An Iowan who has been an advisor to Donald Trump during the presidential campaign is moving into the job in the U-S Department of Agriculture. Sam Clovis of Hinton, Iowa was sworn after Trump was sworn in so he can begin his duties.Clovis says they are setting up what they call a beachhead team to ensure they have a smooth transition between the administrations.

Clovis did not go into detail about his specific U-S-D-A duties, but says the Trump administration will be marked by a very conservative agenda. “I’ve been personally involved over the last several weeks of making sure the policy implementation that we are going to see from day one — starting this afternoon forward — I will say without qualification it is the most conservative agenda I have seen come from a Republican presidency in a long time,” Clovis says. “I may be more conservative than Ronald Reagen’s was.”

He does say that President Trump has assured him that biofuels will continue to be a major part of America’s energy plan. “It is our distinct guidance that we keep to an all of the above energy plan,” Clovis says. He says he’s already talked with incoming Energy Secretary Rick Perry about the issue.

Clovis formerly supported the former Texas Governor when Perry ran against Trump early in the G-O-P presidential race. Thousands of protesters opposing Trump lined the streets of Washington today, with some clashing with police. Clovis says he has never seen protests to this level after an election but thinks he partly knows why so many have come to the capitol. He says people are coming to get attention through social media and other media. “And this is why I think they are motivated to do it more than anything else, because it allows them to get the attention across the world,” Clovis says.

Clovis added that he’s disappointed by the number of those who don’t want to reconcile with the fact that Trump is now president. “I honestly don’t think I’ve every seen anything in our history like this where we’ve seen such adamant digging in on the part of the opposition over anything,” Clovis says. “Because I think a lot of has to do with the American people decided — and not the elites in Washington.”

Clovis is a veteran who has run for the U-S Senate, state treasurer, and was also a former professor and radio talk show host.

(Radio Iowa)

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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A search for a 15-year old female missing since an accident early Thursday morning in Crawford County, has turned to a recovery mission. KTIV in Sioux City reports the search for the unidentified teen ended Friday night, but was expected to resume this (Saturday) morning, with several K-9 units and a dive team. The Western Iowa Expo Building at the Crawford County Fairgrounds in Denison has been turned into the command Center for the search.

At about 7:25 p.m. Friday, the dispatch center at the law enforcement center issued a call for all available EMS personnel to meet at the command center at 8:30 a.m. today (Saturday). Five dogs from Yankton, South Dakota, and from Ankeny are expected to join in the search. Three of the dogs are trained for water tracking and the other two for tracking on the ground.

Crawford County Sheriff James Steinkuehler said the search of the river would be from the fairgrounds on south. He said he is confident of the thoroughness of the search of the river from the scene of the accident, north of Denison, to the fairgrounds.The sheriff said the search parties would work as late as they can today,  and hope to have success.

The accident was reported about 3 a.m. Thursday in rural Crawford County. Authorities say the car was carrying five people when it ran off a rural road into the river. Four who reached safety on their own or were rescued were taken to a Denison hospital. Deputies, firefighters and a dive team searched the river and its banks until 11:15 p.m. Thursday but had to stop because of heavy fog. The searchers returned Friday morning.

Red Oak Police arrested two men on separate drug and assault-related arrests Friday night. 20-year old Brandon Matthew Frazier, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 11:40-p.m. in the 1800 block of E. Summit Street, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Frazier was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 cash bond. Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies assisted in the arrest.

And, at around 9:30-p.m., Friday, Red Oak Police, assisted by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies, arrested 44-year old Roland Charles Chapin, Jr., of Red Oak, for Simple Assault, following a report of an altercation involving several individuals in the 300 block of E. Joy Street. Two victims had minor injuries as a result of the altercation, but were not hospitalized. Chapin, Jr., was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $300 bond. Authorities say the case remains under investigation, and additional arrests may be possible.

An Urbandale High School student was arrested after school administrators say he made an online threat. The principal of the school sent a letter to parents saying police discovered a Snapchat photo of the student holding a gun and a second photo of ammunition with a caption that said he was “going to get those math teachers for giving me an F on that quiz.”

