Sheriff’s Officials in Guthrie County issued a statement Friday night with regard to an incident in Casey. Authorities said in a social media post:

“As some may be aware, there was a large law enforcement presence in the 100th block of West Grant (Friday night) in Casey. EMS and law enforcement were dispatched to a residence in the area for a medical call. Upon arrival, the scene was deemed unsafe by EMS and law enforcement. A perimeter was set up outside of the residence for approximately one hour.

(Cedar Rapids) – A man who traveled from Minnesota to Iowa to have sex with minors was sentenced (Friday) to 27 years in federal prison. 51-year old Terrance Nordwall, of Faribault, Minnesota, received the sentence after an October 31, 2019, jury verdict finding him guilty of attempted sex trafficking of children, attempted enticement of minors, and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

The evidence at trial showed that, in March and April of 2019, Nordwall exchanged text messages with a man who he believed was a “pimp” with a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl available. The man was actually an undercover law enforcement officer. Nordwall agreed to pay the pimp $200 for a half hour with the two girls, and he drove to the Cedar Rapids area, where he met law enforcement officers.

In 2004, in Minnesota, Nordwall was convicted of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree, two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the fifth degree, and possession of pornographic work involving minors. Nordwall was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Nordwall was sentenced to 324 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $300 was imposed, and Nordwall must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release. He must comply with all sex offender registration and public
notification requirements.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Iowa State Patrol, and the Hiawatha Police Department. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — One-third of Iowa’s state government isn’t ready to fully reopen any time soon as the coronavirus continues to infect and kill people across the state.The Iowa Judicial Branch announced Friday afternoon that it would cancel jury trials in criminal cases until Sept. 14, and push back any in-person proceedings until July 13.

Some hearings can begin July 13 or earlier if courthouses meet recommended safety protocols, but the use of teleconferences and video conferences will continue to be encouraged.Health officials have warned that crowded courtrooms could be venues to spread the virus to clerks, jurors, lawyers, witnesses, spectators and defendants.

DES MOINES, Iowa (The Des Moines Register) — A suburban Des Moines school district and a former student have reached a $900,000 settlement with a student who suffered permanent brain damage after being attacked at school. Audrey Vacek sued the Ankeny Community School District and another student after a 2016 attack. She alleged Mallory Schaubhut punched her in the face and slammed her head into a concrete wall.

The lawsuit said Schaubhut had verbally abused and threatened Vacek for a year before the attack. The Des Moines Register reports a settlement reached in late April requires the school district to pay $880,000 and Schaubhut to pay $20,000 to Vacek.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says the Memorial Day weekend could be the time to “tiptoe” out after weeks of staying home due to the coronavirus, but any outings would come as the state still is seeing hundreds of new cases daily. Reynolds says Friday the 14-day trend of new positive cases is moving lower and other metrics including hospitalization rates are lower and stable.

Despite the optimism, the number of virus deaths has been relatively consistent, with 18 Friday, 19 Thursday and 14 Wednesday. The total stood Friday at 418 deaths. There were 454 positive cases, boosting the state total to 16,408 as of Friday morning.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest on Wed., May 20th, of 23-year old Christopher Rankin, of Clarinda. Rankin was arrested on a Page County Warrant for Violation of a Protection Order. He was transported to the Page County Jail and held pending further court proceedings.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — One of Iowa’s most reliable sources of personal protective equipment to fight the coronavirus has been a statewide prison labor program that can pay inmates as little as 58 cents per hour. Prisoners have helped make 98,000 masks, 40,000 gowns, 17,000 face shields and 24,000 gallons of hand sanitizer in recent weeks. The Iowa Department of Corrections says inmates and staff at several prisons have been working weekends and nights, including 12 hours on Easter Sunday, to produce the supplies.

The gear is used to protect inmates, guards, state employees and health care workers. Inmates make between 58 cents and $1.92 per hour.