Officials with the Council Bluffs Police Department today (Monday), report a suspect in the Dec. 30th carjacking incident at the Horseshoe Casino, was arrested Sunday after he turned himself-in on warrants. With assistance from the public the suspect was identified as 51-year old John Edward McAuliffe Jr., of Omaha.  Detectives were able to obtain Arrest Warrants for McAuliffe charging him with Attempted Murder, Robbery 1st Degree and Willful Injury.  McAuliffe remains held in the Pottawattamie County Jail after turning himself-in on the warrants.

John Edward McAuliffe, Jr.

The incident occurred at around 4:45-a.m., December 30th, 2017. Council Bluffs Police and Fire Departments were dispatched to the Horseshoe Casino on that date, for a report of a male party laying in the parking lot who had been shot. It was discovered the male party had been the victim of a robbery / car-jacking in the parking lot. The victim was shot by a suspect as the victim attempted to flee on foot from the vehicle. The suspect fled from the scene with the victim’s vehicle, a gray 2006 Ford F-150 Super-Crew.

The victim was transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. The victim’s vehicle was recovered by the Omaha Police Department in the area of the 2000 block of South 45th St. It had been burned.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa soon will require that ignition interlocks have cameras so drivers required to take breath tests don’t have other people start the drivers’ vehicles. The vehicles would still start, but the drivers could lose their restricted driver’s licenses and be charged with crimes after the ignition interlock company notifies the state that other people blew into the devices.

Patrick Hoye is chief of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, and he told The Des Moines Register that most nearby states already have the requirement. All repeat drunken driving offenders are required to install the devices in Iowa. First-time offenders must install the devices if their blood alcohol figures were higher than 0.10 percent when they were arrested or if they were involved in accidents.

The leader of the Iowa National Guard is suggesting the organization to broaden its outreach, in an effort to attract more recruits from non-military families. Adjutant General Timothy Orr says the Iowa Guard has “maintained its position in personnel readiness,” but recruiting “high-quality men and women” in the future could be a challenge. “With only three out of ten 17 to 24 year-olds eligible today for military service due to various reasons, there’s significant concern among civilian and military leaders about the future of our military and the readiness of our force to defend this nation in the years ahead,” Orr said.

The concern, according to Orr, is driven by the large percentage of U.S. service members who come from military families. “We are effectively creating a class in our society that is carrying the burden for the remainder of the citizens,” Orr said. It’s “critically important,” Orr said, to “broaden the scope” of those serving in the military to include people from different backgrounds. “According to the Department of Defense, since our country ended the draft in 1973, more than 80-percent of our service members come from a family where at least one parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle, sibling or cousin has served, and more than 25-percent of our troops have at least one parent who has served,” Orr said.

The “centerpiece” of recruiting efforts in Iowa, according to Orr, is the Iowa National Guard Education Assistance Program. NGEAP (pronounced NEE-gap) is funded by the state. “This year, more than 1,200 of our members received up to 100-percent tuition paid at the State Regents’ rate to attend Iowa colleges, universities, and community colleges through this program, keeping our young people in the state and providing them with a high-quality Iowa education,” Orr said.

Orr made his comments in his annual Condition of the Guard address last week at the Capitol.

(Radio Iowa)

The City of Harlan is asking citizens to voluntarily utilize off-street parking wherever possible for today, Monday, January 15^th. This will assist the Public Works Department with snow and ice control on city streets.  The City of Harlan appreciates your cooperation.

Creston Police report two, recent arrests. Today (Monday), at around 1:45-a.m., Sebastian Gene Sweat, of Creston, was arrested at a residence in the 400 block of Wyoming Avenue, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Sweat for being held in the Union County Jail on a $300 bond. And, at around 11:30-a.m. Friday, 48-year old Victor Robin Thatcher, of Creston, was arrested at Highway 25 and Russell Street, for Public Intoxication/2nd offense. Thatcher was being held in the Union County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

Authorities said also, a woman residing in the 500 block of N. Birch Street reported Sunday, that someone broke the driver’s side of her vehicle, parked near her residence. The damage was estimated at $150. Later that same day, a woman residing in the 300 block of S. Division St., in Creston, reported that someone took a bottle of prescription medication from her home. The loss was estimated at $50.

WEST BRANCH, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say two crew members were injured when their ambulance flipped while taking a patient to Iowa City. The accident occurred around 3:30 p.m. Sunday on Interstate 80 near West Branch in Cedar County. The Iowa State Patrol says the driver likely lost control of the vehicle on the icy roadway. All three occupants were taken to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and the two crew members already have been released. No names have been released.

The Iowa Department of Human Rights is hosting the annual state Martin Luther King Junior celebration today (Monday). Kim Cheeks of the Department’s Office on the Status of African Americans says the celebration begins at 10:45 at the Des Moines Botantical Center. “It will be our 29th annual celebration commemorating the life and legacy of Doctor Martin Luther King. We will have opening remarks by Governor Kim Reynolds.” Cheeks says the keynote speech will be delivered by Izaah Knox, Executive Director of Urban Dreams. She says the entertainment will feature Julius Brooks, a jazz musician and poet Emmett Phillips.

Cheeks says everyone is invited to attend the event honoring the slain Civil Rights leader. “To remember his values, to remind people of his principles of non-violence and to celebrate the holiday,” Cheeks says. Governor Reynolds will sign a proclamation designating it Martin Luther King Junior Day, and the period of January 14-20th as Martin Luther King Junior Week.

(Radio Iowa)