief operating officer. The Waukee school board voted Wednesday to approve the $1 million settlement with Amy Patters. She said in her lawsuit filed in January last year that she was forced to resign after reporting her boss for mismanaging money and violating district policies.

She was administrative assistant for Eric Rose. A district investigation discovered that Rose had fabricated time cards, used school property for personal purposes and solicited money for his son’s hockey team from district vendors. Rose has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges stemming from the allegations.

In May last year the district paid a $175,000 settlement to former operations manager Nicholas Bavas. His lawsuit said he was forced to quit after reporting Rose’s conduct. In January 2018 the school board approved a nearly $1 million settlement with former Human Resources Director Terry Welker, who also reported Rose’s actions.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports 51-year old Jack Alan Tacner, of Missouri Valley, was arrested at around 11:35-p.m. Wednesday, following a traffic stop on I-29 at mile marker 55. Tacner was taken into custody for Driving While Barred/Habitual Offender. His bond was set at $2,000. And, an inmate at the Pott. County Jail was served with a warrant, Wednesday, for Violation of Probation. 25-year old Cody James Taylor, of Council Bluffs, was presented with the warrant and then returned to the custody of Corrections Staff.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Police in Creston, Wednesday, arrested a woman on a Theft charge. 33-year old Christina Marie Savage-Doolittle, of Creston, was arrested at around 12:45-p.m. at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, for Theft in the 4th Degree. She was later released on a $1,000 bond. And, at around 9:40-a.m., Wednesday, 27-year old Brandon James Case, of Afton, was arrested in Creston for Driving While Suspended. He was later released on a $300 bond.