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.

(Radio Iowa) – Both of Iowa’s Republican senators say they’ll oppose the package of tax changes and spending on climate and energy projects the U.S. Senate will be voting on this weekend. The three Iowa Republicans in the HOUSE are also criticizing the bill. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says Democrats should pump the brakes and start over. “This plan would pay for 87,000 new IRS agents to turn around and audit working families and small businesses,” Hinson says.

The I-R-S commissioner says the agency will target tax avoidance by corporations and wealthy Americans, but will not increase audits of returns with income below 400-thousand dollars. The agency also plans to upgrade it “One thing I’ve heard from a lot of constituents in a lot of the work that we specifically do is in making sure that people get their tax returns handled in a (prompt) fashion,” Hinson says. “What we don’t want to see is them specifically targeting.” Hinson says a congressional committee that reviews tax-related legislation has concluded that going after misreported business activities could primarily impact low income Americans. “My constituents could not have been stronger about speaking out against super charging the IRS for the wrong reasons,” Hinson says.

Hinson objects to rules that already went into effect in January that require mobile payment apps like Venmo and PayPal to report business transactions of more than six-hundred-dollars to the I-R-S.

(Radio Iowa) – Another steamy, summer weekend is ahead with yet another Heat Advisory posted for a wide portion of the state. Meteorologist Rod Donavon, at the National Weather Service, says you may be getting sick of the hot, humid days but it’s relatively in line with August in Iowa. “We do have warming temperatures coming back to the forecast, already starting today as we have highs back in the 90s,” Donavon says. “Hot and humid conditions are expected on Saturday and we are looking at heat index values in that 105, even 108 range by the afternoon, so extremely warm and humid by the afternoon.”

Heat Advisory covers the lower two-thirds of the state, roughly all counties south of Highway 20, from noon Saturday through 9 o’clock that night. The forecast calls for the dry spell to end for parts of the state on Saturday night — with possible thunderstorms. “They have some rain chances coming in, especially later Saturday evening and as we go into Sunday, the cold front finally reaches the area,” Donavon says. “We have some areas possibly could get some decent rainfalls and then we are followed by much cooler conditions, especially as we go into Monday with highs really only in the 70s.”

Temperatures Sunday are still expected mostly in the 80s and 90s, with a cool-down early next week, and highs back in the 90s by Wednesday.

(Radio Iowa) – A woman involved in a drug ring that snuck meth into Iowa from Mexico will spend eight years in federal prison. Thirty-eight-year-old Erika Rojas of Dakota City, Nebraska pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute meth and admitted to receiving decorative masks from Mexico that covered a wax methamphetamine mixture. Rojas and three others would then extract the meth from the wax and sell it in Sioux City, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Officers searched Rojas’s storage locker and found decorative masks along with multiple pounds of meth.