w/ Ric Hanson

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Three people were taken into custody Tuesday night in Red Oak, after a search warrant was executed at a residence in the 1000-block of East Washington Avenue. Red Oak Police say nearly 390-grams of a substance suspected to be marijuana, $4,260 in currency, a .25-caliber handgun and numerous items of drug paraphernalia were seized during the search, which was conducted at 10:15-p.m..

59-year old Ricky Allen Straw, of Red Oak, was charged with 3 felony counts of Delivery of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, along with felony Possession of Marijuana with the Intent to Deliver, felon in possession of a firearm, a drug tax stamp violation, as well as 2 counts of Child Endangerment (Aggravated misdemeanors), a Serious misdemeanor charge of Gathering where controlled substances are unlawfully used, and a simple misdemeanor charge of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Straw was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $5,000 bond.

44-year old Susan Elaine Rooker, of Red Oak, faces 2 counts of Child Endangerment, along with Possession of Marijuana and Drug Paraphernalia charges. Her bond was set at $2,000. And, 22-year old Tiffany Renee Fulcher, of Red Oak, was cited for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Officials say two children were removed from the home and placed in the custody and control of a family member. The investigation continues, and additional charges are pending. Red Oak Police were assisted in their investigation and search of the home, by deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, and a Cass County K-9 unit.

A man whom authorities say stole a car from Nebraska led law enforcement officials on a chase Tuesday morning in Pottawattamie County, and managed to elude his pursuers. Sheriff’s officials told the Daily NonPareil the pursuit started around 9:50 a.m. in Crescent, when an unidentified white male driving a red Chevy Cavalier stolen out of Omaha, failed to stop for authorities.

The pursuit followed Old Lincoln Highway before turning onto Leisure Avenue. The vehicle eventually entered a cornfield near the intersection with 190th Street, at which point the driver took off on foot. Several law enforcement agencies including at least seven k-9 units engaged in a search for the driver, but the hilly, wooded terrain in the area made the search difficult. Adding to the difficulty in finding the man, was an unharvested corn crop, cloud cover and a light mist. The sheriff’s office, Iowa State Patrol and Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation and others were on the scene.

The manhunt was called-off at around 2:30-p.m., after search teams lost the trail in a corn field.  The suspect is described as a 5-foot-7 white male around 50 years old with shoulder-length hair. Sheriff Jeff Danker said authorities believe they know who the suspect is, but he declined to release a name. The sheriff’s office and other agencies were gathering evidence in an effort to obtain an arrest warrant.

One person was killed and another injured during a collision between a car and pickup Tuesday evening in Guthrie County. The Iowa State Patrol says a 1997 Olds Cutlass driven by 23-year old Jacob Cody Stringer, of Bayard, was traveling west on Highway 141 at around 5:30-p.m., when his car hit a guard rail and veered across the centerline before hitting a 1997 Ford F-150 pickup. Stringer, who was not wearing a seat belt, died at the scene of crash west of Bayard. The driver of the pickup, 60-year old Laverne Joseph Tigges, of Adel, was trapped in his vehicle.

Tigges was extricated and flown to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines by Mercy Air 1. A report on his condition is not available. The accident remains under investigation.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report a Villisca man was arrested Tuesday afternoon on sexual exploitation and child pornography charges. 60-year old James L. McDaniel, of Villisca, was taken into custody at around 2:10-p.m. following a three-month long investigation that was conducted by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office along with the assistance of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Nashville, TN Metropolitan Police Department and Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation.

Authorities say McDaniel allegedly engaged in an online relationship with a then-16-year-old girl in Tennessee and was able to coerce the teenager to send explicit pictures,

McDaniel faces charges that include felony Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, as well as Possession of Child Pornography (an aggravated misdemeanor), and Dissemination and Exhibition of Obscene Material to a Minor (a serious misdemeanor).

McDaniel was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $10,000 cash bond.

