Police in Council Bluffs are looking for a man who allegedly robbed a bank Friday morning. Sgt. Chad Meyers said officers were called to the Bank of the West, located at 531 30th Avenue, at around 11:30-a.m.  Meyers said a white man – who appeared to be in his 30s – entered the bank, approached a the teller counter and demanded money. The suspect left with an undetermined amount of money and fled the bank eastbound on foot toward a nearby Office Max.

Bank robbery suspect. (Photo from surveillance camera, courtesy Council Bluffs P-D)

The suspect was described as being as 5-feet 9-inches tall, and about 160 pounds. He had facial hair on his chin, wore a black leather jacket, light blue shirt, light blue pants, a black stocking cap, yellow or tan gloves and dark rimmed glasses. The man did not display a weapon.

Anyone with information about the robbery is urged to call the Council Bluffs Police Department at (712) 328-5737.

An election misconduct charge was filed today (Friday) by Pottawattamie County Attorney Matthew Wilber in a potential case of voter fraud. A charge of election misconduct in the 1st degree was filed against Margarita Abrego, of Denison, on December 20, 2013. Abrego is accused of registering to vote and voting in the December 4, 2012 special election regarding a bond issue for Iowa Western Community College while being a non-citizen.

Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz said “I want to thank County Attorney Wilber for taking election integrity seriously. Every vote cast by ineligible voters cancels out the legitimate vote of eligible Iowans. Each vote can make a big difference and Iowans expect nothing less than fair and honest elections.”

The Iowa Secretary of State’s office referred the potential voter fraud cases to Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) to investigate. After the investigation, DCI then referred the potential voter fraud cases to Wilber for prosecution.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Las Vegas company that owns casinos in four states including Iowa, says a data breach has compromised customer credit and debit card information. Affinity Gaming said Friday that its system was infected with malware that compromised card data from customers at its 11 casinos, including five in Nevada, three in Colorado, two in Missouri and the Lakeside Casino in Osceola, Iowa.

The company recommends that customers who visited the casinos between March 14 and Oct. 16 check their card statements for suspicious activity and put a fraud alert on their accounts. Affinity also announced a separate breach at Primm Center Gas Station, located in Primm, Nev., near the California state line. Company officials say skimmers that read card data were placed on three gas pumps on an unknown date. The situation was cleared Nov. 29.

EARLY, Iowa (AP) — Two men died and another was injured when the minivan they were riding in crashed near the western Iowa city of Early. The Sac County Sheriff’s Office says the crashed happened just before 5 a.m. Friday on U.S. Highway 20 west of Early when the driver of a minivan lost control. The vehicle entered the median and then started to roll.

The driver and a backseat passenger were killed. A front seat passenger was taken to a Storm Lake Hospital and was in critical condition Friday. The sheriff’s office didn’t release the names of those involved until relatives could be notified.

Slick roads don’t appear to have been a factor in the crash.

Sheriff’s officials in Mills County report the arrest Thursday evening of a Malvern man. 34-year old Justin Andrew Hooker was arrested on Main Street in Malvern at around 5:30-p.m. He was charged with Public Intoxication and Interference with Official Acts. Hooker was being held in the Mills County Jail on $600 bond.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A jury has cleared four Woodbury County jailers of a charge that they used excessive force after an inmate refused to change into jail-issued clothing. The Sioux City Journal reports the verdict Thursday was surprising because jurors had earlier sent a note to U.S. District Judge Mark W. Bennett, asking about the upper limit of monetary judgments. After the jury sided with the jailers, Bennett  exclaimed, “Wow, what a surprise.”

Shannon Peters had claimed officers Jonathon Hatfield, Michelle Risdal, Lee Blanchard and Carlos Lucero used excessive force in retaliation for her refusal to remove her clothing and change into a jail jumpsuit. That prompted officers to forcefully remove her clothes. Peters claims officers slammed her head against a concrete bunk but the jailers say they used proper force.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa Supreme Court justice has temporarily blocked a district court judge’s ruling that suspended the gambling license of a casino under construction in Sioux City.    The Sioux City Journal reports that Justice Brent Appel on Thursday granted an emergency stay of Polk County District Court Judge Robert Hanson’s Dec. 10 ruling suspending the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino license.  The company building the casino has spent $44 million on construction and says stopping it now amounts to an unconstitutional taking of property.

