DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Two people accused of killing a teenage girl in Davenport have taken plea deals. The Quad-City Times reports that 19-year-old Trevor Owens pleaded guilty Friday to involuntary manslaughter and other crimes. A 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty as a youthful offender to attempted murder. Both had been charged with first-degree murder.

They’re scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 1. As a youthful offender, the younger shooter will be sentenced in juvenile court and will be under the court’s supervision until he turns 18. The case then would be sent to adult court, where a judge would determine whether to sentence the boy to adult prison or discharge him, among other sentencing options.

Authorities say 15-year-old Ayana Culbreath was killed when the two males began shooting at each other during a backyard gathering.

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

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Briar Cliff University leaders have interviewed the three finalists to become president of the Sioux City school. The Sioux City Journal reports that the three include an executive vice president of the university, Rachelle Karstens. The two others are Thomas Knothe, dean of business and leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and Timothy Laurent, vice president of academic affairs at Providence University in Great Falls, Montana.

It’s unclear when one of them will be offered the post vacated by Hamid Shirvani. He announced his resignation July 26, saying it was “a result of a combination of family, personal and professional considerations.” Shirvani began his Briar Cliff stay on June 1 last year, replacing Bev Wharton, who led the private Sioux City college for 15 years.

The Creston Police Department received numerous reports of Theft and/or Vandalism late last week into the weekend. Friday afternoon, a man reported a cell phone was stolen from a vehicle parked near his residence in the 1100 block of Pratt Street. The loss amounted to $80. The incident is believed to have occurred sometime between 7-p.m. Thursday and 12-a..m. Friday. At around 9-a.m. Saturday, a man residing in the 500 block of N. Oak, in Creston, reported a rear tire on his vehicle was slashed while it was parked near his residence. The incident happened sometime overnight Friday into Saturday morning. The loss was estimated at $100.

A short time later on Saturday, a man living in the 600 block of N. Maple Street in Creston, reported to police that sometime between 10:30-p.m. Friday and 9:30-a.m. Saturday, someone shot the window of his truck using a bb gun. The incident happened while the vehicle was parked in an alley near the home. The damage was estimated at $300. And, at around 9:40-p.m. Saturday, a woman also living in the 600 block of N. Maple Street in Creston, reported that a rock was thrown through a window at her residence. The incident happened at around 8:15-p.m. The damage was estimate at $100.

Sunday evening, a man living in the 800 block of N. Birch Street in Creston, reported that his wallet was stolen from 309 N. Sycamore. The incident, which happened sometime between Nov. 29th and Dec. 3rd, resulted in a loss of about $20. And, just after 6-a.m. today (Monday), a woman residing in the 400 block of N. Oak Street in Creston reported that her solar yard light was broken. The incident happened over Sunday into early Monday morning, and the loss was estimated at $40.

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

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All the Democrats and one of the Republicans running for governor in 2018 will participate in a Tuesday evening forum, to discuss Iowa’s mental health system. Democratic candidate Nate Boulton, a state senator from Des Moines, has been calling for reopening the two state-run Mental Health Institutes former Governor Terry Branstad closed. “When those facilities were shut down, the services were lost. They weren’t replaced with anything. There was nothing new that came in to take care of those residents,” Boulton says. “We all know our state needs to be doing more, not less, for mental health care.”

Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett is challenging Governor Kim Reynolds in the Republican Primary next June. Corbett says a fragmented system was made worse by the decision to close the Mental Health Institutes in southern Iowa. “All that did was compress the system down,” Corbett says. “The state may have saved some money, but the patients didn’t evaporate, they just got pushed down and, in many cases, on local property taxpayers.”

Corbett says some state-run facility needs to provide up to 50 more beds for patients with acute mental illnesses. Corbett will attend Tuesday’s forum. Governor Reynolds won’t, but she’s sending a short video that will be played for the crowd. Democratic candidate Fred Hubbell, a Des Moines businessman, took a tour of hospitals and jails around the state last month. Hubbell says emergency rooms and jails have become the “last resort” treatment option for mentally ill Iowans. Andy McGuire, a medical doctor who’s also seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination, says police have become “mental health providers.”

“They take patients to jail and to emergency rooms, two of the most expensive and worst places for someone in crisis rather than preventing crisis with more up-front counseling,” McGuire says. “…We need to prioritize and focus resources and we need to destigmatize mental health. We need to love more and ignore less.”

McGuire made her comments at a recent Democratic Party fundraiser. John Norris, another candidate who spoke at the same event, accused Governors Branstad and Reynolds of “turning the heartland into the land of the heartless.” Tuesday’s discussion about the mental health system is sponsored by The Des Moines Register and Des Moines University and starts at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Council Bluffs report one person was injured during a rollover accident at around 4:15-a.m. today (Monday). Officers responding to the 7-mile marker of Interstate 80 located a 1998 Ford Escort that had been traveling west bound, when the driver lost control and the vehicle went off the roadway before rolling numerous times. The driver was able to crawl out of the vehicle prior to officers arrival. The unidentified man suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported to Nebraska Medical Center by rescue squad.

The crash is currently being investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Special Operations Traffic Unit (712) 328-4948. Anyone who may have witnessed or have information in reference to the crash is urged to contact the CBPD Traffic Unit.

Farmers and public health officials are growing increasingly concerned with a shortage of food animal veterinarians in Iowa and across the country. The number of farm animal vets is shrinking at a time when worries over potential disease outbreaks are on the rise. Dr. John Thomson ran a veterinary clinic for 20 years just south of Creston. “And it’s a very sparsely populated area, so it’s not always easy to attract veterinarians into those areas,” Thomson says.

The retired Iowa State University professor is fighting for legislation that would lure more young animal doctors into rural or underserved areas. Thomson says one of the biggest barriers involves student debt. “On average, (veterinary) students are graduating with $141,000 in debt and they’re looking for ways to reduce that as painlessly as they can. A lot of times they’ll take what they feel is the most lucrative opportunity for them and that isn’t always in the most remote areas of the state,” Thomson says.

In response to the vet shortage, the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program provides selected food animal and public health veterinarians up to $75,000 in loan repayment in exchange for serving at least three years in designated shortage areas. Thomson says the program is working, but doesn’t receive enough funding to fill the demand. This challenge results in part from the fact that each award from the program is subject to a 39 percent withholding tax.

“There’s a Veterinary Enhancement Act that has been put forward to remove the tax on the award so more people can be provided that assistance,” Thomson says. Thomson is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, which is pushing for removal of the tax. Thomson was the dean of the ISU College of Veterinary Medicine from 2004-2011.

(Radio Iowa)

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say one person has died in a Mason City house fire. The blaze started around noon Friday. A neighbor reported that flames had engulfed the rear of the home. The victim’s name hasn’t been released. Officials say the fire started at a multi-plug surge protector.

Montgomery County Sheriff’s officials report a Nebraska man was arrested Sunday night for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. 25-year old Tyreek Dupree Thomas, of Omaha, was arrested at around 6:20-p.m.  and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where his bond was set at $300.