Police in Council Bluffs say a man from Mississippi is in custody on robbery, kidnapping and assault charges, following an incident that took place Sunday night at the Hampton Inn, in Council Bluffs. 53-year old Allan McGowan, of Olive Branch, MS, was arrested sometime after 7:46-p.m., which was when officers responded to a reported assault at the hotel.

Allan McGowan

McGowan was charged with Robbery 1st Degree, Kidnapping 1st Degree, Assault while Participating in a Felony and Obstruction of Emergency Communications. He was being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail.

The victim of the assault, 37-year old Norma Hineline, of Omaha, told police she was attacked by McGowan inside one of the hotel rooms. She said prior to being assaulted, McGowan grabbed her purse and began to remove some of her cash. The woman said  she attempted to use the hotel phone to dial 9-1-1, but McGowan hung up the phone.

After being unable to get her purse back from McGowan, Police say Hineline attempted to leave the room, but McGowan reportedly grabbed her and pulled her back into the room, putting her in a “choke hold” and strangling her until she lost consciousness. When Hineline awoke, McGowan was removing cash from her purse and had possession of her cell phone. Eventually, McGowan allowed Hineline to leave the hotel room.

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County report a man from Neola was arrested Sunday night on assault and other charges associated with an incident involving his girlfriend, that took place earlier that evening. 32-year old David Joseph Martin Kilibarda faces charges that include Domestic Assault with Injury, Criminal Trespass and Interference with Official Acts. He was taken into custody at around 10:50-p.m. and brought to the Pott. County Jail.

The Sheriff’s Office says also, 26-year old Michael Allen Lee, of Crescent, was arrested Sunday morning for OWI/2nd offense, after a deputy investigated a vehicle parked about a mile north of Big Lake Road, on Joslin. Lee’s preliminary breath test (PBT) registered nearly twice the legal limit for intoxication, and a later blood alcohol test came back as .121, or just over the legal limit.

Also arrested on an OWI charge Sunday, was 25-year old Alex David Friesen, of Crescent, who was taken into custody a little after 3-a.m. following a report of a tired or intoxicated driver in the Crescent area. Friesen was located on Old Lincoln Road and following an investigation was arrested for OWI/1st offense. His blood alcohol level later tested as .164, or twice the legal limit.

Cass County 9-1-1 Director Rob Koppert, today (Monday), updated the County Board of Supervisors on some recent good news and bad news. The good news, he said, was he received funds from the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool, or, I-CAP.

Koppert said he received $1,000 last Friday from ICAP for a fire extinguishers grant to supply extinguishers for the courthouse and other vital County buildings. The funds will be used to reimburse the County for the already paid for and received extinguishers. The extinguishers cost around $1,300-$1,400 altogether, and Koppert said he would look into using funds from the County E-911 membership to make up the remainder of the costs for reimbursement.

The bad news, Koppert said, had to do with numerous County communications systems. An incident happened that happened the night of Oct. 22^nd took down the internet and other vital systems affecting the courthouse and Communications Center.

A dispatcher on-duty texted Koppert, who was in Iowa City at the time. A couple of minutes later, he was notified the County’s radio communications system was down. Koppert said there was no reason they could find or think of that would have caused both systems to crash. The Avaya phone system was also down in the courthouse. 9-1-1 was not affected, however, because the Administrative lines are run to the Comm. Center. At that point, Koppert instructed the dispatcher to active the phone tree method of communication to emergency responders.

Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon was also notified, and responded to the Comm. Center in a coordinated effort with Koppert, to try and figure what was going on and walk through the check-list of steps to correct the problem. A radio tech from Indianola was also called to try and get communications up and running, and Solutions, Incorporated was called to deal with the internet issues.

Early the next morning, the efforts resulted in the internet “WatchGuard” firewall security system being reset in the basement of the courthouse. Koppert said one of the Watch Guards apparently went into a “Kernal panic” mode, which occurs when there is an issue with either system hardware, OS, or firmware. It’s taken by an operating system upon detecting an internal fatal error from which it cannot safely recover.

Koppert says there are plans in-place to have a back-up radio in the Comm. Center, and having someone on-site, available on short notice, to handle similar situations.

The Glenwood Police Department reports two, recent arrests. On Sunday, 18-year old Morgan Wooton, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance. Her bond was set at $1,000. And, on Friday, 41-year old Amy Osthus, of Glenwood, was arrested for Theft in the 4th Degree. Her bond was set at $1,000.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports a teenager was injured and transported to a hospital, while another teen suffered possible injuries, during a rollover accident Friday afternoon. Officials say 15-year old Haley Ann Hagen, of Afton, was transported by Medic 1 ambulance to the hospital in Creston, after she lost control of the 2002 Ford Taurus she was driving. The car entered the south ditch off of eastbound 205th Street and rolled several times.

The accident happened at around 1:55-p.m., Friday. Hagen, who was wearing her seat belt, suffered suspected serious/incapacitating injuries. Her passenger, 15-year old Brody Glen Grandfield, of Afton, complained of pain but was not transported to the hospital. Grandfield was also wearing his seat belt.

Damage from the crash amounted to $5,300.

The Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office has released information about a drug bust that took place back on August 21st. Officials say at around 8:30-p.m., a Toyota was stopped for a minor traffic violation on Interstate 35 by the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office at mile marker 19. Ringgold County Deputy Landon White and his K9 partner “Heky” were requested and responded to the scene.

A subsequent search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of three pounds of methamphetamine, with an estimated street value of $33,000.

A Missouri resident was arrested and charged. An investigation into the narcotics distribution is ongoing.

The Atlantic City Council will hold a regularly scheduled meeting 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, at City Hall. During the session, the Council will act on an approving a change order amounting to $3,450, for the Bull Creek Improvement Project. The first aspect of the change order pertains to the removal of five trees along the route, prior to the installation of a storm sewer pipe. The second is with regard to a pipe and connection to an existing driveway draining gate. During removal of the old pipe, the connection was discovered and had to be replaced.

The Council will also act on an order approving the Fiscal Year 2016 Urban Renewal Report to the State of Iowa.

City of Atlantic Urban Renewal District geographic boundaries

The Urban Renewal Areas (URA’s) are zones established by the City that allows for the creation of TIF (Tax Increment Financing) districts. Atlantic has three area: North, Southwest and Southeast. A fourth area, the Eastridge URA, is no longer active.

And, the Atlantic City Council is expected to act on approving the second reading of an Ordinance that calls for “Deleting property from [a] Tax Increment Financing District for Urban Renewal Area,” and the establishment of a new URA for the Whitney Inn. City Administrator John Lund says Iowa Statute requires the URA to be established before a TIF or other economic development benefits are granted to the property. The Ordinance would separate the Whitney Inn properties from the Northern URA so that it can eventually become its own Urban Renewal Area. The City’s finance attorney has recommended the Northern URA be reviewed at a later date, as it may technically be expired.