The Cass County Sheriff’s Office has released a report on arrests and accidents that took place over the past week. On August 27th, Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 24-year old Cammi Jo Nelson, of Atlantic, on a charge of OWI 1st Offense. Nelson was taken to the Cass County Jail and released later that day on her own recognizance. That same day, 20-year old John Wesley King IV, of Atlantic, turned himself in at the Cass County Jail on an Atlantic Police Department warrant for Sexual Abuse 3rd Offense (C Felony). King was later released on $10,000 bond.

The driver of a dump truck was flown by LifeFlight to a hospital after the truck and trailer crashed into an unoccupied building Tuesday morning, in Guthrie Center. Officials with the Guthrie County Fire Department said in a social media message to KJAN, that contrary to some media reports, “the building struck was not the fire station. The building hit was the vacant building that used to be the fire station. GCFD and our facilities are undamaged and fully functional.” The accident happened at around 9:45-a.m. at at N. 1st and State Streets (Highway 44). One side of the structure sustained extensive damage.

Numerous emergency personnel were on scene, including the Guthrie County Sheriff Department, Iowa State Patrol, Guthrie Center Fire, Panora Fire, and the Adair/Guthrie County Emergency Management Departments. The cause behind the accident is unknown at this time.

(Radio Iowa) — With another mass shooting over the weekend, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says fellow Republican leaders in Congress are committed to fast-tracking some sort of gun safety legislation. Grassley blames the media for focusing on rampages like the one Saturday where a gunman killed seven people and wounded 25 in Odessa, Texas. “Seven people died in Chicago over the weekend from gunshot wounds, but you never hear anything about that,” Grassley says. “It’s kind of sad commentary that we concentrate just on one person killing some people and nine people dying someplace else doesn’t get any attention.”

Grassley says Senate Leader Mitch McConnell has made it clear the process of conducting background checks for firearms purchases needs to be revisited and strengthened. “It’s my understanding, based on what I heard two weeks ago,” Grassley says, “McConnell is committed to bringing up things dealing with background checks particularly.” Grassley has spoken in favor of so-called “red flag” laws that would take guns away from people who are deemed a threat to themselves or others. Grassley says mandatory background checks for all gun purchases may be coming in the near future.”Since we’ve worked out things like that a few years ago, it ought to be easy to work out some legislation that will make background checks more possible, particularly with people who have mental illness issues.”

The Odessa gunman was reportedly fired from his job the morning of the shootings and, based on his arrest in 2001, could not have legally bought firearms in Texas. Congress remains on recess this week and will return to work on Monday.

In an update to our earlier reports, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office confirms an Atlantic man was injured during a single-vehicle rollover accident east of Marne, Monday morning. The accident happened on Highway 83 (The Marne Road), a little before 8-a.m. Authorities say 22-year old Kyle Krueger, of Atlantic, was traveling westbound in a Ford F-150 pickup, when the vehicle went out of control off the right shoulder of the road, crossed the highway and rolled into the south ditch. Krueger was transported by Medivac Ambulance to the Cass County County Memorial Hospital for treatment of his injuries. The accident remains under investigation. The pickup sustained an estimated $5,000 damage.

Ric Hanson (Photos)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa agency is keeping secret a list of about two dozen former criminal offenders who were improperly granted credentials to work for private security firms.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety denied an open records request Friday that sought the identities of those individuals whose security cards were recently revoked. The revocations came after the discovery that the department granted 5,800 private security employees credentials to work in Iowa without undergoing mandatory federal criminal background checks.

The department has for a year worked to retroactively complete those checks. Commissioner Stephan Bayens said it has revoked 20 to 25 cards of those found to have disqualifying criminal histories.

In keeping the list secret, department lawyer Catherine Lucas cited a state law that says names of employees of licensed security firms “shall be held as confidential.”
But it’s unclear whether that law applies to those revoked. Other parts of the law allow the department to release information about disciplinary action taken against licensees and to confirm whether an individual is an employee of a licensed agency.

Sheriff’s Deputies in Page County, Monday, arrested 37-year old Richard Doran Alexander, of Shambaugh. Alexander was arrested on a Department Of Corrections Felony Warrant for Parole Violation. He was on Parole for an original charge of Domestic Abuse Assault 3rd or subsequent Offense. Alexander was found to be hiding in a basement at a residence in Shambaugh, where he was staying. He was transported to the Page County Jail for holding as there is no bond on the warrant.

Richard Doran Alexander