The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports an arrest was made Sunday, in connection with a possible fight in progress involving a knife, in Imogene.  The suspect had fled the scene prior to law enforcement arrival. Deputies determined 35-year old Lyle Stogdill, of Imogene, had been in an altercation with another male and displayed a knife in a threatening manner.

Stogdill was later arrested at a location in Shenandoah, Iowa with the assistance of the Shenandoah Police Department. He was taken into custody for Assault while Displaying a Weapon, Going Armed with Intent, and Domestic Abuse.  No injuries were reported.

Stogdill was being held at the Fremont County Jail, pending further Court Proceedings.

Lyle Stogdill

Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety report that at approximately 12:30-p.m. Sunday, a semi hauling hazardous material was flagged down by a motorist that witnessed a liquid coming from the trailer at the 86mm of Interstate 29. Iowa State Patrol Troopers arrived and accessed the situation. The liquid material was deemed hazardous and the Interstate was shut down both north and south bound. The roadway has since re-opened.

The man who served as Iowa’s 38th Governor has died. Robert D. Ray died Sunday at the age of 89, after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease, according to a statement released by his former Chief of Staff. Ray passed away at a retirement community.

Ray was first elected as Iowa’s governor in 1968, and then served a total of 14 years. He later served as CEO of two insurance firms, one in Cedar Rapids and the other in Des Moines. Then, in the 1990’s, Ray served as the acting mayor of Des Moines and then president of Drake University.

During Ray’s tenure as governor, he expanded funding for k-12 education, led the creation of a merged Department of Transportation, and eliminated the sales tax on food and drugs. He also established the Iowa Energy Policy Council and then-Department of Environmental Quality, both two concepts that were ahead of their time nationally.

Ray will also be known for issuing Executive Orders advancing civil right. He established other big committees and groups while serving as Iowa’s governor, including the Governor’s Economy Committee, a Taste Force on Government Ethics, and the Science Advisory Council.

The funeral service for Gov. Ray is pending, and will be announced shortly.

Gov. Kim Reynolds issued the following statement Sunday on the passing of former Iowa Governor Robert D. Ray: “Governor Ray’s legacy lives on in the millions of people that he impacted as a tremendous statesman for Iowa and our nation. His civility, courage and common-sense governing set a high standard for those who followed. 

“May our prayers and thoughts bring peace to First Lady Billie Ray, her daughters and family at this time.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa agency wants to use inmates to eventually build at least 100 homes a year for low-income individuals around the state, an unusual idea within the expansive prison labor industry that has so far been stalled by a lack of support from lawmakers.

The Iowa Department of Corrections said the program, which was quietly considered but ultimately rejected during the last legislative session, would give inmates work training that could reduce their likelihood of returning to prison once they’re released. The agency believes it could also help alleviate Iowa’s shortage of skilled workers and its lack of affordable housing.

A bill to create the program failed to secure enough support in the Republican-controlled Legislature by missing key deadlines for legislation to advance. It was later added to unrelated budget bills before getting cut. Corrections officials plan to pitch the program again, possibly in the legislative session beginning in January.

The Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission, a voluntary organization of local governments, first pitched the housing program to corrections officials about four years ago, and the idea picked up steam last year. Mike Norris, the commission’s executive director, said the group represents 35 mostly rural communities, many of which struggle with a lack of affordable housing, in part due to inconsistent demand for construction and lower profits.

Corrections officials estimate Iowa inmates would get paid about $1 an hour to participate in the housing program. That’s the same average they’re paid through Iowa Prison Industries, which already oversees inmates who make products and furniture sold to government entities and other approved groups. The division sought up to $2 million to start the program, arguing it would later be self-funded.

If revisited next year and approved, 12 acres of land next to the Newton state prison in central Iowa would become a fenced-in construction zone where prisoners could build single-story 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom homes, according to a Feb. 12 memo between corrections officials. If the program is fully up and running, state officials envision more than 80 inmates from the nearby medium security facility helping to build at least 100 homes annually that can be shipped around the state.

Iowa Prison Industries also wants approval to create a private nonprofit corporation to run the program with a new board of stakeholders — a mix of individuals involved in the homebuilding industry. Some of their paper trail of work on the program would not be subject to Iowa’s open records laws, though the corporation would be required to submit an annual report on its operations and activities.

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds included $1 million for the housing project in budget recommendations she released in January, and an aide said the governor remains supportive of the program. Key lobbying organizations like the Iowa Association of Business and Industry registered against the main bill that would have created the program. Nicole Crain, a senior vice president for ABI, said the association wants to help address affordable housing concerns but doesn’t believe in government competing with the private sector.

Red Oak Police report the arrest at around 2-a.m. today (Sunday), of 40-year old Rodney Dean Klein, Jr., of Red Oak. Klein was taken into custody at the intersection of 5th and Hammond Streets, in Red Oak, for Public Intoxication, and Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana. He was transported to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center, and held on a $1,000 bond.