TRAER, Iowa – On April 29, 2024, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s (DCI) Major Crime Unit and the Tama County Sheriff’s Office arrested Huston Danker, 27, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Danker was arrested for his role in the shooting death of Ryan Cooper on June 18, 2021. Danker was transported to the Tama County Sheriff’s Office and was charged with Murder in the First Degree, a Class A Felony. Danker is being held at the Tama County Jail, bond to be determined.

Huston Danker

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information related to this investigation can contact the Tama County Sheriff’s Office at 641.484.4111, the DCI at 515.725.6010, or by email at dciinfo@dps.state.ia.us.

No further information will be released at this time.

DES MOINES – Today (Monday), Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation for eight additional counties in response to severe weather that occurred on April 26. The governor’s proclamation allows state resources to be utilized to respond to and recover from the effects of this severe weather and activates the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program and Disaster Case Advocacy Program for the following counties: Clarke, Crawford, Harrison, Mills, Polk, Ringgold, Shelby, and Union. A disaster proclamation was previously issued for Pottawattamie County on April 26.  

The Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program provides grants of up to $5,000 for households with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Grants are available for home or car repairs, replacement of clothing or food, and temporary housing expenses. Original receipts are required for those seeking reimbursement for actual expenses related to storm recovery. The grant application and instructions are available on the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management website at homelandsecurity.iowa.gov/assistance. Potential applicants have 45 days from the date of the proclamation to submit a claim.   

The Disaster Case Advocacy Program addresses serious needs related to disaster-related hardship, injury, or adverse conditions. Disaster case advocates work with clients to create a disaster recovery plan and provide guidance, advice, and referrals to obtain a service or resource. There are no income eligibility requirements for this program; it closes 180 days from the date of the governor’s proclamation. For information on the Disaster Case Advocacy Program, contact your local community action agency or visit iowacommunityaction.org.    

The proclamation also temporarily suspends regulatory provisions of the Iowa Code that pertain to procurement of goods and services, hours of service for disaster repair crews, and various requirements for the transportation of loads related to disaster repairs.  

You can find a copy of the proclamation here.  

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  Atlantic School District Director of Finance Lisa Jones reports the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Community School District will meet at 2:45-p.m. Tuesday, April 30th, for the purpose of exchanging Collective Bargaining proposals with the Atlantic Education Association, representing the District’s Certified Staff. The meeting takes place in the Atlantic School District Central Office Conference Room located at 1406 SW 7th Street, Atlantic, IA.

The tentative agenda is as follows:
BOARD MEETING AGENDA April 30, 2024
Central Office Conference Room 2:45 pm

Collective Bargaining Proposals will begin at 2:45 pm as described below. The session is open to the public as required in Chapter 20 of the Iowa Code.

• Certified Staff Collective Bargaining Unit Proposal:
  The Atlantic Education Association will present its initial contract proposal for the 2024-2025 school year between the Education Association and the District’s Negotiation Committee consisting of the Superintendent, Director of Finance and two Board Directors.
• At 3:00 pm following Certified Staff Collective Bargaining Unit Proposal:
  The Atlantic District’s Negotiation Committee will present its initial contract proposal for the 2024-25 school year between the Education Association and the Board of Education.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowan is now the holder of the “Order of the Gray Dragon” recognizing the person with the earliest entry date into the U-S Nuclear Weapons Program. Navy veteran Robert Mowry was given the award by the Navy Nuclear Weapons Association after the previous Dragon died. He told K-C-R-G T-V he didn’t know what he was getting into.

“I went into Special Weapons Unit 1233 in January 1953 from boot camp. Had no idea what a special weapons was. Gun that shoots around the corner? What? Had no idea,” he says. Mowry’s job was to inspect the atomic bombs, and he did it for five days a week for two-and-a-half years. He was never able to tell anyone about his service until 1996 with the repeal of the Nuclear Radiation and Secrecy Agreements Act. The president of the Navy Nuclear Weapons Association, Kris Hobbs, tells K-C-R-G T-V that those who worked on nuclear weapons are a dying breed.

“There’s a lot of stuff that’s going on here that they’ve received… radiation exposure and so forth—that the V-A is not recognizing it a lot. So it’s good for us to recognize the oldest one here,” Hobbs says. Mowry watched 17 atomic bombs explode in the Marshall Islands.  “You heard the sound wave come across….watch the mushroom cloud rise and disperse and see if it was going to flow over you,” Mowry says.

