FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — A Webster County jury has convicted a Fort Dodge man in the 2017 shooting death of another man. The Fort Dodge Messenger reports jurors Tuesday convicted 28-year-old Levi Gibbs III of second-degree murder in the death of 32-year-old Shane Wessels, of Fort Dodge. Gibbs had been charged with first-degree murder but jurors opted for the lesser charge.
Gibbs was convicted of shooting Wessels on a street corner on Sept. 3, 2017.

Both sides agreed Gibbs shot Wessels, but the defense argued Gibbs did so amid a fight in which his sister was injured. Sentencing was set for July 27.

Police in Creston report 44-year old Jennifer White, of Creston, was arrested Wednesday afternoon, for 1st offense Domestic Abuse Assault. White was being held in the Adams County Hail, pending a bond hearing. And, Tuesday evening, 28-year old Spencer Leitzel, of Greenfield, was arrested at Adams/Spruce on a Clarke County Warrant for Failure to Appear in court, on the original charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance- Marijuana 2nd Offense. Leitzel was turned over to Clarke County Deputies.

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

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa bartenders and police officers want to know more about how the state’s new digital driver’s licenses will work when they reach smartphones next year. The Des Moines Register reports officials haven’t yet explained how bars and retailers will be able to verify the ages of customers when they want to buy alcohol.

Mark Stringer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa says he wants to know more about what limits will be in place to keep officers from searching someone’s smartphone while they look at the digital license.

State Transportation Director Mark Lowe says the questions about the new licenses should be addressed before they debut around the middle of next year.

Voters in Shelby are being asked to head to the polls next Tuesday, to cast their ballots during a Special Election for the City Council. There are four candidates vying for two open City Council seats. The candidates include: Donovan Dontje; Steve Myers; Robert Morton, and Karen Schlueter.

The polls will be open from Noon until 8-p.m. Tuesday, July 10^th, at the Shelby Community Building.

The City Council in Walnut will hold their regularly scheduled meeting this (Thursday) evening. On their agenda is: Discussion about the Well Project; discussion and possible action on the first reading of an ordinance amending the Code of Ordinances, by amending the provisions pertaining to Water Rates for service; Discuss of the Minimum Maintenance Ordinance (With officials from SWIPCO); Discussion of a plaque honoring Eldon Ranney; Quarterly inspections of City Property; and other matters.

The meeting takes place at the Walnut City Hall, beginning at 5-p.m.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is asking turkey hunters and others to help them get an accurate count on the number of birds roaming the woods in Iowa. Wildlife biologist Jim Coffey says they have made it easy for you to report what you see. He says they have an area on their website where you can go in and report turkey sightings in the months of July and August. The D-N-R has mailed survey cards to select turkey hunters who are asked to provide the date and county in which the turkey was seen, if it was an adult female or adult male, and whether there are young poults (baby turkeys). “That helps us gauge what we are going to predict for next year’s supply of turkeys,” Coffey says.

Coffey says the weather, available nesting areas and other things can all impact the number of turkeys who are born and survive each year. He says by seeing the number of young birds they can get an idea of what hunters can expect. There is a link to an online survey and survey card on the D-N-R’s website at www.iowadnr.gov.

(Radio Iowa)

A man from Warren County was arrested Wednesday night on alcohol and drug charges in Adams County. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports 19-year old Andrew Mellencamp, of Prole, was arrested following a traffic stop, at around 10:30-p.m.  He was taken into custody for OWI/1st offense, and Possession of a Controlled Substance. Mellencamp was being held in the Adams County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa school district is hiring more security personnel after receiving special permission to spend $1.1 million beyond state spending limits. The Davenport Community School District received approval Tuesday from the School Budget Review Committee to hire 18 unarmed security supervisors, even as the district works to cut spending in other areas. Davenport’s plan comes as schools across Iowa are working to comply with a new law requiring security plans by next summer.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa City officials are closing a merry-go-round, train and other amusement rides that for 60 years have been part of childhood in the community. The Iowa City Parks and Recreation announced Monday that the rides in Lower City Park will permanently close on Sept. 23. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that the department will be offering free rides on weekends in August and September to commemorate the closure.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has issued a disaster proclamation for Franklin County in north-central Iowa. The proclamation issued Tuesday is in response to flooding and severe weather that began in mid-June. The proclamation allows state resources to be used to aid in recovery efforts and activates a program to give some residents grants of up to $5,000 for home and car repairs and other expenses.

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — Officials in central Iowa say flooding from heavy rains this past weekend damaged the Clive Library and the Clive Aquatic Center. The Polk County Emergency Management Agency said in a news release Tuesday that the library and aquatic center had closed because of damage from storm water. Both have since reopened. A special flood-debris pickup has also been scheduled for Clive, a suburb of Des Moines, on Friday for residents and businesses in some areas.

The president of Iowa Student Loan says college students and parents should be planning right now on how they are going to pay for college in the fall. Steve McCullough says start by looking for sources of money that aren’t loans. “First of all, take any scholarships or grants that the college can get for you because you don’t have to repay those,” McCullough says. “If you don’t have enough money after that — students should go ahead borrow on their own through the Federal Direct Loan Program for students — because those are the lowest cost loans.”

He says loans should be your last choice. “Before they look at any loans, they should look to see if they’ve got savings available that they could use or even current income that they could use to avoid borrowing,” according to McCullough. “Iowa Student Loan, we are non-profit and part of our missions is to get people to borrow as little as possible, so we have some really good tools on our website that talk to people about their alternatives.”

McCullough says some people will end up having to take out loans. He says the cost of borrowing for parents has recently gone up. He says the Federal Direct PLUS loan interest rate for parents has gone up to seven-point-six percent (7.60%) with a four-point-two-six percent (4.26%) up-front fee. “So, that’s relatively high and higher than people would expect for a federal loan.”

He says his organization offers a lower rate. “Our rates are currently six-point-three percent (6.30%) with no up-front fee if people start paying immediately and seven-point-two-two percent (7.22%) if they elect to defer payment until their student graduates. So, it’s a unique circumstance where the state-based program is actually less expensive than the federal program,” McCullough says.

You can find out more at: www.IowaStudentLoan.org.

(Radio Iowa)