The Cass County Board of Supervisors today (Thursday), voted unanimously to appoint a person to fill the full-time position of Cass County Attorney. Auditor Dale Sunderman said according to Iowa Code, it was one of two options they had available to them following the resignation in August (Effective January 1, 2018) of Attorney David Wiederstein. Applications are currently being sought for Cass County Attorney. Applicants must be a resident of Cass County 60 days prior to their appointment. The last day applications will be accepted is Dec. 27^th. A notice will be published Dec. 13^th that an appointment will be made January 2^nd. Members of the public have the right to file a petition calling for a special election, within 14 days of the notice being published.

In other business, the Board voted a Cooperative Agreement between Cass County and the Iowa Department of Transportation, for the maintenance of a section of the Buck Creek Road under Interstate 80. The terms of the agreement were originally spelled out in 1966, when the DOT told the County they could no longer maintain that portion of Buck Creek Road under I-80, and the road was closed to through traffic. Adjacent property owners were granted exclusive access to that portion of the road. Since then some of the property owners have passed away, and changes have been made to the signage, gates and so on. Cass County Engineer Charles Bechtold said the DOT wants to transfer the deed to the small stretch of road to the County. It would make the road road viable again to through traffic, but only on a Level-B status. The County would be responsible for gravel, maintenance signs and guardrails. The stipulations are that in the event the DOT determines the I-80 bridges are no longer needed, and there is a replacement with a new bridge or culvert or other improvements and Buck Creek Road is impacted by the construction, Buck Creek Road will be closed permanently. The DOT will reserve the right to close the road at any time.

And, the Cass County Supervisors voted three-to two, in favor of moving forward with an initial draft of an amended Ordinance regulating the Operation of All-Terrain Vehicles [ATV’s] and Utility Vehicles [UTV’s], in Cass County. Supervisors Frank Waters and Gaylord Schelling voted against. The Ordinance, as currently written, does not include an annual fee amount for Identification Stickers. The Iowa DNR currently requires an annual sticker for each ATV/UTV registration. Cass County Recorder Mary Ward said there would be no additional monetary value to the County if it charged for separate stickers, other than covering the costs of the materials. Before the final Ordinance is enacted, three readings will be held in subsequent meetings.

A man who had pulled over to take a business call in Council Bluffs, was robbed at gunpoint this (Thursday) morning. Council Bluffs Police say the incident happened at around 10:38-a.m. in the 3500 block of 14th Avenue. The victim told police while he was parked, a man approached the passenger side of his vehicle, and on the left side of the car was a man who approached his door displaying a small silver handgun. The suspects demanded money and the victim gave them $200 in cash. The suspects then left the area on foot traveling northbound on South 35th St. Officers checked the area and were unable to locate the suspects. The victim was uninjured.

Police described both subjects as black males. The first was five-feet 6-inches tall, 160 pounds. He had a goatee, short black hair, and was wearing a light brown Carhart-style jacket and jeans. The second suspect was about six-feet one-inch tall, 180 pounds. He had a goatee and disheveled hair, and was wearing a light gray zip-up jacket and light black loose-fitting jeans. Both suspects are believed to be in their early 30’s.

If anyone has information relating to this case, please call the Criminal Investigations Division at (712)328-4728. Or, you can remain anonymous by calling CrimeStoppers at (712)328-STOP (7867).

(12:40-p.m. News)

A search warrant executed Wednesday night in Clarinda resulted in the recovery of about 51 grams of a substance believed to be methamphetamine. The occupants of the home at 614 E. Washington Street, were identified as 49-year Roger Schaben, and 52-year old Tina Benkowich. They were taken into custody at around 11-p.m. for felony possession with intent to deliver, more than five grams of methamphetamine and failure to affix a drug stamp. Both Schaben and Benkowich are being held in the Page County Jail without bail pending an appearance before the court.

Police reports have been submitted to the offices of Page County Attorney Carl M. Sonksen for review regarding the filing of formal charges.

A call to Pottawattamie County authorities Wednesday night about a suspicious vehicle resulted in a pursuit and crash. The vehicle, a 1994 Dodge Ram van, was located in the area of 240th and Mahogany, after a check of the license plates revealed the plates had been reported stolen off a vehicle in Neola. The van was eventually wrecked during the pursuit, and its occupants taken into custody just before 9-p.m. without further incident. The driver, 31-year old Anthony Scott White, of Lexington, KY., was charged with Eluding, Reckless Driving, and Theft in the 5th Degree.

Authorities said also, 30-year old Brandon Ray Nelson, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at around 2:50-a.m. today (Thursday), following a traffic stop on a vehicle whose registered owner was wanted on a warrant. A Deputy made contact with the owner/driver and confirmed his identity. He was arrested on the warrant Violation of a No Contact Order, as well as for OWI/1st offense, after deputies found numerous beer cans inside the vehicle. The man also had bloodshot eyes, and a strong odor of booze in the vehicle and on his person. His breath tested over the legal limit for intoxication. Nelson also received citations for open container and no insurance.

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Law Enforcement Academy is seeking expert guidance on whether to fix its moldy facility or relocate. The academy in Johnston trained more than 11,000 law enforcement personnel last year. It underwent a cleaning after tests in December 2015 showed high levels of mold.

The underlying causes of the mold have not been removed, however. Academy director Judy Bradshaw told The Des Moines Register the sources are the plumbing and HVAC systems. The academy is seeking $10 million from the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund, which is funded in part by Iowa gambling revenue.

CLINTON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a 50-year-old man whose body was found by firefighters inside his eastern Iowa home. A news release Thursday from the Clinton police and fire departments identified the man as Donald Loechel. Firefighters who were dispatched a little before 11:30 p.m. Monday found the two-story structure engulfed in flames. They didn’t find the body until the fire could be controlled sufficiently for them to go inside the house.

WRIGHT COUNTY, Iowa – DNR conservation officers responded to a personal injury hunting incident on November 29 around 1:20 p.m., in southwestern Wright County. 36-year old William Rancourt, of Lebanon, New Hapshire was pheasant hunting on the Boone River Greenbelt Conservation Board Public Hunting Area with three other hunters when he was hit in the back by bird shot pellets from another hunter’s 12-guage shotgun.

The shotgun was lying on the ground when a hunting dog stepped on the trigger guard causing it to discharge hitting Rancourt in the back nearly 22 yards away. Rancourt was transported to Trinity Hospital in Fort Dodge with non-life threatening injuries. The DNR was assisted at the scene by the Wright County Sheriff’s Office.

The DNR reminds hunters to unload your firearm and be sure the safety mechanism is in place before setting it down.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa has exhausted its challenges to a lawsuit filed by a former state employee who said an agency fired him because of a work injury, and the costs to the state could top $1 million. The Iowa Supreme Court declined this month to hear an appeal from the state connected to a 2013 lawsuit filed by former Iowa Department of Natural Resources worker John Vetter. The move affirms a May 2017 ruling from the lower Iowa Court of Appeals that sided with Vetter.

Vetter alleged he was fired in 2013 after a work-related injury to his back. Following a 2015 trial, a district court judge ordered Iowa to pay more than $930,000. The state appealed. The judge is now determining final costs associated with the appeal. Vetter’s lawyers say new expenses like interest and attorneys’ fees have increased the total due to more than $1 million. A spokesman for the attorney general’s office declined to comment.

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

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