NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — The trial of a second person accused in the beating death of a Des Moines man has been delayed. A Jasper County judge granted the request from the attorney for 51-year-old Jeffrey Stendrup, of Clive. Stendrup and 26-year-old Jaycie Sheeder were charged with first-degree murder and other crimes in the slaying of Jeremy McDowell. His body was found June 22 last year in Newton in the back of a vehicle Sheeder had been driving.

She was sentenced Oct. 3 to life in prison and last week filed notice of her attention to appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court. Authorities say Sheeder, of Coon Rapids, kept silent about Stendrup’s involvement in the attack and never tried to stop it. Jasper County court records say Stendrup’s new trial starting date is Feb. 12. It had been scheduled to start next week.

Two people were arrested on separate charges Tuesday, in Creston. According to Creston Police, 26-year old Jacob Cauthorn, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Revoked. He was later released on a $1,000 bond. And, Melissa Clark, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Suspended, the bond for which was $300. Clark faces additional Union County charges/warrants for two counts of Violation of Probation on original charges of Forgery, and an Adair County warrant for Violation of Probation. Clark was being held without bond on the warrants.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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(By Craig Alan Becker, Atlantic FFA Reporter) —  On Thursday October 2, 2019, Atlantic FFA members attended numerous fall contests at Northwest Missouri State University. This year, the chapter had five members compete in the Livestock Evaluation contest, placing 33rd out of 60 teams. In this contest, members had the opportunity to display their agricultural knowledge of various livestock breeds. Those who competed had to place breeding and market classes of beef, swine, and sheep, while also doing three classes of oral reasons. Individually, Malena Woodward placed 40th, Wyatt Redinbaugh placed 94th, Sofia Mendez placed 141st, Kaitlin Jensen placed 182nd, and Kate Oettchen placed 200th out of the 223 contestants from Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. Sofia Mendez said, “I like judging livestock but I didn’t like giving reasons”. Kate Oettechen said “I thought it was really fun. That was a cool experience.”

Taylor MeCreedy and Hannah Carlson competed in the Horse Evaluation contest. The event gave students the opportunity to learn agricultural knowledge and skills in the area of equine science. Competing FFA members evaluated halter and performance equine classes. Taylor placed 5th and Hannah 40th placed out of 90 contestants.

Northwest Soils Team: Kate Oettchen, Sofia Mendez, Malena Woodward, Wyatt Redinbaugh, Kaitlin Jensen

Northwest Horse Team: Taylor McCreedy and Hannah Carlson

Northwest Derby Greenhand test: Alyssa Derby

Northwest Dairy Cattle Team: Jackson McLaren, Dylan Comes, Daniel Freund, Logan Eilts

Northwest Ag Business team (All photos in this series were submitted by the Atlantic FFA)

In the Dairy Cattle Evaluation contest, the chapter placed 1st out of the Iowa teams and 8th overall. The purpose of the District Dairy Cattle CDE is to enable students to develop skills in dairy animal selection and dairy herd management. They evaluated and ranked dairy animals based on visual factors of selection. Daniel Freund placed 11th, Dylan Comes placed 24th, Jackson McLaren placed 40th and Logan Eilts placed 70th out of 100 individuals. Jackson Mclaren said, “I thought it was fun. My favorite part was just trying new things”.

At the Farm Business contest the Atlantic team of Tate Den Beste, Drey Newell, Adriana Mendez, and Gunner Kirchoff placed 1st out of the Iowa teams and 5th overall. Individually Drey was 15th, Tate placed 17th, Gunner placed 18th, and Adriana placed 44th. The contest is designed to stimulate instruction of economic and agricultural business management principles in the secondary agriculture curriculum. These principles include the following: the ability to apply the economic principles and concepts listed in analyzing the farm business and making farm business management decisions, the ability to analyze and select the most appropriate type of farm business organization for a given farm situation, the ability to develop the ability to use records and manage resources for optimum returns to resources.

In the FFA Knowledge test, Atlantic member Alyssa Derby placed 6th out of 132 individuals. The contest consisted of a 100 question written examination covering general FFA knowledge. After the contest, Atlantic FFA Advisor Eric Miller commented, “I was very happy with the results. Each team placed in the top 3 for the Iowa teams. Most of our students use this contest as a way to see if they will be interested in trying this at the State Level for the Iowa FFA Association. ”

NORTHWOOD, Iowa (AP) — A trial has begun for the owner of a northern Iowa dog breeding operation who’s been charged with several counts of animal neglect. Opening statements were made Tuesday regarding the case against 66-year-old Barbara Kavars, of Manly. Court records say Kavars was holding Samoyed dogs in inhumane conditions when officials raided her operation on Nov. 12 and visited at other times. The records also say the dogs’ kennels lacked food and had water containers that were filled with ice.

Kavars denied any wrongdoing and told officials she didn’t think the dogs needed additional care. Station KIMT reports that a Worth County sheriff’s deputy testified Tuesday that he saw dogs with matted hair and feces on the snow-covered ground. The testimony is scheduled to resume today (Wednesday).

