A man from Kansas was arrested Sunday afternoon on a felony drug distribution charge, following a traffic stop on Interstate 29 in Fremont County. The Sheriff’s Office reports the driver of the vehicle. 33-year old Javier Romero-Ochoa, of Kansas City, Kansas, faces a felony charge of Possession with Intent to Distribute over 5 kilograms of Methamphetamine, along with charges of Failure to Affix a Drug Tax Stamp, and Operating a Motor Vehicle without a Valid License.  Romero-Ocoha was being held at the Fremont County Jail on $100,000 cash bond.

His arrest followed a traffic stop at around 2:22-p.m., Sunday, where Deputies with the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit assisted a Trooper with the Iowa State Patrol with a traffic stop on Interstate 29 near mile marker 6.  The vehicle was stopped for multiple traffic violations.

A narcotics K9 was deployed on the vehicle and a subsequent search of the vehicle uncovered approximately 18 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of over $230,000.00.

Photos courtesy Fremont County Sheriff’s Office

Ochoa

Fire and Rescue Crews from Cumberland and Massena, along with Medivac Ambulance, responded to a tractor accident Sunday night, southwest of Cumberland. According to dispatch reports, a 70-year old man who has had both of his hips replaced previously, was run over in the hip area, by a tractor’s rear wheels. The accident happened at around 7:40-p.m. south of Highway 92, off of 650th Street.

The victim was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital, and flown by LifeNet Helicopter to a trauma center. No other information was immediately available.

Sheriff’s officials in Ringgold County report a traffic stop a little after 2-a.m. Saturday on Highway 169 in Redding, resulted in woman taken into custody on a drug charge. Tammy Lynn Ueligger was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, after the K9 “Heky” was deployed and alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle.

A search of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of a small amount of marijuana. Ueligger was booked into the Ringgold County Jail and later released on bond.

(Waterloo) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections report 25-year old Malik De’Sean Richard, who was convicted of domestic abuse assault- 3rd or subsequent offense in Blackhawk County, failed to report back to Waterloo Residential Correctional Facility as required Saturday night.

Richard is a Black male, 5-feet 7-inches tall, and weighs 140 pounds. He was admitted to the work release facility on May 23rd, 2017. Persons with information on Richard’s whereabouts should contact the local police.

DES MOINES, Iowa — On August 12, 2017, a body was discovered in a rural area east of Clare in Webster County. Investigators with the Webster County Sheriff’s Office and the Division of Criminal Investigation are currently conducting a death investigation to determine cause and manner of death, as well as the identity of the victim.

An autopsy has been scheduled with the State Medical Examiner’s Office. No further information will be released until the autopsy is complete and next of kin have been notified.

On Friday, authorities said they were still searching for 26-year old Jessica Gomez, of Ft. Dodge. She was last seen August 4th. Her vehicle was found in a rural area south of Clare, which is northwest of Ft. Dodge. Another woman who was reported missing, 26-year old MacKenzie Knigge, was found safe in Lafayette, Indiana.

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — With only days to go until the new school year starts, the Johnston Community School District says it’s still scrambling to hire enough elementary school teachers. School officials tell Des Moines television station KCCI that the district will welcome its biggest classes yet as it works to overhaul several of its school buildings.

District spokeswoman Laura Sprague says district officials were taken by surprise by the large number of new families enrolling their children for the new school year. Johnston school officials plan to go before the school board Monday to seek approval to add additional teachers to the kindergarten class.

If approved, the Johnston Community School district will search for teachers immediately. School district officials say all K- 5 classroom placements would be shared with parents by Aug. 18.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The gubernatorial campaign for Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has declined to provide more information about blocks of time in her calendar when she works on campaign-related events, arguing that releasing the information could give away strategy.

Phil Valenziano, Reynolds’ campaign manager, offered that explanation to questions about 10 items listed on Reynolds’ June calendar that reference the campaign. Reynolds’ administrative staff released the calendar in response to a public records request by The Associated Press but blacked out information that was campaign-related. Her office made similar redactions for six campaign-related events listed in acting Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg’s June work calendar.

The records offer a glimpse at how Reynolds is trying to balance her new job as governor with her efforts to win a full four-year term in the 2018 gubernatorial race.

The Powerball jackpot climbs to an estimated $430 million for Wednesday’s drawing, after no one won the drawing Saturday night. Five tickets matching all five numbers but not the Powerball, sold in California, Illinios, Nevada and Texas won $1-million each. The numbers drawn were 20-24-26-35-49 and the Powerball was 19. The Power Play number was 2.

If there’s a winner Wednesday night, August 16th, the person or persons who claim the winning ticket have the option of having the prize paid out in 30 annual payments (an annuity), or a one-time cash payout of $273.4 million.

The Powerball prize pool has been building since June 10th. The odds of winning are one in 292 million.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A housing shortage for those living below the poverty line in Des Moines is being exacerbated by soaring rent costs, a local organization has found. The Des Moines Register reports that rents in the city have increased by more than 15 percent in past five years. The Polk County Housing Trust Fund also says that Polk and eastern Dallas counties are almost 8,000 units shy of meeting demand for single people making less than $15,000 annually.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman accused of trying to flush her newborn down a toilet and leaving the baby for dead in a trash can has pleaded guilty to reduced charges in the case. The Press-Citizen reports that 24-year-old Ashley Hautzenrader pleaded guilty Friday in Johnson County District Court to child endangerment and to neglect or abandonment of a dependent person. In exchange, prosecutors dropped an attempted murder charge.

DECATUR, Neb. (AP) — A bridge spanning the Missouri River that connects Decatur, Nebraska, to western Iowa is set to close for repairs. The Sioux City Journal reports that the Decatur bridge will close Monday. Workers will make structural repairs to abutments on each end of the bridge. The pavement leading up to the bridge on each side also will be replaced. Bridge traffic had been reduced to one lane since March 27 because of sandblasting and repainting.

HAMPTON, Iowa (AP) — A 42-year-old Meservey man convicted of kidnapping and torturing a woman has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that Charles Albright was sentenced Friday. Prosecutors say Albright held a 36-year-old woman captive for 12 to 14 hours on Oct. 7 in Meservey, where she was punched, slammed against a floor, shocked with a stun gun and repeatedly bitten by a dog. Albright then took her to Sheffield, where he continued beating her.

HAMPTON, Iowa (AP) — A 42-year-old Meservey man convicted of kidnapping and torturing a woman has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that Charles Albright was sentenced Friday in Franklin County District Court. He was convicted in July of first-degree kidnapping and willful injury.

Prosecutors said Albright held a 36-year-old woman captive for 12 to 14 hours on Oct. 7 in Meservey, where she was punched, slammed against a floor, shocked with a stun gun and repeatedly bitten by a dog. She was then taken to Sheffield, where Albright continued beating her.

Her injuries included burns and broken bones in her face. Albright also faces trial Sept. 26 on a felony explosives count, accused of having a bomb or bomb parts.