(Radio Iowa) – Congresswoman Cindy Axne of West Des Moines has endorsed one of the Democrats seeking the chance to run for the U.S. Senate seat Republican Chuck Grassley holds today.

Axne, the only Democrat in Iowa’s congressional delegation, has been considering whether to seek reelection in the U.S. House, run for governor or a run for the U.S. Senate. Her endorsement of Democrat Abby Finkenauer’s U.S. Senate bid makes clear that third option is off the table. Axne and Finkenauer campaigned together in Des Moines last (Monday) night.

Former Crawford County Supervisor Dave Muhlbauer (MULL-bow-er) and Dr. Glenn Hurst of Minden also have announced they’re seeking the Democratic Party’s 2022 nomination for the U.S. Senate. There’s a mid-march deadline for getting petition signatures filed in the secretary of state’s office in order to qualify for the June Primary ballot.

Retired Admiral Mike Franken of Sioux City told the Carroll Times Herald he’s been seeking medical care at the main military hospital in Washington, D.C. over the past few weeks and plans to launch another bid for the U.S. Senate once he gets a clean bill of health. Franken ran for the U.S. Senate in 2020, but finished second in the Democratic Primary.

(Radio Iowa) – The man convicted of murdering Mollie Tibbetts in 2018 as she went for a run in Brooklyn will not get a new trial and is scheduled to be sentenced to life in prison. Attorneys for Cristhian Bahena Rivera said in July that they’d heard from someone who claimed another man had confessed to the crime. Judge Joel Yates said that confession was significantly at odds with the account Bahena gave during his trial.

Bahena testified two masked men forced him to participate in the crime and it was one of them who killed Tibbetts. At a hearing last month, Bahena’s attorney’s also sought to link Tibbett’s murder to an alleged sex trafficking ring and two other missing person cases.

The judge, in his ruling, said those arguments were not convincing. Bahena’s sentencing is now scheduled for August 30. His first degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, Monday, released details about a rollover accident with injuries that took place last Wednesday. Officials say 34-year-old Ryan Michael Morrison, of Stuart, was driving a 2014 Chevy Silverado pickup that was pulling a camper, when the camper began to swerve, causing Morrison to lose control. The pickup and camper entered the west ditch off northbound Highway 25. The accident happened a little south of Monteith Road, at around 6:15-p.m., and was witness by two motorists who confirmed the trailer was swaying wildly.

When Guthrie County Deputies approached the scene, they found Morrison laying on the ground outside the pickup, alert and conscious, but complaining of wrist pain. The man had been ejected from the pickup when it rolled. He admitted he wasn’t wearing a seat belt. He was transported by Panora EMS to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines.

The truck and camper were a total loss. Authorities planned to cite Morrison for Failure to Maintain Control and Failure to wear a safety belt.

The Board of Education for the Atlantic Community School District will hold a Special Meet 8:30-p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3rd, to discuss a plan for relocating the Middle School. The current facility was damaged by a fire on July 27th, and will not be available for occupancy by the time school starts on Aug. 23rd.

Following discussion, the Board will act on a Technology Purchase and AMS Relocation Plan. The meeting will take place in the High School Media Center and viewable via YouTube.

The driver of a Honda CRV was injured during a collision Monday afternoon, in Council Bluffs. According to Bluffs Police, the accident happened at around 3:10-p.m.. Authorities say a 2020 Mack Semi hauling a loaded dump trailer was westbound on Vets Hwy. An eastbound 2016 Honda CRV was preparing to make a left turn to go northbound on S 24th Street. Preliminary investigation revealed the traffic light was yellow when both vehicles entered the intersection and the Honda turned in front of the semi causing the collision.

The driver of the Honda was transported to an area hospital with life–threatening injuries. There were no other injuries reported. The Council Bluffs Traffic Unit is investigating the crash. The names of the drivers involved were not released as of late Monday evening.

One person was arrested over the weekend, in Glenwood. Authorities report 32-year-old Eric Marco, of Omaha, was arrested Saturday for Possession of a Controlled Substance/3rd offense, Poss. of Marijuana and Poss. of drug paraphernalia. His total bond was set at $6,300.

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports substantial or high levels of COVID-19 transmission in most Iowa. A county-by-county map of Iowa shows high transmission levels in multiple Iowa counties, including (Locally): Cass, Adair, Audubon, Guthrie, Harrison, Pottawattamie, Mills, and Ringgold. The number of people in Cass County who are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC, is 48%, while 51.7% have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Adams, Fremont, Dallas and Madison Counties report a substantial rate of COVID-19 transmission.

