Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:48 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa prison officials don’t plan to reopen four prison facilities with room for hundreds of inmates that had been temporarily closed because of budget cuts. The Des Moines Register reports that the three satellite prison units in Harpers Ferry, Clarinda and Fort Madison as well as a community corrections facility in Sheldon won’t be considered for reopening in the state Department of Corrections’ 2018 budget request to the Legislature.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City teen has been sentenced to seven years in prison for shooting his 3-year-old sister in the face with a BB gun. Adrian White, now 18, was sentenced after pleading guilty Monday in Woodbury County District Court to assault and child endangerment. Prosecutors say White was 17 in May when he shot the preschooler twice in the face, breaking her jaw and requiring surgery.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — A 16-year-old Cedar Falls boy faces charges after police say he took photos of a younger teen changing clothes. The Courier reports that the boy was charged last Friday with dissemination of obscene material to minors and exploitation of a minor, both misdemeanors. Police say the incident took place last year when a 13-year-old girl was photographed with an electronic device while changing.

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials say a black bear has been spotted just southeast of Montezuma in central Iowa. The Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office tells the Press-Citizen that deputies and an Iowa Department of Natural Resources officer confirmed the bear’s presence on Tuesday. DNR Conservation Officer John Steinbach says the bear ran in front of a sheriff’s cruiser and into a cornfield as he and the deputies were out looking in the area.

The Iowa Attorney General’s office is urging Iowans to “act now” following a massive data breach involving the credit reporting company Equifax. Geoff Greenwood, spokesman for the A-G’s office, says approximately 143 million consumers nationwide are affected by the breach. “Here in Iowa, it affects in the neighborhood of 1.1 million,” Greenwood said. “So, that’s a lot of people affected by this.”

The data includes Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some cases, driver’s license numbers and credit card numbers. Iowans can check if the breach exposed their personal information at www.equifaxsecurity2017.com. Greenwood suggests victims of the breach should immediately take action. “The steps can include something as simple as monitoring your bank statements, your credit card statements, your overall financial statements,” Greenwood said.

Equifax disclosed the breach occurred between mid-May through June, and that so far there’s no evidence of unauthorized activity. “Equifax is offering a free credit monitoring service for a year. We urge Iowans to take advantage of that,” Greenwood said. “Regardless of whether you have been a victim of this breach, the company is offering this free of charge for one year.”

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said his office is investigating the breach. “We intend to hold Equifax accountable for what happened, and ensure that something of this magnitude never happens again,” Miller said.

(Radio Iowa)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City teen has been sentenced to seven years in prison for shooting his 3-year-old sister in the face with a BB gun. The Sioux City Journal reports that 18-year-old Adrian White was sentenced after pleading guilty Monday in Woodbury County District Court to assault and child endangerment.

Prosecutors say White was 17 in May when he shot the preschooler twice in the face. One BB fractured the girl’s jaw and the other entered her eye and lodged next to her brain. Surgery was required to remove one of the BBs, but the other lodged near her brain. Doctors determined it was too risky to remove it.

White had sought to be tried as a juvenile, but that request was denied and he was prosecuted as an adult.

The Cass County Auditor’s Office reports Carol Preston, of Griswold, has filed nomination papers to serve on the Griswold City Council. Preston’s name will appear on the ballot for the November 7th Cass County City Elections.

Previously, it was announced the following individuals had submitted nomination papers for their desired respective seats (I=Incumbent):

• David R. Jones (I), Atlantic Mayor
• Jolene Smith (I), Atlantic Parks & Rec Board
• Gerald Brink (I), Atlantic City Council At Large
• Richard “Dick” Casady (I), Atlantic City Council – 5th Ward
• Bryan Olson-Everett, Lewis City Council.

The last day to file nomination papers for City Offices is Sept. 21st at 5-p.m.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of a woman from Kent on Wednesday afternoon. At 1:30pm Deputies arrested 60-year-old Vicki Jo Abell of Kent for Driving While Barred. Abell was arrested in Corning for the offense and taken into custody and held on $2,000 cash bond.

In an update to our Tuesday report, a pickup reported stolen Monday from rural Shenandoah, was recovered late Tuesday afternoon. Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer said today (Wednesday), his office received a phone call from a land owner in the south central portion of the County in reference to a white Dodge pickup parked along a tree line in the middle of the section.  The Sheriff’s Office personnel found the stolen 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 owned by Brian Johnson that had been reported stolen the prior day.

Stolen pickup (plow not currently attached)

The scene and vehicle were processed for evidence and Johnson was notified that the vehicle had been recovered.  The topper on the vehicle had been removed as well as other damage to the vehicle.  Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Page County Sheriff’s Office at 712-542-5193 or their local Law Enforcement agency.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – A Davenport day care operator has been accused of injuring two infants. Court records say 44-year-old Amy Smith is charged with child endangerment causing injury and four counts of child endangerment causing serious injury.

Her arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 5. An arrest affidavit says authorities opened an investigation in April when they were called about an infant who’d been hospitalized with several bone fractures. Officers also learned that another infant in Smith’s care was injured in November 2015. The affidavit says a doctor said the injuries were a result of child beating.

A large fire broke out this (Wednesday) morning in downtown Newell in northwest Iowa’s Buena Vista County. Bob Doonan is a longtime Newell resident who lives about a block away from the scene. “I took my golf cart down…my wife was on a walk and she came home and said there was a fire down there. Someone called it in at 6:30 this morning,” Doonan said.

Fire departments from several surrounding communities responded to the five-alarm fire. Doonan told Radio Iowa the three buildings that were burning were all unoccupied.
“They were all vacant. The plumber in town owned the building and he just built a new building,” Doonan said. “So, they were all vacant, nothing is in ’em.”

Photo courtesy Bob Doonan via Radio Iowa

According to Doonan, it appears firefighters were able to save the Newell Post Office from much damage. “Our post office is abutted right to (the buildings). So, I think that is going to be alright. There is some water inside, I guess,” Doonan said. “In a small town, you don’t want to lose your post office because you don’t get ’em back.”

There have been no reports of injuries and there’s no word yet on what may’ve sparked the fire. Newell is a community of roughly 900 residents located east of Storm Lake.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld a Page County man’s June 2016 conviction by jury, of burglary in the second and third degrees. 47-year old Clinton John Doiel had appealed the ruling following his April, 2016 arrest and trial, by claiming the trial court denial of his motion for judgment of acquittal and motion for new trial.

The Appeals Court ruled the evidence is sufficient to support the verdict.  Additionally, they said the weight of the evidence is not contrary to the guilty verdicts.

More on the ruling can be found here: http://www.iowacourts.gov/About_the_Courts/Court_of_Appeals/Court_of_Appeals_Opinions/Recent_Opinions/20170913/16-1487.pdf

Eerily reminiscent of a fire that occurred in Exira on July 14th, a large fire is affecting several adjoining buildings in the downtown of a northwest Iowa community. Fire departments from several area communities were requested this (Wednesday) morning to help the Newell Fire Department fight a major blaze in downtown Newell, in what’s described as a five-alarm fire.

Fire departments from Storm Lake, Fonda, Varina, Rembrandt and Albert City are assisting in efforts to control the fire, which is reported in several buildings on Main Street in downtown Newell, including a hardware store building and a bank.

(photos courtesy Bob Doonan via Radio Iowa)

(Radio Iowa)