LE MARS, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City man has pleaded guilty to robbing a bank in northwest Iowa. Records say 33-year-old Phillip White entered the plea Thursday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City. Prosecutors say White robbed Iowa State Bank in Le Mars on Dec. 12 and was driven away in a U-Haul van by Karen Merrick, also of Sioux City. Officers managed to flatten the van’s tires and arrest the pair. Merrick’s trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 5 in Sioux City.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A man charged with first-degree murder has taken a plea deal in the shooting of an 18-year-old woman in Cedar Rapids. Linn County District Court records say 20-year-old Kyler Junkins pleaded not guilty Thursday to second-degree murder. His plea agreement calls for a sentence of 50 years in prison. He also agreed to pay $150,000 in restitution to the estate or heirs of AnnaElise Edgeton.

Junkins and three other people were arrested after the Jan. 13, 2018, break-in slaying of Edgeton at her apartment.

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission approved renovation plans for three casinos Thursday to create areas for sports books. Commission administrator, Brian Ohorilko,
says the Lakeside Casino in Osceola is using existing space. He says they had existing space in the lower deck of their boat and they are spending an estimated 150-thousand dollars to transform it into a sports book.  Ohorilko says the Grand Falls Casino in Larchwood included the sports book in with another renovation project. “There was a one-point-five million dollar renovation for a sports book. But then in addition to that — eight-point-five million dollars set aside for improvements to the hotel and R-V park,”he says.

The Hard Rock Casino in Sioux City is also a renovating an area in the current building. “It took some existing space in the wine bar, their high-limit area. There was a project conversion of approximately 895-thousand dollar total budget,” according to Ohorilko. “And that will essentially turn some of that area into a sports book.” Ohorilko says the 19 state-licensed casinos are moving as quickly as they can to have a sports book in place after the governor signed the bill legalizing sports betting into law in May. “It’s hard to say what we’ll see down the road. I know most of the properties are anxious to have things up and ready prior to the football season,” Ohorilko says. “There’s only so much that you can do in a few months. And so we are seeing remodels right now that just updates that existing space. It’s hard to say if we’ll see more material renovations as time moves on.”

Ohorilko says there are a lot of unknowns about how many gamblers might use the sports books or how many would use an online option. He says that is whey there is a lot of renovation of existing spaces. “I think a lot of it is everything is just moving so quickly and the facilities are wanting to make sure they’re not making material plans for their facilities until they really know what the impact will be at each of their locations,” according to Ohorilko.  He says they are on track with the rule-making so it may be possible that you could legally place a bet in Iowa on the first college football games of the year.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

KELLOGG, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in central Iowa say a Jasper County man has died after being trapped in a grain bin. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office and other first responders were alerted to a man trapped in the bin near Kellogg just after 8 a.m. Thursday. First responders found 78-year-old Bill Hotger, of rural Kellogg, inside the bin. Once Hotger was freed, he was flown by helicopter to a Des Moines hospital, where he died.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A fifth suspect in the shooting death of a man during a 2017 robbery has pleaded not guilty to charges in the case. The Quad-City Times reported Thursday that 35-year-old Christopher Dixon entered the written plea to first-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony in the Sept. 22, 2017, shooting that killed 20-year-old Brady Tumlinson and injured Tumlinson’s girlfriend.

MITCHELLVILLE, Iowa (AP) — The adoptive grandmother of a central Iowa teenager who starved to death faces new charges of trying to escape prison. Station KCCI reports that 64-year-old Carla Bousman was in court Thursday morning to face a charge of escape. The Iowa Department of Corrections says Bousman walked away from the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville in early May and was caught about half-a-mile away. She’s serving a 20-year sentence for her role in 16-year-old Sabrina Ray’s 2017 death.

DURANT, Iowa (AP) — The sheriff of an eastern Iowa county has declared that his jail will no longer book suspects arrested in one town because he doesn’t trust the officers who work there. Cedar County Sheriff Warren Wethington issued the directive last month, which applies to anyone arrested by the Durant Police Department. Wethington says one of Durant’s three officers has a history of being untruthful and using questionable force and the chief knows this but hired him anyway.

KELLOGG, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in central Iowa say a Jasper County man has died after being trapped in a grain bin. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office and other first responders were alerted to a man trapped in the bin near Kellogg just after 8 a.m. Thursday.

First responders found 78-year-old Bill Hotger, of rural Kellogg, inside the bin. Once Hotger was freed, he was flown by helicopter to a Des Moines hospital, where he died. An autopsy has been ordered.

(Radio Iowa) — The administrator of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission says the rule-making process to allow legalized sports betting in the state is moving along on schedule. Administrator Brian Ohorilko gave an update on the process at today’s (Thursday) meeting in Northwood, and spoke about it in an interview with Radio Iowa.

“We believe we’ll have rules published here in the next few weeks. Draft rules are in place and we’re still working through some of the details in those. The goal is to have these rules published here in the next few weeks,” Ohorilko explains. The governor signed the sports gambling bill into law in May that allows you to place a bet at one of the 19 state-licensed casinos or on-line.

Ohorilko says they will hold a public hearing on the rules at their July 11th meeting — and then could vote on approving the rules at the end of July. “The commission has scheduled a special meeting on July 30th to deal with matters related to sports wagering,” according to Ohorilko. “That could be a meeting — depending on how well the rules process goes — where the commission could review and consider those rules for emergency adopt.”