Urbandale police went to the student’s house and the student admitted it was and airsoft gun and the ammunition was a photo sent to him by a friend. Police say there wasn’t any real gun or ammo at his house and there was not threat to the school. The student, who is not being identified, was released back to his parents after being arrested. School officials are not saying what their punishment of the student will be.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

WASHINGTON, Iowa (AP) — Officials in southeastern Iowa say one person has died in a house fire. Firefighters responded early Friday morning to a fire in Washington, Iowa, and found a house fully engulfed in flames. Officials say a body was found inside the burned-out home. That person’s name has not yet been released.

HARTFORD, Iowa (AP) — Officials in southern Iowa say a body has been found inside a burning house, and one person has been arrested in the case. Assistant Warren County Attorney Douglas Eichholz says firefighters were called early Friday morning to a house fire in Hartford, and a body was found inside. Eichholz says 28-year-old Stephen James Major was arrested later Friday in Marshalltown and charged in connection with the fire. .

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a couple found dead in a murder-suicide at George Wyth (wihth) State Park in Waterloo suffered from health problems. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that autopsies confirmed that 86-year-old Neil Miller shot and killed his wife, 83-year-old Marilyn Miller, before taking his own life. A police captain says the Waterloo couple had medical issues and that people who knew the Millers say they didn’t want to go to a nursing home.

WINDSOR HEIGHTS, Iowa (AP) — Property taxes will increase this year to pay for 16 blocks of new sidewalks in Windsor Heights, a city where neighborhood streets mostly haven’t had sidewalks since homes were built in the 1950s. The Des Moines Register reports that in addition to the tax hikes, residents of 175 properties will be assessed as much as $3,500 for the new sidewalks outside their home. A 2016 survey by the city found 69 percent of residents didn’t want the sidewalks.

A man believed to be responsible for the destruction of headstones, monuments and other damage at the Clarinda Cemetery early Thursday morning, has been arrested. Authorities say 27-year old Marshall Louis Field, of Pleasant Hill, faces charges that include reckless driving, failure to maintain control of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident and violating accident reporting requirements.

Field was allegedly driving a 2006 Chevrolet Equinox that entered the cemetery, careened out of control and struck several monuments causing an estimated $20,000 in damages to the monuments. The accident, which was discovered at around 5-a.m. Thursday, caused about $5,000 damage the vehicle. The driver left the scene on foot.

All reports of have been forwarded to Page County Attorney Carl Sonksen for review and initiation of subsequent court action.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa said today (Friday), that a judge this week sentenced a Douglas County, NE., man to more than 16-years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area. 44-year old Broc Todd Waltermeyer, of Omaha, was sentenced Wednesday by Senior United States District Court Judge James E. Gritzner, to 196 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.

Waltermeyer pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine on April 29, 2016. The guilty plea and sentencing were the result of an investigation into methamphetamine distribution by Waltermeyer between July of 2015 and November 11, 2015. During that time, he distributed over two kilograms of methamphetamine, which was obtained in Omaha and transported to Pottawattamie County, where it was sold.

The investigation was conducted by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement,
Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, Omaha Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Officials say some students used stolen teacher passwords to change some grades at the University of Iowa. The officials said Thursday that about 250 students, faculty members and other staffers have been told their university IDs and login information were taken by unauthorized devices that had been attached to university computers in classrooms and computer labs. The university says only 5 percent of those accounts were later used by someone other than the account holder.

University staffers are checking computers for suspicious devices and developing plans to increase security measures. Officials are encouraging people on the university system to change their passwords. Officials say that if investigation determines a student has cheated, university disciplinary action could include expulsion or suspension.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court says law enforcement agencies cannot seek restitution from defendants in drunken driving cases when officers respond during the normal course of their work and not for an emergency. The court found in opinions filed Friday in three separate drunken driving cases involving Davenport police officers that Iowa law allows recovery of expenses through restitution only when the law enforcement response meets the normal definition of an emergency. The court says “routine law enforcement activities do not qualify.”

In the three cases, patrolling police officers stopped vehicles with drivers suspected of drunken driving and the city sought to recoup the time it took officers to stop the vehicle, investigate and arrest the driver. The amounts sought – $54.50, $317 and $158.60 – were denied.