Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A man charged as an accessory in the Council Bluffs slaying of a homeless man has been sentenced. Court records say Cleo McClellan pleaded guilty Wednesday and was sentenced to 98 days already served and fined $625, but the fine was suspended. Police say he and Michael Thacker were involved in the Nov. 28 slaying of David Simpson, whose body was found Dec. 11. Thacker is scheduled to go on trial May 8.

ORANGE CITY, Iowa (AP) — Trial has again been delayed for an Iowa man charged in the stabbing death of his 84-year-old grandfather. The Sioux City Journal reports that a judge on Friday agreed to give the defense team of 20-year-old Santos Rodriguez Jr. more time for evaluations and investigation. Rodriguez’s new trial date is May 1. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and arson in the Oct. 29 death of Luis Luevanos in his Rock Valley home.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A man accused of stabbing to death his grandparents in the Mason City home they shared will stand trial in October. Codie Matz has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the killings. Television station KIMT reports that a Cerro Gordo County District judge set the new trial date on Thursday. Last month, the 25-year-old Matz was found mentally competent to stand trial.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A day after announcing job cuts, magazine publisher Meredith Corp. says it plans a $21 million remodel of its corporate headquarters in Iowa. The Des Moines-based company says the project will accommodate 41 jobs it’s transferring from New York. The Thursday announcement comes as Meredith merges with Time Inc., which it bought it January. On Wednesday, Meredith laid off 200 workers and announced 1,000 jobs would be cut over the next 10 months. It also will cut 600 Florida jobs.

The Carroll County Attorney is not pressing charges and has closed an investigation of two employees in the Carroll County Sheriff’s office involved in weapons training classes. A special investigation by the state auditor in 2017 reported nearly 130-thousand dollars in undeposited fees for classes Carroll County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Tom Fransen taught in his off-duty hours. The fees were handled by an administrative assistant in the sheriff’s office.

State Auditor Mary Mosiman says the audit’s estimate of undeposited fees “may be off” because it was based on the number of concealed weapons permits granted by Carroll County’s Sheriff’s Office over a five-year period. “In other words, if they took a class in a different county, they would have paid that other county (the fee), but then they received the permit in Carroll County,” Mosiman said.

The audit didn’t take into account concealed weapons permits issued to active duty military, veterans, law enforcement employees or people who took an online course — none of whom would have paid a fee to the Carroll County deputy for a weapons training class. Carroll County Attorney John Werden issued a written statement this week about the case.

Werden said he conducted an extensive review with other prosecutors and concluded there was “insufficient evidence” that a crime had been committed, so the case was closed. The state auditor has given the county some recommendations for providing oversight to any fees that may be paid for services provided by county employees. “But we do not offer any sanctions or repercussions for this,” Mosiman says. “We simply are putting out what needs to be improved upon.”

On March 12th, the Carroll County Board of Supervisors approved new written policies for use of the courthouse and county-owned property for weapons training classes. The Carroll County Sheriff has new written policies on when and how employees in his agency may be involved in the classes. Regular audits of Carroll County operations did not raise red flags about fees for the weapons classes. A complaint from a political opponent of the sheriff prompted the state auditor’s investigation.

(Radio Iowa)

ORANGE CITY, Iowa (AP) — Trial has again been delayed for an Iowa man charged in the stabbing death of his 84-year-old grandfather. The Sioux City Journal reports that a judge on Friday agreed to give the defense team of 20-year-old Santos Rodriguez Jr. more time for evaluations and investigation. Rodriguez’s new trial date is May 1.

Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and arson. He’s accused of stabbing Luis Luevanos in his Rock Valley home on Oct. 29 and setting the man’s house on fire. Firefighters found Luevanos’ body later that day.

Police say Rodriguez was later arrested in Utah. Iowa investigators say Rodriguez admitted during a police interview to stabbing his grandfather and setting the fire.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office is reporting three arrests and two accidents took place this week. On Monday, 39-year old Joseph Corey Jack, a homeless man, was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office on a warrant for Probation Violation. His bond was set at $5,000. Tuesday afternoon (as mentioned in a previous report), 52-year old Gregory Alan Neemann, of  Omaha, NE., was arrested following a traffic stop, for Possession of Controlled Substance, Possession of Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His bond was set at $7,300.

And, Wednesday afternoon, 33-year old Kristy Lynn Bender, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance and on five counts of Unlawful Possession of a Prescription Drug. Her bond was set at $7,000.

Three people were transported to Jenny Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs following a rollover accident at around 11:47-p.m. Tuesday. The Mills County Sheriff’s Office says a 2006 Dodge driven by 22-year old Jacklin Cherry, of Omaha, was traveling north on Interstate 29, when Cherry attempted to take the 35-mile marker exit to westbound Highway 34. Authorities said she was driving too fast to maneuver through the curved exit ramp, and lost control of the vehicle.

