A traffic stop in Adams County this (Wednesday) morning, resulted in the arrest of a Nebraska man. 22-year old Ray Phillip, Jr., of Omaha, was arrested at around 3:17-a.m., for OWI/1st offense, Driving Under Suspension, Reckless Driving, No Insurance, and Speeding. He was pulled over after being observed driving eastbound in the westbound lane of Highway 34, near Birch Avenue.
The Iowa State Patrol has confirmed a second fatality has occurred following a weekend crash on Interstate 80 in northeast Des Moines. The driver of a 2016 Ford Focus, 22-year old Austin Paul Gainuss, of Des Moines, died Tuesday at Methodist Hospital in Des Moines, where he had been flown to by medical helicopter after his car was struck from behind by a speeding pickup truck. The accident happened at around 10:10-p.m. Saturday near the east mixmaster (the I-80/I-235/I-35 interchange). After the impact, both vehicles entered the north ditch, where the car struck a tree.
Authorities say they think 37-year-old Travis Gonzales, of Bondurant, was under the influence when his 2018 GMC pickup rear-ended the car. A passenger in the Ford, 24-year-old Joshua Lamont Cox, of Prairie City died at Mercy Hospital shortly after he was transported there by ambulance, Saturday. Both men in the car were wearing their seat belts. Gonzales was able to walk away from the crash uninjured.
The accident remains under investigation, with charges pending the results of toxicology tests.
Today: Partly Cloudy to Cloudy. High near 30. SW winds @ 10-20.
Tonight: P/Cldy. Low 18. SW @ 5-10.
Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High 45. SW @ 10-20.
Friday: P/Cldy. High around 47.
Saturday: P/Cldy. High 49.
Our High in Atlantic for the past 24-hours (as of 5:45-a.m today) is 15. Our Low this morning was 7. Last year on this date our High was 21 and the Low was -24. The record High in Atlantic on this date was 59 in 1939. The Record Low was -24 in 2018.
(Radio Iowa) — The company that bought the former Tyson Foods plant in northwest Iowa will open for business later this month. Iowa Food Group will purchase, further process, and package beef, pork, and chicken at the plant in Cherokee. The products will be sold to grocery store and restaurants. Bill Anderson, with Cherokee Area Economic Development, says the company received around 400 job applications. “We have a number of folks, hundreds of people, who leave Cherokee County every day to go to work outside of the county, so I think for citizens of Cherokee County this is an opportunity to find employment closer to home,” Anderson said.
Tyson Foods shut down the Cherokee facility in 2014. Mack Zimmerman, with Iowa Food Group, says his company will maintain a relationship with Tyson. “We’ll be a customer of theirs, which is a win-win,” Zimmerman said. Tyson employed around 450 people in Cherokee before it closed. Zimmerman said he was confident there would be plenty of interest in the jobs offered by Iowa Food Group. “Especially those who had experience at the plant before and what-not…in that regard, we didn’t have a lot of concern that we’d have good employees,” Zimmerman said.
Iowa Food Group has already hired staff for its front office and sales. The company aims to start off with 100 employees and eventually grow to over 400.
(Thanks to Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)
(Radio Iowa) — The Athletic Commission of the State Labor Division issued 101 licenses for events in the last fiscal year and many of those were for M-M-A or Mixed Martial Arts fighting. Labor Commissioner Michael Mauro says they have to do inspections of the fight sites. “M-M-A is very interesting, I find that interesting because we are a health and safety agency. We are trying to protect peoples’ safety and health in the workplace,” Mauro explains, “But what I’m really trying to do there is to make sure they don’t kill each other in the ring.”
He says they have a variety things to go over to determine a bout is safe. “Check the ring, check the rules, check the gloves, we check the whole thing. Make sure they have nothing in the gloves, make sure they have their drug tests and things like that — so we make sure they have a safe environment,” Mauro says. That’s what he finds the most peculiar — is they make sure everything is safe so two fighters can go at it.
“We’re here for safety and health, and I’m trying to make sure nobody gets killed in the fight,” according to Mauro.
Mauro made his comments following a recent state budget hearing.
FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — Iowa authorities are investigating after a fleeing suspect died after exchanging gunfire with deputies from the Webster County Sheriff’s office. After a domestic disturbance was reported Tuesday morning, deputies spotted the suspect’s vehicle and tried to stop it. But the Webster County Sheriff’s office says the suspect fired at officers as the chase continued just outside Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Officers fired back at the suspect’s vehicle, which came to rest in a field. The deceased suspect was found inside. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation will investigate the incident.
LORETTA M. PETERSEN, 80, of Audubon, died Monday, Dec. 31st, at Mercy Hospital Medical Center, in Des Moines. Funeral services for LORETTA PETERSEN will be held 2-p.m. Friday, Jan. 4th, at the First Presbyterian Church in Audubon. Kessler Funeral Home in Audubon has the arrangements.
Friends may call at the funeral home, where the family visitation will be held from 5-until 8-p.m. Thursday, Jan. 3rd.
Burial will be in the Iowa Veteran’s Cemetery near Van Meter.
LORETTA PETERSEN is survived by:
Her husband – Jerry Petersen, of Audubon.
