INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (AP) — A northeastern Iowa man has been sentenced to 30 days in jail — all but seven days of it suspended — for torturing the family dog and making his children watch a video of the torture.

The Buchanan County prosecutor’s office says in a news release that 42-year-old Jason O’Neil Johnson, of Independence, was sentenced Tuesday. He was found guilty by a jury in August of animal torture.
Johnson will spend only seven days in jail if he successfully completes a year of probation, psychological evaluation and treatment and 16 hours of community service.

Prosecutors say Johnson held down the dog, named Daisy, in May and repeatedly beat her with a belt and closed fists for chewing on a pair of sunglasses he had left out. Johnson made his son record the beating to send to his other children, whom he blamed for failing to securely kennel the dog.

DAKOTA CITY, Neb. (AP) — An Iowa woman charged in the hit-and-run fatal crash that killed a pedestrian in northeastern Nebraska is set to stand trial in the case. The Sioux City Journal reports that 19-year-old Maria Gonzalez-Diego, of Sioux City, waived her right to a preliminary hearing on Tuesday. She now faces arraignment Dec. 3 on charges of vehicular homicide and failure to stop at the scene of a fatality crash. She will remain in custody in the Dakota County Jail on a $500,000 bond.

South Sioux City police say Gonzalez-Diego’s northbound vehicle hit 62-year-old Antonia Lopez De Ramirez the night of June 24 as she walked east across a street. Police say Gonzalez-Diego’s vehicle continued north. A Sioux City, Iowa, officer later found Gonzalez-Diego and arrested her.

(Radio Iowa) — Congressman Steve King says he expects to be placed back on several legislative committees in the near future. King, a Republican from Kiron, was removed from all committee assignments in January following a New York Times article where he addressed white supremacy. Speaking in Le Mars on Monday, King said he’s been talking with House leaders about restoring his status.

“There is that possibility,” King says. “I’ve had some discussion with leadership as recently as just the end of last week. I expect to go back next week and pick up that discussion. I’ve let them know that I’m going to start to turn this up now. I’ve been too nice, too long.” During the Times interview, King said he didn’t understand how the phrases white supremacy, white nationalism and western civilization had developed negative connotations. King says he was misquoted.

He says he deserves to have his assignments restored as there’s no precedent for how he’s being treated. “We asked the Congressional Research Services to go back through the history of the United States Congress and identify each member of Congress that had been removed from all of their committees, had served with no committees,” King says. “Since antiquity, as far back as they could go in the records, there have been four.” King is the fourth — and he says two previous representatives were convicted of serious crimes while the third is still facing trial. King points out, he’s never been charged with anything.

“What have I been accused of? I’m accused of a misquote, by the way, for asking a politically incorrect, rhetorical question. That’s the level of it. This is something that cannot be allowed to stand,” King says. “If it stands, there will be speech sanctions against any member of Congress that speaks out, no matter how objectively true they are.” King says if he remains stripped of his committee assignments, then our constitutional rights will be jeopardized.

“It suppresses the freedom of speech, thought and expression for the entire nation,” King says. “People should think that if you can’t speak freely, neither can you even think freely because what good are those thoughts if you can’t express them and how do you measure them against someone else? Another way to put this is, you’ve gotta’ put people together, they’ve got to exchange ideas and have open conversation. Let their imaginations soar.”

The 4th District Republican says he will continue to “put the heat on the leadership.”

Last week the Public Speaking Class at  Iowa Western Community College in Atlantic, conducted a food drive for the Atlantic Food Pantry. A drop-off box was located in the college atrium, and in the parking lot last Wednesday, for drive-up donations. Event organizer Leigh Ann Wolfe-Dawson reports  grocery cart was loaned to the class by the Atlantic Hy-Vee.

Donated to the Atlantic Food Pantry were: 9 boxes of cereal, 7 boxes of macaroni and cheese, 5 boxes of Hamburger Helper, 4 corn muffin mixes, 4 packages of pasta side dishes, 3 boxes of pasta, 3 jars of pasta
sauce, 3 boxes of Jello-O, 2 boxes of tuna, cake mix and frosting, oatmeal, crackers, and 100+ cans of peas, pork and beans, fruit cocktail, peaches, pears, chicken noodle soup, tuna, and many more types of canned food.

Additionally, generous community members put spare change and cash in a glass jar and we raised $123 for the Atlantic Food Pantry too. Wolfe-Dawson and the Public Speaking Class Thank you for giving so that they could help the people who are hungry in our community.

