Committing a robbery with a FAKE gun would be treated by the justice system the same as an actual armed robbery if a bill under consideration at the statehouse becomes law. Prosecutors, law enforcement and convenience stores are backing the bill. Kelly Meyers, with the Iowa County Attorneys Association, says a hold-up with a toy gun has serious consequences. “That clerk doesn’t necessarily know whether that gun is real or a toy. The trauma is the same. So, we would like to take a narrow approach to addressing this real-life problem,” Meyers said.

Prosecuting a fake armed robbery is difficult as well, according to Meyers. “The perpetrator leaves, for instance, and they ditch the gun somewhere – the county attorneys still have prove that was indeed a dangerous weapon, so the clerk is in trauma, they don’t know if that’s a real gun or a toy gun,” Meyers said.

At a meeting on the bill, some critics said the penalties for creating a crime with a fake or real weapon shouldn’t be the same. A leading gun rights advocate said the bill needs further study to determine if it will deter crime, or if it will help county attorneys prosecute someone.

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Joyce Russell, Iowa Public Radio)

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

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A $1.25 million lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court in Omaha over the construction of the Omaha National Cemetery. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that Seedorff Masonry Inc. of Strawberry Point, Iowa, has sued a Chicago construction company and the project’s insurer over unpaid bills.

The lawsuit says Archer Western Construction entered into a contract in 2014 with the Department of Veterans Affairs to furnish materials and perform the labor for the cemetery. An attorney for Seedorff, a subcontractor on the project, says Seedorff provided nearly $3.2 million in labor and materials, but Archer has paid the company only $1.9 million.

In the lawsuit filed Monday, Seedorff alleges Archer and Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America owe Seedorff $1.25 million, plus interest. The cemetery opened in 2016.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held next week for the grand opening of an $11.5 million housing facility for people and their families traveling to Omaha for cancer treatment. The American Cancer Society broke ground in late 2016 on the Hope Lodge Nebraska, located just off of Dodge Street near the Nebraska Methodist Hospital System. Lodging there will be free of charge for patients and their families traveling more than 40 miles for treatment. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Tuesday.

The three-story lodge includes 32 private rooms with baths. Sitting/television areas and laundry facilities are located on each floor. Common areas include kitchen, dining room, library, conference, exercise, game and meditation rooms. Free transportation will be available to local treatment centers for patients staying at the Hope Lodge.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Dozens of tissue samples from hunted deer in Iowa have been turned over to be tested for chronic wasting disease. The samples are part of a nine-day collection effort by deer hunters and state officials that ends Sunday. The first weekend of the effort in Allamakee and Clayton counties provided 54 samples.

Chronic wasting disease is a neurologic disease of deer, moose and elk that is always fatal for the animals. The disease first appeared in Iowa’s wild deer herd in 2013 and each year since. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has placed extra emphasis on tracking the movement of the disease with the cooperation of hunters.

Last year, two deer tested positive for the disease as part of the effort in the same counties.

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

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SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (AP) — A former northwest Iowa fifth-grade teacher charged with multiple acts of sex abuse and released on bond last November is back behind bars on new charges. Sioux City television station KTIV reports that 36-year old Curtis Van Dam was arrested Friday morning at his Sioux Center home on a federal warrant charging him with sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography.

Van Dam has already pleaded not guilty to 146 Iowa counts, including 73 counts of second-degree sexual abuse. His trial on the state charges is set to for March 6. Police say the charges stem from incidents involving numerous children over four years and that the crimes occurred at various locations, including Sioux Center Christian School, where Van Dam worked.

LE MARS, Iowa (AP) — A new trial has again been set for a northwest Iowa man accused of fatally stabbing his sister. Trial had been set to begin Jan. 30 for 35-year-old Thomas Bibler. He’s pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other counts in the June 11, 2016, stabbing death of 27-year-old Shannon Bogh, of Le Mars. He was arrested that day after a short standoff at his Le Mars apartment.

The Sioux City Journal reports that a judge a judge on Friday set Bibler’s trial for May 15. Previous trial starting dates for Bibler were Dec. 19, May 16, Feb. 14 and Dec. 13, 2016. The latest delay came after Bibler’s defense attorney said he needed more time to switch expert witnesses.

A call about an assault Friday evening at William’s Recreation Parlor, in Red Oak, resulted in the arrest of 44-year old James Reed Mitroff the 2nd, of Red Oak. According to the report, Red Oak Police, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies and the Iowa State Patrol responded to the business at around 6:31-p.m.  Mitroff II was taken into custody and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where he was charged with Assault on a Peace Officer (no injury), and Disorderly Conduct (fighting or violence). His cash bond was set at $1,000.

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

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — A suburban Des Moines Walgreens has been forced to evacuate after several people inside became ill. The incident happened Friday afternoon. Hazmat crews were called to a Walgreens on University Avenue in Clive after several people became ill in the pharmacy area of the store. The Des Moines Register reports that six people in the store were taken to a hospital.

LE MARS, Iowa (AP) — A new trial has again been set for a northwest Iowa man accused of fatally stabbing his sister. Trial had been set to begin Jan. 30 for 35-year-old Thomas Bibler. He’s pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other counts in the June 11, 2016, stabbing death of 27-year-old Shannon Bogh, of Le Mars. The Sioux City Journal reports that a judge a judge on Friday set Bibler’s trial for May 15.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A new report on the rapid expansion of hog farms in Iowa calls for a moratorium on new barns concluding that the state’s regulatory system is failing to protect the environment and public health for the sake of profit of the politically powerful livestock industry. “A tipping point has been reached. Rural Iowans have every reason to be concerned,” said the report released Thursday by retired University of Iowa professors James Merchant and David Osterberg.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman convicted of murder in the starvation death of her 16-year-old daughter has been given three life sentences. The sentences were handed down Friday to 43-year-old Nicole Finn of Des Moines. Authorities say Natalie Finn weighed only 85 pounds when she died in October 2016. Experts testified that her siblings, Mikayla and Jaden, were at risk of starving to death as well and spent months recovering after Natalie suffered cardiac arrest.