DAYTON, Iowa (AP) – Police say a man they believe abducted two girls from a bus stop in central Iowa has been found dead, and one of the girls remains missing.  Authorities say the body of 42-year-old Michael Klunder was found Monday night at a rural property northeast of Dayton. His cause of death has not been released.
 
Police continue to search Tuesday for 15-year-old Kathlynn Shepard.

Kathlynn Shepard

She and a 12-year-old girl were taken from a Dayton bus stop Monday. Police say they believe Klunder lured the girls into his truck under false pretenses.  The 12-year-old later escaped and was found when she walked out of woods near a farmhouse in Boone County.
 
Federal, state and local law enforcement as well as volunteers are now searching for the 15-year-old.

Two motorcyclists were injured during separate accidents late last week, in Mills County. Sheriff’s Officials say Scott Rodgers, of Hastings, was transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center Friday night by Malvern Rescue, after the 1998 Harley Davidson cycle he was driving at a high rate of speed, went out of control as it approached a curve on Merrill Road, about 5-miles southwest of Hastings.  And, Saturday evening, Jeffrey Fink, of Silver City was flown by Life Flight to Creighton Medical Center after the 1979 Harley Davidson he was driving went out of control after he left a bar in Pacific Junction. Fink’s cycle slid on its side into the rear of a parked vehicle, pinning him under the vehicle. The accident happened at around 8:40-p.m., Saturday.

And, on Monday, Loren Mayer, of Tabor, was transported by Tabor Rescue to Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs, after the 1997 Chevy he was driving entered a ditch and rolled onto its side at around 10:35-a.m.  The accident happened on Rains Avenue, about 5-miles northeast of Tabor, after Mayer swerved to miss a dog on the road.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest on Saturday, of 20-year old James Dale Ahrens, Jr., of Council Bluffs. Ahrens, Jr. was charged with Trespassing, and, he was wanted on warrants out of Fremont County for Failure to Appear and in Council Bluffs, for Felony Vehicle Theft. Ahrens, Jr. was taken into custody at aroun 2:45-p.m. and held on $10,300 bond. Early that same morning,  23-year old Johnathan Charles Christie, of Omaha, was arrested in Mills County on a charge of Public Intoxication. His bond was set at $300.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest at around 9-p.m. Monday of an Exira man. 38-year old Jesse Lee Archibald was taken into custody on charges of eluding, driving while suspended and Open Container, following a traffic stop on Highway 71. Archibald was brought to the Audubon County Jail and released, after appearing before a magistrate.

w/ Ric Hanson

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Authorities in Montgomery County are on the lookout for a man who took a large tv from a local store without paying for it. Officials say they received a report at around 11:00 a.m. Monday, about a theft at the Kmart store in Red Oak. The suspect, a white male described as wearing a white “Tapout” t-shirt, and who had tattoos running down his right arm, ran out the back door of the store, carrying a 42″ RCA TV.

The suspect got into a red 2-door sporty car and was last seen in the area of Highway 48 and 34. A partial license place on the vehicle read AG 18. Anyone with information about the crime should contact the Montgomery County Sheriff’s office at 623-5107.

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson….

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Authorities in Montgomery County say a Red Oak woman was arrested Monday afternoon on a theft charge. The Red Oak Police Department reports 33-year old Becky Jo Hegarty was taken into custody at the Red Oak Fareway store on a charge of Theft in the 5th degree, after allegedly taking a purse that did not belong to her. Hegarty was being held Monday in the Montgomery County Jail on $300 bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad says he’s ready to work on a compromise plan for how Iowa delivers health care to low-income residents. Branstad has opposed expanding the Medicaid program in the state, proposing an alternate plan called Healthy Iowa. But he now says he would consider taking the federal funds offered for expansion, if there was a guarantee that the state wouldn’t get stuck with the bill if federal funding declines.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A plaza in downtown Des Moines is getting a new name more than 30 years after it opened. The Des Moines Register reports that groups taking the lead in renovating Nollen Plaza announced yesterday they would change the name to Cowles Commons. The name honors the Gardner and Florence Call Cowles Foundation, which is the largest donor toward a planned $9 million renovation of the large space at Locust and Third streets.

STORM LAKE, Iowa (AP) — Two toddlers have survived falling about 15 feet from an apartment building in Storm Lake. Storm Lake Police announced yesterday that the children, ages 2 and 4, pressed against a window screen in their apartment unit on the second floor and fell.

Authorities in Harrison County report one person was killed after they were hit by a train Monday afternoon, According to the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, authorities were dispatched to Union Pacific Railroad tracks east of the Blair, Neb., bridge shortly after 2 p.m. The individual, whose identity was not released, was pronounced dead at the scene. An investigation into the accident continues.
Officials say the 110 car train was carrying freight from California to Chicago when it hit the pedestrian shortly after crossing the Missouri River into Iowa.