Sheriff’s Deputies in Mills County arrested a Nebraska man a little after 5-a.m. today, following a traffic stop on I-29. 27-year old Keegan David Clark, of Omaha, was arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance, Speeding, and Improper use of Median, Curb or Access Facility. His bond was set at $1,000.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Members and employees of the governing board for Iowa’s public universities could soon be barred from gambling on the college teams they help oversee.
A policy proposed by the Board of Regents would bar board members and staff from betting on games involving the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Iowa State Cyclones or the University of Northern Iowa Panthers. The board will consider adopting the policy at its meeting next week in Cedar Falls.

A summary says the goal is to “remove any question of a potential conflict of interest” now that sports wagering has been legalized in Iowa. The prohibition would apply to both in-state and out-of-state casinos and would also bar regents from providing any non-public information to others making bets. Fantasy sports contests would be excluded.

The Harlan Police Department reports four arrests. On Sunday, 38-year old Jeremy Joe Bratetic, of Harlan, was arrested following a call for service. Bratetic was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with public intoxication.

On Thursday, Oct. 31st, Harlan Police arrested: 24-year old Marcus Tyler Morgan, of Harlan, for charged with domestic abuse assault. And, 30-year old Crystal Lynne Gardner, of Exira, was arrested following a traffic stop. Gardner was transported to the Shelby County Jail where she was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance, prohibited acts penalties, no valid driver license, and no proof of insurance.

On October 29th, 54-year old Michael Mario Morelli, of Harlan, was arrested for violation of a no contact order.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa government insurance program under fire for spending lavishly on out-of-state travel says it would cost $22,000 for the public to see how it’s been using money to settle recent legal cases. The Iowa Communities Assurance Pool, which provides insurance to counties, cities and other local governments, is refusing to disclose its settlement agreements without that payment.

Settlements are public under Iowa law, and The Associated Press requested those that ICAP negotiated for its members since 2018. Board Chairman Jody Smith first claimed the settlements weren’t ICAP records, even though they release the pool from liability. He later reversed course after AP protested. But he said it would take an employee 439 hours — more than 10 weeks of work — to find the settlements at a $50 per-hour charge.

Some ICAP members have argued the pool is too quick to settle lawsuits. One recent case involved a $250,000 payout to an arrestee whose leg was broken by an Iowa Falls officer. After an AP investigation, ICAP board members are reconsidering their longstanding practice of having public meetings at resorts in Florida and Michigan during peak vacation times.

The Atlantic City Council is set to act Wednesday evening, on an Order to Approve an Engineering Agreement for the Atlantic Golf & Country Club (AGCC), and a Palm Street Drainage Storm Water Study. Their meeting begins at 5:30-p.m.  During their meeting on Oct. 16th, the Council heard from AGCC Board President Lucas Mosier, with regard to stormwater management issues affecting the business and surrounding area Mosier said the water has caused the course to be closed for more than three weeks this year, which means lost revenue. It’s hoped, he said, that a culvert will alleviate the problems with storm-water run-off.

The Golf Course Board has paid for tiling to mitigate the problem, but it all connects to a narrow intake area on the south end of the golf course, on the north end of the Country Club Addition. A constant flow of water for the Addition is overwhelming the existing tile system, rendering it ineffective. Also an existing culvert beneath Palm Street needs to be addressed, according to City Administrator John Lund, as heavy rain events cause significant damage to the stream-banks and bridge just downstream of the culvert. The Community Development Committee met Oct. 30th to review the issue with Mosier, Snyder and Associates’ Engineer Dave Sturm, and Kirk Knudsen. They unanimously recommend the Council provide for an Engineering Study of the entire drainage area. The $10,000 cost of the Study can be paid for in FY2020 through the Storm Water Utility Fund.

The Council will also act on approving a Resolution “Obligating Funds from the Hotel Whitney Urban Renewal Area Fund, for Appropriation to payment of the Annual Appropriation TIF (Tax Increment Financing) obligations,” that are due next year. This will be the second year the City is eligible to capture the taxes paid by the Whitney Group, using TIF. It will also be an annual feature on the Council’s agenda until the maximum payment of $750,000 or 20-years, whichever is first.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council will act on approving the FY 2019 Urban Renewal Report, as required by the Code of Iowa. They will also act on approving a bid from Pierce Pump, Inc., in the amount of $37,340, associated with the Ash Street Sanitary Sewer Replacement Project. And they will hear an annual report from Atlantic Public Library Director Michelle Anderson.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court has put on hold a lawsuit by environmental groups that claims the state isn’t doing enough to control farm pollution of a major river used for drinking water and recreation. An order signed Monday by Justice Edward Mansfield means the court will consider whether to uphold or reverse a district court judge’s decision to allow the lawsuit to move forward.

The state argues that courts traditionally do not intervene or attempt to put on trial legislative and executive action that involves a political question and the court should dismiss the case. The lawsuit filed in March by Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and Food & Water Watch contends the state is violating its public trust obligation to ensure clean drinking water sourced from the Raccoon River.