COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — NOTE: this story contains graphic details. Some readers may find disturbing.

Council Bluffs police said a man was arrested this week for torturing his dog. 29-year-old Marshon Johanson, a convicted felon in Nebraska who was not allowed to own a handgun, was charged with animal neglect resulting in serious injury or death, animal torture and felon in possession of a firearm. According to online court records, Johanson, of Council Bluffs, remains held in the Pottawattamie County Jail on a $7,000 cash-only bond. His preliminary hearing was set for August 18^th.

According to KETV CBPD animal control officers was called to a home near 34th and Avenue G around Aug. 7th for a man who was bitten by a dog and, in return, shot the dog. Police said they were told it may have happened weeks ago.

A court affidavit said Johanson believed it was around the Fourth of July that the dog bit him, he hit it in the chest with a pick-style axe weapon causing an injury, then got the gun and took the dog to the basement to try and shoot it to death.

CBPD said the man who answered the door of the home was uncooperative when they went to check the welfare of the dog. Witnesses told police the man was bitten two weeks before the call, and the dog was shot but alive in the home.

Officers and animal control said they got a warrant to search the home and tried to serve it on Aug. 9.

CBPD said an unrelated person and their 3-year-old child were at the home on Aug. 9, and allegedly, the 3-year-old tried to touch the dog, possibly at the site of the gunshot wound, and the dog bit the 3-year-old. Police said the owner then hanged the dog after the child was bit, and as officers showed up to serve their warrant, they found the dog hanging from rafters in the basement.

According to an affidavit, Johanson had adopted the dog around four months ago, and it had bitten him in the past. The court document said Johanson admitted to dragging the dog to the basement. Officers found the handgun, as well as the dog hanging from a rope in the basement.

The court document said Johanson told them it took 45 minutes to successfully kill the dog by hanging it. Johanson is a convicted felon in Nebraska and is not allowed to own a handgun.

(Des Moines, Iowa)  – Atlantic FFA Advisor/Ag Instructor Eric Miller reports that on the first official day of the Iowa State Fair, Thursday, members of the Atlantic FFA Chapter continued to earn awards with their projects. The day began with Claire Schroder and her rabbits in the FFA Rabbit Show. In class 2 FFA Pin of Three Fryer Rabbits, Schroder placed 2nd earning a Purple Ribbon. She continued the show earning 3 Blue Ribbons along the way. Schroder said, “I think showing rabbits was a great way to experience my first year showing at the Iowa State Fair. Everyone is very helpful, and they know what they are doing. I encourage and support everyone to show rabbits at the state fair if they can!”

Claire Schroder

In the FFA Breeding Beef Show, three Atlantic FFA members participated. McKenna Sonntag placed 1st in her class, earning a Purple Ribbon and was in the running for Champion Simmental Beef. Brock Henderson also competed in the Simmental division earning a Blue Ribbon. Lola Comes also earned a Blue Ribbon in a very competitive Angus division. (Photos are courtesy Eric Miller)

Brock Henderson

Lola Comes

McKenna Sonntag

Finally to wrap up the day, Taylor McCreedy picked up right where she left off on Wednesday and continued her winning ways. McCreedy began the competition by placing 2nd in Western Riding, 4th in FFA Trail Class and was named Overall Halter Horse Champion. McCreedy, having won several divisions already, was also named Reserve Champion High Point Individual FFA Horseman.

Taylor McCreedy

In total points Taylor McCreedy and Colton Becker were named Reserve Champion FFA High Point Chapter. After the show McCreedy said, “The Iowa State Fair has always been my favorite place to show and to experience this type of success makes it even more special. FFA has provided me with some amazing experiences and I have made a lot of great friends through competition! I owe the FFA program a lot.”

Atlantic FFA members wrap up the week with the FFA Commercial Swine Show, FFA Photography and FFA Farm Crops results today (Friday). Next week several FFA members will also compete in the FFA Dairy Goat Show.

(Radio Iowa) – The butter cow at the Iowa State Fair usually has a lot of people waiting in line to get a look — but this year one of the companion sculptures is also getting plenty of interest. University of Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark is one of three athletes sculpted in butter. Sydney Greeney is a member of the North Scott F-F-A club, and says she doesn’t watch a lot of sports, but knows Caitlin Clark, and says “it’s really cool” see her in butter.

Butter Cow & Caitlin Clark in butter (RI Photo)

A group of four women from Colorado also were in line to see Clark and say they like the sculpture. They says they have heard a lot about her. The other two in butter along with Clark are from U-N-I and N-F-L quarterback Kurt Warner, and former I-S-U football player Jack Trice.

(Radio Iowa) – Today’s (Friday) date is August 11th or 8-11, the day you are reminded about the three-digit phone number you’re required by law to call before doing any digging on your property. Ben Booth is spokesman for Iowa One Call which is marking what it calls 8-1-1 Day in advance of the fall planting season. Booth says call 8-1-1 at least 48 hours before digging and Iowa One Call will have all underground utilities marked so you’ll know where -not- to dig.

The state law was enacted in 1993, mandating that Iowans use the service before taking a shovel to dirt, and especially before using anything larger to dig. Learn more about digging on your property at Iowa One Call-dot-com.

(Radio Iowa) – The new U-S Drought Monitor shows the areas of Iowa with extreme and severe drought dropped following recent rains. Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig says a lot of farmers are thankful for the rains. “You know, you’d still say, and then the drought monitor will still say, that we’re dry. And you know, 100 percent of the state of Iowa is in at least abnormally dry. And you’ve seen persistent drought in some places like along western Iowa, southeast Iowa, there’s a pocket. But once again, this year, we’ve seen timely rain,” Naig says.

