Two people were arrested on separate charges Wednesday, in Creston. Police say 28-year old Amanda Steinbach, of Creston, was arrested at Oak/Devoe on an Adams County Warrant for Failure to Appear on the original charge of Driving While Suspended. She was released to the custody of Adams County. And, 23-year old Cody Lamaak, of Creston, was arrested at Chestnut/Fremont on the charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance – Marijuana, and Possession of Paraphernalia. He was released on a $1300 bond.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa -A Judge in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, Wednesday sentenced a Council Bluffs man on drug charges. 30-year old Dalton Lee Dukes was ordered imprisoned for nearly 12 1/2 years, for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, and Carrying a Firearm in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime. His sentence will be followed by an additional 60 months for carrying a firearm in relation to drug trafficking, plus five years of supervised release after his prison term ends.

The sentencing was the result of an investigation originating in Cass County regarding the distribution of methamphetamine delivered from Omaha, Nebraska. The investigation revealed that Dukes was distributing methamphetamine in numerous locations throughout Southwest Iowa. After a confidential informant purchased methamphetamine from Dukes, he was arrested on February 15, 2019. At the time of his arrest, Dukes was found with money from drug sales and a loaded .9-mm Taurus handgun.

Prior to being sentenced in the case, Dukes was charged with First Degree Murder in Douglas County, Nebraska and he is awaiting transfer to answer those charges. The matter was investigated by the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, Omaha Police Department, and Iowa Division of Narcotics Investigation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa today (Thursday), said that on Wednesday, 55-year old Shawn Morgal, of Council Bluffs, was sentenced in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, to a little more than two-years in prison, for being a Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm. The Judge also ordered Morgal to serve a three-year term of supervised release, upon completion of his sentence.

On May 21, 2018, the Council Bluffs Police Department received a report of a theft from a local gun store. Morgal admitted to stealing a pistol from the gun store and later trading it in exchange for controlled substances. The case was investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa Senate has voted to toughen penalties for animal abuse. Senator Brad Zaun, a Republican from Urbandale, has been working on the issue for the past few years. “I am sick and tired of hearing in the news on almost a daily or weekly basis of these cases where these companion animals are being abused,” Zaun says. Senator Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines, agrees. “This is needed in my community,” Bisignano says. “It’s gotten out of hand and we need to send the signal.”

The House voted last year to enhance penalties for animal neglect, torture and abuse. Senators working on the issue struck a compromise and kept the penalty for a first conviction on an animal torture charge as an aggravated misdemeanor rather than a felony. Republican Senator Tom Shipley, a farmer from Nodaway, opposed the House-passed plan, but supported the scaled back bill which deals with abuse of pets and wild animals. “We can’t fix bad people, but I think we can go a long ways towards dealing with these issues and keeping the animal agriculture business out of it,” Shipley says. “…I want to just also remind the body that we’re talking about animals here and I’m afraid sometimes there’s people out here in this world that get their animals confused with people.”

The bill cleared the senator on a 44 to three vote and it goes back to the House for consideration of the senate’s changes.