Argosy riverboat casino owners sued the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission after the commission licensed the Hard Rock casino in April instead one proposed by Argosy’s owners.  Attorneys in the case must file arguments by noon Tuesday and the Supreme Court with further review the case.

Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green reports the arrest of a local man on numerous charges connected with an investigation into thefts from the Atlantic School District. 61-year old Samuel Miller, of Atlantic, faces 17 charges, including: Possession of stolen property; Burglary in the 3rd degree; A drug tax stamp violation; 3 counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance (PCS)/2nd offense; Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, 2nd offense; PCS/Methamphetamine (2nd offense), and 8 counts of unlawful possession of a prescription pill. Miller was being held in the Cass County Jail.

Chief Green says the incident which led to Miller’s arrest was reported Wednesday to the Police Department. Video evidence resulted in the execution of a search warrant at Miller’s home at 611 West 6th Street, Apt. 4, in Atlantic. During the search, evidence in the theft report was recovered, along with numerous narcotics and items believed to have been taken during previous thefts. Quantities of both new and used copper wire believed to have been stolen were also found in the apartment.

Police are in the process of contacting persons and contractors with regard to the recovered items. Any person or entity who have had any items stolen from the Atlantic School District, are encouraged to contact the A-PD to make additional theft reports.

Green says to his knowledge, Miller was an independent contractor handling painting jobs for the School District over the past several years. Superintendent Mike Amstein was unavailable for comment about that, Friday morning.

CLASS 1-A (Record through 12/17/13)

1. Alburnett 8-2
2. Don Bosco 10-0
3. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 7-1
4. Woodbury Central 8-0
5. Wilton 7-1
6. Lisbon 7-2
7. West Marshall 4-0
8. Southeast Warren 10-0
9. South Central Calhoun 11-3
10. Audubon 8-1
11. Clarion-Goldfield 3-0
12. Ogden 7-1
13. Logan-Magnolia 5-1
14. Riverside 7-0
15. Maquoketa Valley 11-0
16. Iowa Valley 5-0

CLASS 2-A (Record through 12/17/13)

1. Davenport Assumption 5-1
2. Mediapolis 4-1
3. Albia 6-0
4. West Delaware 6-2
5. Creston/Orient-Macksburg 6-0
6. Humboldt 12-0
7. Osage 6-0
8. Clear Lake 11-1
9. Independence 3-0
10. Sergeant Bluff-Luton 6-0
11. Union 5-0
12. Grinnell 10-1
13. Charles City 2-4
14. Webster City 6-2
15. Dubuque Wahlert 12-2
16. Ballard 5-2

CLASS 3-A (Record through 12/17/13)

1. Southeast Polk 7-0
2. Bettendorf 5-2
3. Waverly-Shell Rock 3-0
4. Cedar Rapids Prairie  7-1
5. Linn-Mar 5-2
6. Iowa City West 5-3
7. North Scott 8-1
8. Pleasant Valley 4-0
9. Cedar Rapids Jefferson 4-0
10. West Des Moines Valley  2-1
11. Mason City 7-4
12. Dowling Catholic 8-2
13. Western Dubuque 6-2
14. Fort Dodge 2-2
15. Dubuque Hempstead 2-2
16. Clinton 1-4

Officials at Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan have approved a corrective action plan for the Petersen Family Wellness Center. A press release says the hospital became aware of problems with the building performance since the early part of 2011. The board of trustees has been collaborating with the architect, construction manager and two of the contractors along with consultants to understand the source of these problems and develop a corrective action plan.

The problems are related to the pre-engineered building envelope that has resulted in unusually high utility costs due to the lack of an effective insulation system. The mediation process resulted in a preliminary agreement approved by the Myrtue board of trustees at their meeting this (Friday) morning.

The board agreed to a cash settlement payment to the hospital of $650,000. A final agreement is expected by the middle of January. The construction at the Petersen Family Wellness Center is planned for late spring or early summer of 2014.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)