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Officer testimony of 11-hour interview with man accused of Tibbetts’ murder

News

May 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – An officer has testified that the man accused of killing college student Mollie Tibbetts in 2018 led investigators to the field where her body was found. Pamela Romero was an Iowa City police officer two years ago who interviewed suspect Cristhian Bahena Rivera. “He showed me the corn field and he goes: ‘This is the corn field where I came, took her out of the trunk, carried her on my shoulder, went inside the corn field, dropped her on the ground, covered her with leaves and I left right away,'” she testified.

Romero said during an 11 hour police interview, Rivera admitted chasing Tibbetts and fighting with her when she threatened to call the police. She says Rivera told her he couldn’t remember how he killed Tibbetts. “The next thing that he told me was that he remembered him driving and looking down into his legs and finding the ear buds that belonged to Mollie,” she testified, “and that is when he remembered that he had Mollie in the back of his vehicle, in the trunk.”

Based on the questions Bahena Rivera’s attorneys are asking witnesses, it appears they plan to argue Rivera was sleep deprived and coerced into making a confession.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Kate Payne)

Posted in News |

Iowa legislature passes two key bills to aid the dairy industry

Ag/Outdoor, News

May 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Leaders of Iowa’s dairy industry are praising the state legislature for passing a pair of bills before adjourning to address the hauling of milk and also what are known as anaerobic digesters. Mitch Schulte, executive director of the Iowa State Dairy Association, says permission to use those digesters will mean Iowa dairies can improve their sustainability and environmental footprint — in addition to their financial pictures.

“It’s going to give us the ability to have more animals in an area,” Schulte says. “We’re still going to care for those animals in the same way, but as long as we have that anaerobic digester in place, we’re going to be able to clean the manure, we’re going to clean the water, and we’re going to clean that air as it comes out of there. And, we’re going to produce a fuel source that can be used by our consumers out there.”

One byproduct of anaerobic digestion is biogas, which can be burned to generate electricity and heat. It can also be processed into transportation fuels and into renewable natural gas.”The dairy industry has a collective goal of being carbon neutral or better by the year 2050 and it’s going to take everyone in our industry to work together to do that,” Schulte says. “A lot of what we need to do to be carbon neutral is just documenting the great work that our farmers are already doing today.” He says some of those efforts include the reusing of water at farming operations and the planting of cover crops to reduce erosion.

Schulte says the other piece of legislation to relax regulations on hauling milk will allow producers to truck larger loads on Iowa’s interstates starting in January of 2022. They’re now restricted to local roads and state highways. “It’s going to allow our milk haulers to get up on the interstate system with overweight loads,” Schulte says. “The way this bill is structured, our milk haulers will be able to obtain an overweight permit for the interstate system. We think this is beneficial, not only for our sustainable footprint and moving the product more efficiently, but it’s also good for the community.”

Schulte says being able to move milk on the interstate system will create a much safer environment by getting those vehicles off of town roads and out of congested areas.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

Legislature OKs new property tax levy for EMS

News

May 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa voters could establish a new local property levy to provide funding for Emergency Medical Services under a provision included a bill that cleared the legislature late Wednesday night. Representative Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, says ambulance services have been lobbying for this for 50 years.

“This piece of policy legislation in this bill is truly a generational change,” Kaufmann says, “to be able to give our counties or our cities or our districts the ability to finally levy for and raise the funds to fully fund our ambulance services.” Kaufmann says calling for an ambulance in rural Iowa often depends upon a response from a volunteer department running on donations from pancake breakfasts and other fundraisers.

Posted in News |

Jury finds Mapleton teen guilty of second degree murder

News

May 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A Monona County jury has found a Mapleton teenager guilty of second degree murder for shooting another teen to death. The jury’s deliberations lasted less than three hours to decide the case against 18-year-old Jay Neubaum in the January, 2020 death of 16-year-old Joseph Hopkins in Mapleton. Neubaum’s defense argued the shooting was an accident and the gun wasn’t pointed at the victim.

Prosecutor Marty Platz, an assistant state attorney general, told the jury the gun didn’t fire itself.  “As the gun science expert testified…the only way this weapon fired at anybody is that the trigger was pulled and the only way it hit the victim was it was aimed dead center,” Platz says. “…At the range that he was at, he could not miss.” Prosecutors rested their case Thursday morning and then the defense called the defendant’s father as their only witness.