(Radio Iowa) — A former Des Moines Register columnist who hosted many of the newspaper’s yearly bike rides across the state of Iowa is hoping for a reconciliation that keeps the event’s management team in place. The man who’s managed the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa for the past 16 years resigned yesterday, along with the rest of the RAGBRAI staff, and announced plans for a competing “Iowa’s Ride” during the same week as RAGBRAI next July. Chuck Offenburger was the “Iowa Boy” columnist for the Register for 21 years. “I was surprised and shocked when I heard this,” Offenburger told Radio Iowa Tuesday evening. “I had no idea that this was in the works or that this might happen.”

In a statement posted online, the RAGBRAI director T.J. Juskiewicz who resigned said the decision was based on how The Register and its owner handled its story about Carson King. King is the former I-S-U student who raised three MILLION dollars for the University of Iowa children’s hospital with a poster he held up during an E-S-P-N broadcast. Offenburger, who resigned from the Register in 1998 to protest treatment of other veteran reporters, says in his view the paper “handled the story appropriately,” but Offenburger is hoping the RAGBRAI staff who resigned and The Register’s management can meet and resolve the dispute. “Visit about this and see if they can put it back together and move forward,” Offenburger says.

Offenburger, the newspaper’s “co-host” of RAGBRAI for 16 years, says the annual, week-long ride is one the most important tourism events in the state. “In some ways, it’s more important than the State Fair from the standpoint that it brings people from all over the nation and all over the world into Iowa and shows them our towns, our small towns and cities all the way across the state,” Offenburger says, “so we take the crowd to these communities.”

The RAGBRAI’s now-former manager says the newspaper’s executives blocked him from responding the way he wished to RAGBRAI enthusiasts who had questions about the paper’s Carson King story. The Iowa Bicycle Coalition issued a written statement expressing extreme concern about the future of RAGBRAI, which the coalition described as “iconic” and both culturally and economically important to the state of Iowa. The group expressed hope that a cross-state bike ride continues — in whatever version that may be — in a way that elevates bicycling and promotes safety. The Register said Tuesday, the 2020 RAGBRAI will be held as planned.

(Radio Iowa) — The weather was drier — but the latest U-S-D-A crop report doesn’t show a lot of progress with the harvest. The report says field conditions remained wet and that limited farmers to around three working days last week. Seven percent of the corn crop has been harvested — compared to three percent the week before. It’s still two weeks behind the average harvest. The soybean harvest advanced a little faster — with 17 percent now harvested — compared to five percent last week. That’s still 11 days behind the average.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Organizers of the popular summer bike ride across Iowa are cutting ties with its longtime sponsor, the Des Moines Register, amid backlash over the newspaper’s handling of a story. The staff of the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa resigned en masse from the Register and its parent company, the Gannett Corp., on Tuesday. The group immediately launched a competing event, Iowa’s Ride, that will be held next July during the same week that the Register’s ride had been scheduled.

WORTHINGTON, Minn. (AP) — An Iowa man who was arrested by Minnesota police in January is now suing the city and the department, alleging his encounter with officers left him with four broken ribs and internal bleeding. Thirty-three-year-old Kelvin Rodriguez of Sheldon, Iowa, filed an excessive force lawsuit Monday against Worthington and its department. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota says Rodriguez’s injuries required multiple surgeries. The city’s attorney had no immediate comment Tuesday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Des Moines have announced the arrests of two men in the fatal shooting of another man on the city’s north side earlier this month. Police Sgt. Paul Parizek said in a written statement Tuesday that Gregory Samuel Hampton Jr. and Adam Ahmad Ismail _ both 18 and Des Moines residents _ were being booked into the Polk County Jail. Each is charged with first-degree murder and robbery in the Oct. 10 shooting death of 23-year-old Rashid Mohamed Ibrahim.

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says she is forming a working group to be chaired by the lieutenant governor to make recommendations for removing racial bias from the criminal justice system and to help offenders re-enter communities in a way that reduces repeat offenses. Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg is a former state public defender.

A single-vehicle accident Tuesday afternoon on I-80 near Walnut, has claimed the life of a Nebraska woman. The Iowa State Patrol reports 21-year old Dylin Roxane Rae Sears, of La Vista, NE., was driving a 2007 Hyundai Sonata westbound on I-80 just before 2-p.m., when she lost control of the car while passing another vehicle, near Walnut.

The vehicle entered the median and rolled over, before coming to rest in the outside lane of eastbound I-80. Sears, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from her car during the crash. She was transported by LifeNet helicopter to the UNMC in Omaha, where she died.

The accident remains under investigation. The State Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Iowa DOT, Walnut Fire and Rescue, and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County, Tuesday, arrested a 14-year old female, for Assault on a Health Care Provider. Her arrest took place following an incident at the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital. The unidentified juvenile was transported to the Juvenile Detention Center in Council Bluffs.