The Audubon County Sheriff’s Department has released a report on numerous recent arrests. On Monday, 35-year old Ryan Mark Biensen, of Audubon, was arrested at around 12:50-pm., on an outstanding  warrant for Failure to Appear. He was being held in the Audubon County Jail on a $5,000 bond.

On Saturday, 42-year old Jamie Renea Clausen, of Audubon, was arrested at around 4:22-a.m. on an outstanding warrant for Violation of Probation. Clausen was being held in the Audubon County Jail on a $5,000 bond.

Last Friday, Audubon County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 19-year old Chandler Joel Behrens, of Audubon, after he turned himself-in on an outstanding warrant for Violation of Probation. Behrens was released later in the day on his own recognizance.

Last Wednesday, 31-year old Lisa Marie Hall, of Carroll, was arrested at around 2:20-a.m. for Driving under the Influence, Child Endangerment-Causing Bodily Injury, Child Endangerment, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. The arrest stems from an investigation into a single vehicle accident at 120th & Oriole in Audubon County. Hall was later released on an $8,300 bond.

Arrested last Tuesday in Audubon County, was: 24-year old Kaz Ryan Cozad, of Audubon, and 37-year old Ian Lee Leib, of Kimballton. Leib was arrested on an outstanding warrant for Failure to Appear in court. He was being held in the Audubon County Jail on a $5,0000 bond. Cozad was charged with OWI-1st Offense, as the result of a traffic stop on 190th east of Audubon.  He was released the following day after an appearance before the magistrate.

On Oct. 4th, Audubon County Deputies arrested 43-year old Jay Joseph Ratigan, of Exira, on an outstanding warrant for a Violation of Probation. Ratigan eventually posted bond and was released. On Sept. 29th, 19-year old Christopher Michael Paulsen, of Exira, was charged with OWI-1st Offense and Speeding, following a traffic stop on 310th St., at around 3:20-a.m. Paulsen posted bond and was released. And, on Sept. 21st, 30-year old James Aaron Humlicek, of Exira, was arrested on an outstanding warrant for a Violation of Probation charge. He completed his time at the Audubon County Jail and was released on October 13th.

(Radio Iowa) — Sears filed for bankruptcy early this (Monday) morning and announced three more K-Mart stores in Iowa will be closing. The stores are located in Cherokee, Council Bluffs and Webster City. Nationwide, there will be 142 Sears and K-Mart stores closing due to the bankruptcy filing. Liquidation sales at the K-Mart stores in Cherokee, Council Bluffs and Webster City will begin in the next two weeks, with closures by the end of the year.

The company has been closing what it deems “unprofitable” stores. Since 2013, two-thirds of the Sears and K-Mart stores operating in the US have been closed. Sears was founded 131 years ago and became the country’s number one retailer. Competition, changing shopping habits and massive debts led to today’s (Monday’s) attempt to reorganize and stablize the company through Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — Supporters of a right-wing group are asking a judge not to grant a “deluxe legal defense” for a Mexican national charged with killing an Iowa college student. More than 200 people have sent postcards to Judge Joel Yates protesting his decision to authorize $5,000 for an investigator to work with Cristhian Bahena Rivera’s defense.

The postcards are distributed by the Virginia-based Secure America Alliance. They ask Yates not to “award any more taxpayer money for a deluxe legal defense for an illegal alien.” Rivera is charged with killing 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, who disappeared July 18 in Brooklyn. Rivera had worked for years at a dairy farm, and prosecutors say he was in the U.S. illegally.

Yates granted a routine request by Rivera’s defense last month to appoint a private investigator, writing that Rivera is indigent and the case “presents a need for an investigator.” He approved a $5,000 stipend, saying additional payments are subject to court approval.

Sheriff’s officials in Union County report two recent arrests. At around 2-a.m. Saturday, 24-year old Zachary John Malloy, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center for OWI/2nd offense, following an investigation into an accident that happened at around 1:12-a.m.  Authorities say Malloy was traveling east on 160th Street when he lost control of the 1980 Chevy pickup he was driving. The vehicle entered a yard at 1675 160th Street and struck a gas line, causing a rupture in the line. He was later released from custody on a $2,000 bond.

And, at around 6-p.m. Friday, 23-year old Cody Joseph Reighard, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center on a Union County warrant for failure to appear in court on a charge of theft 3^rd degree, and failure to appear on 4 counts of burglary 3^rd degree, along with possession of controlled substance.  Reighard was being held in the Union County Jail on a $10,000 bond.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Documents show a candidate for county treasurer in northern Iowa’s Cerro Gordo County was fired from the treasurer’s office for sending emails that made disparaging comments about co-workers. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that Natasha Lewerke worked as deputy treasurer in the Cerro Gordo County Treasurer’s Office from December 2005 to January 2016 and is running as a Republican against her former supervisor, incumbent Pat Wright, a Democrat.

