Firefighters from Atlantic responded to a structure fire this (Tuesday), at W. 7th and Locust Street. The blaze in the three-level rental property owned by Pat McCurdy, was home to eight people in separate apartments. It was reported just before three-p.m.  Atlantic Fire Chief Tom Cappel says it was a difficult fire to fight because of where it was in the building.

Mutual aid was called for and received from the Griswold, Lewis, Marne and Anita Fire Departments, who provided much needed personnel. They switched-off with crews battling the interior fire, due to the heat.

Cappel said crews were inside for no more than 30 minutes at a time. It takes another 30 minutes to get them cooled down with water and a special cooling vest for those who were overheated. The Cass County Fire Association and others brought cold, bottled water to the scene. At one point in the afternoon, fire trucks sounded their horns, warning those inside the home to evacuate due to fears the roof would collapse.

About a block of 7th Street in each direction was blocked off while crews battle the blaze. As of 6-p.m., crews were still on the scene. No injuries were reported, but it’s thought a couple of cats were lost to the smoke and flames. There were very few people inside when the fire broke out.

Chief Cappel said it’s too early too determine what may have started the blaze, although initial speculation was that it was electrical in nature. He said it appears the fire started on the northwest corner of the house, because that’s where the heaviest smoke was upon firefighters’ arrival. In addition to the aforementioned fire fighters, Atlantic Police, Cass EMS, Cass County Emergency Management Director Mike Kennon, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office and the Cass County Drone were on the scene. The drone was piloted by Deputy Ben Bartholowmew, who provided information to the fire department on any unseen hotspots and trouble areas.

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(Radio Iowa) – Nominations are now being accepted for Iowa’s Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin for 2022. Kelsey Sutter, spokeswoman for the Iowa Pork Producers Association, says the program is in its 20th year and it’s easier than ever for Iowans to nominate a favorite.  “Go to our website, iowapork.org, and there’s a drop down list of hundreds of restaurants in the state of Iowa,” Sutter says. “Of course, if you don’t find the one that you’re looking for, there’s a simple way to click and add another restaurant to that list. It should take seconds to nominate your favorite tenderloin in the state of Iowa.”

Iowans are encouraged to go online and submit entries for their favorite restaurant. “We get hundreds of restaurants nominated through this process,” Sutter says. “Last year, we had around 6,000 nominations come through the website for over 500 restaurants.” Nominations are due by June 6th. Sutter says the judges will spend the summer dining out at the 40 restaurants with the most nominations, five in each of the state’s eight districts.

Richard and Angela Buman with their winning 2021 tenderloin. (IPPA photo.)

“Spreading it out across our eight districts really allows us to make sure the entire state is captured. Rural communities have just as much of a chance as our larger cities in the state of Iowa,” Sutter says. “That’s going to give us our top 40, and then we’ll spend the summer as an organization with our members across the state, judging the top 40.” That will be further narrowed to the top five which will all be visited in secret by the panel, with the winner being announced in October.

Last year’s winning pork tenderloin was at Victoria Station in Harlan.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Sentencing will take place in Atlantic at 9-a.m. on June 6th, in the case of an Atlantic man initially charged of Attempted Murder and Willful Injury-Causing Serious Injury. After originally pleading not guilty by reason of self-defense in April, 19-year-old Michael Gehling has made a plea agreement with prosecutors, that dismisses the Attempted Murder charge.

Gehling will be sentenced instead on the Willful Injury charge alone. Gehling was accused of stabbing a man during the late night hours of April 3rd. His trial was to have taken place June 28th. His guilty plea was filed with the court on May 6th.

As previously reported, Gehling had been arrested without incident on April 4th, following an investigation that began with a 9-1-1 call about a man who had a stab wound. Officers learned the incident happened in the area of 6th and Pine Streets.

The victim (whose name was not released) was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital (Cass Health), in Atlantic, and was later transported to the UNMC in Omaha, for treatment of serious injuries.

