DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A Dubuque convenience store shift manager who stole more than $15,500 from bank deposit bags has been given two to five years of probation. The Telegraph Herald reports that 33-year-old Jennifer Villarreal last week also was given a deferred judgment at her sentencing. Under a deferred judgment, Villarreal’s conviction can be removed from court records if she successfully completes the terms of her probation. She also was ordered to pay restitution to Casey’s General Store. She’d pleaded guilty to theft.

Court documents say Casey’s corporate office staff discovered that deposits from Sept. 17, Sept. 27 and Oct. 6 last year were never made. The documents say surveillance video shows Villarreal leaving the store with the bank bags on Sept. 18, Sept. 28 and Oct. 7.

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) — Doctors say an infant may have suffered brain damage when struck by an overthrown softball at her father’s game in northeastern Iowa. Mayo Clinic physicians in Rochester, Minnesota, have been balancing various medications as they treat 8-week-old McKenna Hovenga, whose skull was fractured. She was struck while in the arms of her mother, Kassy, on May 2 in Shell Rock, some 95 miles (150 kilometers) northeast of Des Moines.

A post on the Healing for McKenna Facebook page says doctors have pinpointed her seizures to two areas of the brain that appear to have been damaged, areas related to motor skills and development. The extent of any damage remains unclear. Another post says Kassy was allowed to hold McKenna on Mother’s Day for the first time in 10 days.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Work is beginning on a $2.2 million restoration of the former St. Mary Catholic Church’s steeple in Dubuque. The Telegraph Herald reports that Steeple Square officials began the project this month by setting up extensive scaffolding around the steeple. The project includes restoring the steeple roof and exterior, installing new interior ladder systems and revamping the clock and old bell system.
John Schmidt is the vice president of the Steeple Square Board of Directors, which has taken over the church complex. He says the project is part of a larger revitalization effort of the neighborhood surrounding the former church.

Duane Hagerty is the CEO of Heritage Works, an agency aiding restoration efforts. He says that private donations primarily fund the project. The restoration is expected to be completed in October.

Two people were arrested over the weekend, in Glenwood. Police say 35-year old Kristopher German, of Glenwood, was arrested Saturday, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His bond was set at $300. And on Sunday, 29-year old Ashley Ring, of Glenwood, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. Her bond was set at $1,000.

Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer said today (Monday), his office received a report last Thursday, about the theft of tool boxes with tools, stolen from buildings located at Highway 71 and J-20 West (137^th Street). An elderly female and a man in his late 40’s, both from Clarinda, reported that sometime between May 1st, 2018 and May 10th, 2018 unknown person(s) entered the property and removed 4 tool boxes with miscellaneous tools in them. Anyone with information about the crimes is asked to call the Page County Sheriff’s Office at 712-542-5193 or their local Law Enforcement Agency.

CLARKSVILLE, Iowa (AP) — The family of a 15-year-old boy killed in an accidental shooting in northeast Iowa is urging people interested in guns to learn how to safely handle them. Butler County authorities say Kain Allen Schild died Thursday afternoon in rural Clarksville. Details about what happened have not been released. Officers and medics sent to the scene found three people, all under 18.

The boy was a freshman at Clarksville High School, and his obituary on the Redman-Schwartz Funeral Home site says he loved to hunt, fish and trap. The obituary also said his family “would like to encourage those interested in weaponry to take gun safety classes.” The Clarksville school district is offering grief counseling to students and staff members.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports 41-year old Jeffrey Wade Bartles, of rural College Springs, was arrested at around 7:30-p.m. Sunday, on three warrants for Violation of Probation. Bartles was taken into custody at a rural home located about two-miles northwest of College Springs, and was unable to post a $4,000 bond, $3,000 of which is a cash only bond. He was transported to the Page County Jail, where he is currently being held pending further court proceedings.

Jeffrey Wade Bartles

(Updated 10-a.m. w/additional reports)

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County report a Nebraska woman was arrested on an assault charge at around 12:30-a.m. Saturday, following an incident at Westfair. Authorities say a vehicle struck a 17-year old male pedestrian, with no related injuries. The driver of the 2001 Chevy Tahoe, 31-year old Melissa M. Perales, of Omaha, was arrested for Simple Assault. An investigation into a property damage accident at around 11:15-p.m. Friday at Arrowhead Park, resulted in the arrest of a Council Bluffs man. 40-year old Fred Travis Starrett was taken into custody for OWI/3rd offense. And, a traffic stop Sunday on a pickup truck, resulted in the arrest of 40-year old Ross Alan Messigner, of Glenwood, for Driving While Revoked.

Authorities said also, a man being held in the Pott. County Jail was served with a warrant last week out of Douglas County, NE. The warrant for 38-year old Derrick Vincent Preiksaitis, of Council Bluffs, was for being a Fugitive from Justice. The man was returned to the custody of jail staff, after being served with the warrant. Another inmate at the jail, was served with a felony warrant for Probation Violation. 36-year old Deward Lynn White, Jr., of Council Bluffs, was then returned to the custody of jail staff.

An assault between two inmates at the Pott. County Jail Thursday evening, resulted in a simple assault charge against 21-year old Isaiah Emmanuel Ross, of Council Bluffs. Ross is accused of assaulting 38-year old  inmate Brian Alan Reed, of Council Bluffs. Reed suffered apparent minor injuries during the incident. And, after a deputy was dispatched to a residence in the 400 block of Vine Street in Carson, Thursday night,  a juvenile male was cited into Juvenile Court, for Theft in the 3rd Degree. Deputies recovered a baggie containing flour hidden inside the juvenile’s pants. He was transported to the Juvenile Detention Center in Council Bluffs. No name was released because of his age.

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

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