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

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

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

PELLA, Iowa (AP) — An employee of an Iowa Wal-Mart where three people were killed when a truck crashed through a front entrance says two of those killed were his co-workers. Don French, who was off-duty Thursday morning and shopping in the Pella store at the time of the crash, told the Des Moines Register that he heard the crash and rushed to see what had happened. He found severely injured people.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State University paid up to $225 per hour to rent an airplane for President Steven Leath to fly himself to meetings even as an older school plane that he piloted sat unused. The university rented the plane from prominent Ames landlord Brent Haverkamp, who was later awarded a lease to store his airplanes in an Iowa State hangar after the school evicted a 17-year tenant. Leath’s plane rentals and relationship with Haverkamp add new layers to the flight scandal that has roiled his presidency.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — An insurance company says it will lay off about 120 people at its Cedar Rapids office. Transamerica announced Thursday it would cut the Cedar Rapids job as part of moves that also include the closure of offices in Los Angeles, Folsom, California, and West Chester, Ohio, during 2017. A total of 800 jobs will also be eliminated in other locations, including the Cedar Rapids cuts. Before the layoffs, the Baltimore-based company had about 10,000 employees with 3,500 located in Cedar Rapids.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police say a 3-year-old boy has died of injuries from a Nov. 22 car crash in downtown Des Moines. Sgt. Paul Parizek says David Reh died Thursday, nine days after the car he was riding in rear-ended a pickup truck, then struck a delivery truck before finally coming to rest in a parking lot. The Des Moines Register reports the boy’s father who was driving, 46-year-old Soh Reh, died earlier from injuries he suffered in the crash.

(Update 6:15-a.m.: Meyer was apprehended today at 1-a.m. and is being held in the Woodbury County Jail.)

The Iowa Department of Corrections reports a male inmate at the Sioux City Work Release Facility (WRF) who was listed as escaped Thursday night when he failed to return to the WRF from his place of employment, was apprehended early this (Friday) morning. 32-year old Michael Allen Meyer had been ordered to Work Release following a Lifetime Sex Offender Special Sentence Parole (SSP) revocation, on Oct. 13th. He was transferred to SSP in Feb., 2014. His sentence for Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree out of Woodbury County, began in Nov., 2010.

Michael Allen Meyer

A man and woman from Adams County were arrested Thursday evening on assault and drug charges, after the vehicle they were in struck a Council Bluffs Police Officer. According to Council Bluffs Police Sgt. Matt Brinkman, at around 6:40-p.m., Officers were called to the Wal-Mart Store at 3201 Manawa Centre Drive, for a shoplifting in progress. (Pictures of the suspects were not available as of late Thursday night)

When an officer arrived the female suspect, identified at 28-year old Anna Armstrong, of Corning, was leaving the business. When the officer attempted to stop her and place handcuffs on her for safety, Armstrong began fighting with the officer. An “Officer needs assistance” call went out over the radio.

At about that same time a man identified as 68-year old Clifford Palmer, also of Corning, pulled up to the front of the business in his vehicle. Armstrong was able to open the front passenger door and get inside. When the Officer attempted to pull her out of the vehicle, the vehicle sped away, which caused the door to hit the officer in the leg. The officers’ injury did not require Medical Attention.

Additional officers was able to make a traffic stop in 3100 Block of Manawa Centre Drive, where both suspects were placed under arrest. When doing a search of the vehicle, narcotics were found in the vehicle. Anna Armstrong was arrested for Criminal Trespass, Assault on a Police Officer with Injury, Interference with Bodily Injury, Possession of a Controlled Substance (PCS)/Methamphetamine with the Intent to Deliver (over 5 grams), PCS/Marijuana with Intent to Deliver, and Theft in the 3rd Degree.

Clifford Palmer was arrested for Interference/with bodily Injury, PCS/ Methamphetamine with the Intent to Deliver (over 5 grams), PCS/Marijuana with Intent to Deliver, and Assault on a Peace Officer with Injury.

A group representing chambers of commerce and economic development organizations in Iowa’s 16 largest cities issued its annual “wish list” for the upcoming session of the Iowa Legislature. Jason Hutcheson, chair of the Iowa Chamber Alliance (ICA), says one of his group’s top priorities is tax reform. “The Tax Foundation ranks Iowa’s business climate 40th in the nation in its 2017 State Business Tax Climate Index. The major reason for Iowa’s persistently poor showing is tax complexity,” Hutcheson said. “Our state’s complex system makes Iowa less competitive and requires a cumbersome explanation to prospective businesses.”

