COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A jury has acquitted a Haitian immigrant of kidnapping and sex abuse of an underage girl. The Daily Nonpareil reports Fednol St. Cyr was found not guilty of the count Friday evening. It took the jury less than two hours to acquit him of the charges.

St. Cyr had faced life in prison on the kidnapping charge alone. Prosecutors had said St. Cyr ordered the girl into his truck on April 5th, refused to let her get out and sexually assaulted her.

St. Cyr’s defense attorney, James Martin Davis of Omaha, Nebraska, had said Cyr sought to help the girl when he picked her up because he thought she was in distress. Davis painted the girl as a troubled teen whose testimony was inconsistent and unreliable.

Firefighters from Anita and Wiota along with Anita Rescue have been called to the scene of a rollover accident on Interstate 80 about two-miles west of Adair. The crash happened at around 1:15-p.m. and the vehicle was reported to be on fire in the median at the 73-mile marker. It’s unknown if there are any injuries. Medivac Ambulance and Adair Fire have also been requested.

(Update 1:18-p.m.: The fire was out, one person was inside the vehicle, conscious and breathing.)

(Update 1:23-p.m.: Rescue crews advise there are two patients associated with this crash. There have also been 1 or possibly two, unrelated, secondary accidents that occurred near the original crash scene. More traffic control is being requested. The inside lane of I-80 is blocked due to the rescue equipment being on scene. LifeNet helicopter is being put on stand-by.)

(Update: 1:43-p.m….LifeNet will land soon in a field near the Adair Exit. A second chopper has been requested to transport a victim from CCMH.)

w/ Chris Parks

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A Red Oak man was arrested for Marijuana possession on Friday evening by Red Oak Police.  At 8:00pm Officers arrested 34-year-old Jesse Donald Trost of Red Oak in the 400 block of North Highland Avenue in Red Oak for Possession of a Controlled Substance Marijuana, a Serious Misdemeanor. Trost was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $1,000 cash bond.

The Red Oak Police Department was assisted by the Montgomery County K9 Unit in the arrest of a wanted Shenandoah man on Friday.  At 7:15pm Red Oak Police received information that a Shenandoah man wanted on a Page County Warrant for Felony Violation of Probation may be staying at a residence in Red Oak.  Officers went to a residence in the 400 block of West Washington Avenue in Red Oak in an attempt to locate 25-year-old Jeremy Scott Dolph.  He was found at the residence at took off running from officers westbound.

Officers then surrounded the area where Dolph had ran to and used the Montgomery County K9 unit to track him down.  After the K9 successfully discovered Dolph he took off running again. Dolph refused orders to stop and the K9 was deployed to apprehend him in the same block the chase began.

Dolph was taken to Montgomery County Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries and then to the Montgomery County Jail. He was held on $300 cash bond on the charge of Interference with Official Acts and on $5,000 for the Felony Page County Warrant for Violation of Probation.

The Red Oak Police Department was assisted by the Montgomery County K9 Unit and Red Oak Rescue.

On Friday at 2:38pm Red Oak Police were called to the Kum and Go Store in Red Oak for a report of an employee that had taken money from the store while working.  Officers then arrested 23-year-old Dillon Roy Karwal on a charge of 2nd Degree Theft, a Class D Felony.

An investigation by Kum and Go had determined that between October 9th and November 2nd that Karwal had taken approximately $5,722.11 from the store.

Karwal was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $5,000 cash bond.

DES MOINES – In recognition of Veterans Day, Iowa Workforce Development is holding events throughout Iowa to recognize veterans and to help veterans find employment. IWD offers numerous programs and services at its one-stop IowaWORKS offices throughout the state. Veteran Representatives in the IowaWORKS offices provide veterans and clients of Veterans Administration Vocational Rehabilitation with the following services:

• Home Base Iowa, Iowa’s award-winning innovative program to help veterans find jobs in Iowa
• Conduct job searches
• Develop job interviewing and resume writing skills
• Help place eligible veterans in federally-funded employment and training programs
• Monitor job listings from federal agencies and federal contractors to ensure veterans receive priority service when referred for these jobs
• Provide intensive services to meet the employment needs of eligible veterans

IWD Director Beth Townsend said veterans are an important asset to Iowa’s workforce. Townsend retired from the Air Force Reserve in 2010 as a Lieutenant Colonel after 21 years of active and reserve duty.

