A single-vehicle, rollover accident Sunday night in southern Polk County claimed the life of a central Iowa man and resulted in injuries to a woman. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 2003 Toyota Sequoia, driven by 41-year Aisha Rucker, of Des Moines, was traveling east on Highway 5 a little after 8-p.m. and crossing the bridge over Highway 28, when the SUV went out of control on the icy bridge deck.

The vehicle entered the south ditch and rolled several times, where it came to rest to rest in a gore between eastbound Highway 5 and the on-ramp to northbound 28. Aisha Rucker, who was wearing a seat belt, was transported by West Des Moines Ambulance to Methodist Hospital. Her passenger, 18-year old Malik Allen Rucker, of Des Moines, was transported by Norwalk Ambulance to Methodist, where he died from his injuries.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT

PLEASANT HILL, Iowa (AP) — With school shootings a regular occurrence, educators across the country are learning techniques to help victims survive by stemming blood loss. A Connecticut doctor who treated children killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in 2012 helped launch the effort, dubbed Stop the Bleed. The nonprofit program has spread to all 50 states, with more than 125,000 teachers, counselors and school administrators learning skills such as applying direct pressure, packing wounds and applying tourniquets.

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal prosecutor who helped convict former Illinois Gov. George Ryan of corruption has been named the new director for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s nine-state region based out of Chicago. The agency that regulates the securities sector and enforces securities laws announced Joel R. Levin’s appointment in a Thursday statement. He’ll start next month and oversee hundreds of employees in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — As the Iowa Legislature nears an unofficial target for adjournment, lawmakers still are working on key tasks such as approving a state budget and providing details on promised tax cuts. Republicans control both chambers and are working privately to come up with spending targets for this year’s state budget. Legislative leaders on Thursday indicated they are close on dollar figures.

RULO, Neb. (AP) — A Native American tribe has regained ownership of river bluffs, hardwood forest and tall grass prairie along the Missouri River through an agreement with the Nature Conservancy of Nebraska. The Omaha World-Herald reports that the conservancy recently transferred 160 acres (65 hectares) of Richardson County bluff land to the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska. The tribe and the conservancy agreed to a conservation easement, which prevents development incompatible with the land’s ecological value.

Red Oak Police, Sunday afternoon, arrested 52-year old Julie Ann Biggerstaff, of Red Oak, on a felony drug charge. She was taken into custody at around 2:36-p.m. for Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Deliver, which is a Class “B” felony. Authorities say they seized 22.88-grams of meth after Biggerstaff was pulled over, during a routine traffic stop. She was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail, pending an appearance before a magistrate.

A fiery accident involving an SUV this (Sunday) morning in Fremont County, has resulted in a death. According to the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office emergency crews and law enforcement responded at around 4:30-a.m., to a single vehicle accident that happened in the 3800 block of Iowa Highway 2.

Upon arrival, they found a 2007 Jeep that exited the south side of the roadway and struck a tree. The vehicle was also fully engulfed in flames. One person was found deceased inside the vehicle after the fire was extinguished.

Authorities say an autopsy will be performed by the Office of the State Medical Examiner in Ankeny. The identity of the victim and the cause of death will not be released until the autopsy is complete.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Shenandoah Police, along with Farragut and Shenandoah Rescue.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa lawmakers are supposed to be rounding the last corner of the legislative session as an unofficial adjournment date approaches, but Republicans who control the Legislature haven’t finalized key steps including approving a state budget or explaining how they’ll deliver promised tax cuts. Republican leaders have been working privately to come up with spending targets that lawmakers will use to craft the next state budget. Legislative leaders indicated Thursday they were close on dollar figures.

It’s unclear how long lawmakers will remain at the Capitol. Their reimbursement for daily expenses ends April 17, and that’s traditionally the target for concluding the session. This year, many legislators are eager to hit the campaign trail for midterm elections. Rep. Chris Hall, a Sioux City Democrat and ranking member of the House’s top budget committee, worried key decisions could happen too quickly.