Hutcheson is also the President and CEO of the Greater Burlington Partnership. John Stineman, executive director of the I-C-A, says one possibility to simplifying Iowa’s tax system might involve eliminating federal deductibility. “It does definitely complicate our tax code,” Stineman said. “What’s important there, however, is if we are going to move a way from federal deductibility, we do so in a way that does not inadvertently raise taxes, because right now that federal deductibility does have a net decrease on Iowans’ tax bill.”

Currently, Iowa is one of a handful of states to permit tax filers to deduct all tax payments made to the federal government in calculating their state income tax liability. Chris McGowan, with the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce, says another priority of the Iowa Chamber Alliance is a “statewide-only” minimum wage. “Any adjustments to the minimum wage should be done at the state level, not by local government entities,” McGowan said.

McGowan is vice-chair of the ICA. Stineman said, for now, the ICA is staying “neutral” on the idea of a hike in the statewide minimum wage. Instead, the group is only calling on the legislature to halt the patchwork of local rates that are higher than the current state standard of $7.25 an hour. “It’s very challenging for businesses of all sizes to have to hopscotch across different municipalities, sometimes literally crossing the street – where the wage is one level on one side of the street and a different wage on the other side of the street,” Stineman said. “That’s very difficult for our existing businesses and how they operate, from small to large.”

The Alliance is also calling on the legislature to develop “forward-looking” programs to encourage entrepreneurship and attract investment, while creating a “predictable and responsive” regulatory environment. The 2017 Legislative Session begins on January 9. Republicans will hold a majority in both the Iowa House and Senate over the next two years.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa’s still on track for one of its warmest autumns and among the warmest years on record, according to the state climatologist. The just-ended month of November was exceptionally warm and Harry Hillaker says of the 30 days in the month, 27 of them had above-normal temperatures. “This will probably be the second-warmest November on record and that’s going back through 144 years of records,” Hillaker says. “Only November of 2001 on a statewide basis averaged warmer than this month.”

In Atlantic, the average High for the month was 58 degrees, which was 11 degrees warmer than normal. The average Low last month was 32, or 5 degrees warmer than normal. September and October were also much milder than what’s typical. In addition to being warmer, November was also much drier than normal for most of the Hawkeye State. “A few places in the state, the far northwest corner and some parts of east-central Iowa, are just barely above normal on precipitation,” Hillaker says. “Most of the state was below-normal, especially southern Iowa where many areas had less than half the usual amount of precipitation.”

Atlantic received 1.81 inches of rain, which was slightly less than the 1.85 inches we would normally have received. The southern Iowa town of Allerton only reported about a half-inch of rainfall for the month, far below normal. The National Weather Service issued a revised outlook for December earlier this week. Hillaker says, “And it’s favoring slightly cooler-than-normal weather for the month and that’s quite a change from the outlook issued just two weeks ago which was favoring above-normal temperatures for the month.”

Hillaker says there’s the possibility of a major snow event in Iowa by the end of next week.

(Radio Iowa/KJAN Weather data for Atlantic)

PELLA, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa State Patrol spokesman says the crash of a pickup truck into a Wal-Mart store in Pella that killed three people, appears to have been an accident. Patrol Sgt. Nathan Ludwig said Thursday that investigators “don’t have any reason to believe it was intentional,” but are looking into all scenarios. Ludwig said the crash just before 10 a.m. killed three people — all outside the vehicle — and injured the driver and another person. He says none of those killed or injured were children.

Authorities have not yet released the identities of those involved as officials work to inform family members of the casualties. Lugwig said Thursday afternoon that he did not have the medical conditions of those hurt. A photograph posted by the Des Moines Register shows the pickup came to rest in the fresh produce aisle of the store with merchandise scattered on the floor.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports four recent arrests. On Tuesday, 23-year old Ashlie Marie Gray, of Tabor, and 19-year old Denver Alan Cook, of Glenwood, were arrested on separate warrants for Assault. Bond for both individuals was set at $1,000 each.

On Wednesday, 36-year old Helen Elaine Tuper, of Malvern, was arrested in Malvern on a charge of Harassment. Her bond was set at $300.  And, 45-year old Wendy Ann Edmonds, of  Glenwood, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. Edmonds was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

LE MARS, Iowa (AP) – Repairs will soon be complete on a broken elevator at a Le Mars apartment building, allowing some elderly and disabled residents easy access to the outside world for the first time since August. Fire chief David Schipper says the elevator at the five-story Floyd Valley Apartments is expected to be in operation Friday or by the beginning of next week.

Schipper tells The Sioux City Journal special parts for the elevator have had to be made and shipped from Pennsylvania. One part was dropped down the elevator shaft and broke a couple of weeks ago, slowing down the repair process even more.

Larry Schmitz, a fifth-floor resident, says he’s only been able to leave the building four times since August. Paramedics had to assist Schmitz up and down the stairs on two of those occasions.