The Clarinda Police Department is keeping busy these days, investigating reported incidents of theft. Chief Keith Brothers says on Wednesday, November 7^th, the Kum & Go Convenience store in Clarinda reported a gas drive off amounting to just over $35. That same day, Clarinda resident Michael Foster reported the theft of a Lenox 3 ton air conditioning unit and 4 bin stainless steel buffet table from the rear of a business owned by Foster located at 215 South 16^th Street. The loss was estimated at $3,800.

On Monday, November 5^th, Mikayla Westover, of Clarinda reported to Police that a 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier she owned had been tampered with while the vehicle was parked in the 300 block on N. 11^th Street. Officials say it appeared a white granular substance had been poured into the gas tank. The incident occurred sometime during November 2-5^th.  There is no damage estimate available. Also on Monday, Rodney Johnston, of Clarinda reported that a chainsaw and case valued at $250was stolen from the bed of Johnston’s truck while it was parked in the Hy-Vee Food Store parking lot.

And, on Saturday, November 3^rd, Griff Taylor, of New Market, reported his identity had been fraudulently used at the Akin Building Center in Clarinda to purchase approximately $2,700 of building and construction supplies.

All of the incidents remain under investigation by the Clarinda Police Department, with the Page County Sheriff’s Department  assisting in the identity theft investigation.

Republican Congressman Steve King says he is not optimistic those who share his viewpoint on “traditional” marriage will prevail. Voters in Maine, Maryland and Minnesota all voted to support same-sex marriage and an Iowa Supreme Court justice who participated in the 2009 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa was retained. King says that likely means same-sex marriage is here to stay. “That’s, I think, the kind of prediction that we can expect from looking at these results around the country,” King says. “Here in Iowa, there’s not going to be a vote on it that I can see and if that’s the case and another two years go by, I would never say never…but it doesn’t look very optimistic for people who believe in traditional marriage as I do.”

King supports the “Defense of Marriage Act” — a 1996 federal law that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman. King says he’s not sure that law would be upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. “Justice Roberts has delivered us a decision on ObamaCare that will forever cause us to wonder and speculate as to how he might come down,” King says, “and he right now is the swing vote on the Supreme Court.” King has been a frequent and vocal opponent of “ObamaCare” — calling for it to be “pulled up by the roots” and repealed. But Barack Obama’s victory this past Tuesday means King now is exploring options like trying to “shut down” federal funding to implement parts of ObamaCare and encouraging states to balk at some of the provisions.

“I’m not sure any of that can get done. I want to look at all of those options, but it looks to me like the people in America voted for dependency,” King says, “not only dependency with regard to health care, but dependency with regard to believing that government is going to take more and better care of them and they’re going to ask somebody else to pay the bill rather than themselves.” King made his comments during taping of the “Iowa Press” program that airs at 7:30 tonight (Friday) on Iowa Public Television.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

Firefighters from Elliott, Griswold and Red Oak were called to the scene of a residential structure fire Thursday afternoon, about one-mile north and three-miles east of Elliott. The fire was reported at the Nick and Kelly Kinser residence, at around 1:45-p.m. Elliott Fire Chief Dave Reynolds told KJAN News contrary to early dispatch reports, the home at 2402 100th Street, was not fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. He said there was some damage to a bedroom and its contents, while the rest of the house sustained heat and smoke damage. No dollar estimate of the damage was available.

Crews remained on the scene for about 90-minutes. No one was home at the time the fire broke out, and none of the firefighters were injured. Reynolds said he’s 99-percent sure the fire was electrical in nature. He appeared to be leaning toward and electric blanket as the culprit. He said when they arrived the home’s smoke detectors were going-off, which is something they don’t often see anymore.

Reynolds wanted to express his thanks to the Griswold Fire Department, which brought a tanker and pumper truck to the scene, and the Red Oak Fire Department, for its assistance as well.

The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency, Thursday (Nov. 8th), reduced the grassland and field Fire Danger Index to “Low.” The threat of rapidly spreading fires due to outdoor burning of timber and other materials will remain low, due in-part to precipitation that’s expected across the area over the weekend.

SAC CITY, Iowa (AP) – The skeletal remains found buried in the basement of a Sac City home are those of a man last seen three years ago.

Mark Koster

Sac City Police Chief John Thomsen says the state medical examiner’s office used dental records to confirm the identity as Mark Koster. He was listed as a missing person in 2010. His family reported he was last seen in May 2009.

