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

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Police in Council Bluffs are investigating an assault that took place late Thursday night. Officers called to the 1500 block of 2nd Avenue at around 10-p.m., to check on the welfare of a person, found Justin Wirsing sitting on the curb suffering from a laceration to the right side of his head. Wirsing told police he was assaulted by three unknown men, who left the scene in a white car before officers arrived. Wirsing was transported to Mercy Hospital for treatment of his injuries, and released.

Anyone with information about the incident should contact Crime Stoppers at 712-328-7867.

GLENWOOD, Iowa (AP) – A man who police say called for “vigilante justice” after a brawl and shooting in southwest Iowa no longer faces charges. The Omaha World-Herald reports that prosecutors say the two weapons charges against 20-year-old Liam Whitehouse were dropped because evidence found in his vehicle likely wouldn’t hold up in court. Authorities say Whitehouse made a suspicious Facebook post calling for “vigilante justice” after the Sept. 27 incident outside the home of a Glenwood school principal, Richard Hutchinson.

Mills County Attorney Tricia McSorley says the car search was done without Whitehouse’s permission. Glenwood Police Chief Eric Johansen says Whitehouse initially denied officers permission to search the car but later granted it.

Police in Creston say a local woman was arrested on a drug charge Thursday evening. 31-year old Maxine Burton, of Creston, was taken into custody for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Burton was being held in the Rinngold County Jail on a $300 bond.

Authorities said also, two thefts were reported, Thursday. A resident in the 600 block of N. Oak Street, in Creston, told police someone took and began using her credit card to make purchases and withdrawals, beginning June 26th, until the card was cancelled sometime in July. The loss was estimated at $2,000.

And a woman in the 600 block of New York Avenue, in Creston, reported to police that her late model Buick Park Avenue, was stolen out of her driveway at around 10:40-p.m., Thursday. The woman’s phone and several personal items were inside the vehicle.  Police located the car at around 11:35-p.m., and returned the vehicle to its owner.

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

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Police in Council Bluffs say one person was injured after a vehicle rolled over early this (Friday) morning off of Interstate 480. The accident happened at around 2:40-a.m. on I-480 westbound. An investigation determined a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am driven by 32-year old Sophia Jenkins, of Council Bluffs, was traveling west on the north side of the interstate, when her vehicle traveled down an embankment, crashed through a fence, and ended up in a construction area.

Jenkins was transported to Creighton University Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries. Authorities say alcohol and speed appear to be contributing factors to the crash. Jenkins faces charges that include Failure to Maintain Control, Driving While Disqualified, and Failure to Provide Proof of Insurance.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Prosecutors say a Nebraska man who didn’t get the promotion he wanted at an Iowa college has been convicted of hacking without authorization into several of the university’s computers and email accounts. David Boyer pleaded guilty on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City to unauthorized access to a protected computer. In a plea agreement, the 46-year-old Boyer admitted that from October 2009 through June 4, 2010, he accessed protected computers at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake.

Prosecutors say Boyer took the unauthorized actions because he was angry that he hadn’t been promoted to become head of the information technology department, losing the job to another person.  In the plea agreement, Boyer agreed to pay $100,000 in restitution. His sentencing date has not been set.

A woman from rural Red Oak was arrested Thursday evening, following a traffic stop. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says 25-year old Jessica Faye Davis was taken into custody on a valid Montgomery County Bench Warrant for Violation of Probation, and was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $5,000 bond.

An online poll is underway to determine the image that will be used for the cover of next year’s Iowa Travel Guide. Iowa Tourism Office spokesperson Jessica O’Riley says voters can choose from four options. “We’ve got a shot of a scenic overlook at Effigy Mounds National Monument near Harpers Ferry, the world famous Roseman Covered Bridge in Madison County, some bikers on the Wabash Nature Trail in southwest Iowa, and hikers in the Loess Hills,” O’Riley said. The winning cover will be announced on November 4th.

“People can vote now through Wednesday, November 4, at 10 a.m. through our Facebook page,” O’Riley said. The Iowa Tourism Office distributes more than 100,000 copies of the Iowa Travel Guide each year. It can be found at Iowa’s welcome centers or ordered online. “In addition to hundreds of listings of museums, hotels, bed and breakfasts, campgrounds, cabins, and all of those sorts of things, we also include some special features,” O’Riley said. “For next year, we’re have a special feature on Grant Wood because it will be his 125th birthday. So, we’ll have a spread in there to say where you can find Grant Wood pieces, all the way from Cedar Rapids to, of course, the American Gothic House (in Eldon).”

The cover of this year’s Iowa Travel Guide features a photo from Dunnings Springs Park in Decorah. The next travel guide will be released in early 2016.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa office of the U-S Small Business Administration reports a slight increase in the number of loans to new and expanding businesses in the state compared to last year, though there was a drop in the overall dollar amount. Jayne Armstrong took over as director of the state S-B-A office’s operations earlier this year and says she’s making a few course corrections. “We’re changing some of the ways we do business, particularly our marketing and outreach,” Armstrong says. “We’re trying to be much more visible within the community and to market ourselves more to the small business community in addition to the banking community.”

The S-B-A’s fiscal year ended at the end of September and during the year, loans were made to 444 Iowa businesses. That’s up from 440 loans the previous year. The total value of this year’s loans to Iowa businesses was nearly 135-million dollars, down from almost 150-million a year ago. “Our overall lending, the dollar volume dropped this past fiscal year,” Armstrong says. “You’re going to have fluctuations of some years bigger loans and smaller loans other years. You have no control over that. It’s really what the small business community, what the demand is.”

The dollar amounts aren’t a big concern, she says, but the number of loans is more significant. Other important figures are that this year’s S-B-A loans created more than 15-hundred jobs in Iowa and retained another three-thousand. Loans were made in 65 of Iowa’s 99 counties. By far, the most loans were made during the year in Polk County, the home of Des Moines and the state’s most populous metro area. Polk County had 106 loans, followed by Linn County with 56 loans, Black Hawk County with 29 and Scott County with 25.

“We feel there’s some untapped potential for SBA in the Sioux City, Davenport and Dubuque markets in particular,” Armstrong says. “You’re going to have a much stronger presence in those areas as we move forward.” During the fiscal year, loans to minority- and women-owned businesses in Iowa rose compared to the previous year, while the number of loans to veterans fell slightly. Access to capital is one of the biggest challenges facing small business, according to Armstrong. She adds, more than 95-percent of Iowa’s businesses are small businesses.

(Radio Iowa)