Lawmakers approved, after mid-year cuts, a roughly $7.2 billion budget for the spending year that ends in June. A budget forecasting panel recently predicted the state was on pace to have about $7.5 billion for the budget that begins July 1. What the Legislature will do with that anticipated increased revenue remains unclear.

Republicans have long promised changes to Iowa’s tax system, including tax cuts.
For people like Iowa State University senior Cody Smith, tax cuts make no sense. Gov. Reynolds approved more than $35 million in mid-year budget reductions last month. Last session, lawmakers approved about $118 million in cuts to the fiscal year 2017 budget. The state also borrowed $141 million from emergency funds last year.

The Iowa Board of Regents, which oversees the state’s three public universities, announced last week it would raise tuition because of declining state funding. Smith said the Legislature’s reduced funding makes higher education less affordable, leading many to leave Iowa for other opportunities.

Jason Bardsley, a state patrol trooper in western Iowa, said tight budgets already mean the state has as few as five officers on duty overnight. He said the state should work to replenish staffing levels. On Monday, lawmakers will hold a public hearing on Gov. Kim Reynolds’ plan to cut personal income taxes. The plan was announced in February but a final version still isn’t available. Reynolds and other Republicans also have said they would consider cutting corporate tax rates.

Amid the budget talk, local officials are closely watching Republican proposals to reduce or eliminate “backfill” payments to local governments. Those payments, which total $152 million a year, replace lost funding from the Legislature’s 2013 tax cuts for commercial and industrial property owners. Rep. Pat Grassley, a New Harford Republican who helped advance a bill to reduce backfill payments, said the issue isn’t tied to this year’s proposed tax cuts. But, Grassley said, the state can’t afford to keep funneling more money into local coffers.

Another possible thorn in state budget talks is an escalating dispute between the United States and China. The countries are in a back-and-forth over tariffs on products like soybeans, pork and ethanol. Reynolds indicated her staff was tracking the possible impact to Iowa’s budget priorities if the state’s agricultural industry faces a risk of significant losses.

(Corrects headline to delete “sentenced” & replace with “found guilty“)  — Cass County Attorney Michael Hooper reports an Audubon County man was found guilty during a Cass County trial last week, of two felony counts Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree. 51-year old Tim Smith faces a prison sentence of twenty-five years, with a mandatory term of incarceration of seventeen and a half years before he is eligible for parole. Sentencing is scheduled for June 11, 2018. Hooper says “Because these charges are what we call forcible felonies, Smith must be sentenced to prison and is not eligible for probation. The only real decision for the Court at sentencing on June 11th is whether Smith’s sentences will be ordered to run concurrent or consecutive. Meaning, Smith will be either sentenced to twenty-five years or fifty years in prison.”

Tim Smith

On November 30, 2017, Tim Smith was charged in Audubon County with one Count of Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree. The next day, on December 1, 2017, he was charged in Cass County with one count of Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree, both being Class B Felonies. On March 13, 2018, the cases were consolidated for trial, meaning Smith would stand trial in both counties at the same time. Pretrial motions were heard by the Court this last Monday and trial started Tuesday morning after a lengthy jury selection process lasting most of the day on Tuesday. Evidence was presented by the State showing that Tim Smith sexually abused a child under the age of 12 at different times in both counties. The case was submitted to the jury around noon on Thursday and a verdict was reached thirty minutes later.

Due to the fact that the case was submitted to the jury during the noon hour, the Clerk of Court had ordered pizza for the jury to eat during their deliberation process. Hooper said “The jury reached their decision so quickly, I can only imagine how much faster it would have been had we not ordered them pizza.”

The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office reports a Clearfield man, 32-year old William Ray Webb, was arrested Saturday, at the intersection of Quail Avenue and 170th street. Webb was charged with Operating While Intoxicated (1st Offense), and was being held at the Taylor County Jail on a $1,000 bond.