More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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

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Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports a Missouri man was arrested Friday night for multiple traffic violations and an OWI charge. Deputies responding to a report of a maroon Ford Mustang traveling in excess of 100-miles per hour on Interstate 29 near the Percival Exit, located the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop.

Deputies identified the driver as 36-year old Danger Caballero, of Kansas City, Mo. Caballero was subsequently arrested for numerous traffic violations and OWI/3rd offense. He was brought to the Fremont County Jail and held on $5,000 bond.

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The parents of a 14-year-old Iowa girl are asking a federal judge to stop a county prosecutor from charging their daughter with sexual exploitation of a minor or child pornography for sending suggestive photos of herself to a boy. The American Civil Liberties Union says it’s trying to protect the girl’s rights to free speech and free expression. Marion County Attorney Ed Bull has urged the federal court not to intervene in a state prosecution.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Hundreds of protesters angry about Donald Trump’s presidential win blocked Interstate 80 in Iowa City for about a half-hour, backing up traffic for miles. The protests began Friday afternoon when about 200 high school students walked out of class and held a rally on the University of Iowa campus. University students joined the protest and listened to speeches before marching through downtown to the freeway. Police didn’t intervene in the protests.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Law enforcement officials in central Iowa have used ropes to drag three people from inside a 30-inch pipe _ part of continued protests over construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline. The Des Moines Register says the three entered the pipe after 2 a.m. Thursday near the Des Moines River in Boone County. Sheriff’s Detective Andy Godzicki says they managed to crawl 50 feet to 100 feet inside the pipe, taking food, sleeping bags and other supplies with them.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The new Republican-controlled Senate has selected leaders for the upcoming session. Members of the chamber met privately Friday at the Iowa Capitol and selected Sen. Bill Dix as majority leader and Sen. Jack Whitver as president. The selections will be official in January. Republicans flipped six Senate seats after Tuesday’s election and now have a 29-19 majority. There is one independent and one open seat.

(updated 11/29: The charge was dismissed by the court on Nov. 22nd)

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of a Villisca man on Friday afternoon on theft charges. At 3:20pm Deputies arrested 40-year-old Jason William McCollum of Villisca on a Montgomery County Warrant for Theft 5th Degree. He was taken to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and held on $300 bond.

LE MARS, Iowa (AP) — Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources are investigating a manure spill near a small stream about three miles southeast of Le Mars in northwestern Iowa. The Sioux City Journal reports that the rollover crash of a tanker truck on Thursday dumped up to 9,000 gallons of swine manure near the stream, and at least some of the manure leaked into the stream.

A news release from the department says a pumping company was called to try to contain and pump the spilled manure back into the tanker. The DNR says it will monitor cleanup, give advice and consider enforcement actions.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The parents of a 14-year-old Iowa girl are suing a county prosecutor to try to stop him from filing criminal charges against the teen after she sent suggestive photos of herself to a boy.

Marion County Attorney Ed Bull has threatened to charge the Knoxville girl with sexual exploitation of a minor or child pornography. Bull has said she can avoid the charge if she signs an admission of guilt, performs community service and temporarily gives up her laptop and cellphone.

The lawsuit was filed in September and amended Thursday to add new arguments and to add the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa as attorneys for the girl. The ACLU says it’s seeking to protect the girl’s rights to free speech and freedom of expression. The ACLU says the photos don’t show nudity and are not obscene.

Bull has asked the federal court not to intervene in a state prosecution.

Clarinda Police Cheif Keith Brothers says the Clarinda Police Department will begin Operation Blessing 2016, Monday, November 28th. This community project embodies the spirit of Christmas by helping to make sure every child in Clarinda receives a gift on Christmas day. Retired Police Chief Joe Newton and retired 911 Communications Supervisor Diane Newton will be managing the program again this year.

