Council Bluffs Police report an arrest was made in connection with an armed robbery that took place this (Monday) morning. Officers responded at around 7:42-a.m. to the Bomgaars store (2703 E. Kanesville Blvd.) for an armed robbery. The suspect fled from the scene in a red Pontiac Firebird with Nebraska plates, heading west on Kanesville.  The vehicle was located and a traffic stop was attempted, but the vehicle continued west on Kanesville to 8th and Broadway where officers deployed stop sticks.

Randy Lee Andersen, Jr.

The car lost a tire and became disabled as it went over the Broadway Viaduct. The driver then fled from the vehicle on foot, but was apprehended before he could get off the viaduct.  The suspect was identified as 35-year old Randy Lee Andersen, Jr., of Omaha. Andersen was charged with two-counts of 1st degree Robbery, Theft in the 2nd degree (possession of stolen property), Theft in the 3rd (possession of stolen property), Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Reckless Driving, Eluding, and Possession with Intent to Deliver (Meth). , Andersen also had an outstanding warrant from Nebraska.

Both the vehicle and the gun Andersen used in the commission of the robbery had been reported stolen.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports a Pottawattamie County man was arrested Friday afternoon. 24-year old Dylan Lee Conn, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on a warrant for two counts of Probation Violation. He was taken into custody at the Pott. County Jail and held on a $50,000 bond.

ATLANTIC – Cass County Health System is hosting special walk-in clinics for people to receive their annual flu vaccination. The clinics will be on:

• Atlantic Medical Center: October 3, 10, 17, 24 from 8 am to 7 pm
• Griswold Medical Center: Wednesday, October 17 from 5-7 pm
• Anita Medical Center: Tuesday, October 23 from 5-7 pm
• Massena Medical Center: Tuesday, October 30 from 5-7 pm

On Wednesday, October 10^th, Atlantic Medical Center will host the “Ayzlee’s Family Flu Clinic” from 5 to 7 pm, which includes additional flu information and children’s activities. In addition to the flu clinics, anyone can receive their flu vaccine during the Atlantic Medical Center Immunization Room’s normal business hours: Monday through Friday 8 to 4 pm. They are also open on Saturday mornings from 8 to 11 am.

There are four strains, or types, of the flu that typically hit the Midwest during flu season: two types of Influenza A and two types of Influenza B. Atlantic Medical Center will have the Quadrivalent vaccine which protects against all four strains, to provide the greatest protection. They will also be offering the High Dose flu vaccine for people 65 years of age and older. The two best ways to protect yourself, and those around you, from influenza are to get vaccinated and to practice good hand washing. Getting vaccinated not only protects you, but also those around you who may be too young (under 6 months) or have a medical condition that prevents them from being vaccinated.

The seasonal flu (influenza) is a serious disease caused by the influenza virus. Some common symptoms of the flu are fever, cough, chills, body aches, and extreme weakness. For more information, please contact the Immunization Room at 712-250-8122.

(Radio Iowa) — A popular tourist attraction in northwest Iowa will close today (Monday) for renovation. The Wells Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor, located in Le Mars will close its doors today (Monday) to being a four million dollar upgrade. The ice cream parlor will re-open on November 19th for the holiday season, then close again from February through early June to complete the remodeling project. When completed, the ice cream parlor will expand its seating area, include an interactive display entitled “From Farm to Spoon.” It will have a small theater to showcase the history of Wells Enterprises and the making of ice cream. Included with the ice cream parlor will be a rooftop seating area. According to Adam Baumgartner, Vice President of Retail Sales, Wells wants to bring joy to everyone and make eating ice cream fun.

(Radio Iowa) — Des Moines Police are looking for a suspect in a fatal shooting Sunday afternoon on the city’s east side. The victim, 28-year-old Aaron John Ross of Des Moines, was shot to death just after 1 p.m. while sitting in a car (in the 1200 block of East 13th Street). Des Moines Police Sergeant Paul Parizek says a woman and two children who were also in the car were NOT injured.

Parizek said the children are both under the age of 10. This is Des Moines’ ninth homicide of the year. “This is a very specific, targeted incident. There’s nothing random about it,” Parizek said. “As far as motive goes, that’s something we’ll have to determine as we locate the suspect and maybe get some more information from people in the community. Obviously, absent the victim’s ability to fill us in, motive is hard to determine until you know who’s exactly all involved.”

Parizek is confident an arrest will be made soon.”We’ve got some really good investigative leads…forensic evidence that was gathered and good statements from witnesses,” Parizek said. The nine homicides this year is down considerably from 2017, when Des Moines has a total of 25 killings – the most since 1978 (27 homicides).