A building in Wiota that has served many different functions over the past several decades, was damaged by fire late Tuesday night. Firefighters from Wiota, Anita, Atlantic and Cumberland responded to the reported blaze at the Wiota Steakhouse at 302 Center Street, shortly after 11:20-p.m.

Wiota Steakhouse Fire (Ric Hanson/photos)

Wiota Fire Chief Cody Will spoke with KJAN News at around 12:45-a.m. Wednesday, not long after crews had knocked down the flames and were beginning mop-up duties.

(Will said when the first crews arrived, the kitchen was fully engulfed in flames and exiting the rear and the roof of the building and spread to the attic area, where crews were able to stop the spread of the fire. Most of the damage was contained to the kitchen area.)

Firefighters were on the scene for the next hour or so making sure the hot spots were put out. Will said they were attacking the attic area most of the night and it was too early to determine the cause of the fire.  He said later that the fire apparently began with a hot water heater exhaust behind a cabinet that burned through the wood floor. Will said water coming out of the heater was scalding hot even after they tried to cool it down with a hose. An investigator with the State Fire Marshal’s Office was scheduled to examine the scene sometime today (Wednesday).

The owner of the steakhouse, Barb Mitchell, was understandably upset, according to the Chief.

The restaurant had been scheduled to open later in the day.

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Firefighters from Anita and Wiota were called to the scene of a reported fire in Wiota Tuesday night. The Cass County Communications Center said a large fire was reported on the back side of the Wiota Steakhouse at 302 Center Street, at around 11:20-p.m.  A grass unit from the Cumberland Fire Department was also called to assist at the scene.

Additional details are currently not available.

PERU, Neb. (AP) — Authorities in southeast Nebraska are trying to identify the body of a man found on the bank of the Missouri River. The Nemaha County Sheriff’s Office says people fishing by the river north of Peru found the body Sunday. It’s unclear how long the body was in the water.

Sheriff Brent Lottman says deputies have contacted authorities in surrounding communities along Nebraska and Iowa to help identify the man. He declined to release additional information. The Lincoln Journal Star reports an autopsy has been ordered on the body, which was found two miles north of the Peru boat dock.

Members of the Harlan Community High School and Junior High Bands will be performing this (Tuesday) evening, for Veterans in Omaha. The Veterans with an organization called Heartland Honor Flights will be taking a trip to Washington D.C. Wednesday and this evening the band will play as part of the pre-flight dinner for the Veterans. Harlan Community Band Instructor Chaz Neuvirth says the kids are very excited to perform.

“It’s going to be about 300 Veterans at the Ramada Inn Convention Center in Omaha. They have a lot of festivities going on with dinner and entertainment. They called us because we have a good number of local Veterans going to be there and they recommended the Harlan Cyclone band to perform.”

The band is coming off state and all-state contest so they have only been able to practice three times prior to the event this evening. He says the reason the junior high band members were invited was because of a choir concert tonight in Harlan. “So I didn’t want to take any students away from the choir concert so I invited the junior high band as well. We have about 70 kids going tonight between high school and junior high.”

The performance tonight in Omaha comes on the heels of a successful state concert where the band received a 1 rating and all-state contest. “Choir had twelve students try out and had seven make it. They have been working since the summer on the tunes they need to do and working hard each morning. We had five students try out in band and Jacob Lemons made it on the sax. He has been working on that for a few years and he did a great job this past weekend. He will experience the All-State festival which is November 21^st through the 23^rd.”

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – The Army Corps of Engineers says it expects higher-than-usual runoff in the Missouri River basin next year, but the system of dams along the river will still have minimum flows to recover from drought last year.

The Capital Journal reports that the corps says wet soil conditions from abnormally high precipitation in the upper basin this fall are expected to cause monthly runoff records for the Oahe  and Fort Randall areas this October. Total runoff for this year above Sioux City, Iowa, is expected to rank among the top five wettest years.

But despite the wet conditions, reservoirs still are below desired levels due to the 2012 drought, and the system is still expected to support less than full-service navigation downstream next year.