The Audubon County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday, 33-year old Shawn Leroy Schmidt, of Kimballton, was arrested August 16th. Schmidt was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant for Violation of Probation. Schmidt has since posted bond, and was released.

Sheriff’s officials in Ringgold County report a man and a woman from central Iowa were arrested over the weekend on 1st offense Trespassing and 2nd Degree Burglary charges. 39-year old Cody Carpenter Reynolds, of Des Moines, and 36-year old Tara Leanna Campfield, of Ankeny, were arrested last Saturday for their alleged crimes, in Kellerton. Reynolds and Campfield are being held in the Ringgold County Jail until seen by a magistrate. And, a Mt. Ayr couple, 31-year old Andrew James Cason and 29-year old Kara Danee Cason, were arrested Aug. 17th. Both were charged with Domestic Abuse Assault, a simple misdemeanor. They were being held without bond in the Ringgold County Jail until seen by a magistrate.

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

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Auditor of State Mary Mosiman today (Thursday) released a report on a special investigation of the City of Kimballton for the period May 1st, 2014 through August 31st, 2017. The special investigation was requested by City officials as a result of concerns regarding certain financial transactions processed by the former City Clerk, Tammy Thompson. Mosiman reported the special investigation identified $89,939.12 of undeposited collections and improper and unsupported disbursements.

Mosiman also reported $37,137.63 of the undeposited utility collections was identified by comparing utility collections recorded in the City’s utility accounting system to amounts deposited to the City’s bank accounts between May 1, 2014 and August 31, 2017. The remaining undeposited utility collections identified are composed of $1,353.82 of improper adjustments recorded in the City’s utility accounting system. There were no explanations for the adjustments and they were not approved by the City Council.

The $42,431.08 of improper disbursements identified includes $24,375.15 of checks which were issued to or redeemed for cash, $12,223.80 of unauthorized payroll costs and reimbursement checks to Ms. Thompson, and $5,577.26 of improper purchases on the City’s credit card. The $8,936.59 of unsupported disbursements identified includes $3,333.55 of unsupported purchases on the City’s credit card at Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Amazon and $5,439.80 of checks issued from the City’s checking and Library accounts to individuals and vendors for which the City could not locate supporting documentation.

Mosiman also reported it was not possible to determine if additional amounts were improperly disbursed or if additional collections were not properly deposited because adequate documentation was not available. In addition, Mosiman reported City officials did not implement policies or procedures to address the recommendations included in the previously released “Agreed-upon Procedures Report” for the period July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014 and the “Report on the Status of Findings and Recommendations” for the period December 1, 2015 through May 31, 2016. Both reports included recommendations to segregate duties, perform utility reconciliations, perform an independent review of bank statements, and ensure all disbursements are properly supported and approved.

Mosiman again recommended City officials implement procedures to ensure the City’s internal controls are strengthened, including segregation of duties, performing utility reconciliations, performing independent review of bank statements, and ensuring all disbursements are properly supported, approved, and paid in a timely manner. Copies of the report have been filed with the Audubon County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Audubon County Attorney’s Office, and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. A copy of the report is available for review in the Office of Auditor of State and on the Auditor of State’s web site at https://www.auditor.iowa.gov/reports/audit-reports/.

(7-a.m. News) — Two men from Creston were arrested on separate charges, Wednesday. According to the Creston Police Department, 19-year old Patrick Farlow was arrested at around 6:45-p.m. For Driving While Barred, on three-counts of Possession of a Concealed Weapon, and one count of Disarming a Peace Officer. His bond was set at $13,000.
And, at around 11:30-a.m. Wednesday, 23-year old Tyler White was arrested in Creston for Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Interference with Official Acts. White was later released from the Union County Jail on a $1,600 bond.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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(Radio Iowa) — Republican Senator Chuck Grassley is asking officials in the Department of Homeland Security to explain how the man accused of murdering Mollie Tibbetts got from Mexico to Iowa — and was able to live here illegally for seven years. “We must prevent murders like this from occurring again,” Grassley says. “At a minimum, we must increase law enforcement presence at the border.”

Cristhian Rivera worked at a dairy farm near Brooklyn. Dane Lang of Yarrabee Farms says Rivera applied for work four years ago under a different name. Lang says his farming operation learned Wednesday it had NOT been using the federal E-Verify system, but rather a cross-check through Social Security to cross-check the identity of prospective employees. Senator Grassley says it’s time for congress to eliminate the potential for fraud and abuse in the E-Verify system.