He says it is possible you might be able to legally place a bet in Iowa on the first college football games of the year. “If emergency rules were adopted at the end of July, there would likely be a period of time for casinos to get controls approved and their partners licensed,” Ohorilko explains. “…that may take a few weeks, so we are still looking at mid-August, sometime before college football season.”

Ohorilko says that timeline is based on everything falling into place without delay. “There’s still a lot of things that need to fall into place. The commission is not wanting to cut corners on any of this, and so those things need to happen. But if they do, I think it still is reasonable to anticipate a go live date is prior to the college football season,” Ohorilko says.

He says they have been reviewing how other states have handled this in the last several years as it was an issue in the legislature before finally being approved. Ohorilko says having the process in other states will also help in setting up the companies here. “We’ve received a number of applications from people who are partnering with casino companies that are licensed in other jurisdictions.

That also is helpful because those companies that have received licenses in other jurisdictions are used to being regulated, they’ve had backgrounds in those other jurisdictions, so that is helpful in this process,” Ohorilko says. The I-R-G-C’s July 11th meeting will be held at the Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Altoona.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa has one of the nation’s oldest populations by percentage and it means the state’s graying residents need to be especially cautious with their money, particularly in this digital age. Ron Long, director of elder client initiatives at Wells Fargo Advisors, says the term “elder financial abuse” covers a wide range of crimes.

Long says, “It’s all sorts of evil, predatory behavior that can run the gamut from forging checks, misusing a power of attorney, literally using scare tactics or exaggerated claims to get money out of older people.” A recent survey found 81-percent of older Americans say they’re confident they’d never fall victim to elder financial abuse, yet nearly half said they know of someone who’s already been swindled.

For Iowans who are worried about an elder parent getting duped, Long says there are a few avenues to pursue. “Set up a large transaction alert,” Long says. “You and your mom would decide how much it is, but anything over $500 or $750, you would at least get an alert that it’s happened. Most times, it’s perfectly fine, but you would at least know. We also look to have duplicate statements sent to a trusted person.”

Long says it’s not taking control of the older person’s finances, it’s just putting a second set of eyes to work, looking for anything questionable. He also suggests setting up auto bill payments for convenience, and to eliminate the worry from callers who claim they’re with a utility, you’re late paying and they threaten to shut off your power or water.

Prevention starts with a conversation, Long says, though it could be difficult to begin such a chat. “It’s not an easy one,” Long says. “We often say, start with yourself, ‘Mom, I’ve started to look at some of the things I need to put in place. I would like to start talking to you about some of the things I’m doing,’ and use that as an entre.”

Two-thirds of elder financial abuse crimes are committed by someone known to the victim, either a friend, relative or caretaker. About 15-percent of Iowans are 65 and older. Iowa ranks 4th in the nation for percentage of residents 65 and over, behind West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and number-one Florida.

Red Oak Police, Thursday afternoon, arrested 41-year old Jill Renee Coddington, of Red Oak. She was taken into custody in the 300 block of E. Washington Avenue, for Criminal Mischief in the 5th Degree. Authorities say Coddington broke a window on a vehicle that was not hers, with the intent to destroy the property.

She was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

MITCHELLVILLE, Iowa (AP) — The adoptive grandmother of a central Iowa teenager who starved to death faces new charges of trying to escape prison.

Television station KCCI reports that 64-year-old Carla Bousman was in court Thursday morning to face a charge of escape. The Iowa Department of Corrections says Bousman walked away from the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville in early May. Authorities nabbed her about half-a-mile away from the facility, where she’s serving a 20-year sentence for her role in 16-year-old Sabrina Ray’s 2017 death. If convicted of the escape charge, Bousman faces an additional five years in prison. Bousman has pleaded not guilty; her next court appearance is July 11.

Bousman was imprisoned last year after pleading guilty to neglect of a dependent person and six other charges in the teen’s death. Bousman admitted that she locked Sabrina’s two sisters in a room with the girl as she was dying. She also admitted concealing evidence after the girl died.

A man from Minnesota was hospitalized Wednesday night following a pursuit that ended in a crash. Authorities say at around 9:24-p.m., a Page County Deputy initiated a traffic stop on a silver Toyota Highlander at Highway 71 and Upland Avenue, about three-miles north of Clarinda.

During the traffic stop, the Deputy had obtained information from the driver and had returned to the patrol vehicle for paperwork. A records check indicated the license plates on the vehicle had been stolen. During the initial investigation, the SUV took off from the traffic stop.

The pursuit went north on Highway 71. At the intersection with Highway 34, the SUV turned east.  An Adams County Deputy joined the pursuit and the pursuit continued into Adams County on Highway 34. Near Corning, the vehicle turned around and headed west on Highway 34. At the intersection with Ginko Road, the vehicle turned south and headed towards Brooks. Near the town of Brooks, the suspect vehicle failed to negotiate curves in the road and wrecked.

The driver of the vehicle and only occupant, 39-year old Leroy Takye Bradley, of Minneapolis, MN, was detained for questioning and medical attention. He was transported to the Adams County Hospital by Corning Fire and Rescue. Bradley was then transferred to Bergen Mercy Hospital in Omaha, NE with undisclosed injuries.

Page County Charges on Bradley are pending at this time for speeding, Felony eluding, and Possession of Stolen property. Other charges on Bradley are possible as the case is still under investigation. The Page County Sheriff’s Office was assisted during the pursuit by the Adams County Sheriff’s Office & the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. Corning Fire and Rescue and the Iowa State Patrol also assisted in the handling of the incident.