Deputies with the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Sidney man that was making threats at Grape Community Hospital in Hamburg on Tuesday.  Hospital staff informed deputies a man was making threats to employees and they decided to go into lockdown until the subject was located.  David Daugherty Jr. of Sidney was found a short time later and arrested for Disorderly Conduct.  He was taken to the Fremont County Jail and held without bond.

TREYNOR, Iowa (AP) – A former teacher has agreed to give up his teaching and coaching licenses as part of a plea deal in his sexual exploitation case involving students.

The Daily Nonpareil reports that Michael Travis pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of assault. He also agreed to surrender the licenses to the Iowa Education Department. He won’t have to register as a sex offender or serve any time in jail.

The newspaper reported that Travis maintained his innocence despite his negotiated plea of guilty. He was arrested in May 2014 on two counts of sexual exploitation by a school employee.

Travis had been an assistant softball coach at Treynor High School and taught elementary school.

The Creston Police Departments reports three arrests on Tuesday, August 19th.

At 10:52am Officers arrested 38-year-old Roger Straw of Creston at 300 Pine Street on a Union County Warrant for Violation of a Protection Order.  He was released from the Union County Jail on a $300 bond.

At 10:25pm Officers arrested 30-year-old John Foster of Creston near Division and Levy Streets.  Foster was charged with 5th Degree Criminal Mischief and Public Intoxication 3rd or Subsequent Offense.  Foster was later released on $2,000 bond.

Finally at 11:30pm Officers arrested 43-year-old Steven Jehn of Creston for Driving While Revoked.  He was arrested in the 200 block of North Elm Street.  Jehn is being held in the Union County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

w/ Chris Parks

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.7MB)

Subscribe: RSS

The Red Oak Police Department reports two additional arrests overnight.

At approximately 9:53pm Tuesday officers arrested 30-year-old Justin Curtis Hanshaw of Red Oak in the 500 block of North 2nd Street.  Hanshaw was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Hanshaw is being held at the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on $1,000 cash bond.

Later at 12:38am Wednesday officers arrested 25-year-old Mildred Helenora Douglas of Red Oak for Trespass, Criminal Mischief, and two charges of Assault on a Peace Officer.  The arrest was made on East Corning Street in Red Oak.  Douglas was taken to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and held on $2,000 cash bond.

The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest Tuesday of a Red Oak woman for Driving While Suspended.  At 11:15pm officers arrested 55-year-old Wilma Maxine Dykes in the 1600 block of Summit Street.  Dykes was taken into custody and held on $300 bond.

The Atlantic City Council will hold a regularly scheduled session Wednesday at City Hall. The meeting begins at 5:30-p.m., and includes action on a Resolution “Endorsing the use of Regional TAP (Transportation Alternatives Program grant) Funds for the Schildberg Recreation Area Lake #2 Biking Trail.” The resolution states acknowledges the City endorses the trail project, and that with the assistance of the TAP funds, the construction of the multi-use trail will be completed and remain dedicated to public use, and adequately maintained by the City of Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department.

In other business, the Council will hear reports from the Personnel and Finance Committee with regard to their review of options the City can take in finding a replacement for Jamie Arnold, who resigned this month from his position as City Attorney. The committee will also report on changes to the City Council and Mayor’s compensation, noting the Mayor’s salary has not been increased in 18-years, and the Council has not received a raise in 21-years. It’s expected the committee will recommend a Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) be made to fairly compensate city leaders for time spent in their respective positions.

And, a Task Force has reviewed the financing, process and details for the proposed use of and/or accessibility improvements for, the second-floor multi-purpose room in the City Hall building, an open house event for which was held August 8th, during AtlanticFest.

On Monday, August 17th at 4:01 a.m., the Cass County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a one-vehicle accident on eastbound I-80 at the 60 mile marker. A 2003 Chevy Impala owned and driven by 20-year-old Conandenon York of Des Moines was eastbound on I-80 when the driver lost control of the vehicle, veering off the interstate and into the south ditch. An 18-year-old passenger in the vehicle Papice Michae Joe of Des Moines was transported to CCMH via Medivac for evaluation. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $3,000. York was cited for Failure to Maintain Control.

DES MOINES – The emerald ash borer (EAB), a destructive and invasive insect of ash trees has been discovered in central rural Montgomery County. Iowa’s growing number of counties with confirmed detection has now reached twenty-seven. Native to Asia, EAB has spread to 25 states since first being identified in Michigan back in 2002. This exotic pest is responsible for the death of tens of millions of ash trees.

EAB is a small, metallic-green beetle that is about ½ inch long. The larvae stage of this wood-boring insect tunnel under the bark of ash trees, disrupting the flow of water and nutrients, ultimately causing the tree to die. EAB infested ash trees include thinning or dying branches in the top of a tree, evidence of woodpecker activity, S-shaped feeding galleries under dead or splitting bark, D-shaped exit holes, and water sprouts (along the trunk and main branches).

“This find marks the westernmost site that we have found EAB in Iowa to date,” said Mike Kintner, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship EAB and gypsy moth coordinator. “This just reinforces the importance of limiting human-assisted firewood movement to reduce the spread of EAB and other injurious tree pests.”

The Iowa EAB Team provides EAB diagnostic assistance to landowners and includes officials from Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service and the USDA Forest Service.

Since larvae of EAB can unknowingly be transported under the bark of a tree, the Iowa EAB Team strongly cautions Iowans not to transport firewood across county or state lines. The movement of firewood throughout Iowa or to other states poses the greatest threat to quickly spread EAB and other plant pests. A statewide quarantine remains in place, restricting the movement of hardwood firewood, ash logs, wood chips and ash tree nursery stock out of Iowa into non-quarantined areas of other states.

At this calendar date, the treatment window for soil-applied preventive treatment measures (soil injection, soil drench, or granular application) and basal trunk sprays has ended. Trunk injection remains a viable EAB management option for the next two weeks, as this method can be done when the tree has a full canopy of leaves (now through the end of August), provided there is good ground moisture. If a landowner is interested in protecting a valuable and healthy ash tree within 15 miles of a known infestation, he or she should have landscape and tree service companies bid on work, review the bids, and treat during the recommended treatment time.

Please contact Iowa EAB Team members to have suspicious looking trees checked in counties not currently known to be infested. The State of Iowa will continue to track the movement of EAB on a county-by-county basis. Before a county can be officially recognized as infested, proof of a reproducing population is needed and an EAB must be collected and verified by USDA entomologists.

Around 400 people attended the Boots and BBQ event last night at the Cottownwood Barn in Kimballton. The event was a Republican Party fundraiser and featured talks from Presidential Candidates Rick Perry and Carly Fiorina.

Texas Governor Rick Perry said he enjoys the process in Iowa and respects how Iowans handle that responsibility. “Iowa is about picking presidents. I mean, this process has made Iowa very unique in the sense of they understand and they take it very seriously, that they are in the business of vetting candidates that want to be the President of the United States.  There are very few states in the country that have that responsibility and Iowans take it very seriously.”

Former Hewelett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina talked about the response to her strong performance in last weeks Republican debates. “Well, I think it’s true that more people know who I am. You know I went into that debate and less than 40% of Republican voters had ever heard my name, and now a lot more know who I am.  But mostly what I hear from people is “keep going, keep speaking directly and telling us what we really need to do”.  I think people really are tired of professional politicians and are ready for a different kind of leadership.”

The event also featured other speakers from leadership around the state.