Neubaum will face up to 50 years in prison when he’s sentenced June 29th and he is awaiting trial in a separate case. Neubaum is charged with sexually assaulting seven teenage girls from the Mapleton area and that trial is scheduled for December.

Posted in News |

Glenwood Police report, 5/20/21

News

May 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

The Glenwood Police Department, Thursday, reported two women were arrested over the past couple of days. On Thursday, 34-year-old Nicole Hunt, of Glenwood, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. Hunt was held without bond in the Mills County Jail, until seen by a magistrate judge.

And, on Wednesday, May 19th, 30-year-old Skye Hauger, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Driving while Barred. Her cash or surety bond was set at $2,000.

Posted in News |

Atlantic girls soccer sets records in win over Carroll

Sports

May 20th, 2021 by admin

The Atlantic girls soccer team defeated Carroll on Thursday 4-0 to move the Trojans record to 10-5 on the season.

Jada Jensen scored 3 goals on the night and in the process broke the Atlantic girls soccer career scoring record with 27 now. She also now holds the season record and single game record (6).

Aubrey Guyer had an assist in the win and she broke the single season assist record with 9 now on the year. Lindley Eblen notched the other goal of the night for Atlantic.

The Atlantic girls soccer team is now guaranteed to finish the season above .500, marking the first time the program has had a winning season.

In other area girls soccer:

  • Tri-Center 4, Harlan 1
  • Nodaway Valley/WCV 10, Logan-Magnolia 0
  • CB Thomas Jefferson 10, AHSTW 0
  • Kuemper Catholic 10, Greene County 0

Posted in Sports |

Atlantic boys District Golf Scores

Sports

May 20th, 2021 by admin

3A District at Orange City
05/20/2021

Braden Smith 79 tied 10th
Drey Newell 80 tied 14th
Garrett McLaren 93 tied 29th

Atlantic Head Coach Ed DenBeste “Good to see our boys play in a good level course with some great competition. Braden hit the ball well today. The change in drivers was good for him. He had a solid front and better back. Parred the last three holes which is a great score. Drey had a rough start. Triple on the first hole but came around and settled down. Needed to par or birdie the last two holes to have a shot. Garrett had some struggles today. Good experience for him and we hope this will help him into next year.”

Posted in Sports |

Boys District Golf being contested Thursday and Friday

Sports

May 20th, 2021 by admin

Boys District Golf competitions are taking place both Thursday and Friday depending on the site. Here’s a look at the sites and competitors.

CLASS 1A

District @ Lakeside Golf Course (St. Edmond) Friday, May 21 10:00 a.m.

Teams: Newman Catholic, Bishop Garrigan, Northwood-Kensett, St. Edmond, Coon Rapids-Bayard, Earlham, Newell-Fonda, Remsen St. Mary’s, Akron-Westfield, Harris-Lake Park, West Bend-Mallard.

Area Individuals: Josue Ramirez, Coon Rapids-Bayard.

District @ Crestwood Hills Golf Course (CAM) Friday, May 21 10:00 a.m.

Teams: Kingsley-Pierson, Westwood, St. Albert, CAM, Bedford, Wayne, Fremont-Mills, Sidney.

Area Individuals: Owen Collison, West Monona. Cory Bantam, Woodbine. Jacob Fetter, Logan-Magnolia. Clay Roberts, Boyer Valley. Trey Petersen, Exira-EHK. Brett Klusman, St. Albert. Jacob Fetter, Logan-Magnolia. Clay Roberts, Boyer Valley. Trey Petersen, Exira-EHK. Matthew Weber, Nodaway Valley. Kaden Herr, Nodaway Valley. Owen Lucas, Bedford. RC Hicks, Wayne. Zeb Nading, Wayne. Kaden Herr, Nodaway Valley. Phillip Franks, Essex-Stanton. Owen Wilkinson, Southwest Valley. Cole Jorgensen, Sidney. Kyle Beam, Sidney. Cooper Langfelt, Fremont-Mills. Jake Malcom, Fremont-Mills.

CLASS 2A

District @ Whispering Creek Golf Course (Hinton) Thursday, May 20 10:00 a.m.

Teams: Boyden-Hull, Western Christian, Treynor, Clarinda, Cherokee, OABCIG.

