Police in Council Bluffs arrested a man on a theft charge as well as numerous traffic offenses, following a chase early this (Thursday) morning. 37-year old Jason Byers, of Council Bluffs, faces a charge of Theft in the 2nd Degree in connection with a stolen vehicle. He was being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail.

Authorities says at around 1:30 this (Thursday) morning, Bluffs Police Officers witnessed a stolen vehicle heading east in the area of 32nd St. and 9th Ave. Those Officers lost sight of the vehicle, but a second officer located the vehicle in the area of S. 16th St and 9th Ave. The driver, later identified as Byers, tried to flee the area but was blocked by a train. He wrecked the stolen vehicle in the area of the 1500 block of
15th Ave. and fled on foot.

Officers set a perimeter and requested Omaha K-9 to assist with the search. Omaha K-9 arrived on scene and located Byers hiding in a garage a few houses down from the accident.

Jason Byers

Iowa Congressman Steve King is introducing legislation he says would go a long way toward eliminating abortion nationwide. King, a Republican from Kiron, is calling it “The Heartbeat Bill,” and under it, abortions would be banned once a heartbeat is detected in the unborn child. King says, “It requires any physician that’s planning to conduct an abortion has to check for a heartbeat and maintain records of the checking for that heartbeat.”

King suggests the bill could be a vehicle to overturn Roe versus Wade, the landmark 1973 U-S Supreme Court case which made abortion legal. “If a heatbeat is detected, the baby is protected,” King says. “There’s no penalty against the mother for seeking or having an abortion.” While the woman would be immune from prosecution, King says the doctor would face jailtime. “There is up to a five-year penalty for the provider if they violate the terms of this bill,” King says. “The heartbeat can be detected as early as 16 days.”

King says he has support from several other lawmakers in the House for the bill, The Heartbeat Protection Act of 2017. In a statement, King says: “Since Roe v. Wade was unconstitutionally decided in 1973, nearly 60 million innocent babies’ lives have been ended by the abortion industry, all with a rubber stamp by the federal government. Human life, beginning at the moment of conception, is sacred in all of its forms and today, I introduced a bill that will protect the lives of voiceless innocents.”

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Karla James, Omaha)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa legislators are moving forward with a bill to ban traffic enforcement cameras, despite concerns from police that it could increase crashes. A three-person Senate Judiciary subcommittee unanimously approved legislation Wednesday that would remove traffic enforcement cameras from Iowa roadways. It now moves to the full Judiciary Committee. Several Iowa police chiefs oppose the bill. Urbandale Republican Sen. Brad Zaun, who filed the bill, says he thinks governments primarily use the cameras to generate revenue. He says they also violate motorists’ right to due process.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A charity controlled by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has disclosed the names of donors who collectively gave $1 million toward 2015 events celebrating his tenure in office, two months after missing a deadline for doing so. The filing reveals that 68 Iowa companies, lobbying groups or individuals gave $5,000 or more for events celebrating Branstad’s inauguration to a sixth term and his achievement of becoming the nation’s longest-serving governor. The late filing could bring IRS penalties.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A former Iowa fire academy official has been charged with making up scores on tests that were used to improperly certify more than 1,700 firefighters and emergency responders. A criminal complaint alleges that former Fire Services Training Bureau certification manager John McPhee assigned “random scores to exams” without properly checking or correcting them. The Iowa Department of Public Safety says bureau issued nearly 2,300 improper certifications between 2012 and 2016.

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) — Muscatine officials are studying the feasibility of building a container port facility on the Mississippi River. The Muscatine Journal reports the study is funded by a state grant and a matching fund from Kent Corp. The Muscatine Community Development Office is expected to conclude the study in a few weeks. At a League of Women Voters event Tuesday, Dave Gobin of the MCDO says the port will divert truck and rail traffic from the highway to the river, benefiting the region economically.