Koster who was 58, was the prior owner of the home and had been living with an unknown man about three months before he disappeared. Police are investigating the death. No one had lived in the house after Koster disappeared and family members sold the house in May.

The new homeowner was remodeling the basement and found the buried remains.

The Atlantic Police Department says one person suffered minor, possible injuries during a collision Wednesday evening between a van and an SUV. Officials say Morgan Munsey, of Atlantic complained of injuries to his wrist following the accident, which happened at around 6:45-p.m., at the intersection of 7th and Poplar Streets. Munsey was checked out by a Medivac Ambulance crew but did not require transport to the hospital.

The P-D says a 1999 Plymouth Voyager van driven by Blake Zweck, of Atlantic, was traveling west through the intersection when his vehicle was hit by Munsey’s 2002 Ford Escape, as it was traveling north and attempting to turn left onto Poplar. Munsey was cited for Failure to Yield upon making a left turn. Damage from the collision amounted to $12,000.

Two men were arrested Wednesday afternoon in Pottawattamie County, in connection with the theft of metal from private property. Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker told KJAN News the men were taken into custody following an investigation that resulted from a call his office received at around 1:30-p.m. about a suspicious brown pickup truck with two people inside, in the vicinity of 145^th Street and Sandy Loop, or about five-miles northwest of Crescent. Danker says a deputy responded and found a man cutting up old farm implements with a torch. When the man was questioned, he claimed he had been dropped off by his boss, and was cutting up the metal to take to scrap metal dealers in Omaha. He said he’d been doing working on the site for several days. Another deputy located the driver of the pickup, and brought him back to the scene.

Danker says when deputies contacted the owners of the property and implements, they said no one had permission to be on their land or to cut up the implements. Both men were subsequently taken into custody. The man who was allegedly doing the cutting, was identified as 52-year old Terry Kelly, from Omaha. He was charged with Theft in the 2^nd degree, Burglary in the 3^rd degree, Criminal Mischief in the 2^nd degree, and Possession of Burglary Tools. The driver of the pickup, 47-year old John Gundersen, of Missouri Valley, was charged with Driving while Barred, and Theft in the 5^th degree. Both men were brought to the Pottawattamie County Jail and held on $10,000 bond each, in association with the 2^nd degree Theft charge.

A Council Bluffs man who was injured when he crashed his motorcycle Wednesday, says the accident happened as he was trying to get away from a tailgating motorist. 22-year old Keith Fisher told Council Bluffs Police investigators a vehicle was following him a little too closely and it made him uncomfortable. Fisher was driving a 1984 Honda motorcycle northbound on North Broadway shortly after 4 p.m., when a vehicle came up behind him.

Fisher told authorities he tried to speed up to pull away from the vehicle, but the car kept closing on his cycle. When he sped-up to increase the distance between the vehicles, Fisher lost control of his cycle, which slid on its left side down the road. Fisher suffered abrasions on his arms and legs during the crash. He was transported by Council Bluffs Fire and Rescue to Jennie Edmundson Hospital, where he was treated for his injuries and released. There were no citations issued.

The drought conditions this year have hurt crops and damaged some lawns, but the situation allowed Iowa road construction crews to finish projects weeks in advance. Mark Bortle, with the Iowa Department of Transportation, says the reconstruction of a six-and-a-half mile stretch of Interstate 380 in Waterloo — for example — was completed one month ahead of schedule. “A lot of our other projects, because they haven’t had rain delays, have been completed,” Bortle said. “In a normal year, we’re trying to get them buttoned up at this time. This season, because of the dry weather, we’ve been able to get ’em buttoned up in October as opposed to early November.”

Road crews not only benefited from the drought this summer, they were able to begin work in early March rather than late April because of the milder than usual Winter. “We basically gained a month on the Spring end and a month on the Fall end with the good weather,” Bortle said. Many contractors have requested they be allowed to start on major projects that aren’t even slated to begin until next year. The DOT has denied most of those requests to avoid impacting traffic over the winter.

“We don’t want to get into a situation where we’re partly ready to go and not being able to get (the road) in a safe condition,” Bortle said. “So, most of the contracts that’ve been let this Fall with start dates of next Spring we haven’t allowed them to start early because of the uncertainty of the weather conditions.” Through the end of September, the Iowa DOT had spent $435 million dollars on road construction projects this year. Bortle said that compares to just $340 million over the same period last year and it’s a direct result of the dry weather.

(Radio Iowa)