Area Individuals: Carter Ruzek, Shenandoah. Ethan Konz, Treynor. Joey Konz, Treynor. Cooper Neal, Clarinda. Tyler Brandt, IKM-Manning. Jack Tiefenthaler, Kuemper Catholic. Ryan Klinge, Panorama. Lucas Leiferman, Panorama. Mitchell Badding, Kuemper Catholic.

CLASS 3A

District @ Lansmeer Golf Club (MOC-Floyd Valley) Thursday, May 20 10:00 a.m.

Teams: Spirit Lake, Spencer, MOC-Floyd Valley, ADM, Carroll.

Area Individuals: Parker Bekkerus, Denison-Schleswig. Braden Smith, Atlantic. Drey Newell, Atlantic. Garrett McLaren, Atlantic.Drew Munson, Carroll.

Posted in Sports |

2021 State Track – Day 1 – Class 1A and 4A Results

Sports

May 20th, 2021 by admin

Class 1A Boys Shuttle Hurdle Relay Prelims

Bedford- 13th 1:05.91 (Garrett Green, Silas Walston, Logan Bucher, Eli Morris)
Lenox- DQ (Trenton Beck, Cullen Wood, Isaac Grundman, Johnathan Weaver)
CAM- 3rd 1:02.14 (Sam Foreman, Jack Follmann, Cale Maas, Connor McKee)
Audubon- 5th 1:04.17 (Ethan Klocke, Brandon Jensen, Joel Klocke, Gavin Smith)

Class 1A Girls 3000M Run

Peyton Pogge, Tri-Center- 1st State Champion 10:32.91
Reese Duncan, St. Albert- 16th 11:40.85
Alexia Nelson, Glidden-Ralston- 21st 11:51.90
Morgan Hanson, IKM-Manning- 23rd 12:12.61

Class 1A Boys 3200M Run

Pat Heffernan, Boyer Valley- 11th 10:17.25
Brett McGee, Tri-Center- 17th 10:33.38
Doug Berg, Nodaway Valley- 13th 10:21.36
Quentin Dreyer, IKM-Manning- 8th 10:04.37
Ben Breheny, Nodaway Valley- 23rd 10:41.87
Colin Lillie, St. Albert- 7th 10:02.35

Class 1A Girls 200M Dash Prelims

Abigail Zaiger, Audubon- 21st 27.67
Lydia Erickson, Riverside- 6th Qualified 26.77
Vanessa Koehler, Glidden-Ralston- 14th 27.35

Class 4A Girls 200M Dash Prelims

Jillian Shanks, CB Abraham Lincoln- 10th 26.54

Class 1A Boys 200M Dash Prelims

Lane Spieker, CAM- 13th 23.27
Layne Pryor, Woodbine- 16th 23.41
Erik Gau, Woodbine- 21st 23.82
Brigham Daniel, Glidden-Ralston- 2nd Qualified 22.76
Caleb Comstock, East Union- 24th 24.06

Class 1A Girls 4x800M Relay Final

Lenox- 16th 10:42.53 (Cassidy Nelson, Ava Junker, TJ Stoaks, McKinna Hogan)
Audubon- 8th 10:11.43 (Mattie Nelson, Grace Slater, Kodie Sporrer, Hannah Thygesen)

Class 1A Boys 4x800M Relay Final

IKM-Manning- 20th 8:47.85 (Hunter Smith, Connor Keller, Akim Duot, Quentin Dreyer)
Riverside- 17th 8:43.50 (Drake Woods, JJ Wilson, Kaiden Hendricks, Aiden Bell)

Class 4A Boys 4x800M Relay Final

Lewis Central- 19th 8:26.14 (Ethen Fishell, Tyler Ruiz, Quentin Allen, Nathan Sell)

Class 1A Girls 100M Dash Prelims

Veronica Andrusyshyn, Riverside- 6th Qualified 13.02
Vanessa Koehler, Glidden-Ralston- 23rd 13.56

Class 1A Boys 100M Dash Prelims

Amos Rasmussen, IKM-Manning- 16th 11.60
Layne Pryor, Woodbine- Scratched
Brigham Daniel, Glidden-Ralston- 4th Qualified 11.32
Lane Spieker, CAM- 9th 11.41

Class 1A Girls 400M Dash Final

Bianca Cadwell, IKM-Manning- 21st 1:04.25
Teagan Ewalt, Fremont-Mills- 22nd 1:04.76
Tara Peterson, Stanton- 14th 1:03.16