He says the impact of the drought has not been totally washed away. “We’ve got some places in the state that certainly will, we’ll see some yield reduction because of that persistent dryness,” Naig says. “But as I’ve traveled the state, there’s a lot of places that look really good. So now’s when you need rain, you still need to finish this crop off. And it’s good to see a more active weather pattern.”

IA AG Sec Mike Naig (RI photo)

Naig was at the Iowa State Fair for its opening ceremonies Thursday. He touted the new “Choose Iowa” program. “This is something that the legislature funded this past year, it’s time for us as a state to have a branded program for Iowa-made, Iowa-raised, Iowa-grown products,” he says. “So you know, it’s everything from a farmer selling beef direct to a consumer or a vegetable producer who’s working with a restaurant working with a chef.”  Naig says consumers have been asking for and want to consider local when they are buying food.  “I see a lot of exciting opportunities here. And I think too, for small and beginning farmers, just more market opportunities for folks to sell. And again, consumers are going to win in this whole thing,” he says.

Food, beverages and other agricultural products that are grown, raised or made within Iowa and meet or exceed minimum criteria can carry the “Choose Iowa” logo.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart says Democrats have not yet decided whether to hold their Caucuses on the same night as Iowa Republicans. The Iowa G-O-P announced in July their first-in-the-nation Caucuses will be held on January 15th. Hart says she’s not going to commit to that date until the Iowa Democratic Party’s State Central Committee reaches a consensus.

“We’ve said from the very beginning that we would have the Caucuses on the same day as the Republicans,” Hart says. “I certainly would like to see that we are able to do that.”

The two major parties have typically held their Caucuses on the same night as the first voting event in presidential campaign seasons. National Democrats have decided South Carolina will vote first in 2024, followed by four other states. Iowa Republicans have secured the opening spot in their party’s 2024 nominating process. Hart says Democrats were not consulted when Republicans announced their Caucuses would be held on January 15th — the Martin Luther King, Junior holiday.

“I think in the past Republicans and Democrats have worked together on determining that date,” Hart says, “so it was disappointing that we did not have any input.”

Hart says she’s speaking with black leaders around the state to see if they are concerned the Democratic Party’s Caucuses would conflict with events to mark the Martin Luther King, Junior holiday. In 2004, Iowa Democrats and Republicans held their Caucuses on M-L-K Day. Hart made her comments during taping of the “Iowa Press” program that airs tonight (Friday) on Iowa P-B-S.

(Radio Iowa) – Former Vice President Mike Pence says he’s looking forward to a vigorous discussion as the 2024 Republican presidential candidates debate on August 23rd. Eight candidates have qualified for the debate in Milwaukee, but former President Trump has not yet announced whether he’ll be there. Pence says the debate will give voters a fresh look at him and the other candidates.

“Everyone that is standing for the Republican nomination, from my former running mate on down, ought to be on that stage, ought to be making their case,” Pence said, “and we’ll let the American people decide.” Pence spoke at the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair Thursday, and briefly debated a man in the crowd. Pence was asked why he committed treason on January 6th, a reference to Pence’s role in certifying Joe Biden’s Electoral College win. A couple of other people in the crowd booed and Pence intervened.

“It’s a fair question. Look, come on people. That’s why I came…There’s almost no idea more un-American than the notion that one person could pick the American president. The American presidency belongs to the American people and the American people alone,” Pence said, to applause and cheers from many in the crowd. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum — also campaigning at the State Fair — told reporters he doesn’t need a break through moment in the debate.

“Debate prep looks like this: being at the Fair, talking to real American citizens,” Burgum said. “We’re not going in some closet and trying to memorize lines. We’re talking to real people and what they’re concerned about. They’re concerned about inflation.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was at the fair Thursday to offer the Democratic Party’s rebuttal to the G-O-P candidates. “Democrats are going to vote and they’re going to vote for President Biden,” Walz said. “They know what the alternative is.”

Four G-O-P presidential candidates will be at the State Fair today (Friday) and each will appear with Governor Reynolds for one of her Fair Side Chats.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican presidential candidate Doug Burgum says he is fully confident an Iowa company’s pipeline to ship carbon to underground storage in North Dakota will be built. Burgum is the governor of North Dakota, where a three-member commission has rejected Summit Carbon Solutions proposed route through his state.

Burgum says he expects the pipeline to be approved after a reconsideration. Burgum says North Dakota already has carbon pipelines, including one that’s been running for 22 years. He says “carbon is not the devil element on the periodic table.”

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans who enjoy bowling in their spare time should strike out for northeast Iowa to catch some of the top bowlers on the planet at the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Championship Week in Waterloo. Gene Kanak, spokesman for the P-W-B-A, says the event is actually three bowling tournaments in one, including the season’s final major championship.

After qualifying rounds in the P-W-B-A Waterloo Open on Wednesday, the top 12 competitors are bowling two six-game rounds of round-robin match play today (Thursday), and the top five players will advance to the stepladder finals. Kanak says the championships draw droves of spectators and it’s pretty easy to catch one of the pros for an autograph or a selfie.

The occasional bowler might be thrilled to break a hundred, but Kanak says these professionals are scoring significantly higher. A score of 300 is a perfect game, that’s 12 strikes in a row.

The seven-day championship event is underway at Cadillac Xtreme Bowling Center in Waterloo through next Tuesday.

PWBA.com

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa State Fair opened today (Thursday) with Governor Kim Reynolds and others cutting a ribbon near the entrance gate.

The Governor made some brief remarks welcoming everyone.

Fair Board chair Darwin Gaudian of Primghar says he is looking forward to some good weather.

His close “Best Days Ever”, is the theme of this year’s Iowa State Fair. The fair runs through August 20th.