The 7:06-a.m. Newscast w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Turkey hunting season starts this next weekend (April 4th) for youth in Iowa and the season opens on April 13th for adults. Jim Coffee, a forest wildlife research technician with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, based in Chariton, says last year’s turkey season was tremendously popular. “We had about 50,000 people that went out in the woods to hear that spring gobble and over 11,000 of them were successful,” Coffee says. “That’s a pretty good success rate, when you look at the wariness of a species like this.”

Coffee offers a few tips for Iowa turkey hunters. “The biggest thing is to be prepared which begins a lot with the mental aspect of getting ourselves up early, thinking about things, always making sure your weapon is in good shape,” Coffee says. “I always emphasize understanding the biology of the bird. If we understand that animal, what it wants to do and when it wants to do it, it helps increase our success rate.”

Hunters from all over will be in Iowa, trying to bag a turkey. “We’ve got a great reputation for having big, healthy birds in Iowa,” Coffee says. “We’re going to have a lot of people, obviously, from the state of Iowa hunting but we draw from a lot of other states. Some years, we have as many as 38 other states represented in the hunting population out there.”

Turkeys are found in all 99 Iowa counties and they like to forage in forests, agricultural lands and pasture lands. There is a new application for smartphone users that will be helpful for hunters called the D-N-R Atlas.  “Open it up and it’s an aerial photograph of the entire state that you can zoom right down to literally see a tree that you want to sit underneath of, as well as all of the public lands available in every county,” Coffee says, “and do a lot of scouting right from your chair.”

Find more information about turkey hunting season at www.iowadnr.gov.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A safety research organization is urging Iowa to toughen its rules for teenager driver’s licenses. The Des Moines Register reports that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says a study shows Iowa could more than halve its rate of fatal teen accidents if a stronger driver’s license law were adopted. The institute says Iowa should increase its licensing age to 17 years old from the current 16. And the institute suggests Iowa not issue instructional permits until someone reaches age 16 instead of the current 14.

Two lawmakers and the state’s chief highway safety expert said Monday that it would be difficult to adopt tougher teen driver rules in Iowa, where many teenagers in rural communities rely on cars and pickups to drive to school, work and other activities.

BOONE, Iowa (AP) – Attorneys are expected to deliver their opening statements Tuesday in the second Iowa trial of a man accused of killing his former roommate in 2009.  The Messenger reports that a Boone County jury was seated Monday for the trial of 55-year-old John Green. Green is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 58-year-old Mark Koster in Sac City.

Green’s first trial was held in Webster County because his attorney had argued that pretrial publicity would make it impossible for Green to receive a fair trial in Sac City. The same argument was used against holding the second trial in Fort Dodge. The first trial ended in a mistrial.

Koster was declared missing in 2010. His remains were found in the basement of his Sac City home in 2012.

A woman and female teenager from Red Oak were arrested Monday night, on drug charges. The Red Oak P-D says 18-year old Cara Belle Hale, and 16-year old Clara Lianne Hebb were taken into custody at around 9:30-p.m. near the intersection of Broadway and Oak Streets. Hale faces charges that include Possession of a Controlled Substance, OWI/Drugged and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Her bond was set at $1,000. Hebb was cited for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and subsequently released to the custody of her parents.

WOODBINE, Iowa (AP) — A western Iowa man accused of confining his girlfriend and psychologically torturing her has been arrested. Online court records on Monday listed a first-degree kidnapping charge against 50-year-old Daniel Yate, of Woodbine. He was detained after his girlfriend told police last week that he assaulted her at his home and wouldn’t let her leave.

Woodbine Police Chief Michael Jensen says the girlfriend accused Yates of binding her and threatening to throw her in a nearby river. The girlfriend says Yates also sat on her chest and opened and closed a knife.

Records show the woman had injuries consistent with her allegations and a hospital visit revealed a broken rib.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

The Omaha World-Herald is reporting that the former Fire Chief in Missouri Valley plead not guilty, Monday, to simple misdemeanor charges of interference with official acts and reporting false information. The charges against 44-year old Johnnie Walker were with regard to allegedly false statements Walker made to Missouri Valley police, as authorities investigated a fire earlier this month at an abandoned house. Walker has stated he wasn’t available to fight the March 7th blaze at 105 W. Superior Street, because he was ill, and that he was not completely focused because of his illness, when he spoke later with police.

Investigators would not say what Walker told them or why they suspect he tried to mislead them. He has since resigned as chief of the volunteer department. John Ticer, an investigator with the State Fire Marshals Office, has said the fire on Superior Street might be connected to fires set in October in an abandoned house on the northeast corner of 10th and Granite Streets, on Missouri Valley’s south side. Missouri Valley Police Chief Edward Murray said each fire has a separate suspect, neither of whom is Walker. No arrests had been made as of Monday.

During Monday’s hearing, the judge told Walker that if he pleaded guilty he probably would be fined rather than receive jail time. The maximum sentence for each charge is 30 days in jail. Walker’s trial date was set for May 8th.

High winds fanned grass fires across parts of the KJAN listening area, Monday afternoon. Two fires were reported at separate locations in Pottawattamie County, while a third was fought in Union County. The Daily NonPareil reports crews from Macedonia, Carson and Treynor responded to a fire in the 3500 block of Aspen Road at around 3-p.m. They stuck around for a while once the flames were put out, to make sure there were no flare ups.

Council Bluffs firefighters were called to a brush fire at around 3:30-p.m., near the Union Pacific Railroad track a little bit south of the Pott. County Jail, off of North 16th Street. Crews were able to bring the fire under control quickly, but remained for a while to extinguish some hot spots.

In Union County, a fire on the northwest side of Afton, between Lake Afton and St. Edwards Cemetery, kept firefighters busy for hours. Afton Police Chief John Coulter said on his social media page, that the fire was started deliberately, but they don’t know who did it. Several large bales of hay smoldered into the evening once the flames were put out.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports four recent arrests.On Sunday, deputies arrested 21-year old Renee Katherine McConahay, of Thurman, for Possession of Controlled Substance, Eluding and Speeding. Her bond was set at $2,000, and 41-year old Ronald Loren Gray, of Pacific Junction, was arrested for Violation of Protection Order. Gray was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

On Saturday, deputies in Mills County arrested 53-year old Debra Lynn Decair, of Glenwood, for Driving While Revoked, Leaving the Scene of Accident and having No Insurance. Her bond was set at $1,000. And last Friday, 38-year old Charles Curtis Kephart, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office on a Warrant for Probation Violation. Bond was set at $20,000.