According to Wallet Hubs 2016’s Best & Worst States for Military Retirees, Iowa ranked first in the nation in the categories of Most Veteran Job Opportunities and Most Affordable Housing. Additionally, Iowa ranked third in the category of Lowest Percentage of Homeless Veterans. In 2014, Iowa passed legislation known as the Home Base Iowa Act, which provides the following incentives for veterans:

• Military Pension Income Tax Exemption – fully exempts military pensions from state income tax
• Permissive Veterans Hiring Preference – allows veterans preferential treatment in hiring decisions for both public and private organizations
• Military Homeownership Assistance Program – provides veterans up to $7,500 toward down payment or closing costs of a home by using the Iowa Finance Authority program
• Higher Education Incentives – provides automatic, in-state tuition to veterans, their spouse and their dependents.

Veterans currently living in Iowa or who want to relocate to Iowa can upload their resume at the Home Base Iowa website at www.homebaseiowa.gov.

Locally, event date/time/places include:

Creston: Event…Veterans Day Event; Date: Friday, Nov. 11; Time: 2:15 p.m.; Location: Creston High School Gymnasium, 601 W. Townline, Creston; Details: Community event held at Creston High School honoring local Veterans. The event will include a musical program, readings, and presentations by local high school students and community members. Open to the public; Contact: No RSVP required. For more information contact Cassie Randall (641) 782-2119 ext. 42.

Denison: Event…Veterans Appreciation Past, Present & Future; Date: Thursday, Nov. 10; Time: 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.; Location: Denison Workforce Transition Center, 19 Hwy 39 N, Denison; Details: Monica Walley will speak about her experience in the military. Current veterans serving our country, sharing with those considering serving our country in the future and Staff Sergeant Aaron Helmrich will speak about the benefits of serving.; RSVP: No RSVP required. For more information contact Sherri Vaughn at sherri.vaughn@iwd.iowa.gov.

Omaha: Event…VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System STAND DOWN; Date: Thursday, Nov. 10; Time: 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Location: Grace University Field House, 820 Pine St., Omaha; Details: For homeless Veterans eligible for VA health care. Free health care services will be available along with other services including drug and alcohol counseling, suicide prevention, veteran assistance agencies/employment assistance, clothing, health screening, eye exams, benefit information, Chaplains, and foot care. Lunch will be served.; RSVP: Registration is encouraged by calling your local VA business office.

Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst is scheduled to present various Medals to veterans across the State this coming week. On Tuesday, Ernst will be in Lenox to made Medal presentations to World War II veterans Dean Kester and Harold Walter.

Both men will receive the Navy Good Conduct Medal; World War II Victory Medal and the American Campaign Medal.

Other Medals to be awarded to Dean Kester include: The American Defense Service and Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medals. 

Other Medals to be awarded to Harold Walter include: Discharge Button, and Honorable Service Lapel Pin.

The event takes place 10-a.m. Tuesday at the Vintage Park Assisted Living and Memory Care facility, 810 East Van Buren Street, in Lenox. Similar events this week will award Medals to veterans in Newton, Cedar Rapids, Marshalltown, and Ankeny.

The Iowa State Patrol late this (Friday) afternoon released details about a fatal crash that took place at around 5:30-a.m. today (Friday). Officials say 38-year old Adam Wolf, of Omaha, died, when the 2007 International semi he was driving, struck a 2012 Volvo semi on I-80 eastbound, at about a mile east of the exit to Highway 71.

The Volvo semi, semi driven by 51-year old Angelo Chiarelli, of Lancaster, PA, had left the road for reasons unknown and struck the Nishna River Bridge, before losing control and rolling onto the driver’s side. After the International semi struck the Volvo rig, both semi’s caught fire. Wolf died at the scene. Chiarelli was transported by Medivac Ambulance to the Cass County Memorial Hospital.

The accident remains under investigation.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Six people from Iowa and one from Nebraska will serve shorter prison sentences after President Barack Obama granted them clemency. Most of the 72 offenders in Friday’s announcement committed drug crimes considered nonviolent.

Justin Border, of Davenport, will serve 14 of 20 years and ZoAnn Brown, of Rowan, will have served about 11 of her 24-year sentence when she’s released in 2018. Martin Godbersen, of Sioux City, will serve about 12 years of his nearly 19-year sentence. Mandy Martinson, of Mason City, had about four years knocked off her 15-year sentence. Michael Lee Roth, of Primghar, and Juan Carlos Munoz, of South Sioux City, Nebraska, will each serve 15 of their 20-year sentences.

Obama has granted 944 people clemency, more than the previous 11 presidents combined.