The Dodge went off the road and rolled several times before coming to rest on its wheels. Jacklin Cherry and her passengers, 22-year old Del-Shonna Griffin, of Kansas City, MO., and 20-year old Isis Griffin, of Omaha, were all transported to the hospital. Glenwood and Pacific Junction Rescue assisted at the scene.

Separately, no injuries were reported following an accident Wednesday evening, in Mills County. Officials say a 2010 Ford driven by 18-year old Colton Book, of Glenwood, was traveling west on Kane Avenue at around 7:15-p.m. When he reached for his sunglasses to shade his eyes from the sun’s glare, the Ford crossed the center line of the road and collided with a 1999 Ford driven by Kenneth Nebitt, of Glenwood, as he was traveling east on Kane Avenue. Nebbit saw Book’s vehicle on the wrong side of the road and slowed down. He  also honked his horn to get Book’s attention, but he was unable to avoid the collision. Book was cited for Failure to Yield half of the roadway.

A traffic stop at a used truck and heavy equipment dealer in Mills County, resulted in the arrest Tuesday afternoon of a man on drug charges. The Mills County Sheriff’s Department said Thursday (today), that Deputies with the Sheriff’s Office K9 unit conducted the traffic stop at VanderHaags.

Upon investigation and searching the vehicle, marijuana, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia were located on the passenger, 52-year old Gregory Neemaan. He was transported to the Mills County Jail and charged with Possession of Meth/3rd or subsequent offense, Possession of Marijuana/3rd or subsequent offense, and Possession of drug paraphernalia. Bond was set at $7,300.

Council Bluffs Police say two transient men were arrested on murder charges following an investigation into the discovered late Wednesday night, of  body found outside of a building at 1435 N. 15th Street. 46-year old Vance A. Good was charged with 1st Degree murder in the death of 44-year old Lee Johnson. 32-year old Brandon K. Hollis was charged with being an accessory to murder. Both men were being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail.

Brandon Hollis

Vance Good

Authorities say at around 11:30-p.m., Wednesday, Council Bluffs Police and Fire personnel were dispatched to the Joshua House on North 15th Street, regarding an assault. The Joshua House is a 24‐hour men’s emergency homeless shelter. Johnson, Good and Hollis were all signed into the facility to spend the night.

Upon their arrival, officers located Lee Johnson’s deceased body laying outside the building. Johnson had multiple, deep lacerations to his face and neck. Joshua House staff directed officers to Vance Good and Brandon Hollis, who were both still inside the facility. Preliminary investigation revealed that Good and Johnson were in an altercation inside the Joshua House and it is alleged that Good used a sharp cutting instrument to fatally wound Johnson. Good and Hollis then proceeded to carry Johnson’s body out of the building, to dispose of it in the parking lot.

Neither Good or Hollis attempted any life saving measures nor did they contact anyone to provide emergency medical assistance for Johnson.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A man charged as an accessory in the Council Bluffs slaying of a homeless man has been sentenced. Court records say 53-year-old Cleo McClellan pleaded guilty Wednesday and was sentenced to 98 days already served and fined $625, but the fine was suspended.

Police say he and 43-year-old Michael Thacker were involved in the Nov. 28 slaying of 34-year-old David Simpson, whose body was found Dec. 11. He’d died of blunt force trauma. Police say all three men were homeless at the time. Thacker was found and arrested Dec. 13 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Court records show he’s pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and is scheduled to go on trial May 8.

Jason Wickizer, Operations Officer for the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency, reports the Fire Danger index in Shelby County, will remain in the MODERATE Category through the weekend. He’s asking anyone planning to conduct an outdoor burn, to please call 712-755-2124, AND your local fire chief.

The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office say 54-year old James Leroy Meek, Jr., of Blockton was arrested Wednesday. Meek, Jr.  was taken into custody on a warrant for Failure to Appear (on an original charge of Domestic Abuse Assault), and was being held at the Taylor County Jail without bond, until seen by the magistrate.

The Atlantic City Council held a public hearing Wednesday evening, with regard to the removal of a stop sign at 6^th and Sunnyside Lane. Mayor Dave Jones explained why the sign is being removed. He said the north/south stop signs will be removed and signs indicating north/south traffic will not stop at the intersection will be installed. The reason is that trucks and traffic coming from the ethanol plant will frequent the road, and having stop signs on the north/south sides would likely result in a traffic congestion there.)

The change was recommended by the Community Protection Committee during their meeting Jan. 16^th. The Mayor admits they currently have no idea how much the traffic flow will increase, but it’s expected to be significant. Following the public hearing, the Council held the first reading of an amended ordinance calling for removal of the north south stop signs.

Two more readings are required before the change takes effect.