(Soldier, Iowa) – A collision Friday afternoon in Monona County resulted in one person being transported to the hospital. The Iowa State Patrol reports the accident happened near Soldier (IA).

A 2015 Chevy Impala driven by 31-year-old Elizabeth Meadows, of Ute, was traveling south on Highway 183 at around 1-p.m., at the same time a 2015 Peterbilt semi driven by 21-year-old Jacob Boock, of Cushing, was traveling east on Highway 37. Meadows failed to yield at the posted stop sign prior to entering the intersection of Highways 183/37.

Boock saw the car enter the intersection and attempted to brake, but the truck struck the car in the middle of the intersection. Both vehicles entered the ditch on the northeast corner of the intersection before coming to rest. Meadows was not wearing a seat belt. She was transported by Monona County EMS to Burgess Medical Center, in  Onawa.

The crash remains under investigation. The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Monona County Sheriff’s Office.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  Officials with the Cass County Tourism Committee report the Committee met on December 16, 2023. After some discussion, the group decided to change things up a bit for the 2024 year. The schedule will now include four meetings per year, with meetings at 9:00 a.m. on the first Wednesday of the following months: February, May, August and November. Meetings will take place at the Atlantic Chamber unless otherwise noted.

A new slate of officers was elected for the 2024 year.

President: Lora Kanning

Secretary: Emily Kennedy

Treasurer: Kenner Baxter

According to a report from Travel Iowa, the economic impact of visitors in Iowa is significant, including our own Cass County! Visitor spending in 2022 (the most current economic impact statement) was a whopping $6.9 BILLION dollars! That means approximately $19 MILLION was spent EVERY DAY by visitors to Iowa.

In Cass County, local sales taxes collected amounted to over $1,700,000! And state sales taxes collected in Cass County for the year was $2,170,000! Tourism is much more than fun and games…it means business!

If you’re interested in the future of Tourism in Cass County, please plan to attend the next Tourism Committee meeting this coming Wednesday, February 7, 9:00 a.m. at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Office on north Chestnut Street (the former Rock Island Depot).

DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI] – A Des Moines man convicted of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the United States Capitol is out of federal prison. Doug Jensen, 44, was transferred last month from a Texas prison to a residential reentry management facility in Kansas City, Kansas.

In September 2022, Jensen was found guilty of obstruction of a law enforcement officer during civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, assaulting, resisting or impeding a police officer, unlawfully entering a restricted building with a weapon, disorderly conduct inside a restricted building with a weapon, disorderly conduct in the Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a capitol building.

Douglas Jensen (2021 Polk County Jail photo)

Pictures and videos show Jensen at the front of a crowd in the Capitol Rotunda on the day of the riots. Jensen’s attorney said at trial that his client’s actions were motivated by right-wing conspiracy theories.

Jensen was sentenced in December 2022 to five years in prison with three years of supervised release.

Updates from Jensen’s wife say he’s able to find a job and will be able to come back home on weekends.

(Omaha, NE) – Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol arrested an Iowa man following a pursuit in Omaha, early this (Friday) morning. Authorities say at approximately 1:40 a.m., a trooper observed a westbound Dodge Durango speeding on Interstate 80 near 60th Street in Omaha. The trooper attempted a traffic stop, but the driver refused to yield and accelerated. The trooper initiated a pursuit.

The vehicle continued westbound, exited I-80 at 84th Street, crossed the median, lost a tire, and reentered I-80 westbound at a high rate of speed. The trooper continued pursuing as the vehicle fled westbound before exiting I-80 at 144th Street, where the driver turned around and reentered eastbound I-80. As the suspect vehicle reached the downtown area, it entered I-480 northbound.

The vehicle exited and reentered I-480 multiple times, running red lights on surface streets. The driver then reentered I-480 toward Iowa. Just before the Missouri River bridge, the vehicle hit a patch of ice on the roadway, lost control, and crashed into a concrete barrier. The driver was then taken into custody without further incident.

The driver, William Ganzhorn, 51, of Woodbine, Iowa, was transported to UNMC with non-life-threatening injuries. Ganzhorn was cited for flight to avoid arrest, willful reckless driving, fictitious license plate, and numerous traffic violations.

KEOKUK COUNTY, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Public Safety reports that on Thursday, February 1, 2024, investigators with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), Ottumwa Police Department, and Keokuk County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at 21891 Highway 78 near Ollie. The search warrant was part of an effort to locate 40-year-old Craig Smith, who was reported missing on January 20, 2024.

During the search, investigators found the remains of an adult. The condition of the remains is preventing law enforcement from making a positive identification. Evidence and statements collected during the investigation have led investigators to tentatively identify the remains as those of Craig Smith. The State Anthropologist, the Office of the State Medical Examiner, and the DCI Crime Lab are working to make a positive identification.

Jeffrey Gautreaux

This (Friday) afternoon, DCI agents charged 44-year-old Jeffrey Gautreaux with Murder in the First Degree and Abuse of a Corpse. Gautreaux, who lived with his stepfather, 63-year-old Steven Grant, at the Ollie address, was arrested without incident at the Keokuk County Sheriff’s Office on February 1. Gautreaux and Grant were initially charged with drug offenses. Grant has been released from custody.

This investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to contact the DCI at 515.725.6010 or at dciinfo@dps.state.ia.us.

A criminal charge is merely an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

(Radio Iowa) – Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver says he opposes a bill introduced in the Iowa House that would let 20 percent of House or Senate members force a vote on the use of eminent domain for proposed carbon pipelines.

The House bill, which cleared a subcommittee this week, would let 11 senators or 21 state representatives file a petition to intervene in Iowa Utilities Board proceedings and lawmakers would decide whether pipeline projects get eminent domain authority to seize property from unwilling landowners.

Governor Kim Reynolds told Radio Iowa she will not support any retroactive changes that would affect applications already filed for carbon pipeline construction permits.

Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver on the “Iowa Press” set on Feb. 2, 2024.. (Photo courtesy of Iowa PBS)

Whitver says there are widely varying views among the 34 Republicans in the Iowa Senate.

Whitver says there has been legislation introduced in the senate that would require pipeline companies to fully restore farmland that’s dislodged along the pipeline route and that may be considered this year.

Whitver says he’d be interested in reviewing, but doesn’t have an opinion yet on another proposal that would speed up the court process for resolving property disputes along the pipeline routes.

Whitver made his comments during taping of Iowa Press which airs tonight (Friday) at 7:30 on Iowa P-B-S.