On Wednesday, October 3rd, 2018 at 1:18 PM CDT, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will send a TEST Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) message to nearly all wireless devices in the United States. This will be a TEST “Presidential Alert”. You can not turn off a Presidential Alert nor can you “opt out” of the test either. If your phone is turned on, within range of an active cell tower and whose wireless provider participates in WEA, the phone should be capable of receiving the message. This means just about every wireless phone near you during that timeframe will receive the text message at 1:18 PM CDT (10/3), which will likely set off an audible alarm for a short time.

A call Thursday about a robbery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center resulted in three men under suspicion of 1st Degree robbery. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports $700 in cash and a cell phone was stolen from an Avoca man. 19-year old Ricky Lee Ludwig Miedel, of Minden, 20-year old Dylan James Miedel, of Council Bluffs, and Austin Bird are suspected in the case. A report was filed but the men were not arrested.

A traffic stop Friday evening in Pott. County on a vehicle with illegal window tint, resulted in the arrest of the driver, 18-year old Austin Markey, of Council Bluffs. He was arrested on a warrant for Theft in the 5th Degree, the bond for which was set at $300. Markey was also given a verbal warning about the window tint. A call about an intoxicated person at around 2:40-a.m. Sunday in Avoca, resulted in the arrest of 28-year old Brittani Mary Ann Wheeler, of Avoca. She was taken into custody on a Public Intoxication charge.

A man camping at Arrowhead Park in Neola, was arrested on active warrants from Pottawattamie County and Jefferson County, CO. 40-year old Fred Travis Starrett, of Avoca, was arrested on a warrant for being a Fugitive from Justice from Colorado, and on a Probation Violation warrant, the bond for which is $5,000. An adult male and female were arrested at around 10-a.m. Sunday following a call about suspicious activity. A Deputy made contact with several people in a tan Suburban parked near the gate of Remelt, and arrested 18-year old Maggie Ann Baker, of Council Bluffs, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and on two counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance. 41-year old Andy Charles Andrews, of Pacific Junction, was arrested for having a concealed weapon, Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Contraband. Authorities recovered 2.8 grams of meth, 4 Xanax bars, one-half gram of marijuana and assorted paraphernalia pipes during the incident.

A traffic stop Sunday in Pott. County resulted in the arrest of 26-year old Taylor Rae McDaniel, of Essex. McDaniel was taken into custody on a warrant out of Clarinda and transported to the Pott. County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) — A ceremony will be held at the Iowa Capitol early this (Monday) afternoon to formalize Taiwan’s purchase of nearly four million metric tons of soybeans from Iowa and Minnesota. The trade delegation from Taiwan signed documents in Washington, D.C. Thursday and made stops in Iowa this weekend. On Sunday, they visited a farm in northwest Iowa, east of Hinton. Republican Congressman Steve King arranged for tours of farms near Nevada and Fort Dodge, too. “I wanted them to see, just take the ride across the landscape because I’ve learned this from our foreign visitors in the past that I’ve brought here in the past that they come from places where it’s just hard to conceive of the idea of horizon-to-horizon row crop production, really, without a break,” King says. “….Let ’em know you can buy all the grain you can buy and we’re not going to run out here in Iowa.”

King says he and his staff have traveled to Taiwan several times to tout trade and he predicts even more U.S. soybeans will be shipped to Taiwan in the future. “That pipe of exports to China — and I’ll just use it as a pipe size — that’s been shrunken considerably because of the trade protectionism that China has slapped on especially our beans and our pork, but also other products,” King says. “…To replace one big pipe to China we have to replace it with a lot of smaller pipes to places like Taiwan and other countries.” According to King, the U.S. is now providing nearly 80 percent of Taiwan’s soybean supply. The move is likely part of Taiwan’s effort to strengthen ties to the U.S. as China increases pressure on Taiwan, which it claims as part of Chinese territory.

The stronger our relationships are with Taiwan — the business relationships, the friendship relationships, the trade that goes back and forth, the young people that come to the United States to be educated here and our Americans that go there to study — all of those things build stronger bonds,” King says, “and those stronger bonds are a component of the national defense for Taiwan.”

King spoke at last Thursday’s signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. He is not among the dignitaries scheduled to speak at the ceremony this (Monday) afternoon in Washington, D.C. A trade delegation from Minnesota was in Taiwan in August to tout the pending deal.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports 28-year old Derek Paul Thomson of California was arrested Sunday, on a Page County warrant for Violation of Probation from a sentencing charge of possession of Marijuana. Thomson was arrested at the Page County Sheriff’s Office. He was unable to post the $5,000 bond and remains in custody pending further court proceedings in the Page County Jail. On Saturday, 23-year old Dillon Steven White Vojchehoske, of Plattsmouth, NE, was arrested on a Page County Warrant for Violation of Probation, that originated from a sentencing charge of Carrying Weapons.

White Vojchehoske was unable to post the $2,000 cash bond and is being held in the Page County Jail.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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