Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:15 a.m. CDT

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A nonprofit overseeing Davenport’s Nahant Marsh wants to ensure it can protect and preserve the natural resources already under its watch before buying 40 more acres of adjoining land. Nahant Marsh has seen a sharp increase in the number of visitors within the past 10 years from about 2,500 annually to almost 18,000 this past year. Nonprofit Nahant Marsh board of trustees is considering purchasing 40 acres of adjacent land, including wetlands, to expand its property.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Prosecutors say a man convicted of killing his girlfriend can’t use allegations of juror bullying as grounds for a new trial. The Telegraph Herald reports that assistant Dubuque County Attorney Brigit Barnes made the argument in his response to Fontae Buelow’s motion for a new trial. Buelow’s attorneys claim that a juror who did not believe Buelow was guilty of murder was bullied by two other jurors, and then was then improperly removed by the judge.

CENTERVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Officials in south-central Iowa say an elderly couple has been killed in a fire that tore through condominiums in Centerville. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that the fire occurred late Thursday night at the Diamond View Condominiums. Centerville police officers had rescued two residents from one building, but two other residents couldn’t be reached.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa power company has sent help to restore power to the East Coast, which has been slammed by three powerful winter storms in the span of two weeks. MidAmerican Energy of Des Moines sent 78 employees to Rye, New York, late last week to help utility crews restore power after recent major winter storms left 200,000 people without electricity. MidAmerican Energy’s response followed New York-based energy company Con Edison’s mutual aid request.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Prosecutors say a man convicted of killing his girlfriend can’t use allegations of juror bullying as grounds for a new trial. The Telegraph Herald reports that assistant Dubuque County Attorney Brigit Barnes made the argument in his response to Fontae Buelow’s motion for a new trial.

Buelow’s attorneys claim that a juror who did not believe Buelow was guilty of murder was bullied by two other jurors. They say the juror was then improperly removed by the judge during deliberations and replaced with an alternate.

But the two accused jurors reported to the judge that the removed juror had refused to participate in deliberations and that he had entered the jury room declaring his mind was made up.

Buelow was convicted in January of second-degree murder in the March 2017 death of 21-year-old Samantha Link. Prosecutors say Buelow stabbed Link multiple times, but Buelow maintained that Link stabbed herself.

CENTERVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Officials in south-central Iowa say an elderly couple has been killed in a fire that tore through condominiums in Centerville. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that the fire occurred late Thursday night at the Diamond View Condominiums. When firefighters arrived, they found heavy smoke and fire coming from two of the buildings.

Centerville police officers had rescued two residents from one building, but two other residents couldn’t be reached. Firefighters were able to control the blaze within three hours. They found an older couple dead in one of the buildings. Their bodies were taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for identification.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Centerville Fire Department and the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports that at around 7-p.m. Friday, his officers were called to a local business to investigate a report of counterfeit money being used in a purchase. Pursuant to the investigation, 25-year old Alexander Sterling Potter Milledge, and 36-year old Katie Ann Milledge, both of Clarinda, were arrested and charged with felony forgery.

Officers seized a large amount of counterfeit United States currency and printers used in the operation at a residence in Clarinda where the Milledge’s reside. Alexander Milledge was also charged with possession of a substance believed to be methamphetamine. Alexander Milledge and Katie Milledge were arrested without incident at their home and are being held in the Page County Jail in lieu of bond in the amount of $11,300 for Alexander Milledge and $5,000 for Katie Milledge.

The investigation is on-going with the assistance of The United States Secret Service. Reports concerning the incident have been submitted to the Page County Attorney’s Office for review, regarding the filing of formal charges.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa power company has sent help to restore power to the East Coast, which has been slammed by three powerful winter storms in the span of two weeks. MidAmerican Energy of Des Moines sent 78 employees to Rye, New York, late last week to help utility crews restore power after recent major winter storms left 200,000 people without electricity.

