A group of state senators and some of their staff had about an hour’s worth of private training Monday, in how best to respond to an “active shooter” situation. Sergeant Steve Lawrence, the state trooper who led the discussion. “I could tell that everyone in the room, their eyes had been opened a little bit and were willing to accept and prepare themselves for something like that, God forbid that it ever happened, he said.”

He spoke with reporters afterwards. If you hear gunshots, “evacuating is almost always the best response,” according to Sergeant Lawrence. “And run as fast as you can, not in a straight line, and run until you’re safe, that’s the best thing that you can do,” Lawrence says. “If you can barricade in a secure room where they can’t break through a window or through the door, that’s a great idea…Last resort, if you don’t have a chance to run or or you don’t have a chance to barricade: fight back…Fight back with whatever means you’ve got whether that be a pair of scissors, a paperweight, a coffee mug, hot coffee — anything in your hands — fight back and (don’t) become a victim.”

Lawrence says everyone should think about potential threats, wherever they may be.  “Every law enforcement officer does that daily,” Lawrence said. “Throughout our duties, traffic stops, whatever it is — we prepare ourselves daily, so if it does happen, we know how to respond.”

Lawrence is a certified safety instructor. He’s so far met with “well over two-thousand” state employees and state officials to discuss that kind of “situational awareness.”

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Business Council raises concerns about the preparedness of Iowa’s workforce in its annual Competitive Dashboard, which compares the states for their economic development. The council is calling the need for a trained workforce a major concern and challenge for Iowa employers. Executive director Georgia Van Gundy says Iowa is rightfully praised for its high school graduation rate.

“But what we don’t have then is for individuals who go on to post-graduate training, whether it’s community college or a four-year institution,” Van Gundy says. “They are not getting that type of training and those are the types of individuals we need for the jobs in Iowa.”

To remedy the situation, Van Gundy says the Iowa Business Council is pledging to hire 30,000 interns and apprentices by 2025. She says the makeup of the state’s population is also a problem. “We’re poor as far as demographics and diversity,” Van Gundy says. “In the state of Iowa, our population has not grown much at all and we are not a very diverse population, so in order to meet those job needs we have, we definitely need to grow our population in the state.”

By month’s end, Van Gundy says the council will introduce a Business Education Alliance made up of business leaders, higher education officials and K-12 representatives to map out strategies for current and future workforce needs.

(Radio Iowa via Rob Dillard, Iowa Public Radio)

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a man who was at the Pott. County Jail, Monday morning, was arrested on a warrant out of Omaha, for being a Fugitive from Justice. 39-year old Chad Edward Sulley, of Council Bluffs, was taken into custody a little after 10-a.m., and turned over to jail staff. Monday afternoon, a woman visiting the Pott. County Jail was arrested on warrants out of Cherokee, of Contempt of Court/Speeding, and Contempt of Court/No valid Driver’s License. 63-year old Pamela H. Odinas, of Omaha, was turned over to jail staff, after she was read the warrant.

A man from Ft. Collins, CO., was arrested Monday afternoon on drug charges, following a traffic stop for speeding. Authorities say a 2018 Nissan Sentra driven by 29-year old Patrick William Benson, was pulled over, and Benson was placed under arrest for Possession of a Controlled Substance. Inside the vehicle, a Deputy located two marijuana cigarettes. Benson was released from the scene on a citation/summons. And, a man from Pacific Junction was arrested late Monday night following a traffic stop for having been barred from driving. 28-year old Christopher Lee McDaniel was booked into the Pott. County Jail.

HAMPTON, Iowa (AP) — A mistrial has been declared in the second sex abuse trial of a Charles City man. Court records say a judge granted a defense motion Monday for 62-year-old Charles Lindaman and ordered court administrators to schedule another trial. The trial had been moved to Franklin County from Floyd County because of pretrial publicity.

Lindaman was convicted in 2016 of sexually abusing a 17-year-old boy in 2011. The Iowa Supreme Court later vacated the conviction, because Lindaman was allowed to represent himself without knowingly waiving his right to an attorney. Lindaman was running for a school board spot when arrested in 2015.

Lindaman’s attorney alleged in mistrial motions that the jury became prejudiced against Lindaman because two prosecution witnesses violated court instructions by referring to Lindaman’s criminal record.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines police say they expect charges will be changed because a driver accused of fatally hitting a pedestrian lied about having children in her vehicle. Police say Oleaf Teoh’s sport utility vehicle struck 33-year-old Matthew Otto from behind on Sunday night. Court records say the 22-year-old Teoh is charged with vehicular homicide while driving under the influence, leaving the accident scene and two counts of neglect or abandonment of a dependent person.

Police say she’d lied about her identity when first questioned and now say she lied about having 3-day-old and 6-year-old children with her when Otto was hit. Investigators say they’ve learned that two adults were with her. They haven’t been named.

One person was killed in a head-on crash last (Monday) night in Webster County near Fort Dodge. The accident reportedly involved a Honda van and a pickup truck. The van ended up on the east side of the highway. One person was transported to Unity Point Trinity Regional Medical Center in Fort Dodge for treatment of injuries. The name of the person killed and the person injured has not been released. The highway was closed in both directions for at least an hour while first responders worked on the scene. The accident remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa)

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS

ANAMOSA, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa city council has fired its police chief who’d been accused of sending emails with racist and sexist comments. The Anamosa council voted Monday night to fire Chief Bob Simonson after first rejecting his offer to retire. The council plans to appoint a department sergeant to serve as interim chief. A former officer, Amy Ford, sued the city in 2015 for sexual harassment and gender discrimination. She settled it for $750,000.

Simonson has declined to comment about the allegations. He was hired by the city in May 2010.

One person suffered suspected minor/non-incapacitating injuries, following a collision in Creston, Monday afternoon. The Creston Police Department reports a 1998 Ford F-150 pickup driven by 33-year old Susan Lin Heslop, of Creston, was traveling north on Oak Street and had entered the intersection with Lucas Street, when she collided with a 1989 Ford Ranger pickup, driven by 46-year old Paula Marie Shimer, of Creston. The accident happened at around 2:15-p.m., as Shimer was traveling east on Lucas Street.

Authorities say Shimer had a yield sign on her side of the intersection, while there were no signs at the intersection for Heslop. The F-150 hit the Ranger on its passenger side door. Damage from the collision amounted to $2,500.

Both women were wearing their seat belts. Heslop was transported by ambulance to the Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston, to be checked and treated for injuries. Authorities say Shimer was to blame, for failing to yield, but no citations were issued.

Three people were arrested Monday on separate charges, in Creston. According to Creston Police, 52-year old Richard Beam, of Boonville,  was arrested at the Law Enforcement Center on a Union County Warrant for the charge of Failure to Appear on the original charge of Domestic Abuse Assault Impeding Flow of Air/Blood. He is being held in the Union County Jail on a $2000 bond. 30-year old  Christopher Woollums, of Creston, was arrested on the 100 block of S Stone on the charge of Driving While Suspended. He was released from the Union County Jail on a $300 bond. And, 50-year old Ricardo Hernandez Ortiz, of Sergeant Bluff,  was arrested Monday in the 800 block of W Taylor St., in Creston, on the charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance – 1st Offense. He was released from the Union County Jail on a $1000 bond.