The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that a central Iowa man was arrested on Theft charges and cited for Criminal Trespass, following an investigation into a report of a stolen vehicle. 41-year old Brandon S. Beenken, of Des Moines, faces a felony charge of Theft in the 1st Degree, plus a separate charge of Theft in the 1st degree. His total bond on both charges was set at $20,000.

At around 6-a.m. Wednesday, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office was notified a vehicle had been stolen from the Morton Mills area. The complainant located the vehicle near the intersection of Redwood and Spruce Avenue, stuck on a Level “B” road. An investigation lead authorities to a farm building in 1300 block of T Avenue, where Beenken was located and charged with a Class C Felony Theft charge and Criminal Trespass.

At around 4-p.m., while Beenken was in the Montgomery County Jail, he was additionally charged with Theft in the 1st Degree, after it was learned a second vehicle that was located, had been stolen from Pleasant Hill. The vehicle also had stolen license plates.

BONDURANT, Iowa (AP) — Officials in a Des Moines suburb have approved plans for a warehouse and distribution center that would create more than 1,000 jobs. The company behind the project to be located in an industrial area of Bondurant is confidential.

City Administrator Marketa Oliver confirmed Wednesday the City Council gave initial approval for the development called Project Bluejay at its Monday meeting. Plans submitted to the city by contractor Ryan Companies appear to call for a 780,000-square-foot building up to five stories high on just over 100 acres.

The massive project appears to have more than 1,800 parking spaces around the building. There are plans for over 370 trees planted on the property. City officials agreed to seek a state grant to help with up to $14 million in street improvements to improve truck access. The city says it will provide up to $8 million from tax increment financing for the project.

A timeline has road work scheduled for next year and a project completion date of July 2021. Bondurant is a city of about 6,000 people, about 10 miles northeast of Des Moines.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The city of Sioux Falls is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed after a 5-year-old girl from Audubon drowned in the Big Sioux River at Falls Park. Attorneys last year filed a federal lawsuit against the city on behalf of Courtney Jayne, the mother of Maggie Zaiger. Zaiger fell into the river from river bank rocks on March 18, 2018, during a family trip to the park.

The Argus Leader reports attorneys representing the city argue that officials responsible for park safety did not breach their duty. The lawsuit alleges the city had ignored recommendations to put up barriers to more clearly distinguish where the rock ends and the water starts.

Officials have since installed viewing platforms and walkways with railings to improve safety.

(Radio Iowa) — Republican Governor Kim Reynolds has not yet seen a document outlining how the Trump Administration may address farmers’ fury over ethanol waivers granted to oil refineries.  “I’m optimistic that we’ll hopefully get something this week, but we’re still waiting to see the final details on it,” Reynolds told reporters late this (Wednesday) morning.

Bloomberg and Reuters are reporting President Trump is expected to sign-off on the deal Friday and make the details public next week. Reynolds was in the Oval Office a month ago, arguing for a policy that will increase federal biofuel production and blending requirements. The oil industry has been pressing for concessions that would alter what Reynolds and others discussed with Trump.

“I’m going to still take the president at his word,” Reynolds says. “I know he’s worked really hard to make our farmers and the biofuels industry whole and so I look forward to seeing in writing the verbal agreement that we came to.” If that greement is what materializes, Reynolds has invited Trump to Iowa to make the announcement. Reynolds suggests the president’s chief economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, is leading the biofuels negotiations.

“They had the meeting at the UN. They were working on a Japan free trade agreement, so there have been some other things that Kudlow and the team have been working on,” Reynolds says, “so hopefully that’s done and now we can move into this.” Earlier this week, Reuters reported the impeachment inquiry in the U.S. House was diverting White House attention from negotiations over biofuels. Reynolds told reporters she’s not ready to weigh in on impeachment.

Reynolds says it is possible to do two things at once and she’s urging Democrats in the U.S. House to ratify the U-S-Mexico-Canada Agreement as they conduct the impeachment inquiry.

(Radio Iowa) — The Technology Association of Iowa is setting up a statewide database to connect students, parents and teachers to the many computer-related programs and events around the state. The idea is to build a community of tech-savvy young people who can learn from each other. T-A-I president Brian Waller offers a few examples of what can be found on the site known as Techstream.

“In Waterloo, there’s a Girl Scout program up there doing cyber security specifically,” Waller says. “If you go to Cedar Rapids, kids on Wednesday nights can do computer coding called Computer Dojo.” Waller says the database may also encourage more young people to enter the information technology field to help fill a labor shortage. Waller says he wants Iowa students to be creators of technology, not just consumers of it.

“We’re hoping that this fabric of lots of different outposts of computer science and technology activities and programming, that they’re going to build a community and learn from each other, and really the end goal we would love to see is computer science in the core curriculum for the state of Iowa,” he says. Waller says connecting students to technology classes, workshops and events may encourage more young people to enter the I-T field.

techstreamiowa.org.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says until the U.S. House votes on articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, she’s not convinced there’s a case. Speaking to reporters Wednesday Reynolds said, “until they take a vote and I know what they’re accusing him of, I don’t think there’s anything there.”

Reynolds, a Republican, is an honorary state chairwoman of Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign. GOP leaders have aggressively defended Trump against accusations that he abused his power when he asked the Ukrainian president to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son. Trump has since suggested people leading the inquiry should be arrested and charged with treason.

Reynolds says the House should focus on issues such as a trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, the details of which are being negotiated between the White House and House leaders. She also says she’s hopeful to hear something from the White House this week on a new ethanol policy that would boost production.

Red Oak Police report the arrest this (Wednesday) afternoon, of 39-year old Luke Daniel Rinehart, from Red Oak. He was taken into custody at around 12:15-p.m. in the 300 block of 2nd Avenue, and charged with Breach of Peace/Disorderly conduct. Rinehart’s bond was set at $300.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say drugs killed two people whose bodies were found in a Burlington apartment. The bodies were found July 17 by officers sent to check on the man who lived there. Neighbors had reported not seeing the man for several days. Police said Tuesday that autopsies showed that 59-year-old Kevin Shavers died after ingesting fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine. The woman with him, 33-year-old Marlo Pilkington, of Fort Madison, died of methamphetamine and fentanyl intoxication.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests: 57-year old Thomas Clark Golden, of Omaha, was arrested today (Wednesday following a traffic stop on I-29. He was charged with  OWI 1st, Driving on Wrong Side of two-way Highway and Fail to Yield to Emergency Vehicle. Bond was set at $1,000. Tuesday night, 57-year old Gaylord Melvin Augustine, of  Henderson,  was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. He was  being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

Sheriff’s Deputies in Page County, Tuesday, arrested a Pottawattamie County woman on a Page County warrant. 30-year old Angela Dawn Land, of Council Bluffs, was taken into custody one the warrant for Failure to appear / pay child support. Land was arrested at the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office and transported to the Page County Jail, by the Page County Deputies. He Cash-Only bond was set at $1,000, pending future court proceedings.