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Harlan Police Department Tuesday (today) reported four arrests from over the past week. Two people were arrested Monday (May 9th), following a traffic stop, in Harlan: 19-year-old Jayden Halbert Christian Fleming, and 25-year-old Madisyn Alyssa Hansen, both of Harlan, were taken into custody. Each was charged with Violation of a No Contact Order.

Authorities say 22-year-old Madison Marie Hansen, of Elk Horn, was arrested following a traffic stop on May 7th. She was charged with Driving While Suspended. And, on May 2nd, Harlan Police arrested 34-year-old Paula Kathryn Koester, of Harlan, for Theft in the 5th Degree.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a Nebraska man, 44-year-old Jeremy Joel Binns, of Omaha, was sentenced Monday (May 9th) in Council Bluffs federal court, to 144 months (12-years) in prison for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. His prison term will be followed by five years of supervised release. According to court documents, Binns pleaded guilty to the charge on November 18, 2021.

In March of 2021, Binns was arrested for selling methamphetamine at a gas station in Council Bluffs. The following month, Binns was again arrested with methamphetamine in Omaha following a high-speed chase. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2021.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Council Bluffs Police Department, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force,  Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Nebraska State Patrol, and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, Tuesday (Today), said two men were arrested at around 11:40-p.m. Monday, in Minden, after deputies were dispatched to Casey’s in Minden for a stolen 2018 Penske Truck Leasing, International truck, found on the property. Authorities say 46-year-old Joshua Todd Hohl was charged with Theft in 2^nd Degree – Possession of Stolen Property. And, 54-year-old Jerry Shane Pratt, was arrested on a hold for another Iowa agency. He remains held without bond in the Pott. County Jail.

The Sheriff’s Office reports 33-year-old Rodney Duane Hubbard was arrested on Monday afternoon in Minden, on a warrant for Violation of Probation and Failure to Appear. That same afternoon, 34-year-old Corey Lee Roberts, Sr., was presented at the Pott. County Jail, with a warrant for Failure to Appear. He was then returned to custody of Corrections staff. 37-year-old Cory Ross Smith, of Elliott, was transported from Montgomery County to the Pott. County Jail Monday, to address outstanding warrants for Driving While Barred/Habitual Offender (2 counts). His bond was set at $1,000.

Monday morning, 35-year-old Matthew Duane Greser, of Council Bluffs, was presented with a warrant at the Pott. County Jail. The warrant was for Violation of a No Contact/Protective Order ($300 bond). And, on May 6th at around 8:47-p.m., Deputies responded to a report of a vehicle unable to maintain its lanes and at one point, was in the wrong lane of travel. A person following the vehicle told authorities the suspect vehicle almost struck an oncoming vehicle head-on. Deputies caught up with the 2013 Chevy Silverado pickup, and upon further investigation, arrested 64-year-old Rodney Nickolas Greiner, for OWI/1st offense.

Authorities said also, 46-year-old Christopher William Klepach was transported from the Linn County Jail to the Pottawattamie County Jail, to address a warrant in Pottawattamie County for Possession of a Controlled Substance (Marijuana) 1^st Offense and Failure to Appear.

(Radio Iowa) – Marion’s newest police officer is believed to also be the youngest ever hired by the eastern Iowa department. Officer Kylie McCaughey joined the Department in 2021 at 18-years-old and has since turned 19. McCaughey tells K-C-R-G T-V that she has wanted to be a police officer for as long as she can remember.“Probably since I was like three, I can’t remember ever wanting to do anything else,” she says. The Linn-Mar High School graduate traded in her cross country uniform to wear the same uniform as her school resource officer Tom Daubs.

”I tell kids in school all the time I have the best job in the world. I’m a police officer that gets to be in your schools. And then for someone like Kylie to see that a run with it and now be a police officer as well, that’s such an awesome experience for everyone involved,” Officer Daubs says. McCaughey completed about one year of college in 2020 during high school, and applied to the department the following year. Marion Police Chief Mike Kitsmiller tells K-C-R-G T-V wasn’t sure about hiring someone so young until he talked to McCaughey.

