COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Council Bluffs police say a woman has died after a domestic disturbance turned deadly.  Police Sgt. Chad Meyers said Tuesday that 44-year-old Millisa Cox was pronounced dead at a Council Bluffs hospital.

A neighbor, Jennie Rolli, says Millisa Cox came outside around 8 a.m. Tuesday, sat by a tree and yelled for help. She was soon taken to the hospital.

Darwin Cox. (photo provided by Council Bluffs P-D)

Officers say a man inside the home refused to come out, and a negotiator and a SWAT unit were dispatched. The officers rushed into the house about 9:45 a.m. to end the standoff. They found the woman’s husband, 55-year-old Darwin Cox.

Meyers says Darwin Cox had shot himself in the head. The suffered a wound to his chin area, but it appeared to be superficial and not considered to be life-threatening. He was taken to a hospital in nearby Omaha, Neb.  Meyers said it appears Darwin fatally shot Millisa and then unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide by shooting himself. The case remains under investigation, and charges against Darwin Cox are likely to be forthcoming.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Police have rushed into a Council Bluffs house and have ended a 90-minute standoff that began after a domestic fight turned into a shooting. Authorities say officers found a wounded man inside who they believe shot himself. He was taken to a hospital in nearby Omaha, Neb. A woman who’d been shot earlier was taken to a Council Bluffs hospital. A police dispatch supervisor told KJAN News CPR was in-progress as the woman was being transported.

Pottawattamie County dispatcher Scott Vandervort says a negotiator and a SWAT unit were sent to the house around 8:15 this (Tuesday) morning. Council Bluffs police Lt. Dan Flores says the armed man inside wouldn’t leave. That led SWAT officers to storm into the house around 9:45 a.m.

Police say officers didn’t fire any shots. Police have not released the names of the two wounded people

A stand-off in Pottawattamie County ended this morning with two people taken to the hospital. Police in Council Bluffs told KJAN News a female, said to be in critical condition, was taken to Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs. The official said CPR was in progress at the time of transport.

The official said incident took place at 3441 Avenue B at around 8:15-a.m. Emergency crews, a SWAT team and negotiator had been sent to the home to deal with a man who had reportedly barricaded himself inside.

Authorities entered the home at around 10-a.m. and took the suspect away in an ambulance. Nearby schools were notified of the situation and placed in lockdown as a precaution. No other details have been released.  

Police in Lenox reported two convicted sex offenders have moved into the community. The men, 62-year old Daniel Lloyd Clark and 38-year old James Anthony Wilkes, reside at 110 south Locust Street and 601 south Walnut Street, Lot 22, respectively. Both men are listed on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry.

Clark was convicted in Sept. 2005 of Indecent Contact with a Child (ages 0-13), in Fayette County.

Daniel Lloyd Clark

Wilkes was convicted in Minnesota, of Criminal Sexual Conduct in January and August, 2002. His victims were both females, ages 14-to 17, and over the age of 18.

James Anthony Wilkes

The Lenox P-D posted the notices on its Facebook Page as a way to alert citizens of the mens’ presence.

The Clarinda Police Department reports two Griswold residents were arrested this (Tuesday) morning. 34-year old Phillip William Church was arrested for OWI/2nd offense, an aggravated misdemeanor, and for providing false information to a police officer. 35-year old Kendra Gail Cruz was arrested for Interference with official acts.

The Clarinda P-D reports also, 33-year old Bryan Scott Casey, of Clarinda, was arrested Monday for public intoxication. And on Sunday, 29-year old Joshua Daniel MacVenn, of Clarinda, was arrested on a Page County warrant for failure to pay child support, and driving while license revoked for an OWI conviction.

In other news, Police Chief Keith Brothers say a Clarinda resident reported on Saturday, the theft of a Chevrolet pickup truck and an estimated $1,000 worth of personal property from the vehicle. The incident occurred in the 100 block of west Washington Street. On Sunday, a Clarinda woman reported an incident of arson and destruction of her property in the 900 block of east State Street. The damage was estimated at $100.