Children may be signed up for involvement in the program by calling the police department records office at 712-542-2194, extension 203, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Administrative Assistant/Records Clerk Tara McComb will take the child’s name, age, sex, address and two gift requests per child. Names of children can be submitted beginning Monday, November 28^th and will be accepted through Wednesday, December 21^st.

Cash donations in c/o of Operation Blessing 2016 can be dropped off at the office of Chief of Police Keith Brothers, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.  or mailed to the Clarinda Police Department, 200 South 15th Street, Clarinda, Iowa 51632. Cash donations will be used by the Clarinda Police Department to purchase gifts for the children. If you wish to purchase a specific gift for a child, please contact the Clarinda Police Department and ask to speak with Joe and Diane Newton regarding purchasing a specific requested gift item(s).

Families will be contacted by the Clarinda Police Department when the gift items are ready to be picked up. If a family is unable to pick up the gifts, uniformed officers of the Clarinda Police Department will deliver the gifts.

Officials with the Cass County Health System Foundation have announced their 2017 Campaign to purchase a 3D Mammography Unit for Cass County Memorial Hospital. Foundation Director Dawn Marnin says “Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, and we all know someone who has been affected by it. Having this new diagnostic tool available right here in Cass County will allow women to be diagnosed up to 15 months earlier. Early detection remains the key to the successful treatment of breast cancer, which makes this campaign so vital.”

At a cost of $450,000, the 3D Mammography technology is a big investment, and the Foundation is busy planning a direct mail campaign, employee and community campaigns, spring gala, and golf tournament – all aimed at helping raise the needed funds. Once purchased, the 3D unit will completely replace the current equipment, and it will become the standard technology for all patients who receive an annual screening mammogram.

Carrie Schmitt, Director of Diagnostic Imaging, says “This technology provides greater detail and visibility than previous units.  It not only provides earlier diagnosis, but it will reduce the number of call backs for additional imaging, which means less radiation exposure for those patients as well as much less stress.”

A 3D mammogram is conducted in a manner very similar to a traditional mammogram, with a technologist positioning the patient and taking images from different angles. The images produced from 3D Mammography provide a radiologist with greater visibility of breast tissue than ever before, allowing for a more thorough assessment of the results.

In recent studies, 3D mammograms not only were able to find cancers that remained undetected by traditional mammograms, but also were able to significantly reduce the number of false results – cutting back the number of callbacks for unnecessary additional screenings. Overall, 3D Mammography has shown a 41 percent increase in the detection of invasive breast cancers compared to traditional technology, and a reduction in reported false positives of up to 40 percent.

To make a donation or learn more about this campaign, contact Dawn Marnin at mardd@casshealth.org or 712-243-7409.

On this Veterans Day, Senator Joni Ernst is raising concerns about how the Veterans Administration is responding to “whistleblowers.” “We do have to be vigilant in this oversight and it quite literally is a matter of life and death,” Ernst said during a senate hearing this year.

The V-A’s Office of Inspector General operates a hotline to field complaints from V-A staff and veterans, but Ernst says it’s unclear whether the agency is reviewing those complaints quickly enough. “All too many times in the past there has not been the follow-up necessary and those months delay could mean another veteran that has been left untreated or another veteran that takes their life because of a lack of care by the VA,” Ernst says.

Ernst is asking officials for an update on the case of Brandon Ketchum of Bettendorf, a 33-year-old veteran who committed suicide in July. Ketchum did tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Ketchum wrote on his Facebook page hours before he took his life that he had asked to be admitted to the V-A Medical Center in Iowa City, but was sent home with medication.

Later today (Friday), Ernst will be presenting three Iowa veterans with the medals they earned for service in times of war, but did not receive yet. One ceremony will be held in Marshalltown at 4:30 p.m. for a Vietnam veteran and a veteran of World War II. At 6 p.m., Ernst will be in Ankeny to award the Bronze Star and other medals to a Vietnam Veteran. Ernst held similar ceremonies earlier this week in Lenox, Newton and Cedar Rapids to present medals to veterans.

(Radio Iowa)