Authorities have charged an Iowa man with two counts of first-degree murder in the ambush shooting deaths of two police officers. The Des Moines Police Department said that 46-year-old Scott Michael Greene was put under arrest Thursday afternoon after being questioned by detectives.

The department says that Greene was put into the handcuffs that had belonged to the officers who were killed, Sgt. Anthony Beminio and Urbandale officer Justin Martin. Greene is expected to be transported to the county jail. He faces life in prison if convicted. Greene was arrested after being released from the hospital and questioned by investigators.

Beminio, 38, and Martin, 24, were shot after 1 a.m. Wednesday while sitting in their patrol cars in separate incidents less than 2 miles apart. Police say they have recovered a rifle that was believed to be used in the shootings.

Officials with the Atlantic Police Department and Richter and Sons Towing are asking for your help in finding a trucker who hasn’t been seen or heard from since Monday. 66-year old James “Jim” Stirek was last seen Monday afternoon in St. Mary’s, Ohio. His last fuel destination was Newton.

Jim Stirek (Commercial Driver’s license photo)

Stirek was driving a 2005 Peterbilt semi (truck #T-150), pulling a Great Dane trailer (#TT-109). The tractor is pinkish or salmon in color. The trailer is white with a purple reefer (refrigerator unit). The truck’s license plate is VB 9374. The trailer has plate # VB9375.

Stirek always travels with his golden retriever, and usually wears western-style shirts and blue jeans. He has no known health problems. If you know where he is, call the Atlantic Police Department at 712-243-3512.

The Glenwood Police Department reports a Mills County man was arrested on drug charges, Wednesday. 37-year old Jeremy Erickson, of Malvern, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of drug paraphernalia, and driving while revoked. Erickson was being held in the Mills County Jail on $6,300 bond.

And, 55-year old Ray Radican, of Glenwood, was arrested today (Thursday), for Domestic abuse assault. He was being held in the Mills County Jail without bond, pending an appearance before a magistrate.

The latest report on state finances shows state tax collections are “slightly” running ahead of last year, by less than one percent. Jeff Robinson, senior fiscal analyst for the Legislative Services Agency. says “Net receipts for the month of October totalled $434.8 million, a modest $3.1 million and 0.7 percent increase compared to last October.”

Over the past four months, total tax payments to the state are up nearly, but not quite one percent. “This year’s positive drivers for revenue growth have been individual income tax withholding payments, up 5.2 percent, and sales tax, up 3.2 percent,” Robinson says. “Both indicate that the underlying Iowa economy continues to expand.”

However, income tax refunds have been higher than officials had expected, plus adjustments to corporate income taxes and franchise taxes have been “a drag” on overall tax collections, according to Robinson. The state’s fiscal year began July 1. State officials have projected net state tax revenue to increase by five-point-six percent over the previous year.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Small Town Poll will be mailed out soon and everyone who gets one in the mailbox is strongly encouraged to fill it out. David Peters, a sociology professor at Iowa State University, says the survey used to be conducted once a decade. Peters says, “Given what’s happened in the last 10 years with the recession and the slow recovery, we really needed to increase the frequency of how we surveyed Iowans in small towns to better understand how communities are making progress towards achieving their economic goals and their goals of maintaining their high quality of life in their communities.”

The polls are now going out every other year and Peters says that’s providing better benchmarks. “We’re doing it every two years to better understand how things are changing, hopefully for the better,” he says, “and also to communicate those results to state policy makers so they can make decisions at the statehouse that don’t negatively impact small towns in our state.” Peters says the topics in this year’s survey will focus on four areas.

“We ask a number of questions about how people view population change and the challenges that accompany that,” Peters says. “We’ll also be looking at asking Iowans how they’ve recovered both personally and how their communities have recovered from the last recession. We’ll also look at how people view crime and safety.”

The fourth topic will focus on water quality. The survey will be mailed to select recipients across Iowa in towns with populations ranging from 500 to ten-thousand. The surveys take 20 to 25 minutes to complete and respondents will be entered in a drawing to receive one of 30 gift cards worth $100 each. The results will be released next spring. Learn more at: www.soc.iastate.edu/smalltowns/poll/

(Radio Iowa)

(A-P) Police say a gun found by a search dog in a wooded area is believed to be weapon used in the fatal ambush shootings of 2 Iowa police officers. Des Moines police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek said today (Thursday) that the weapon was found a day earlier “where no person probably could have found it.” He declined to provide further details. Police say the suspect, Scott Greene, turned himself in just hours after the two officers were shot in separate attacks early Wednesday.

Greene is suspected of shooting to death Des Moines Police Sgt. Tony Beminio and Urbandale Police Officer Justin Martin. The men were killed just a few miles and minutes apart as they sat in their police cruisers early Wednesday morning.

Parizek said Greene was expected to be released from the hospital today (Thursday). He says investigators have yet to speak with Greene. Parizek said a motive remains unclear, but that investigators are looking at possible first-degree murder charges. No formal charges have been filed.