(Radio Iowa) – The Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court has been elected by her colleagues to another term. Chief Justice Susan Christensen of Harlan was selected to continue in the role that she was first elected to following the retirement of Acting Chief Justice David Wiggins in February 2020. Wiggens became acting chief justice following the death of Chief Justice Mark Cady in November of 2019.

The justices take a vote on the chief justice during their first meeting in each odd-numbered year. Christensen released a statement saying, “After a very challenging first 10 months, I am honored to continue to serve as Chief Justice of Iowa’s court system.”

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A white man who deliberately sped his car through a crowd of racial injustice protesters in Iowa City, striking many, will avoid prison and have the incident erased from his record if he stays out of trouble for three years.

This undated photo provided by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office in Iowa City, Iowa, shows Michael Stepanek after his arrest on Aug. 25, 2020. Stepanek will avoid prison and could have the case dismissed under a plea agreement resolving charges related to his decision to intentionally drive through a crowd of racial injustice protesters in Iowa City, striking several. (Johnson County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

A judge has granted a deferred judgment for 45-year-old Michael Ray Stepanek, who told police he drove his Toyota Camry through the crowd in August because protesters needed “an attitude adjustment.” The sentence means Stepanek will have a felony charge of willful injury resulting in bodily injury dismissed and expunged if he doesn’t commit a crime during a three-year term of probation.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former Iowa trash collection official has been sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution of more than $1.6 million. Federal prosecutors in Des Moines say Jeffrey Dworek, of Urbandale, was sentenced Friday to 57 months in prison after pleading guilty last August to one count of federal mail fraud. Dworek had been the director of operations for Metro Waste Authority from 1996 until he resigned in 2017.

He was arrested and indicted in 2019. Prosecutors say he set up a shell company purported to provide services to Metro Waste Authority, then paid out company funds for his own use between 2012 and 2017. He also took kickbacks from various vendors.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office said Friday (Today), 49-year-old Rodney Doss, of Exira, was cited Tuesday (January 5), for Driving While Barred. Doss appeared before the magistrate on Thursday (Jan. 7), and was released on his own recognizance.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports Deputies responded Thursday, to a Domestic Disturbance. The incident took place at a residence in the 2400 block of 280th Street, or about one-mile north of College Springs.

Jackie Lynn Olson (Page County S/O photo)

During the investigation, 39-year-old Jackie Lynn Olson, of rural College Springs, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. Olson was transported to the Page County Jail where she was held without no bond until seen by a Magistrate.

And, 40-year-old Travis Lamar Kellogg, of Omaha, NE, was arrested Thursday in Page County, following a traffic stop on Highway 59, about four-miles north of Shenandoah. Kellogg was arrested on a Pottawattamie County Warrant for Probation Violation. He was unable to post the $2,000 bond. Kellogg was turned over to a Pottawattamie County Deputy and transported to the Pott. County Jail. Shenandoah Police assisted with the arrest.

PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) — Police say one man has died and two other men were critically injured in a three-vehicle crash in Papillion. Omaha television station KETV reports that the crash happened Thursday afternoon on Nebraska Highway 50. Investigators say a northbound pickup truck crossed the center line and hit two southbound cars. Police say the truck landed on top of one of the cars, killing the car’s driver identified as 63-year-old Bruce Hawkins, of Weeping Water. Police say the 57-year-old driver of the truck was taken by ambulance to an Omaha hospital with critical injuries, while the driver of the third car — a 32-year-old man from Carter Lake, Iowa — was flown to another Omaha hospital in critical condition.

Officials with the National Weather Service report the August, 2020 derecho which heavily impacted Iowa and four other Midwestern states, was only outdone by Hurricane Laura and the collective Western Wildfires in terms of estimated cost.The data compiled by NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), shows the Derecho racked-up $11 Billion in damage. The August 10th event began in southeast South Dakota and swept through to Ohio – a 770 mile trip – in a span of just 14 hours, with widespread wind gusts greater than 100 miles per hour. Four people died as a result of the weather phenomenon.

Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana and Ohio were the states most affected by the event that caused millions of dollars damage to acres of corn and soybeans across central Iowa. There was also severe damage to homes, businesses and vehicles, particularly in Cedar Rapids. In addition, there were 15 tornadoes across northeastern Illinois, affecting the Chicago metropolitan area. Officials say it was the third severe weather event (since 1980) with inflation-adjusted costs over $10-billion, joining the late-April and May 2011 tornado outbreaks across the Southeastern and Central states, respectively.

The number one weather event, in terms of cost, was the August-27th/28th impact of a Category 4 Hurricane named “Laura,” which hit southwest Louisiana with winds of up to 150 mph and a storm surge of more than 15 feet. It was the strongest hurricane to hit Louisiana since 1856, and cost $19-billion.The Weather Service said 46 people died during the event.  The second costliest weather event, was the Western Wildfires affecting California, Oregon and Washington State. A total of 46 people died. Colorado also had historic levels of fire damage. The flames raged across more than 10.2-million acres from August 1st through December 30th, costing an estimated $16.5-billion in damage.

Number four on the list, was Hurricane Sally, a CAT 2 hurricane taking place from Sept. 15th to 17th, and which made landfall in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Altogether it caused an estimated $7.3-billion damage, and resulted in five persons dead.

Creston Police today (Friday), said Officers responded at around 2:23-a.m. Monday, to an alarm call at Medicap Pharmacy, 405 S Sumner Street, in Creston. Upon arrival, officers found an attempted burglary had taken place. There was an unknown amount of damage to the building. The incident remains under investigation.

State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS

(Radio Iowa) – The Native American operation, Ho-Chunk Incorporated, has launched a new division to manage and operate the expansion of casino gaming at three existing horse racing tracks in Nebraska. Ho-Chunk C-E-O Lance Morgan says each of those facilities will be in the 200 million dollar cost range and compete with Iowa casinos in nearby Council Bluffs. “The competition in Council Bluffs is a little weak, you know, they’ve been there for 25 years and they haven’t done much to change them. And so, we are going to come out with the best product possible,” Morgan says.

They’ve created WarHorse Gaming in partnership with the Nebraska Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association to develop casino gaming at the licensed horse racing tracks in Omaha, Lincoln, and South Sioux City. He says there’s a lot of planning and preparation to take place before those casinos become a reality as gambling just became legal in Nebraska on January 1st.”And they have to get the regulatory system in place. And we’ve got to raise four or five hundred million dollars to get them all built — so we’ve got a little bit of an issue to work through to get them all built,” according to Morgan. “With any luck, we should be starting construction and breaking ground here in the spring when the weather breaks. And it could take a year or more to finish them.”

Morgan says some of the money generated by their “Keep the Money in Nebraska” effort approved in last November’s election will be used for property tax relief. He funded a study that shows millions of dollars will come from the Iowa casinos. He says that’s about 80 million dollars each year that will stay in Nebraska and not go to Iowa casinos. A smaller-scale project is planned for South Sioux City’s Atokad Park, which will include a new horse racing track: He says they need a little more land and then he says they will expand the track and build a casino with 400 or 500 machines that be an investment of 50 to 60 million dollars.

That facility would compete directly with Sioux City’s Hard Rock Casino and Hotel. Morgan was part of a group who bid to place a land-based casino in Sioux City’s Warrior Hotel property after the riverboat casino left town. His group lost out to the Hard Rock’s bid.