The Iowa Department of Transportation is requesting public input on the proposed bridge replacement on Iowa 92 over Little Silver Creek, three-tenths of a mile west of the west junction of Iowa 92 and Pottawattamie County Road L-55.

The proposed project provides for replacing the existing bridge with a pre-stressed, pre-tensioned concrete beam bridge that is 193 feet by 44 feet. New bridge approaches would be constructed, existing guardrail would be replaced, and the shoulders would be paved 20 feet beyond the end of the guardrail. The new bridge would be constructed using the accelerated bridge construction process that involves building the bridge components off-site. Using this process would require the roadway to be closed for 21 days to remove and replace the existing bridge.

Through traffic on Iowa 92 would be detoured during the bridge removal and replacement process using Pottawattamie County Road L-55, U.S. 6, interstates 80 and 29.

For general information or to make a comment regarding the proposed bridge replacement, contact Don Stevens, assistant district engineer, Iowa DOT District 4 Office in Atlantic,  at 712-243-3355 or 800-289-4368. Or, email donald.stevens@dot.iowa.gov. Comments must be received by Oct. 29, 2013, to be considered.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say at least two people have been shot and a man has barricaded himself inside a Council Bluffs home.  Pottawattamie County dispatcher Scott Vandervort  says a negotiator and a SWAT unit were sent to the house around 8:15 Tuesday morning.  Vandervort says the two people were taken to area hospitals. He says he doesn’t have any information on them other than they are not police officers.

He didn’t have more information about what is happening at the house, which sits on the west side of town. He says police representatives can’t respond to questions because they are busy at the scene.

A pre-trial conference for a former Harlan teacher accused of sexual exploitation that was supposed to have been held Monday (Oct. 14^th) in Shelby County District Court, will instead be held next Monday (Oct. 21^st). Judge James Richardson granted a continuance in the case of Lee Nelson, who was to have appeared in court on charges of Sexual Exploitation by a School Employee and Assault with Intent to Commit Sexual Abuse. The 72-year-old Nelson had earlier pled not guilty to the charges.  His trial is set to begin Oct. 29th.

A 17-year-old female claiming to be a victim and her parents contacted police on May 30, 2013, and reported that Nelson had allegedly been saying rude and inappropriate things to the female, as well as touching her inappropriately.

The incidents allegedly occurred at school, on band trips and at his residence.

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS

The Atlantic Board of Education heard a presentation Monday night from High School Ag Instructor and Atlantic FFA Advisor, Eric Miller. Miller spoke with regard to the district’s proposed CASE curriculum. CASE stands for Curriculum for Agriculture, Science and Education.Miller says the concept is for science- or inquiry-based learning. More specifically, it focuses on math and science, and how those areas relate to agriculture.

Atlantic H.S. Ag Instructor Eric Miller.

He says the curriculum allows a student to see the benefits of math and how it pertains to their agricultural experience. Miller says students sometimes don’t realize how important math is for their careers, whether it’s in agriculture, other industries and trades. He says the program involves student-led agriculture, also. Miller says students have to learn how a process works and find the answer to a question that they develop on their own, through the scientific process.

The program is offered in a year-long course, which Atlantic has not had in quite a while. Miller said it’s a nod back to “The old style of teaching agriculture.” One of the topics is AFNR (Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources), an entry level course. Later offerings may include animal and plant sciences. Miller says the curriculum goes along with the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) courses many schools are teaching, and is aligned with national Ag standards as well as the Iowa Core curriculum.

The big issue he says is the cost. In order for Miller to attend the 10-day certification course, 8-hours per day, is $2,500 plus $10,000 for books and materials. He says some of the equipment can be borrowed from the Science Department at the high school, to save cost, but some will need to be purchased throughout the year. Miller says he has also applied for a $5,000 grant from Pioneer. The CASE curriculum is currently being offered in the Audubon and Griswold School Districts, but is not yet offered in Atlantic.