Two people were transported by Medivac Ambulance and Atlantic Rescue to the Cass County Memorial Hospital Monday afternoon, following a collision northeast of Atlantic at Highway 71 (650th Street) and Fayette Road. Cass County Chief Deputy Sheriff John Westring said a blue Ford F-150 pickup was traveling north on Highway 71 at around 1:10-p.m. when a Chevy Blazer traveling east on Fayette Road, pulled out onto the Highway. (Click on photos to enlarge)

The pickup struck the blazer on the passenger side, sending the SUV into the ditch on the northeast corner of the intersection. It’s not clear if the vehicle rolled, according to Westring. He said the occupants of the Blazer suffered “substantial” injuries and were transported to the hospital. It’s also unclear if anyone was ejected. The driver of the pickup refused medical attention and was transported by private vehicle.

The accident remains under investigation.

The Atlantic Police Department today (Monday) released a report on accidents and arrests. As we told you Friday, an accident at 2nd Street and Sunnyside Lane took place at around 4-p.m. Officials say a vehicle driven by Addison McAtee, of Minden, was traveling north on Sunnyside Lane and stopped before pulling out onto 2nd Street (Highway 83). Her vehicle was struck by an eastbound truck driven by Kolby Fulk, of Atlantic. Fulk suffered non-life threatening injuries, and was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital by Medivac. He was cited for Failure to show proof of insurance. Damage from the collision amounted to $8,000.

On March 28th, vehicles driven by Halsey Bailey and Essex Mullins, both of Atlantic, collided at 14th and Plum Streets, as both vehicles were traveling east on 14th. The accident happened at around 8-a.m. Officials say Bailey’s vehicle stopped in traffic, and was rear-ended by the Mullins vehicle. No injuries were reported. Mullins was cited for Failure to show proof of insurance. Damage amounted to $1,500. At about the same time and location, vehicles driven by John McConkey and Scott Ihnken, both of Atlantic, were traveling east on 14th Street and approaching the Plum Street stop sign. When Ihnken stopped in traffic, his vehicle was struck from behind by the McConkey vehicle. McConkey told police he had the sun in his eyes and didn’t stop in-time. No injuries were reported. Damage amounted to $9,500.

And, an accident March 24th at 9th and Chestnut Street, in Atlantic, caused $2,000 damage, but no one was hurt. The A-PD says a vehicle driven by Anthony Palijo, of Atlantic, was eastbound on 9th Street at a stop sign. A vehicle driven by Halsey Bailey, of Atlantic, was northbound on Chestnut. When Palijo failed to yield from the stop sign, the vehicles collided. He was cited for Failure to Yield.

As for arrests: 31-year old Tony Mack, of Atlantic, was arrested March 27th, for Violation of a No Contact Order. On March 30th, Allen Van Aernam, of Atlantic, was arrested on two counts of Disorderly Conduct, and two counts of Criminal Mischief in the 5th degree. On April 1st, Atlantic Police arrested 39-year old Sergio Ramos, of Atlantic, for Domestic Abuse Assault with injuries. Each of the suspects arrested were booked into the Cass County Jail.

CLINTON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say one person was hospitalized after a house fire in Clinton. Firefighters were dispatched around 4:10 a.m. Sunday, and the fire was brought under control in about 20 minutes.
The occupant was taken to a Clinton hospital. The person’s name has been released. The fire cause is being investigated.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An independent state agency says the number of complaints related to Iowa’s privatized Medicaid program more than doubled in 2017. The Iowa Office of Ombudsman says in an annual report released Monday that its department investigated more than 225 complaints last year related to private insurance companies that run the state’s Medicaid health program for the poor and disabled.
That’s more than double from the nearly 85 related complaints lodged in 2016.

The office is an impartial agency where citizens can file complaints about state and local governments. The office says complaints overall are up for the fourth straight year, in part because of issues tied to Medicaid privatization and the state’s corrections system. Ombudsman Kristie Hirschman says in the report that she’s not convinced the Iowa Department of Human Services is providing adequate oversight of the private insurance companies. She adds that a bill moving through the Legislature could address some concerns.

The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency says the outdoor Fire Danger Index will remain in the LOW category, through at least Thursday. Soil moisture is sufficient to keep controlled burns under control. Please be sure and notify your local fire chief, if you plan to conduct an outdoor burn, though, just in case things get out of control. The next update on burning conditions will be on Thursday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State and local officers are investigating a fatal shooting on the southern end of Des Moines. Officers and medics were called to the home in northern Warren County around 7:30 a.m. Monday. No arrests have been reported. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is helping Warren County authorities with the case, which is characterized as a homicide.

The name of the victim and other details have not been released.

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County report today (Monday), the arrest on Saturday, of 23-year old Courtney Sue Westcott, of Council Bluffs. She was taken into custody following a traffic stop,  on a warrant out of Council Bluffs for Assault causing bodily injury or mental illness. Authorities say 35-year old Melissa Jean Miller-Davidson, who was originally arrested March 24th and charged with Possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, was subsequently charged with OWI, for driving under the influence of narcotics.

80-year old David Russell Holmes, of Council Bluffs, was arrested by Pott. County Sheriff’s Deputies along with the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, on March 30th. Holmes was taken into custody under the authority of a Nebraska warrant for being a Fugitive from Justice. Early Saturday morning, 48-year old Joseph Anthony Ford, of Omaha, was charged with Simple Assault, following an altercation with another inmate being held at the Pott. County Jail.

