MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A northern Iowa jury has found a man accused of murder guilty of a lesser offense: voluntary manslaughter. Jurors took about three hours Monday to return their verdict on 21-year-old Braedon Bowers. He’d been charged with first-degree murder in the May 30, 2017, stabbing of 23-year-old Wraymond Todd in Mason City. Todd died five days later. Bowers, who didn’t testify during his six-day trial, is a Mason City resident.

The latest area news from KJAN News Director, Ric Hanson.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Ankeny mother whose baby died after becoming wedged between a mattress and a wall has been given two years of probation. Court records say 33-year-old Michelle Atwell was fined $1,000 at her sentencing Monday in Des Moines and given a deferred judgment. A deferred judgment allows her conviction to be removed from court records if she completes her probation terms. Atwell had pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance for sale.

Police were called to the Ankeny home of Atwell and Matthew Cohara on Aug. 26, 2017, after the 7-month-old was found not breathing. Police say the baby became wedged and suffocated after Atwell left her on the bed for hours after feeding her. An autopsy found a cocaine byproduct in the baby’s system. Cohara was given a similar sentence.

(Radio Iowa) — The U-S-D-A on Monday revealed details of a trade relief package for farmers. For now, it amounts to $4.7 billion, with the possibility of more aid if exports continue to suffer. Iowa Soybean Association President Bill Shipley, who farms near Nodaway in Adams County, says the best they can hope for is some mitigating help to assist farmers in staving off red ink in their operations.”We can at least pay our expenses. That’s about all it will do is get us up to our break-even price,” Shipley says. “Everybody’s got a different break-even price, depending on yield and price. It’ll get us up to break-even, maybe. It’ll make our bankers feel a lot better.”

Soybean producers are set to receive $3.6 billion in direct aid. Many farm groups have responded with calls for “trade not aid.” Shipley says the farm economy and the impacts of the retaliatory tariffs is worrying Iowa lenders. “I’ve talked to several, I haven’t talked to my own, but I’ve talked to several others and they are concerned, deeply concerned, about the farm economy,” Shipley says. “If you can at least cover your expenses, it’ll make them feel better. It’ll make me feel better, too. I don’t want to be going backwards.”

Shipley hopes U-S and Chinese negotiators are making progress with their discussions about the current trade war and find some possible ways to resolve it. “They’re supposed to meet for six or seven days and at least they’re talking, that’s always positive,” Shipley says, “and that’s the best we can hope for.”  Shipley says trade issues are complicated and involve more than just agriculture so it could take some time to hammer out a positive agreement. On Monday, U-S Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue said producers can begin to apply for the aid on September 4.

(Radio Iowa) — A murder trial of a Dallas County couple is being moved from central to northwest Iowa.  The trial of Marc and Misty Ray is scheduled to begin on February 4, 2019 in Woodbury County. A judge granted a change of venue request citing extensive media coverage of the case. Marc and Misty Ray were the adoptive parents of 16-year-old Sabrina Ray, who was found dead in the Perry home in May of 2017. An autopsy showed she was “severely malnourished” and weighed just 56 pounds at the time of her death.

In April, Sabrina Ray’s adoptive grandmother was sentenced to 20 years in prison for failing to seek medical attention for the dying girl. In February, her adoptive brother was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to kicking and seriously injuring Sabrina a few weeks before her death.

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports one arrest took place last week. Deputies arrested 46-year old Wesley Earl Tolley, of Winterset, on Aug. 21st at around 1:45-p.m. Tolley was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance/3rd or Subsequent offense – Methamphetamine, after a probable cause search of his vehicle was conducted.

During the search, Tolley admitted there were syringes underneath the driver’s seat, within a bag, which turned out to be true. Also included in the bag was a baggie containing methamphetamine, which field tested positive. Tolley was booked into the Adair County Jail, where his cash or surety bond was set at $1,000.

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

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Native American tribe is still planning to open a casino on the Iowa-Nebraska border despite a pending legal challenge from both states. The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska announced that the newly named Prairie Flower Casino will open in late October on tribal land in Carter Lake, Iowa. The project’s first phase will include 9,500 square feet of space, 200 slot-style games and a full-service bar and snack bar.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Civil rights organizations in Iowa are appealing to the Iowa Legislature and Gov. Kim Reynolds to do something about racial profiling after two young black men filed a lawsuit against Des Moines police for a traffic stop they say was unconstitutional. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People says 30 states have laws prohibiting racial profiling, but Iowa is not one of them.

BROOKLYN, Iowa (AP) — The father of slain Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts has thanked the Hispanic community for its support during the long search for his daughter. A Mexican farmworker suspected of being in the U.S. illegally has been charged in Tibbetts’ death. Speaking Sunday afternoon at a ceremony for his daughter, Rob Tibbetts said that in the weeks he was in the central Iowa community of Brooklyn to search for his daughter, he encountered Hispanics who were sensitive and kind.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Transamerica and several related entities have agreed to repay $97.6 million to investors who were misled as part of a settlement with regulators. The Securities and Exchange Commission says investors were misled about the quantitative models that were used to manage their investments. The companies denied any wrongdoing.

WASHINGTON – Today (Monday), the Office of U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) released the following statement:

“Senator Ernst and her husband, Gail, are in the process of divorcing.  They remain committed to their children and family, and ask for respect for their privacy during this difficult time.”

The driver of a motorcycle was injured after crashing into a phone box and landing in a large thicket of trees and shrubs late Sunday morning. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene of the accident at 201 Shelby County Road M-16, at 11:29-a.m. They located the driver of a crashed 2005 Harley-Davidson Motorcycle, 62-year-old Ricky Lee Hansen of Harlan, in a large thicket of trees and shrubs with injuries to his head and left leg/hip area. When questioned, Hansen told deputies he had been laying in the thicket for 4 days. However, after speaking with the homeowners at the location that time-frame was believed to be inaccurate.

The residents said they left about one day prior, and damage to the communication box had not happened at that time. Evidence showed Hansen was traveling northbound on M-16, and appeared to have lost control on a curve before the cycle went into a ditch, struck the communications box, and crossed a driveway before sliding into the thicket that concealed him. It was believed that Hansen was laying at the scene for at least 12 hours but less than 24 hours.

Hansen suffered serious injuries and was taken by Shelby Rescue and Medivac Ambulance to Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan where they met Life Net Helicopter that transported him to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Damage to the motorcycle was estimated at $3,000 and damage to the communications box owned by Windstream was estimated at $1,000.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Transamerica and several related entities have agreed to repay $97.6 million to investors who were misled as part of a settlement with regulators. The Securities and Exchange Commission says investors were misled about the quantitative models that were used to manage their investments. Transamerica didn’t admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

The SEC said the investment models used contained numerous errors and didn’t function as promised. Investors had been promised proven models developed by Aegon USA Investment Management.

Investigators say Transamerica and Aegon stopped using the faulty models after the errors were found without telling investors. The settlement money will be paid to affected investors.