Robert Mowry. (KCRG TV)

Mowry is still here, grateful that so many friends and family came to celebrate his service.  “What I did was very unusual. There aren’t many people that did what I did…I’m very proud, very proud of my service,” Mowry says.

Mowry was presented the award this past weekend in Williamsburg,

(Radio Iowa) – (as previously reported) Four people were injured and one of them died after an EF-2 tornado tore through a good portion of Pottawattamie County. County Public Relations Manager Craig Carlsen says the town of Minden was the hardest hit.

“The conditions inside Minden are still very unsafe. We’ve got homes that are in the middle of roads, we’ve got, you know, a lot of debris to clean up and so we’re currently limiting access to Minden to residents only for the safety concerns, Carlsen says. Carlsen says they are working toward improving access. “We hope to open it up to more outside volunteers you know as things are cleaned up to a little bit more appropriate you know level,” he says.

Pottawattamie County tornado Friday. (photo courtesy of Terry Torneten)

Carlsen says the early warnings issued by the National Weather Service and the media–including a tornado emergency declared for Minden–prevented more storm casualties. “We really are blessed that it wasn’t worse to be honest with you as far as you know physical injury. To have just four storm related injuries given the amount of physical damage that came through our area and all of southwest Iowa really it’s pretty amazing,” Carlsen says. A curfew remains in effect in Minden from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. until further notice.

Carlsen says one of the biggest challenges facing response and recovery efforts is the influx of resources that haven’t been requested. “There’s no communicated need for food water or emergency housing we’re very grateful for that,” he says. “But as that is the case officials are currently you know asking that any donation currently is in monetary form to help those impacted.” Five communities were hit by the tornado, including western portions of Council Bluffs, northeast of Crescent, east of McClelland, southwest of Treynor and Minden. Approximately 300 homes or businesses in the county were damaged or destroyed, including 48 alone in Minden.

Donations can be made to the Southwest Iowa Emergency Relief Fund at givewesterniowa.org.

(Radio Iowa) – Emergency responders are stretched thin after Friday’s severe storms spun off at least 17 tornadoes in Iowa, damaging dozens of homes and claiming a life in Minden. Josh Murray, communications director for the American Red Cross – Nebraska-Iowa Region, says it was a massive storm system that left a tremendous amount of damage in its wake, in multiple counties.

“All the way from into Nebraska and all the way across through the Des Moines area and a little bit into eastern Iowa, so it’s been busy,” Murray says. “The focus right now is on getting some connections made with those who have been affected, getting them some relief supplies, cleanup supplies, and then setting up some casework that’ll help them get on the road to recovery, so, what are their needs going forward and how can we support those.”

(Red Cross photo)

The agency’s big white vans are known as emergency response vehicles, or ERVs, and they’ve all been deployed across the region. “We’ve been creative by using other vehicles that we have,” Murray says. “We have some vans and things like that we’ve loaded up supplies in to get people around. All of our emergency response vehicles are activated and out there but we’re getting creative and using all our vehicles as much as we can and making sure we can get to where we need to be.”

Many of the Red Cross emergency shelters that were opened in Nebraska and Iowa over the weekend have already closed. Murray says that’s a good thing as they’re designed to provide immediate relief for those who’ve lost their homes, and help them transition to something more permanent. For Iowans who’d like to help with the relief effort, Murray says there are several avenues.”Go to redcross.org/donate and make a donation. That would help us. That’s really the best way for us to address the needs,” Murray says. “Different areas need different things so instead of providing goods or something that might not be what that area needs, the financial donations allow us to be more flexible with what we need to address, what someone needs in this location compared to another location.”

Some Iowans may want to become more involved in helping their neighbors to bounce back from this — and future — disasters. “If you want to volunteer, you can sign up. I can’t guarantee you’ll be able to help this time, but you will be ready next time,” Murray says. “We have our trained volunteers out helping right now, but definitely, this will happen again and we’ll need more volunteers, so it’s definitely a good opportunity to consider where you can help for the next time.”

Donations can also be made over the phone by calling 1-800-HELP NOW.