A district court judge in Pottawattamie County, Tuesday, sentenced 30-year old Anthony J. Simmons, of Shenandoah, to nearly five-years in prison for Possession of Child Pornography. After serving the 57-month sentence, Simmons must also serve 10-years of supervised release.

Court records said during the Spring of 2013, investigators located sexually explicit pictures of a fifteen year-old female on Simmons’ computer. On June 5th, 2014, Simmons entered a guilty plea to possession of child pornography.

The investigation was conducted by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations, Cyber Crimes Unit, and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

The Harlan Police Department reports a man from Shelby County was arrested Saturday on a Cass County warrant issued on August 19th, for Contempt of Court. 31-year old Brandon Billings, of Harlan, was taken into custody following a traffic stop. Billings was transported to the Shelby County Jail to await extradition to Cass County.

The Harlan P-D says also, that on Dec. 12th,  Jessica Gaul, of Harlan, reported to officers that her 2003 Ford truck was taken sometime during the night. The following morning the truck was located in the Nishnabotna River near 1120th St and Nishna Avenue. The case remains under investigation.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Liberal activists eager to draft Sen. Elizabeth Warren into a run for president are bringing their effort to Iowa, the pivotal early-voting state. They’ll find there’s already a well-established organizing effort in place in Iowa — for Hillary Rodham Clinton.

MoveOn.org will hold a meeting Wednesday evening in Des Moines as part of their new “Run Warren Run” campaign. The group is trying to persuade Warren to seek the Democratic nomination in 2016, even though the Massachusetts senator has repeatedly said she is not running.

Brad Anderson, a Democratic consultant who was state director for President Barack Obama in 2012, says Warren’s statements have not gone unnoticed in Iowa. He says, “Iowans are talking about people who have actually expressed an interest in running for the president.”

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Southwest Airlines says it plans to add several new seasonal flights from Omaha’s Eppley Airfield starting next year. Omaha television station KETV reports that Southwest’s daily nonstop seasonal service from Omaha to Los Angeles will resume on June 7, with flights operating through at least Aug. 7th.

To meet increased demand during the spring break travel period, Southwest says it will operate daily nonstop service from Omaha to Orlando from March 7 through April 7. The airline says it will also add a third flight out of Omaha to Phoenix from March 7 through April 7.

Fares and schedules for the new flights can be found on Southwest’s website.

The shotgun deer season is well underway and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is again monitoring for signs of Chronic Wasting Disease in the animals taken by hunters. D-N-R wildlife research supervisor, Willy Suchy, says they’ve been testing for C-W-D since 2002. “We’ve had a couple of positives now, one in a wild herd and a couple in captive situations, so we are doing enhanced surveillance in those areas to see if there’s anything on the landscape that we need to look for,” Suchy says.

The main effort will concentrate on portions of northeast and eastern Iowa near Wisconsin and Illinois, south-central Iowa near Missouri, as well as in Pottawattamie, Cerro Gordo and Buchanan counties. The one positive in the wild population came in Allamakee County in 2013.  “The good news is that we’ve sampled up there for 12 years and this is the first positive. We’ve had over thousand samples within five miles of where this deer was detected, and when we look at the genetics — Iowa State examined it — and it looks likely, you can’t say 100 percent for sure, but it looks likely that it was a Wisconsin deer that actually emigrated into Iowa,” according to Suchy. While C-W-D is fatal to deer, Suchy says it is not a concern for hunters.

“If a deer tests positive, the C-D-C does encourage people to not eat those deer, but there is no proven health risk,” Suchy says. The C-W-D sampling involves removing and testing the brain stem and lymph nodes of the deer. Hunters willing to provide samples may contact a D-N-R regional office to arrange collection. For more information, check the Iowa D-N-R’s website at: www.iowadnr.gov.

(Radio Iowa)

MAPLETON, Iowa (AP) – Authorities in western Iowa say a man faces gun charges after another man was found with a gunshot wound. The Monona County Sheriff’s Office says 22-year-old Joshua Beam was arrested Tuesday night in Mapleton after authorities found a man with a gunshot wound to the head. The wounded man, 22-year-old Eric Franco, was taken to a local health center with non-life-threatening injuries.

Authorities say Beam and Franco consumed alcohol then began to wrestle. Beam is accused of pulling out a handgun and firing several shots. Beam faces several charges, including intimidation with a dangerous weapon and going armed with intent. Court records do not list an attorney.

A fire Tuesday evening at a home in Shenandoah caused at least 10,000 damage. According to reports, the blaze at 309 Sycamore Street was reported at around 7:50-p.m. The first crews arriving on the scene saw fire in the attic upon their arrival.

Fast work by Shenandoah firefighters prevented the flames from spreading to other areas of the home. An electrical problem was thought to be the cause.

Firefighters were on the scene for more than two hours. No injuries were reported.

Nicholas Hunt, Chair of the Cass County Community Foundation, reminds Cass County nonprofit organizations that $105,000 in grant funds are available, and that applications are due no later than February 1, 2015. Detailed application procedures, fact sheets, and a link to the application form can be obtained online at http://omahafoundation.org/swiowa. Applications will only be accepted through the online system. Contact any board member for additional information.

Contact Dennis Nissen at 800-794-3458 if you have any grant application-specific questions. All completed applications will be considered at the March board meeting with notification of results in early April.

Only organizations providing charitable services in Cass County are eligible. They must be able to demonstrate broad community/county support and supply a copy of their 501(c)(3) IRS determination letter. Requests for general operational funds will not be considered.

Brett Irlmeier, Chair of the Audubon County Community Foundation, is reminding Audubon County nonprofit organizations, that $105,000 in grant funds are available. Applications are due no later than February 1st, 2015. Detailed application procedures, fact sheets, and a link to the application form can be obtained online at http://omahafoundation.org/swiowa. Applications will only be accepted through the online system.

Contact Dennis Nissen at 800-794-3458 (or dennis@omahafoundation.org, or Denise Cardos at denise@omahafoundation.org) if you have grant application-specific questions. All completed applications will be considered at the March board meeting with notification of results in early April.

Only organizations providing charitable services in Audubon County are eligible. They must be able to demonstrate broad community/county support and supply a copy of their 501(c)(3) IRS determination letter. Requests for general operational funds will not be considered.

A man from Creston was arrested Tuesday morning on a warrant out of Madison County. Creston Police says 34-year old Nicholas Ryan Ward was taken into custody on the warrant for Theft in the 5th Degree. Ward was later released on $300 bond.