Charges are now filed against the truck driver with Iowa ties who’s implicated in a human trafficking scheme that resulted in multiple deaths. Dozens of people were packed into the trailer that was found in a sweltering Texas Walmart parking lot last month. Ten of the people died. The truck driver, 60-year-old James Bradley, was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Texas.

Bradley faces a list of charges, including conspiracy and transportation of undocumented aliens resulting in death. The trailer was being sold to a buyer in Mexico by Iowa-based Pyle Transportation of Schaller and still bore the company’s logo on the side. Bradley was hired to drive the trailer to the border. He claims he didn’t know the cargo was human.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $510 million, making it one of the largest in U.S. history. No one matched all six numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing, so the national lottery game will continue to grow ahead of the next drawing Saturday night. At $510 million, the drawing would be the eighth largest lottery jackpot.

The prize figure refers to the annuity option, in which winnings would be paid out over 29 years. A winner who took the cash option would snag $324.2 million, though that would be subject to state and federal taxes. Powerball is played in 44 states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The odds of winning the jackpot are one in 292.2 million.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A western Iowa teenager who faced harassment at school has been allowed to enroll in another district after his local school board denied his request for a transfer. The Des Moines Register reports that the Oakland student‘s clothes were thrown into a gym toilet and the word “snitch” was painted on his car. The Iowa Board of Education said Wednesday that the teen faced escalating harassment.

The board says the student, identified by initials K.M., faced physical and verbal threats from a group of ninth-grade students after he overheard a conversation about drinking and drugs in a gym locker room. K.M. sought permission to open-enroll out of the Riverside Community School District, but the local school board denied his request, citing a missed application deadline.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports 29-year old Spencer David Rehm, of Smithville, MO, was arrested Wednesday morning on a Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, charge. His bond was set at $300.

And, officials say personnel with AgriVision of Pacific Junction reported Monday evening, an incident of second-degree theft. No other details were released.

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

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa couple whose adopted baby was killed after his birth parents regained custody in 2014 has won a $3.25 million judgment in a lawsuit against their adoption lawyer.

The Des Moines Register reports that Rachel and Heidi McFarland were awarded the judgment Tuesday in a lawsuit against their attorney, Jason Rieper. The couple alleged in their lawsuit that Rieper allowed them to believe he’d gotten the baby’s birth mother to sign a critical release-of-custody document when he had not done so.

The 3-month-old baby, Gabriel McFarland, died on April 22, 2014, about five weeks after his birth mother got him back from the McFarlands. The child’s father, 17-year-old Drew James Weehler-Smith, was sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in 2015.

The Creston Police Department reports 35-year old Brandon Howe, of Creston, was arrested Wednesday evening on an out-of-state warrant. Howe was taken into custody on a Jefferson City, MO. Probation and Parole Board warrant for the charge of Parole Violation. He was being held in the Union County Jail without bond, while awaiting extradition.

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

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After a couple of public meetings on how Atlantic should celebrate its 150^th Anniversary as a City in 2018, a committee has decided on a plan. City Clerk Barb Barrick says they decided on a theme for each month, beginning this December (2017), with a Mayoral Proclamation during the Christmas Parade. A different, suggested theme for groups and organizations to build around each month, begins January, 2018.)

City Hall will be the point of contact for getting events on the calendar. There’s also a Facebook page that debuted on Wednesday. It’s called “Atlantic Sesquicentennial.” If you have problems spelling out the entire word Sesquicentennial, just type in “Atlantic Ses” in the Facebook search bar to locate and “Like” their page.

Police in Red Oak say no citations were issued following an investigation into an accident that occurred late Wednesday evening, because officers were unable to determine which driver’s version of events was correct. Officers were dispatched to the intersection of 4th and Washington Streets at around 8:30-p.m.  After they arrived, they spoke with 39-year old Jacob Lynn Hallock, of Red Oak, whose 2009 Chevy 1500 pickup was parked near the laundry mat in a parking stall. The driver of a 2007 Buick Rendezvous, 39-year old Tracy Anne Burkes, of Red Oak, left the scene after she and Hallock exchanged insurance information, since there were no injuries.

As Police were gathering information at the scene, Burkes showed up and provided them with a statement. She claimed her vehicle was eastbound on Washington Street and made a very wide turn into the laundry mat parking spot. The turn was so wide, she said, she went over into oncoming traffic to make the turn.

Hallock told Red Oak Police that he was traveling east on Washington when Burkes’ SUV came across his lane of travel and was traveling the wrong way down 4th Street. Following the collision, he pulled over into the parking spot. Damage to the vehicles amounted to $7,500.