The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports an arrest was made Sunday, in connection with a possible fight in progress involving a knife, in Imogene.  The suspect had fled the scene prior to law enforcement arrival. Deputies determined 35-year old Lyle Stogdill, of Imogene, had been in an altercation with another male and displayed a knife in a threatening manner.

Stogdill was later arrested at a location in Shenandoah, Iowa with the assistance of the Shenandoah Police Department. He was taken into custody for Assault while Displaying a Weapon, Going Armed with Intent, and Domestic Abuse.  No injuries were reported.

Stogdill was being held at the Fremont County Jail, pending further Court Proceedings.

Lyle Stogdill

Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety report that at approximately 12:30-p.m. Sunday, a semi hauling hazardous material was flagged down by a motorist that witnessed a liquid coming from the trailer at the 86mm of Interstate 29. Iowa State Patrol Troopers arrived and accessed the situation. The liquid material was deemed hazardous and the Interstate was shut down both north and south bound. The roadway has since re-opened.

The man who served as Iowa’s 38th Governor has died. Robert D. Ray died Sunday at the age of 89, after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease, according to a statement released by his former Chief of Staff. Ray passed away at a retirement community.

Ray was first elected as Iowa’s governor in 1968, and then served a total of 14 years. He later served as CEO of two insurance firms, one in Cedar Rapids and the other in Des Moines. Then, in the 1990’s, Ray served as the acting mayor of Des Moines and then president of Drake University.

During Ray’s tenure as governor, he expanded funding for k-12 education, led the creation of a merged Department of Transportation, and eliminated the sales tax on food and drugs. He also established the Iowa Energy Policy Council and then-Department of Environmental Quality, both two concepts that were ahead of their time nationally.

Ray will also be known for issuing Executive Orders advancing civil right. He established other big committees and groups while serving as Iowa’s governor, including the Governor’s Economy Committee, a Taste Force on Government Ethics, and the Science Advisory Council.

The funeral service for Gov. Ray is pending, and will be announced shortly.

Gov. Kim Reynolds issued the following statement Sunday on the passing of former Iowa Governor Robert D. Ray: “Governor Ray’s legacy lives on in the millions of people that he impacted as a tremendous statesman for Iowa and our nation. His civility, courage and common-sense governing set a high standard for those who followed. 

“May our prayers and thoughts bring peace to First Lady Billie Ray, her daughters and family at this time.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa agency wants to use inmates to eventually build at least 100 homes a year for low-income individuals around the state, an unusual idea within the expansive prison labor industry that has so far been stalled by a lack of support from lawmakers.

The Iowa Department of Corrections said the program, which was quietly considered but ultimately rejected during the last legislative session, would give inmates work training that could reduce their likelihood of returning to prison once they’re released. The agency believes it could also help alleviate Iowa’s shortage of skilled workers and its lack of affordable housing.

A bill to create the program failed to secure enough support in the Republican-controlled Legislature by missing key deadlines for legislation to advance. It was later added to unrelated budget bills before getting cut. Corrections officials plan to pitch the program again, possibly in the legislative session beginning in January.

The Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission, a voluntary organization of local governments, first pitched the housing program to corrections officials about four years ago, and the idea picked up steam last year. Mike Norris, the commission’s executive director, said the group represents 35 mostly rural communities, many of which struggle with a lack of affordable housing, in part due to inconsistent demand for construction and lower profits.

Corrections officials estimate Iowa inmates would get paid about $1 an hour to participate in the housing program. That’s the same average they’re paid through Iowa Prison Industries, which already oversees inmates who make products and furniture sold to government entities and other approved groups. The division sought up to $2 million to start the program, arguing it would later be self-funded.

If revisited next year and approved, 12 acres of land next to the Newton state prison in central Iowa would become a fenced-in construction zone where prisoners could build single-story 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom homes, according to a Feb. 12 memo between corrections officials. If the program is fully up and running, state officials envision more than 80 inmates from the nearby medium security facility helping to build at least 100 homes annually that can be shipped around the state.

Iowa Prison Industries also wants approval to create a private nonprofit corporation to run the program with a new board of stakeholders — a mix of individuals involved in the homebuilding industry. Some of their paper trail of work on the program would not be subject to Iowa’s open records laws, though the corporation would be required to submit an annual report on its operations and activities.