“E-Verify ought to be mandatory instead of voluntary,” Grassley says, “but when you want to bring up an E-Verify mandatory policy the first stonewall you run into is the Chamber of Commerce and a lot of business groups don’t want to make it mandatory.” Grassley says migrant labor is desperately needed on ever-growing Iowa dairy farms, large-scale hog operations, meat processing facilities and in the state’s egg industry.

“If we did have these bills I’m talking about so people could have the papers to come to our country legally, go home when they want to (and) come back, that would basically solve our problem, right?” Grassley asks. But prospects for having the Senate pass any change in immigration policy are dim, according to Grassley. “If I could get a bill on the floor…without people on the right wanting to round up 11 million people and ship ’em out of the country…Now, I’m being a little facetious when I say that, but there is that feeling on the right,” Grassley says. “And then there’s a feeling on the left that we ought to, you know, legalize everybody yesterday.”

During a speech on the senate floor yesterday (Wednesday), Grassley said congress “has been dancing around the issue of securing our border and strengthening interior enforcement for far too long” and it’s time to fix the problem.

(Radio Iowa) — Homeowners, renters and businesses in four counties hit by flash flooding and severe weather in June and early July are not eligible for federal disaster aid. Governor Kim Reynolds says she is “extremely disappointed” officials in the Federal Emergency Management Agency have denied her request. She was seeking individual assistance grants from FEMA to help Iowans in Buchanan, Dickinson, Polk and Winnebago Counties repair and rebuild after storm damage.

FEMA officials sent a denial letter to the governor, saying the magnitude of damage to homes and businesses in those four counties was not severe enough to warrant federal help. Reynolds announced last (Wednesday) night she plans to appeal that decision.

On Monday, FEMA did decide it will forward federal money to help the state and local governments in 30 Iowa counties rebuild public facilities like roads and bridges that were damaged by flooding. The federal disaster grants will also cover some of the costs of debris removal and other emergency services. Among the counties now eligible to apply for Public Assistance Program funding is Adair and Dallas, in the KJAN listening area.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT

BROOKLYN, Iowa (AP) — For years, his employer said the young man from Mexico presented himself as a legal U.S. resident and reliable worker at a family dairy farm in Iowa. But this week, the image of Cristhian Bahena Rivera transformed in a matter of hours. Now he’s accused of illegally living and working in the U.S. and of being a predator who kidnapped and killed a beloved young woman. Rivera appeared in court Wednesday on a first-degree murder charge in the death of 20-year-old college student Mollie Tibbetts.

ADEL, Iowa (AP) — A judge has approved a motion to move the trial of an Iowa couple charged in the starvation death of their 16-year-old adopted daughter. The Des Moines Register reports that a judge on Wednesday agreed that pretrial publicity surrounding the case necessitated moving the trial of Marc and Misty Ray out of Dallas County. The Rays have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, child endangerment resulting in death and other counts related to the May 2017 death of Sabrina Ray.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Farmers and ranchers in two southeastern Iowa counties who’ve suffered losses and damages from recent drought may now be eligible for federal emergency loans. That news came Wednesday as the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that Appanoose and Van Buren counties have been designated as primary natural disaster areas.

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — Experts say the systems offered by the U.S. government to check the legal status of workers like the Mexican man now suspected of killing an Iowa college student can be easily exploited through identity fraud and gaps in government systems. In the case of Cristhian Bahena Rivera, the 24-year-old now charged with murder in the death of Mollie Tibbetts, Rivera’s ex-employer said Wednesday said it didn’t use the federal E-Verify program, correcting information it used a day earlier.

ADEL, Iowa (AP) — A judge has approved a motion to move the trial of an Iowa couple charged in the starvation death of their 16-year-old adopted daughter.
The Des Moines Register reports that a judge on Wednesday agreed that pretrial publicity surrounding the case necessitated moving the trial of Marc and Misty Ray out of Dallas County.

The Rays have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, child endangerment resulting in death and other counts related to the May 2017 death of Sabrina Ray in her Perry home.

Authorities say the girl weighed just 56 pounds when she died. Her brother, Justin Ray, was sentenced to 10 years in prison earlier this year for drop-kicking Sabrina down basement stairs, leaving her unable to walk, talk or eat in the days before her death. The girl’s adoptive grandmother was sentenced to 20 years for failing to seek medical help for Sabrina and for abusing other children in the household.