Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports a man and a woman were arrested Saturday evening for Burglary and Theft of Services, along with Possession of Marijuana. Officers took the pair into custody at around 5:30-p.m. Authorities allege 31-year old Seth Allen Simmons, a homeless person, and 37-year old Shelley Lane Steiner, of Villisca, entered the Celebrity Inn at 1323 S. 16th and occupied a room overnight.  Brothers said the pair were not authorized to stay there, and failed to pay for their lodging. Furthermore, it is alleged Simmons and Steiner caused some minor property damage in the room.

They were also found in possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Simmons and Steiner were arrested without incident in the Clarinda Fareway parking lot. They were being held in the Page County Jail on $5,600. Police reports have been submitted to the offices of Page County Attorney Carl M. Sonksen for review regarding the filing of formal charges.

Officials with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office report a man from Wisconsin was arrested Friday morning after a deputy went to check on a disabled rental truck. Deputy Eric Hempel was dispatched to the 38-mile marker of Highway 6, at around 7-a.m, for a truck stalled in traffic. After he arrived on the scene and made contact with the driver, the driver became aggressive towards law enforcement and refused commands to get on the ground. 47-year old Chad Joseph Tryba, of Green Bay, WI., was taken into custody after a Tazer was deployed. He faces charges that include Disarming a Peace Officer/Aggravated Assault (A Class D felony), Child Endangerment without injury, and Interference with Official Acts.

A fire at a home about a mile west and one-quarter of a mile south of Brayton, Saturday afternoon, left a family that was new to the area, homeless. Brayton Fire Chief Tom McGovern told KJAN News that that Fire was reported at around 1-p.m., Saturday. By the time firefighters arrived, the upper floor of the home was fully engulfed in flames. The parents, three kids and three other adults had escaped without injury. The State Fire Marshal was expected to be on the scene today (Monday), to try and determine the cause of the blaze. The names of the victims were not immediately available.

Firefighters were on the scene for several hours, and were called back several times to extinguish some hot spot flare-up’s. Other fire departments lending assistance in the form of water and/or personnel, include those from Exira, Atlantic, Elk Horn, Kimballton and Audubon. Officials with the Exira-EHK School District posted on their Facebook page that the family was looking for a place to live and clothes for their three children.

The sizes they would need are 10-12 size for a boy, 4-5T size clothes for a boy, and 2-3T clothes for a little girl.  Any donations can be brought to the office in Elk Horn or Exira.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A man accused of killing a 19-year-old Mason City woman has been found competent to stand trial. Sixty-one-year-old Larry Whaley learned last week that two psychiatric experts who examined him say he understands the criminal process against him and is able to help his attorney defend him. Online court records don’t show that a new trial date has been set. He’s pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.

Authorities say Whaley used a handgun to shoot Samantha Teeter once in the head a little before 4 a.m. on Dec. 2 at his Mason City home. She died two days later at a hospital.

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

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ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a baby whose parents have been charged with child endangerment died after becoming wedged between her bed and a wall. The Des Moines Register reports that the Polk County medical examiner says the 7-month-old from Ankeny likely died of “positional asphyxia” last August and that the infant tested positive for cocaine metabolite, a breakdown product of cocaine. Examiner Gregory Schmunk says cocaine can be transmitted between baby and mother via breast milk, but he could not confirm how the drug got into the child’s system or when.

Thirty-three-year-old Michelle Atwell has been charged with child endangerment causing substantial risk, and several drug counts. Forty-eight-year-old Matthew Cohara has been charged with child endangerment causing no injury, and drug counts. Cohara has said their daughter’s death was an accident.

The Creston Police Department reports four recent arrests and two incidents of theft. At around 12:45-a.m. Sunday, 36-year old Bobbie Flynn, of Creston, was arrested at 619 N Birch on a charge of Public
Intoxication. Flynn was later released from the Union County Jail on a Promise to Appear in Court. Last Friday, 22-year old Jacob Davis, of Shannon City, was arrested at 604 W Montgomery, in Creston. Davis was arrested on an Adams County Warrant for the charge of Failure to Appear in Court. He was released to the custody of Adams County Sheriff’s Office.

Also arrested Friday in Creston, was 49-year old Jack Davis, of Orient. Davis was arrested on a Union County Warrant for the charge of Failure to Appear on the original charges of Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drug and Driving While License Denied or Revoked. He remains held in the Union County Jail on a $2,000 bond. And, 53-year old Ronald Griffin II, of Creston, was arrested Friday for Possession of Paraphernalia and on two counts of Possession of Controlled Substance. He was later released from the Union County Jail on a $7,000 bond.

An Afton man reported to Creston Police Friday, that sometime between 1-pm Thursday and 10-a.m. Friday, someone stole several plumbing tools, mudding tools, painting supplies and cans of paint from a job site at 601 N. Walnut, in Creston. The loss was estimated at $600. On Saturday, a Creston man reported to Police that sometime between 7-p.m. Friday and 8-a.m. Saturday, someone stole  four, 100-foot extension cords,  six 50-foot extension cords, and one 25-foot extension cord. They were taken from his property at 100 Industrial Parkway. The loss was estimated at $350.

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

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Emergency personnel in Council Bluffs were called to the area of 180 Glen Avenue at around 2:35-a.m., today (Monday), where an SUV reportedly struck a home, and the driver was attempting to flee from the area. Upon arrival in the area officers were directed by witnesses to a man who left on foot north bound on Glen Ave. Officers stopped the suspect, 30-year old Joseph Hrbeck of Council Bluffs, at Pierce St and Glen Ave.

Hrbeck was transported by rescue squad to the hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. An investigation revealed the vehicle, a 2003 Trailblazer, went out of control and struck a concrete retaining wall and trash cans. No residential structures were damaged. Intoxication is suspected as a reason for the crash. Charges are currently pending.

Forecasters say it should be a relatively quiet weather week for Iowans, which is good news as it’s also one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. Meteorologist Dennis Todey, director of the U-S-D-A’s Midwest Climate Hub — based in Ames — says there are no major storm fronts brewing, but they’re staying vigilant. Todey says, “There are a couple of systems that could be coming through the region that we should keep an eye on, just because it is that time of year when we have enough cold around and if we get a system through, it can always could produce something.”

Since many tens of thousands of Iowans will be on the road to see loved ones for the Thanksgiving holiday, Todey says travelers should pay close attention to local forecasts, wherever they may end up. He says, “The indications are always go ahead and plan on doing what you’re going to do but always be looking a couple of days ahead to make sure you’re not going to be caught up in something.” The longer-range forecasts are trending toward mild temperatures and less rain or snow.

“We’re seeing from the six-to-ten-day and eight-to-14-day outlooks, especially in the Central and Western U.S., warmer and a little drier-than-average conditions are what people are leaning towards here,” Todey says. “So, that’s not a bad thing from a travel standpoint and from people still trying to get crops out of the fields.” Todey says the development of the La Nina weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean is confirmed and it likely will have an impact later in the winter.

(Radio Iowa)