CRESCENT, Iowa (AP) — School district officials recommend closing Crescent Elementary at the end of the 2016-2017 school year due to declining enrollment. The Daily Nonpareil reports the Council Bluffs Community School District board will hear a presentation on the potential closing on Feb. 14. Superintendent Martha Bruckner says the school is too small and only half full. Crescent Mayor Brian Shea says the move “pulls the guts out of the town.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Members of a legislative panel say they need more information before taking action on a bill that would prohibit people from using food stamps to buy soda or other carbonated beverages. The bill introduced by Sen. Amy Sinclair, a Republican from Wayne, would prohibit people from using food stamps to buy carbonated beverages.

Such efforts have been launched elsewhere to prevent food stamp recipients from buying soda or other junk food, but legislators say the Iowa proposal was intended to stop the purchase of containers that could be returned for a recycling deposit.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa called the legislation an overreach by the government to control purchases by low-income Iowa families. The three-member panel opted Wednesday to review more information before taking action on the proposal.

A former employee with Iowa’s Fire Service Training Bureau (FSTB) is facing charges after investigators say he improperly issued more than 22-hundred (2,200) fire safety certifications.

John McPhee

John McPhee, who worked as the FSTB Certification and Accreditation Coordinator, had been placed on paid administrative leave in April. Kyle Gorsh, State Fire Marshal Special Agent in charge, says he’s not sure why McPhee allegedly issued to false certifications over a four year period. “I don’t think we have an answer to that,” Gorsh said. “We’re not quite sure what the motive was behind that.”

Randal Novak, former chief for the state Fire Training Services Bureau, was also placed on paid administrative leave in April. He retired about a month later after 15 years in the position. Novak is NOT facing charges. “There has only been sufficient evidence to file charges on John McPhee. We have no other evidence to file charges on anyone else,” Gorsh said.

The improper certifications were issued to 1,706 firefighters and emergency personnel across Iowa between February 2012 and February 2016.  “We are in the process of notifying all the affected firefighters across the state, as well as their fire departments,” Gorsh said. “We will be providing free refresher courses and training opportunities over the next several months to provide opportunities for them to retest and to earn their certification.”

The fire safety certifications are not required by state or federal law, but many fire departments require them. “A certification is just something that shows that you have received training and you have passed a test to meet a certain standard,” Gorsh said. “That certification is often recognized between states through accreditation. So, if you are a certified ‘firefighter one’ in the state of Iowa, that might be recognized in a different state if they are accredited through the same accreditation entities that we are.”

McPhee is charged with felonious misconduct in office and tampering with records. He turned himself in to the Story County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday. Gorsh said the state’s Fire Service Training Bureau is now using a third party testing service.

(Radio Iowa)

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a Harrison County man was sentenced Wednesday to prison for sex trafficking minors. 47-year old John F. Thomsen, of Missouri Valley, was sentenced to nearly 19 1/2 years in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor for sex, and for transporting a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity. Thomsen will also be required to serve 15 years of supervised release after his prison term.

Thomsen pleaded guilty to the two counts on September 1st, 2016. The guilty pleas and sentencing were the result of an investigation into the transportation of minor females from Arkansas to Missouri Valley, so the minors could engage in sexual acts. The investigation showed Thomsen had met a 14-year-old female while working at a group home in Arkansas. After leaving his group home employment, Thomsen used social media to keep in contact with the minor female and convince her to live with him, and his wife, Trudy Thomsen, in Missouri Valley.

The Thomsens traveled to Arkansas and drove the minor to Missouri Valley, Iowa, where the Thomsens engaged in various sexual acts with the girl. After the minor was returned to the group home, John Thomsen again contacted her via social media and arranged to have her, and a second minor female, transported back to Missouri Valley, for sexual activities.

Co-defendant Trudy Thomsen is pending sentencing in the Southern District of Iowa. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Task Force, Arkansas State Police, Missouri Valley Police Department, Council Bluffs Police Department, Omaha Police Department, La Vista Police Department, and the Harrison County Attorney’s Office. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.