IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Police video shows an Iowa trooper jammed the barrel of his loaded rifle into the shoulder of a suspect at the end of a police chase, leaving the man injured. The Associated Press obtained the video through an Iowa open records law request. It shows suspect Shanne Arre reacting in pain after Iowa State Patrol officer Jeremy Probasco strikes him with the weapon.

Arre admits he was on drugs when he fled from officers trying to stop him for speeding on June 21, 2015. He eventually crashed in a ditch.  Video shows officers using flashlights to search for Arre in tall grass before one spots him. Probasco directs him to put his hands “in the small of your back.” Probasco stuck the barrel of his rifle into Arre’s shoulder blade.

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports a Bridgewater man was arrested Christmas Day on an Adair County warrant for Harassment in the 2nd Degree. 50-year old Duane Allen Funke was being held in the Adair County Jail on $1,000 bond.

A Nebraska man was arrested on drug charges Dec. 26th on Interstate 80, in Adair County. An Iowa State Patrol Trooper stopped a pickup truck for speeding near mile marker 90 eastbound, and after approaching the vehicle, noticed an odor of marijuana coming from inside the pickup. While speaking with the driver, the Trooper noticed a pipe in the bottom center console of the vehicle. The pipe contained marijuana residue. In addition, the driver, identified as 19-year old Derek Tomas Hernandez, of Fremont, NE., acknowledged he had another pipe in a back pack on the pickup’s rear seat, along with other paraphernalia in a red tin on the front passenger seat. A razor blade with marijuana residue as well as two more glass pipes were found in the red container.

Hernandez also admitted he had some fresh pot and a grinder in hit coat pocket. The Trooper found a pill bottle with an unknown amount of a green leafy substance, which Hernandez admitted was marijuana. The grinder also contained a green leafy substance. Hernandez was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. In addition, he was cited for the traffic violation. Hernandez was released the following day on his own recognizance.

And, Sheriff Vandewater reports 37-year old Christopher Lee Breece, of Bridgewater, was arrested Dec. 28th for Driving While Barred. Breece was released the following day on $2,000 bond.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers said today (Tuesday),  an arrest has been made in connection with a burglary during the early morning hours of December 27th, at the Dollar General Store on E. Glenn Miller Drive.  Page County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 19-year old Keldon Dean Stiner, of Hepburn, Saturday morning, at his home.

The arrest was made pursuant to a warrant issued for Stiner’s arrest, upon presentation of complaints/affidavits submitted to the court by the Clarinda Police Department.  Stiner was arrested without incident and is currently being held on $5,000 bond in the Page County Jail, on charges of felony burglary and aggravated misdemeanor destruction of property. No additional arrests are anticipated.

Reports concerning the incident have been forwarded to the offices of Page County Attorney Carl M. Sonksen for review and consideration of formal charges being filed.

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

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Police in Creston say three people were arrested over the holiday weekend. Taken into custody Friday night for Driving While Suspended, was 20-year old Dakota Early, of Creston. And, Saturday night, 61-year old Richard Woosley, of Creston, was arrested for Simple Assault. Early and Woosley were released from the Union County Jail on $300 bond, each. Monday evening, 25-year old Nathan Vicker, of Creston, was arrested for Interference with Official Acts. Vicker remained in the Union County Jail on $300 bond.

Creston Police said also, a resident of the 800 block of W. Adams Street reported Sunday night that someone had broken a window out of his front door. The incident happened sometime between 7:15- and 7:45-p.m., Sunday. It’s unknown if there was anything taken from the home. Damage from the incident amounted to about $100.

(7-a.m. News)

Our region of the country is securing its popularity for renewable energy projects, according to a report from the Center for Rural Affairs. Lucas Nelsen, who authored the report “Link to Rural Development and a Renewable Future,” says 41-percent of the new energy generation projects that went online last year were specifically wind energy projects.

“It’s really important, primarily because of where that generation is being built,” Nelsen says. “That generation is most often built in the Midwest and Great Plains and especially near rural areas where there’s abundant resources and a lot of space to put those projects.” While the projects bring a host of benefits to rural communities, he says barriers remain to renewable energy.