The documents are part of a March 2016 administrative law judge decision on Lewerke’s unemployment appeal. They say the emails referred to several female co-workers as “lazy,” ”fat,” ”dirty,” ”annoying,” ”nasty,” ”disgusting” or an “idiot.” The documents say the emails show “a deliberate disregard of the employer’s interest in expecting decency and civility from its employees.”

She told the Globe Gazette that she’s apologized for the emails.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — A judge has scheduled a January trial for a 22-year-old Iowa drifter charged with killing a top amateur golfer from Spain. District Judge Bethany Currie ruled Monday that Collin Richards will stand trial Jan. 15 for first-degree murder in the death of Iowa State University student Celia Barquin Arozamena. Richards entered a written not guilty plea Monday morning and waived his right to a speedy trial. The filing canceled an in-person arraignment hearing that had been scheduled for later Monday.

Investigators say Richards attacked Barquin on Sept. 17 while she was playing a round at a public course in Ames, near the university campus. Her body was found in a pond on the course riddled with stab wounds.
Richards faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — After nearly three months without a winner, the Mega Millions lottery game has climbed to an estimated $654 million jackpot. Unfortunately, even as the big prize for Tuesday night’s drawing rises to the fourth-largest in U.S. history, the odds of matching all six numbers and winning the game don’t improve. They’re stuck at a miserable one in 302.5 million.

The last time anyone won the jackpot was July 24, when a group from California claimed a $543 million prize. The estimated $654 million jackpot refers to the annuity option, paid out over 29 years. The cash option, which is favored by nearly all winners, is $372 million. Mega Millions is played in 44 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Iowa State Patrol has released additional details about a school bus-versus-car accident that occurred Sunday afternoon on Interstate 80, in Cass County. Authorities say a 2005 Buick Lacrosse driven by 16-year old Natalie Caroline Gutschenritter, of Farragut, was westbound on I-80 at around 2:38-p.m., just east of the Highway 71 exit, when she lost control of the vehicle while changing lanes. The car slid through the median and came to rest in the middle of the eastbound lanes. A Harlan Community School District bus driven by 69-year old Neal August Gaul, of Earling, was traveling eastbound and unable to avoid hitting the car.

Following the collision, the Buick came to rest in the middle of the eastbound lanes, while the Thomas bus slid off the south shoulder, coming to rest with the right rear portion of the bus on top of a solid metal guardrail. Gutschenritter was transported by Atlantic Medivac Ambulance to the Cass County Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. She was later cited for Failure to Maintain Control. None of the 17 persons reported to have been on the bus were injured. A Harlan Community School District bus was dispatched to transported occupants of the first bus.

Atlantic Fire and Rescue, the Iowa State Patrol and Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies all responded to the scene, along with Medivac.

(Radio Iowa) — We’re not even a month into fall and already wintry weather is hitting Iowa. Meteorologist Brooke Hagenhoff, at the National Weather Service, says the Sunday afternoon snowfall took some north-central Iowans by surprise. “The highest amounts we got were around Iowa Falls where they got around two-and-a-half inches,” Hagenhoff says. “There were two inches in the Emmet County-Estherville area, but Iowa Falls generally got the most yesterday while other places saw an inch to maybe just a dusting.”

Anyone in the region who’d hoped to build a snowman or go sledding had better act fast as the snow won’t last. “No, definitely not,” Hagenhoff says. “We’re expected to warm up gradually throughout the week. By Thursday to Friday, we should be in the upper 50s to right around 60.” Some social media chatter makes it sound like this taste of winter weather is closer to the end of the world, but she says a light snow during October is relatively typical. “Our average high for this time of year is right around 60 to 65 degrees, but looking back at our records all the way back to 1885, the average first trace of snow and first measurable snow both occur in October,” Hagenhoff says. “So, while it tends to catch people off guard, it’s not completely rare.”

In some areas, the snow fell on trees that were still fully leafed out and limbs snapped under the weight, dropping on power lines. In the Omaha-Council Bluffs area, as many as 50-thousand customers lost electricity on Sunday due to falling, snow-covered limbs.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, today (Monday), said a Mills County woman was arrested Friday afternoon, on a Fugitive from Justice warrant out of Douglas County, NE. 35-year old Misty Bea Petterson, of Glenwood, was already being held in the Pott. County Jail on a Probation Violation warrant. She continues to be held without bond on the NE warrant.

Saturday night, a woman from Oakland was arrested following a traffic stop. During a records check, 19-year old Jacqueline Claire Pilling was found to have had warrants out of Pott. County for Driving Under the Influence, and Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense. Pilling was being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail over the weekend, on a $2,325 bond.

And, 23-year old Brandon Scott Chrisman, of Omaha, was arrested at around 3-a.m. today (Monday), after he was involved in an accident on I-29 at mile marker 46. Chrisman’s information was run through the NCIC (National Crime Information Center database), which revealed a warrant was issued for his arrested through Douglas Co. Nebraska. Dispatch verified the warrant and advised that it was extraditable. Chrisman was taken into custody and transported to the Pottawattamie Co. Jail, where he was booked in on a Fugitive from Justice charge and held without bond, before being turned over to correction staff.