An investigation into a vehicle with no license plates parked at the Lewis and Clark Monument, resulted in the arrest Saturday, of 20-year old Zachary William Weimern Bestwick, of Council Bluffs. Bestwick was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance, after 1.3-grams of marijuana in a rolled form was recovered. Authorities say 31-year old Ashley MaryJean Hatthorn, of Omaha, was arrested Saturday for Jail loitering/communicating with inmates, after the Pottawattamie County 911 center stated that they witnessed a white unknown gender person loitering around the fuel tanks on the Pottawattamie County jail property, acting suspicious. Sgt. Marc Freeman was on the grounds of the jail at the time and was able to locate a female walking away from the grounds. As he approached her, Hatthorn was found to be trying to illegally communicate with an inmate. She openly admitted to trying to see and communicate in some way, with her boyfriend who was in jail for the last several weeks. She was later arrested on the pottawattamie county code ordinance.

And, a traffic stop early Sunday morning in Pott. County, resulted in the arrest of 21-year old Sydney Jo Bonar, of Council Bluffs, on a charge of OWI/2nd offense.

BEIJING (AP) — China raised import duties on a $3 billion list of U.S. pork, apples and other products today (Monday), in an escalating dispute with Washington over trade and industrial policy.
The government of President Xi Jinping said it was responding to a U.S. tariff hike on steel and aluminum. But that is just one facet of sprawling tensions with Washington, Europe and Japan over a state-led economic model they complain hampers market access, protects Chinese companies and subsidizes exports in violation of Beijing’s free-trade commitments.

Already, companies are looking ahead to a bigger fight over U.S. President Donald Trump’s approval of higher duties on up to $50 billion of Chinese goods in response to complaints that Beijing steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology. Forecasters say the impact of Monday’s move should be limited, but investors worry the global recovery might be set back if other governments respond by raising import barriers.

The tariffs “signal a most unwelcome development, which is that countries are becoming protectionist,” said economist Taimur Baig of DBS Group. But in commercial terms, they are “not very substantial” compared with China’s $150 billion in annual imports of U.S. goods, he said. Monday’s tariff increase will hit American farm states, many of which voted for Trump in 2016. Beijing is imposing a 25 percent tariff on U.S. pork and aluminum scrap and 15 percent on sparkling wine, steel pipe used by oil and gas companies, and an array of fruits and nuts including apples, walnuts and grapes. American farm exports to China in 2017 totaled nearly $20 billion, including $1.1 billion of pork products.

There was no indication whether Beijing might exempt Chinese-owned American suppliers such as Smithfield Foods, the biggest U.S. pork producer, which is ramping up exports to China. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday on the television show “Fox and Friends” that Trump was “going to fight back and he’s going to push back.” Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters said China’s “subsidization and continued overcapacity” were the root cause of low steel prices that have hurt U.S. producers. The dispute reflects the clash between Trump’s promise to narrow the U.S. trade surplus with China — a record $375.2 billion last year — and Beijing’s ambitious plans to develop Chinese industry and technology.

Audubon Police Chief Matt Starmer reports 21-year old Brandon William Henderson, of Audubon, was arrested Saturday, for Public Intoxication and Trespassing.  Henderson was transported to the Audubon County Jail where he was being held on a $1,000 cash bond. And, on March 22nd, 34-year old Ryan Mark Biensen, of Audubon, was arrsted for Violation of a No Contact Order.  Biensen transported to the Audubon County Jail and held pending an appearance before a magistrate.

As the federal filing deadline approaches for 2017 taxes, the Internal Revenue Service is asking you to be sure everything is in place for this year’s taxes. I-R-S spokesman, Christopher Miller, says you should do a “paycheck checkup” to make sure your are having the right amount of tax taken out of your paychecks. “You can do a paycheck checkup rather easily by going to our website I-R-S-dot-gov (irs.gov) and using a special tool called a withholding calculator,” Miller says.  He says it is an easy tool to use. “You put in some information from your pay stub and your tax return and it’ll help you determine whether or not the right amount of taxes is being withheld for your paycheck for your particular situation,” according to Miller.

Miller says changes in the tax law may have made the withholding amount you’ve been using the wrong one for you to use now.  “We always encourage taxpayers to check their withholding regularly. But it’s even more important now because of the new tax law,” Miller says. “The new tax law will change the way many of us calculate our taxes. And that change may mean we want to adjust our withholding.” He says if the withholding is wrong you could end up taking out too much during the year. “People may not realize that the typical refund these days is topping out at about 28-hundred dollars,” he says. “And there may be families who want to have that at the front end in their paychecks, rather than waiting until tax time to get that in the form of a refund.”

Miller says those who have a more complicated tax return may find the tax law changes have a bigger impact on their withholding. “More complicated situations include: two-income households, people who have more than one job at one time, people who have a job for only part of the year, individuals who itemize deductions, people who have children or dependents and who file the Child Tax Credit,” according to Miller.

Miller says it’s important to check your withholding now so you have time to make an adjustment before we get too far into this tax year. He says some one-point-five million Iowans are expected to file federal tax returns this year.

(Radio Iowa)