The KJAN listening area received some much needed rain overnight, in light of numerous, recent grass and field fires and the dry, windy conditions western Iowa has been dealing with for the past few weeks. Here at the KJAN studios – your official National Weather Service reporting station for Atlantic – we received 1.05 inches of rain. Massena reports .79″.

Other, unofficial reports from various spotters and media include:

1.28″ in Council Bluffs; 1.1″ just south of Avoca; 1.06″ in Irwin; 1.02″ in Harlan; 1 inch in Oakland; .94″ in Audubon; .8″ in Shenandoah; .77″ in Clarinda; .63″ in Red Oak; .49″ in Creston and .28″ in Denison.

COON RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – A west-central Iowa man has offered $500 to help catch whoever vandalized a memorial to his son who was slain in Afghanistan while serving with the U.S. Army.
Des Moines television station KCCI reports that hollowed-out egg shells filled with pink paint were thrown at the memorial over the weekend. The memorial sits just a few steps from the Coon Rapids shop of Dave Muhr (moor), who built the memorial to honor his youngest son, Shawn. The soldier was killed in January 2011 by a roadside bomb.

Shawn Muhr graduated Coon Rapids-Bayard High School in 2003 and joined the Army in 2005. Police say they found several street signs vandalized in a similar manner with pink paint, so they don’t believe the vandal or vandals specifically targeted the memorial.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s office reports two people were arrested Wednesday on separate charges. Just before 10-p.m., 31-year old Marcus John Josephson, of Red Oak, was arrested on charges stemming from an accident that took place March 18th, in Red Oak. Josephson faces a charge of OWI/Drugged-1st offense. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond.

And, at around 9:30-p.m., 37-year old Justin James Smith, of Villisca, was arrested on a Domestic Abuse/Simple Assault charge, following an investigation into an incident that took place in the 100 block of North 4th Avenue in Villisca. Smith was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail.

A California woman claims her teenage son was being held against his will at a home in central Iowa. It’s lead to a search warrant and six arrests. The Marshall County Sheriff’s Department received a call alerting them that a 16-year-old boy had allegedly been compelled by threats and deception to stay at a residence in LeGrand in eastern Marshall County for the last two weeks.

Reportedly, the boy was able to slip away and contact his mother, deputies located him, took him into protective custody and interviewed him. The home was alleged to be a den of drug use and sales with the presence of firearms. Information provided eventually lead to two arrests via a traffic stop and four more after a search warrant was issued. Three other children were taken into protective custody.

(Radio Iowa)

BOONE, Iowa (AP) – A videotaped interview with Iowa police officers reveals that a Georgia man admitted he killed his former roommate in 2009. The video that aired in court Wednesday shows 55-year-old John Green talking with Sac City authorities in 2014 after they tracked him to Florida. Green is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 58-year-old Mark Koster, of Sac City.

During the interview, Green told police that he was watching a show on his computer when Koster came at him with a baseball bat, angry over how Green had prepared their dinner. Green said he then strangled Koster out of self-defense. Koster was declared missing in 2010. His remains were found buried in the basement of his home after new owners began renovations.

A Red Oak woman was arrested Wednesday morning for alleged credit card fraud. Authorities say 32-year old Jessica Lynn Appley was taken into custody just before 9-a.m. and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where she was being held on $2,000 bond.

Storms that rolled through western Iowa early this (Thursday) morning, brought with them some ground thirst-quenching rain, and intense lightning. At around 12:35-a.m., firefighters from Griswold and Lewis were dispatched to a field fire reported to have started when lightning hit a power pole in the area of 560th and White Pole Road, northwest of Lewis. The hit took out a power line, knocking out the source of electricity for Lewis.

The Lewis Elementary School was closed this (Thursday) morning, because of the power outage. Crews were working on repairing the line and restoring power as quickly as possible.

Iowa Congressman David Young is joining critics of the Iranian nuclear talks in a call for the U.S. the step away from the table. “I would like (for the U.S.) to walk away from it, personally, and reimpose new sanctions and start over from a position of strength and not weakness,” Young said. “I think Iran probably has the upper hand right now.” Like Young, many other Republican lawmakers are voicing concern that Iran is gaining too much leverage after negotiators abandoned a March 31 deadline and agreed to extend talks.

“Being at the table is fine and talking to one another, but I don’t trust Iran,” Young said. “I know a lot of countries in the world don’t because they don’t have a great track record.” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has been taking part in the talks in Switzerland to end Iran’s nuclear program. Kerry has postponed his return to the U.S. twice as the negotiations have dragged on for a week.

Congressman Young spoke with Radio Iowa on Wednesday after he addressed student assembly at Grandview Christian School in Des Moines.

(Radio Iowa)

An overflow crowd of more than 300 gathered at Morningside College in Sioux City Wednesday afternoon to hear Texas Senator Ted Cruz, the first Republican candidate to formally enter the 2016 presidential race. Cruz told the crowd many Republicans and conservative Democrats have been “awakened” by the furor over Indiana’s new law that would protect businesses that refuse to serve some customers, for religious reasons.

“We need to stand up as courageous conservatives,” Cruz said in Sioux City. “You know, religious liberty is not some fringe view. It is the basis of this country. America was founded by people fleeing religious persecution.” Some in the crowd nodded their heads while others said things like, “That’s right” and “Amen” as Cruz discussed the subject. According to Cruz, many “Republican politicians” are “terrified” to address the issue. And Cruz blasted some of the nation’s top corporations for “persecuting” those “dare” to oppose same-sex marriage.

“The Fortune 500 is running shamelessly to endorse the radical gay marriage agenda over religious liberty,” Cruz said. Cruz got applause from the crowd when he said marriage is a “holy sacrament” that is “the union of one man and one woman.” Every one of the 160 seats in the Morningside College Auditorium was filled and organizers set up three other rooms to accommodate the overflow crowd of students and G-O-P activists who showed up to see Cruz.

Cruz attended a Dubuque County Republican event last night (Wednesday). He’ll be in Cedar Falls for a town hall meeting later this morning (Thursday) and in Cedar Rapids this afternoon (Thursday) for another public event. He’ll wrap up his latest Iowa visit with a stop in Des Moines tonight (Thursday).

(Radio Iowa)