“Those benefits can range from new tax revenue, new jobs in the community, new economic activity and some guaranteed income for landowners who host those projects,” Nelsen says. “There are some roadblocks to that development and one of those roadblocks has been new transmission infrastructure to connect those projects to the grid.” Nelsen says one key to solving those transmission problems lies in proper planning.

“The best thing people can do is make sure they’re helping to improve these projects, that they’re finding out what a project might mean for their area, that they’re looking at maps at community meetings with developers and pointing out areas of concern they want the developers to avoid,” Nelsen says, “and making sure that the process runs smoothly.” Nelsen says the report shows “wind turbine technician” is the fastest growing profession in the country and the Department of Energy estimates the wind industry could support up to 380-thousand jobs by 2030. The wind industry employs some seven-thousand Iowans.

(Radio Iowa)

DURANGO, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say one man was killed and another injured while repairing a tractor in Dubuque County. The accident occurred around 2 p.m. Monday at a farm in rural Durango. The Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office says the tractor slipped into gear during the repairs and ran over the two men.

One man was pronounced dead at the scene. The other man has been taken to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. Their names haven’t been released.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Soaring numbers in a monthly survey of business supply managers suggest economic conditions are improving in nine Midwest and Plains states. The Mid-America Business Conditions Index report released Tuesday says the overall economic index for the region jumped to 53.1 in December from 46.5 in November. The October figure was 43.8.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the December and November increases point to an improving regional manufacturing economy. The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth in that factor. A score below that suggests decline.

The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

Several thousand Iowans are entering the New Year without a home. A longtime advocate for the homeless in Iowa says she’s seeing more people who are living out of their cars or tents. Joni Hansen is calling on community leaders across the state to find ways to help those who struggling rebuild their live

“There needs to be more transitional programs…where it’s not just offered on an emergency basis — programs that help them find employment, get some financial management skills, and build their life from that,” Hansen says. She’s also encouraging everyday Iowans to get involved — and not just by donating money or clothes.

“Volunteer and get to know the people. Perhaps you have a lead on a job someone could get, but I think the whole thing starts with volunteering and getting to know the needs in your own community,” Hansen says.

The state’s annual Homeless Memorial Day was held on December 21st and 32 Iowans who died in the past year after struggling with homelessness were remembered at the gathering on the grounds of the Iowa Capitol. Hansen is director of Hospitality House, a daytime homeless shelter in Waterloo.

(Radio Iowa)

The director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources says there are fewer hunters, but more gun owners in Iowa these days. 1975 seems to be the high-water mark for hunting in Iowa. The state issued more than 416-thousand hunting and fishing licenses that year. This past year, the state issued nearly 60 percent fewer licenses than it did four decades ago. D-N-R director Chuck Gipp says his agency’s operations are financed, in part, by those license fees. “With revenue being flat or going down like that, it’s going to be a challenge,” Gipp says.

According to a study by researchers at Columbia and Boston Universities, nearly 34 percent of adult Iowans own a gun. “People are physically using shooting as a sport or recreational activity, so they’re buying the weapons and there’s a great increase in the number of weapons that are out there,” Gipp says. “So our shooting sports and our ranges are critically important so they have a place to go and discharge that weapon.” The state owns and manages 10 shooting ranges. The rest are private or run by a county conservation board. In 2012, Gipp’s agency started awarding state grants for the development and improvement of shooting ranges around the state.

“The sale of weapons have increased. It’s incredibly important that if you’re going to use a weapon properly that you have the education and the opportunity to shoot it,” Gipp says. “Access to private lands for shooting, like when I was a kid you’d just grab a few bottles out of the county and city dump and you’d take them out to the old quarry and you’d shoot those. You can’t do that anymore and so shooting ranges are incredibly used.”

Earlier this year, more than 22-hundred Iowa kids participated in the annual “Scholastic Clay Target Program Trap Championship.” It was held near Cedar Falls, at the Iowa State Trapshooting Association Homegrounds. “The various shooting stands that they have, it’s about a mile long,” Gipp says. “And that’s not big enough, now, for some of the trap shoots that we have for the high school teams.”

The “Hunger Games” movies have spurred interest in another shooting sport — archery, but Gipp says finding shooting ranges for archers is difficult.

(Radio Iowa)