(Des Moines County, Iowa) – A single vehicle accident Saturday afternoon south of Burlington, resulted in the death of a male juvenile passenger, and injuries to the 16-year-old male driver. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2007 Chevy Trailblazer SUV was traveling south in the 4200 block of Sullivan Slough Road at around 1:47-p.m., when the vehicle left the roadway for reasons unknown.

The SUV struck a tree before coming to rest. A male juvenile passenger in the vehicle died at the scene. He was wearing a seat belt. The driver who wore his seat belt, was transported by Burlington Fire to the SE Regional Medical Center in West Burlington.

No names were released. The accident remains under investigation.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A little more than a year and two-weeks after a fire heavily damaged the Atlantic Middle School (AMS), an Open House for the building is set to take place. According to Atlantic School District Superintendent Steve Barber, the event will take place August 12th, from 2-until 6-p.m. Members of the community are welcome to tour the newly reconstructed facility that sustained fire, smoke and water damage during a July 27, 2021 fire that began on the roof of the building.

In the wake of the fire, school officials were forced to relocate some classrooms to different buildings within the District,  while crews worked to repair and rebuild the Middle School. Once the construction was complete and an inspection was conducted, teachers and staff began moving-in to the building. Mr. Barber and new AMS Principal Scot Aden will be on-hand during the Open House.

There will be no formal tour, but school personnel will be on hand to answer your questions. And, there will be refreshments available.

Drone view of the 7/27/21 AMS fire aftermath

(File photo) AMS damage during July 2021 fire

Des Moines, IA – The U-S Attorney’s Office reports a man from Keswick, Iowa, made his initial appearance Friday in federal court in Des Moines, to face tax and bank fraud charges. Thomas Sieren, age 59, is charged in a 24-count indictment returned on July 19, 2022.

According to court documents, Sieren was the Vice President of TCS Fabricating, Inc., a local fabrication company. TCS Fabricating, Inc. was required by law to withhold taxes from employee wages and to pay the withheld amounts to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on a periodic basis. These withheld taxes, sometimes known as “trust fund taxes,” include income taxes and Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare.

It is alleged that Sieren failed to pay the IRS over $440,000 from 2016 to 2020. On TCS Fabricating, Inc.’s behalf, Sieren also allegedly submitted two Paycheck Protection Program loan applications in which he falsely represented that the company had employees for which it paid payroll taxes.

“Business owners are required to withhold income taxes for their employees and remit those taxes to the IRS,” said Special Agent in Charge, Tyler Hatcher. “IRS-Criminal Investigation takes these crimes very seriously not only because of the impact on federal revenue, but more importantly because of the way employee benefits are impacted.”

Sieren is charged with twenty counts of Failure to Collect, Account for, and Pay Over Trust Fund Taxes, two counts of Bank Fraud, and two counts of False Statements to a Financial Institution. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa and made the announcement. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Essley is prosecuting the case. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa: On August 4, 2022 the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation conducted interviews of the two officers involved in the July 30, 2022 shooting of 23-year-old Brandon Lee Nelson, in Cedar Rapids.  On Friday, those Officers were identified as:

•    Officer Matthew Jenatscheck, a 26-year law enforcement veteran who has been employed with the Cedar Rapids Police Department for one year, and,
•    Officer Blair Klostermann, a three- veteran with the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

Both officers have cooperated with the investigation and per policy, remain on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

As we previously reported, the Department of Criminal Investigation was requested to assist the Cedar Rapids Police Department following the incident that occurred when a little before 4-a.m. on July 30, officers conducted a vehicle stop for erratic driving in the 2200 block of Glass Road NE. Authorities say Nelson brandished a firearm and gunfire was exchanged between Nelson and two Cedar Rapids police officers.

Brandon Nelson continues to receive treatment at the University of Iowa Hospital.  His release date is unknown.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – A District Court Judge in Pottawattamie County has sentenced a Nebraska man to nearly 6 1/2 years in prison on weapons charges. Authorities say 33-year-old Jesse Dean Seifert, of Omaha, was sentenced Wednesday to serve 77 months in prison for charges of Possession of an Unregistered Firearm and Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm. The sentence is consecutive to any state prison sentence. Seifert must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

In September 2021, police attempted to stop Seifert who was driving stolen dump truck. Seifert eluded officers and abandoned the truck in a residential neighborhood and fled on foot. Seifert dropped a firearm—a loaded sawed off shotgun—as he eluded police. Seifert was apprehended a short distance from the firearm. He was also in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Council Bluffs Police Department, Pottawattamie County Sheriff Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

(Dallas County, Iowa) – One person died and two others were were injured during two separate, multi-vehicle accidents Friday morning on Interstate 80 eastbound, in Dallas County. The Iowa State Patrol reports the first crash that happened at around 6:45-a.m., two-miles east of Des Soto, resulted in the death of 27-year-old Ryan Hougham, of Earlham. He was wearing his seat belt, but died from his injuries at Mercy Hospital, in Des Moines.