Her sons – Daniel (Kasandra) Petersen, of Ankeny; Ricky (Annette) Petersen, of Hertel, WI; and Scott Petersen, of Cedar Rapids
Her daughters – Cynthia (Jon) Wedemeyer, of Waukee, and Crystal (Garry) Carlson, of Newell.
Her sisters – Mary Fairchild (and Doyle Hunt), and Beverly Anderson.
Her brothers – Jerold (Nadine) Heiken, and Dennis (Wendy) Heiken.
24 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren, other relatives, her in-laws, and many friends.
Police in Red Oak, Tuesday, arrested 37-year old Jesse Donald Trost, of Red Oak, on charges that include Attempted 3rd Degree Burglary, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Contraband in a Correctional Facility, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Trespassing. Trost was taken into custody at around 9:50-p.m., in the 2100 block of Woodfield Drive, following a report of a possible burglary in progress. Officers arriving on the scene spoke with witnesses, who advised the suspect had fled on foot into a CRP field near the residence. With assistance from the Montgomery County K-9 Unit and Montgomery County Emergency Management, the suspect, identified as Trost, was taken into custody and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where his bond was set at $5,000.
Earlier in the day, Tuesday, Red Oak Police arrested a 17-year old male from Red Oak, on charges of eluding, Interference with Official Acts, Driving While Suspended, No Insurance, and Driving an Unregistered vehicle on the highway. The unidentified teen was arrested at around 2:45-p.m. near a residence off Highway 48, and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where his bond was set at $2,000. He was subsequently transported to the Juvenile Detention Facility, in Council Bluffs. Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies assisted in handling the incident.
(Radio Iowa) — The big screens for keeping score at the statehouse have been replaced. The screens aren’t for football scores, but for the “score” that shows whether a bill has enough votes to pass. Lawmakers punch a button at their desk. The votes are recorded electronically, then the big screens mounted in the Iowa House and Senate show the vote tally — AND how each lawmaker voted.
Lawmakers have been using voting systems first installed in 2001. “The software was obsolete to the point where it couldn’t be upgraded anymore and the hardware was difficult to find parts for. We could still find them, but it was becoming more and more difficult, so we needed to do something.” Carmine Boal is the chief clerk in the Iowa House. She led the effort to buy the new system. On a few occasions in 2017, the old voting system crashed. Boal read the names of all 100 state representatives aloud, waiting for each to cast their vote by yelling “yes” or “no” — so her greatest fear was the 18-year-old system would crash for good.
“That was a nightmare that I had, so I’m very excited to have that pressure off my back,” Boal says, with a laugh. Legislative leaders approved spending about $1.2 million to buy the new voting systems and big screens for the House and Senate. The money is part of what was set aside to repair the capitol’s dome, but that project wrapped up under budget — with enough left over to buy new voting systems.
Charlie Smithson is the Secretary of the Senate — the person in charge of the voting machine in that chamber. “It was time to make sure that we could do the people’s business in an expeditious and open fashion,” Smithson says, “and that’s what this new system will do.” Video can be played on the new screens, but that’s not part of the plan. Lawmakers will start using them soon. The 2019 legislative session convenes on Monday, January 14th.
Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Safety Jake Gervase made an interception in the end zone to help preserve a late lead, and Iowa beat No. 18 Mississippi State in the Outback Bowl 27-22. Gervase also batted down an errant fourth-down pass to end the Bulldogs’ final drive at the Iowa 32 with 25 seconds left. Two earlier Mississippi State threats in the fourth quarter led to only three points.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer is going out a winner after Dwayne Haskins passed for 251 yards and three touchdowns in the fifth-ranked Buckeyes’ 28-23 victory over Washington in the Rose Bowl. Parris Campbell, Johnnie Dixon and Rashod Berry caught TD passes in the first half for the fifth-ranked Buckeyes, who carried a 25-point lead into the fourth quarter. Myles Gaskin ran for two scores and threw for another in the final game before OSU won its final game under Meyer.
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — UCF’s 25-game winning streak is over after Joe Burrow passed for 394 yards and four TDs to lead 11th-ranked LSU to a 40-32 victory over the No. 7 Knights at the Fiesta Bowl. A depleted LSU team rolled for 555 yards, easily the most allowed by the Knights this season. Burrow had touchdown passes of 22, 49, 33 and 32 yards, while the Tigers held Central Florida to 250 yards after the Knights entered the game ranked third nationally at 545 yards per game.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Sam Ehlinger ran for three touchdowns and 14th-ranked Texas completed its first 10-win season since 2009 by beating No. 5 Georgia, 28-21 at the Suger Bowl. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound sophomore finished with 64 yards rushing on 21 carries and also threw for 169 yards. The Longhorns stretched their lead to 28-7 on Ehlinger’s third TD run, a 1-yard burst with 11:49 to play.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Benny Snell Jr. became Kentucky’s career rushing leader by providing 144 yards and two touchdowns in leading the 16th-ranked Wildcats past No. 13 Penn State, 27-24 in the Citrus Bowl. Snell scored on runs of 2 and 12 yards in the second half, then carried for a couple of crucial first downs to help the 10-3 Wildcats run out the clock. Trace McSorley threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns, and the Nittany Lions’ career passing and wins leader also rushed for a team-high 75 yards on 19 attempts.
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