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds included $1 million for the housing project in budget recommendations she released in January, and an aide said the governor remains supportive of the program. Key lobbying organizations like the Iowa Association of Business and Industry registered against the main bill that would have created the program. Nicole Crain, a senior vice president for ABI, said the association wants to help address affordable housing concerns but doesn’t believe in government competing with the private sector.

Red Oak Police report the arrest at around 2-a.m. today (Sunday), of 40-year old Rodney Dean Klein, Jr., of Red Oak. Klein was taken into custody at the intersection of 5th and Hammond Streets, in Red Oak, for Public Intoxication, and Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana. He was transported to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center, and held on a $1,000 bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:00 a.m. CDT

SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) — An Iowa man faces charges in Nebraska and Iowa after officials say he led officers on a high-speed chase and rammed two law enforcement vehicles. The Nebraska State Patrol says the incident happened Friday evening when a trooper tried to stop a pickup truck being pursued by South Sioux City police. Officials say the truck rammed the trooper’s car before crossing into Iowa. It latter again rammed the trooper’s car and a sheriff’s SUV before the driver was arrested.

KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified a man whose body was discovered near the wastewater treatment plant in Keokuk. The Hawk Eye reports that police identified the man as 34-year-old Jake Anthony Mason of Keokuk. Mason’s body was found Wednesday. Additional details, including whether law enforcement had any reports of missing people in the area, the cause of death and whether foul play is suspected, have not been released.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Davenport’s first mayor now has a tombstone after cemetery volunteers and city officials worked to get a marker placed on the grave. The Quad-City Times reports Rudolphus Bennett was a Vermont native who journeyed to Davenport in 1837. He was buried in Davenport after his death in 1871. It’s unclear whether Bennett’s grave originally had a tombstone. Bennett’s new marker is in honor of the 175th anniversary of Davenport’s City Cemetery founding.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is seeking volunteers to participate in the state’s annual wild turkey survey. Each summer, the department asks for volunteers to participate in the July-August survey.

CLEAR LAKE, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources law enforcement and Clear Lake Fire and Rescue responded to a crash involving several juveniles on Clear Lake at approximately 8:15 p.m., Friday.

The crash happened less than a mile southwest of the 1200 block of North Shore Drive. A personal watercraft being operated by a 15 year-old Glidden male with a 16 year-old male passenger from Carroll struck the back of another personal watercraft with three 17 year-old females, all from Cedar Falls. One of the females that was struck directly by the personal watercraft fell into the water.

Clear Lake Fire and Rescue brought her ashore where she was transferred to a Mason City hospital with a leg injury. She was eventually transferred to a Rochester, Minnesota hospital and her condition is unknown at this time.

The 15 year old male operating the personal watercraft that caused the crash has been charged with Reckless Use of a Watercraft, and Operation of a Watercraft by an Underage Person Without Boating Education.

The Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Department and the Iowa State Patrol also assisted with this incident.

Dispatch reports Saturday afternoon said only minor injuries occurred during a two-vehicle collision southwest of Atlantic. Emergency crews, including Lewis 1st Responders, Atlantic Fire and Rescue, Medivac Ambulance and Deputies with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene off Highway 6, near the Dairy Farm.

An SUV came to rest near a corn field, while a came to rest in the field. The vehicles’ occupants were outside when emergency personnel arrived. No other details were immediately available late Saturday afternoon.

SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) — An Iowa man faces charges in Nebraska and Iowa after officials say he led officers on a high-speed chase and rammed two law enforcement vehicles. The Nebraska State Patrol says the incident happened Friday evening when a trooper tried to stop a pickup truck being pursued by South Sioux City police. Officials say the truck rammed the trooper’s car, which had maneuvered in front of it, from behind before crossing into Iowa.

The trooper and a Dakota County Sheriff’s Office following the truck onto Interstate 29 before it went out of control and became stuck in a median. Officials say the truck then rammed both the trooper’s car and the sheriff’s SUV before the driver was arrested.

The patrol says 43-year-old Larry Johnson II, of Sioux City, in being held in an Iowa jail. The officers were not seriously injured.

KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified a man whose body was discovered near the wastewater treatment plant in Keokuk. The Hawk Eye reports that police identified the man as 34-year-old Jake Anthony Mason, of Keokuk.

Mason’s body was found Wednesday. Keokuk police and fire personnel removed his body from the water and took it to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Decedent Care Center in Iowa City for an autopsy.

Additional details, including whether law enforcement had any reports of missing people in the area, the cause of death and whether foul play is suspected, have not been released.