Officer Kylie McCaughey (KCRG photo)

”Our deputy chief came in and when we were going through the rankings he said hey I’ve got somebody that I think is fantastic. He said she’s 18-year-old and I kind of scoffed. He said, no talk to her yourself, and I did and I was like wow,” Kitsmiller says. Since being hired Officer McCaughey has completed the police academy and just recently finished her field training. The Marion Police Department is currently looking for more officers and Chief Kitsmiller says McCaughey is a great example of why those interested in the job shouldn’t count themselves out. He says if you’ve got what it takes to do the job they’ll definitely give you a look. For Officer McCaughey it’s only the beginning.

“It is everything that I’ve wanted it to be I mean there’s, there’s an opportunity every day to reach somebody. And to meet somebody in their worst situation and to possibly help,” according to McCaughey. And she says its the opportunity to do what she has always wanted to do.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Department of Public Health officials asked for the review of a non-profit called FAMILY, Incorporated. It links needy residents to a variety of government services for women, children and families in Pottawattamie and Mills Counties. The review centered on the organizations’s contracts with state agencies — one for home visits with pregnant women and families with young children and the other for a program called Early Childhood Iowa. Auditors determined that over a four-year period, FAMILY, Inc. billed Medicaid for more than 20-thousand dollars in services already covered by the contracts.

State Auditor Rob Sand says due to a lack of records, it was not possible to determine if improper billing happened before July 1, 2017. According to the auditor, the Iowa Department of Public Health adopted more cross-checks last year to ensure other providers aren’t double-billing for these same services. A spokesperson for FAMILY, Inc. was not immediately available for comment when the special investigation by the state auditor’s office was released this (Tuesday) morning.

(Perry, Iowa) – Officials with the Perry Police Department have confirmed Perry Police Chief Eric Vaughn was shot in the line of duty early this (Tuesday) morning. Chief Vaughn was transported to a local hospital via air ambulance. A report on his condition was not immediately available.

Authorities say a suspect in the shooting was detained, and that there currently was no danger to the public. The incident happened at around 5 a.m. Police have not released details on what led up to the incident.

Officials with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation were scheduled to be in Perry to investigate an officer-involved shooting.

(Radio Iowa) – It’s more expensive to fill our gas tanks in Iowa than ever before. Prices reached a record high in the state this (Tuesday) morning, topping a previous record that had stood since the recession 14 years ago. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican, places the blame on the Democrat in the White House. “I think Congress has set a pretty good policy for energy,” Grassley says. “This president has screwed it up.”

Triple-A-Iowa says the statewide average for gas is now $4.08 a gallon, beating the record of $4.02 that had stood since July of 2008. Grassley blames Joe Biden’s policies, from those enacted in January of 2021 to those from just a few weeks ago. “First day in office, shut down pipeline, stop drilling on the north slope of Alaska, and then stop drilling offshore of Alaska, on public lands in America, in the Gulf, then put regulations on fracking.” More recently, Grassley says Biden told the banks not to loan money to energy companies, further jacking up fuel prices.

Grassley says, “A couple of months ago, when it started hitting the president that his bad policies raised the price, you know what he did? He didn’t undo all the bad policies he put in place. He went to Saudi Arabia and Venezuela and said, ‘Send us some oil.'”

Grassley says the U-S should return to relying on its own stores of fossil fuels as well as biofuels, not imports, which he says have taken the country from being energy independent to energy dependent. Triple-A says the national average for gas is $4.37 a gallon, while California has the most expensive average at $5.84. In Iowa, the state’s cheapest gas can be found in Davenport at $4.01, while the most expensive gas is in Dubuque at $4.15. The motor club says diesel fuel hit a record high in Iowa on Monday at $5.31 a gallon.