MidAmerican Energy’s response followed New York-based energy company Con Edison’s mutual aid request. MidAmerican Energy sent caravans of 62 lineworkers and 16 support staff from across its service area to help repair infrastructure and restore electrical service.

Rescue crews from Cumberland, Massena, Anita and Wiota were called to the scene of a motor vehicle accident south of Anita, this (Saturday) morning. The accident happened near 750th (Highway 148) and Jackson Road at around 9:35-a.m. Initially, one person was said to have been injured, but any injuries they suffered were not severe enough to require transport to the hospital.

The Sheriff’s Office is expected to have more information on Monday.

The new Iowa Hall of Fame and Racing Museum is planning for its first-ever induction ceremony later this month. Museum president Marty Pringle of Otho, says the big night will be held Saturday, March 24th, in Webster City.  “I’ve been working on this museum and the hall of fame for five or six years now and we’re finally getting it going with our first inductees,” Pringle says. “This is all Iowa racing, drag racing, figure-eight racing, motorcycle racing, stock cars, any racing involving Iowa is involved with us.”

The induction ceremony will take place at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds Event Center in Webster City. Doors to open at 5 P-M. Pringle says 37 people will be inducted into the museum’s Hall of Fame. “People don’t realize the history of Iowa racing, it’s just huge,” Pringle says.

Janet Guthrie: A retired professional race car driver from Iowa City. The first woman to qualify and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500.

“You’ve got Janet Guthrie from Iowa, Billy Moyer, Scott Bloomquist, Tommy Johnson Junior, Justin Brayton just won Daytona on a motorcycle Saturday night, so the history in this state is just unbelievable.”

Pringle is trying to locate a permanent home for the proposed Museum and Hall of Fame. For more information, including the names of the inductees, visit: https://www.facebook.com/iowahalloffameandracingmuseum/

An investigation into an accident in Creston this (Saturday) morning, resulted in the arrest of a woman from Polk County. According to Creston Police, a car driven by 20-year-old Natalie Eslinger, of Ankeny, was traveling southbound in the 400 block of North Sycamore Street, when the vehicle crossed the center line of the road, and hit   a legally parked, 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe.

The force of the collision caused the SUV to be pushed backward, into a parked Buick. A nearby resident heard the crash and looked outside to see what happened. They noticed Eslinger had backed down the street approximately 50 yards and stopped when the back tires of her vehicle touched the curb.

When officers arrived on scene Eslinger was still in her car. She was arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Possession of a Controlled Substance. An OWI charge was pending. Inside her vehicle, officers located drug paraphernalia and a bottle of vodka, in plain view.

In addition to the drug charges, Eslinger was cited for Failure to Maintain Control and Failure to Provide Proof of Financial Liability. She was transported to the Union County Law Enforcement Center.  Her vehicle sustained disabling front-end and driver’s side damage. The Hyundai Santa Fe her struck sustained front-end damage, driver’s side damage, and rear-end damage. The other vehicle sustained major front-end damage and some driver’s side damage. A dollar amount of the damage was not immediately available.

w/ Chris Parks

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.9MB)

Subscribe: RSS

No injuries were reported but a dog died during a fire at a residence northeast of Marne early this (Saturday) morning. Marne Fire Chief Josh Krause told KJAN news they were called out just before 5-a.m. to a reported kitchen fire at 57504 Dallas Road.

He said upon arrival, smoke and flames were visible in the kitchen area. Two adults in the home were awakened by the smoke and escaped safely. One of the family’s pet dogs also escaped, but the other ran back into the structure and was found on the second floor. Both residents were transported to CCMH by Medivac, for treatment of smoke inhalation.

Krause said they were able to get a quick knock down of the flames and were working on overhaul (taking care of hot spots, clean-up and ventilation), as of 7:15-a.m. He said the fire apparently started on the stove, after one of the residents had gotten up late at night and made a snack.

Atlantic Fire crews assisted at the scene.

Photo courtesy Mike Kennon, Cass County Emergency Mgmt. Coordinator.