Class 1A Boys 400M Dash Final

Logan Roberts, Stanton- 18th 52.94
Sam Rallis, St. Albert- 11th 51.18
Brigham Daniel, Glidden-Ralston- 6th 50.73
Greg Fagan, St. Albert- 18th 53.03

Class 1A Girls Shuttle Hurdle Relay Prelims

CAM- 7th Qualified 1:11.85 (Abby Follmann, Breanna Bower, Nova Wheatley, Jade Jackson)
Riverside- 4th Qualified 1:10.92 (Veronica Andrusyshyn, Mack Olmstead-Mitchell, Kya Hackett, Izzy Bluml)
Audubon- 11th 1:12.52 (Madison Steckler, Mattie Nielsen, Madison Burr, Katelyn Nielsen)
Ar-We-Va- 6th  Qualified 1:11.65 (Maggie Ragaller, Elizabeth Brunner, Jamie Hausman, Kora Obrecht)

Class 1A Girls Shot Put

Molly Venteicher, CAM- 3rd 39-07.25
Emily Baker, Bedford- 4th 38-08.75
Danielle Hoyle, Paton-Churdan- 5th 38-07.00
Jadeyn Smith, Ar-We-Va- 9th 36-07.75
Mallory Behnken, CAM- 17th 33-03.50

Class 4A Girls Discus

Elise Thramer, Lewis Central- 10th 112-04
Kierra Schmiedling, Lewis Central- 15th 104-03

Boys 1A Long Jump

Lane Spieker, CAM- 3rd 21-00.50
Matthew Beisswenger, Audubon– 8th 19-11.00
Scott Driskill, East Union- 14th 19.03.50
Will Ragaller, Ar-We-Va- 19-01.00
Gabe Obert, Coon Rapids-Bayard- 21st 18-11.50
Isaac Grundman, Lenox- 23rd 18-03.00

Boys 4A High Jump

Noah Sandbothe, CB Abraham Lincoln- 21st 5-09

Boys 1A Shot Put

Greg Fagan, St. Albert- 12th 46-09.00
Tre Melby, Logan-Magnolia- 20th 41-09.75
Layne Prior, Woodbine- 2nd 57-07.25
Dylan Hoefer, Woodbine- 5th 48-09.50
Tanner Snethen, Bedford- 17th 24-02.75

Girls 1A Long Jump

Aunalee Bruce, Southwest Valley- 24th 13-06.50
Madison Fry, Nodaway Valley- 17th 14-07.50
Kora Obrecht, Ar-We-Va- 16th 14-07.50
Emilie Sorenson, Tri-Center- 13th 14-09.50

Girls 4A High Jump

Stacy Merksick, Lewis Central- 15th 4-10
Atziri Medina, Lewis Central- 5th 5-00.00

Posted in Sports |

Boys Substate Soccer Schedule 05/20/2021

Sports

May 20th, 2021 by admin

The first round of boys postseason soccer is scheduled for Thursday night. Winners move on to second round substate games on Monday, May 24th. Here’s a look at the area match-ups.

CLASS 1A

Substate 7
#1 Greene County vs. #8 Atlantic 7:00 p.m.
#4 Van Meter vs. #5 Panorama 5:00 p.m.
#2 Des Moines Christian vs. #7 Grand View Christian 6:30 p.m.
#3 West Central Valley/Nodaway Valley vs. #6 PCM 6:30 p.m.

Substate 8

#1 St. Albert vs. #8 Tri-Center 6:30 p.m.
#4 Underwood vs. #5 AHSTW 6:30 p.m.
#2 Treynor vs. #7 Logan-Magnolia 7:00 p.m.
#3 Riverside vs. #6 Missouri Valley 5:00 p.m.

CLASS 2A

Substate 8

#1 ADM Bye
#4 Glenwood vs. #5 Carroll 6:30 p.m.
#2 Denison-Schleswig vs. #7 Harlan 6:30 p.m.
#3 Creston vs. #6 Boone 6:30 p.m.

CLASS 3A

Substate 1

#1 Sioux City West Bye
#4 CB Abraham Lincoln vs. #5 Sioux City East 6:30 p.m.
#2 Sioux City North Bye
#3 Lewis Central vs. #6 CB Thomas Jefferson 6:30 p.m.

Posted in Sports |