The second crash, which occurred at around 7:26-a.m., around one-mile west of De Soto, resulted in injuries to 62-year-old Jeffrey Munch, of Exira, and 74-year-old Teddy Anderson, of Webster City. Munch was wearing a seat belt. Anderson was not. Both were transported by EMS to Methodist Hospital, in Des Moines.

In the first crash happened near mile marker 112. The Patrol says a 2013 Chevy Impala driven by 27-year-old Ryan Hougham, a 2018 Jeep Wrangler driven by 42-year-old Melissa Woosley, of Redfield, and a third vehicle, were stopped on I-80 eastbound due to congested traffic from another crash.  A 2015 Ford F-550 driven by 38-year-old John Hillgren, of Bondurant, was approaching the stopped traffic but did not come to a stop. The pickup rear-ended the Impala, pushing it into the Jeep, which was pushed into the third vehicle.

The second crash happened near mile marker 109, and involved a 2005 Chevy Silverado pickup driven by 62-year-old Jeffrey Munch, of Exira, a 2014 Dodge RAM 1500 driven by 74-year-old Rick Willadsen, of Earlham, and a 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan driven by 37-year-old Tara Erickson, of Greenfield. The Patrol says the Dodge, the Caravan and a third vehicle were stopped on the road due to a previous collision, when the Chevy pickup failed to stop. It struck the rear of the RAM pickup and sideswiped the van before colliding with the left rear of the third vehicle.

Both crashes remain under investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – Drought conditions are expanding across the state, spreading throughout southern Iowa, but the northwest region is being hit hardest. Don Kass farms in Plymouth County, which is in extreme drought. He says his crops have been faring well so far, but he’s starting to see signs of heat distress. “It’s kind of spotty,” Kass says. “Some fields look like they’re there okay. Other fields, you can see that it’s lighter soil and that the lack of moisture is profound and they’re really suffering.”

Kass says it’s a critical time for corn and soybean development. He says the area needs to see significant rainfall soon to aid the crops’ pollination process. This year, the region saw its second driest June on record, what’s typically the wettest month of the season. On a daily basis, Iowa State University Extension field agronomist Joel DeJong says he sees corn leaves curling and soybean leaves turning over to protect themselves from the heat. “Every day that we’ve got this, particularly the really extreme heat, I think it’s hurting our yield potential significantly,” DeJong says, “more so, closer to Missouri and Big Sioux than it is as you go east.”

DeJong says he expects the region’s yields will be impacted more than they were during last year’s drought. That’s due to a prolonged period of higher temperatures. Compared to last year, the region has seen more 90-degree weather. The latest U-S Drought Monitor map shows around 60 Iowa counties are in some form of drought, with 30 counties abnormally dry, 20 counties in moderate drought, six in severe drought and four (Cherokee, Plymouth, Sioux & Woodbury) in extreme drought.

(reporting by Kendall Crawford, Iowa Public Radio)

(Dallas/Madison Counties) – Two separate, multiple-vehicle accidents about four-miles apart caused traffic snarls this (Friday) morning on Interstate 80 eastbound, in Dallas and Madison Counties. Two people were seriously injured. The Iowa State Patrol says a four-vehicle crash occurred at around 6:45-a.m. near mile marker 112, just east of DeSoto. One person was taken from the scene by air ambulance in critical condition. All other injuries were described as minor.

No long thereafter, another multi-vehicle accident happened four-miles west on I-80 eastbound. Five vehicles were involved in a crash near the 108 mile marker, or just east of Earlham. One person was taken by ground ambulance from that crash scene in serious condition.

The interstate was re-opened to traffic after being detoured for a few hours. Both crashes remain under investigation. Additional details are expected later today.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Two Counties in southwest Iowa now have bans in place on outdoor burning. On Thursday, a ban on open burning went into effect in Adair County. Today (Friday), the State Fire Marshal’s Office issued a BURN BAN for Mills County, effective from 8-a.m. Saturday, August 6th, and until further notice. The conditions are such in both Adair and Mills Counties, that conducting an open burn creates a danger to lives and property.

Once fire officials in each county agree those conditions no longer exist, the Emergency Management Director will request the ban to be removed. Until then, a violation of the ban on open burning, is a simple misdemeanor.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports two recent arrests and a close-call accident involving a pickup truck and a train. Authorities say Deputies on Thursday arrested 29-year-old Robert Warner, of Fremont, NE, for OWI/1st Offense.  Warner was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond. And on Wednesday, 52-year-old Craig Griffin, of Wiota, was arrested on warrants for Failure to Appear and Violation of Probation.  Griffin was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

On July 30th, 2022, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies were called to the area of 665th and Hampton at around 12:24-p.m. Officials say a 2015 Chevrolet 2500 pickup driven by James Stokley was traveling North on 665th approaching the railroad crossing at that location. Stokley failed to notice an oncoming train until he had arrived at the intersection and the train sounded it’s whistle.  Stokley locked the brakes-up on the pickup, but the vehicle continued to skid closer to the intersection and train.  The pickup’s front left corner struck the train’s front right corner, causing approximately $6,000 worth of damage to the pickup, and no noticeable damage to the train.

No injuries were reported.