Virus Transmission levels: Red = High; Orange/brown= Substantial; Yellow = Moderate; Blue = Low

View the CDC’s COVID-19 data tracker here. The Iowa Department of Public Health reports more than 150 patients being treated for COVID-19, up from 100 last week. Thirteen percent of those hospitalized with COVID-19 are under age 30, and 3% are under age 18.

Five people were recently arrested on separate charges in Mills County. The Sheriff’s Office reports 37-year-old Peter James Zelenka, of Omaha, was arrested today (Monday) at around 12:30-a.m. on I-29. Zelenka was charged with: Possession of a Controlled Substance (PCS); Poss. of drug paraphernalia; Poss./Control of an Offensive Weapon in a controlled substance Violation, and, on a warrant for Failure to Appear on a PCS charge. His bond was set at $2,300.

This past Saturday (July 31), 31-year-old Christopher Lee McDaniel, of Pacific Junction, was arrested at 290th Street/Highway 34 in Mills County, for Driving While Barred, and Presenting a False ID to law enforcement/public official. Bond was set at $2,000.

Friday evening, 38-year-old Jessica Gonzalez Herrera, of Council Bluffs, was taken into custody at the Nebraska Prison, on a Mills County warrant for Violation of Probation. Bond was set at $10,000. At around 12:05-a.m., Friday, 46-year-old Nicole Renae Greene, of Rock Port, MO., was arrested in Mills County on a Fugitive from Justice warrant. She was being held without bond.

And, on July 28th, 19-year-old Rosella Raeann Weaver, a transient, was arrested at the Woodbury County Jail, on a Mills County warrant for Unauthorized Use of a Credit Card. Her bond was set at $2,000.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Ohio was injured during a single-vehicle accident Thursday night. 60-year-old Bruce Kohler, of North Canton, OH, was driving a 2008 Ford northbound on the Interstate 29 on-ramp from Bunge Road at around 10:30-p.m., when his vehicle drove off the right side of the road and struck a light pole on the east side of the highway. Authorities say Kohler was suspected of being impaired by alcohol. He was transported by Silver City Rescue to Jennie Edmundson Hospital.

And, no injuries were reported following an accident Saturday afternoon, in Mills County. Officials say a 2004 Buick driven by 45-year-old Jesse Hemsworth, of Glenwood, and a 2021 Ford driven by 19-year-old Ethan Fisher, of Pacific Junction, were both traveling west on Bunge Road at around 1:30-p.m., when Fisher slowed to turn left, onto 195th Street. Hemsworth didn’t realize Fisher was turning, and was unable to avoid the rear-end collision. The impact caused damage to the rear rack on the Ford, and suspension damage to the Buick.

(Radio Iowa) – Proposed changes in how the military investigates serious crimes are now included in a larger bill senators will vote on in the coming weeks, but Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says she’s worried the plan will be scaled back as the bill works its way through congress. “I’m really on pins and needles right now because we know that the reform has been long overdue,” Ernst says.

Earlier this year, Ernst endorsed a plan to no longer have military commanders oversee sexual assault investigations. The plan also calls for all felony cases involving members of the military to be handled by trained military investigators, outside of the chain of command. Those provisions are now included in a military spending bill that has cleared the Senate Armed Services Committee. Ernst is a member of the panel. “The House and the Senate will have our versions of the Defense Authorization Act and then they come together in a conference committee before the end of the year,” Ernst says. “Hopefully it stays in through both the House and the Senate.”

For years, Pentagon leaders resisted changes in how criminal cases are handled in the military’s justice system — but President Biden and the secretary of defense have recently said they support having independent special prosecutors in the military investigate sex crimes. “But the bill we have, it removes all serious crimes from the chain of command, so it would include crimes like murder, child pornography,” Ernst says, “so we think it’s really important that we include all serious crimes.”

Ernst says commanders would still oversee investigations that are directly related to military service, like allegations of dereliction of duty or being AWOL) — absent without leave. In 2013, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley signed onto New York Senator Kristin Gillibrand’s bill to remove felony investigations from the military chain of command. Ernst, a sexual assault survivor, endorsed the proposal this year. A recent Pentagon report found thousands of soldiers are sexually assaulted each year, but few file reports and only 350 cases led to an alleged perpetrator being prosecuted in the military justice system.