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Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
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(Updated) DES MOINES, Iowa. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a Des Moines man who allegedly took part in the riot at the U.S. Capitol building by supporters of President Donald Trump. Police Sgt. Paul Parizek said Saturday that officers assisted the FBI in arresting 41-year-old Doug Jensen on Friday night at his home in the city’s south side. He is being held at the Polk County Jail.
This photo provided by Polk County (Iowa) Jail shows Douglas Jensen. Authorities have arrested Jensen from Des Moines, Iowa, who allegedly took part in the riot at the U.S. Capitol building by supporters of President Donald Trump. Police Sgt. Paul Parizek said Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021, that officers assisted the FBI in arresting Jensen on Friday night at his home. (Polk County (Iowa) Jail via AP)
Jensen was charged by the FBI with:
1) Knowingly Entering or Remaining in any Restricted Building or Grounds Without Lawful Authority
2) Disrupting the Orderly Conduct of Government Business
3) Violent Entry and Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building
4) Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building
5) Obstructing a Law Enforcement Officer During a Civil Disorder
Video posted online during the mayhem Wednesday showed a man who appears to be Jensen, pursuing an officer up a flight of stairs as a mob trails behind.
FILE – In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, a man identified as Doug Jensen, of Des Moines, walks through a hallway as smoke fills the walkway outside the Senate Chamber as supporters of President Donald Trump are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police officers inside the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:05-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
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The Iowa Department of Public Health today reports (as of 10-a.m., Saturday), there have been 1,169 new, confirmed cases of COVID-19 in test results received since 10-a.m. Friday, for a pandemic total to-date, of 295,111, and there are three additional deaths associated with COVID-19, for a total to-date, of 4,127. In our area, there is one additional death in Harrison County. Of Iowa’s pandemic-related deaths, COVID-19 is reported as the underlying cause for 3,780 deaths, and a contributing factor to 347 deaths.
The Iowa DPH says there are currently 90 COVID-19 outbreaks at long-term care facilities in the state (6 more than previously reported). Those outbreaks account for 2,139 of Iowa’s current positive cases. COVID-19 outbreaks at long-term care facilities account for 1,679 of the state’s total deaths. Health officials say 1,070 LTC patients/staff have recovered from the virus.
Hospitalizations across the state are down again. There were 579 hospitalized yesterday, and 549, today. IDPH says there are: 110 patients in an ICU (2 more than on Friday); 75 were admitted to hospitals (compared to 89 yesterday), and 47 patients are on ventilators, compared to 51 on Friday. The numbers are slightly higher though, in western/southwest Iowa (RMCC Region 4), where there are: 44 hospitalized (compared to 41 Friday); 19 are in an ICU (3 more than yesterday); 10 people were admitted to a hospital (5 more than on Friday), and 8 people are on a ventilator.
According to the state’s website, 1,390,853 Iowans have been tested for COVID-19, to-date. Iowa’s average reported positivity rate for the last 14-days increased from 14.7% Friday to 14.8%, today. The health department says 255,102 Iowans have recovered from COVID-19.
In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} – if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:
A Red Oak man was arrested Friday night, following a traffic stop. Red Oak Police report 24-year-old Kyle Andrew Nicholson was taken into custody for OWI/1st offense, at around 10-p.m., in the 800 block of E. Ratliff Road. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail, and held on $1,000 bond.
A fire that was reported in Atlantic early this (Saturday) morning, is apparently a case of attempted arson. Atlantic Fire Firefighters were called the former Elks Lodge at 501 Poplar Street a a little after 4-a.m. Fire Chief Tom Cappel…
Ric Hanson photo
The caller who reported the fire told dispatch someone broke into her home and started the fire on a carpet and it was spreading fast. The alleged suspect was described as wearing all black. When Law enforcement on the scene reported smoke in the basement and alarms going off in the basement, second and third floors. Atlantic Fire reported no flames showing on the exterior when they arrived. The fire was out by 4:14-a.m.
Cappel said there was minimal damage inside the apartment. It’s unclear how many persons were occupying the structure. No injuries were reported. Efforts were being made to find temporary housing for the displaced residents.
DES MOINES, Iowa — Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources say a Conservation Officer from northwest Iowa is the first law enforcement officer to die from COVID-19 in the state. KCCI reports Steve Reighard died Friday at about 10 a.m. Reighard began having symptoms of coronavirus before Christmas and was in the hospital for several weeks.
He started his career as a park ranger in 2005 before being promoted in 2012 to a conservation officer. Reighard was described as being well known in the area, and an outstanding officer.
Conservation officers are sworn peace officers just like state troopers and police officers.
Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A white man who deliberately sped his car through a crowd of racial injustice protesters in Iowa City, striking many, will avoid prison and have the incident erased from his record if he stays out of trouble for three years. A judge has granted a deferred judgment for 45-year-old Michael Ray Stepanek, who told police he drove his Toyota Camry through the crowd in August because protesters needed “an attitude adjustment.” The sentence means Stepanek will have a felony charge of willful injury resulting in bodily injury dismissed and expunged if he doesn’t commit a crime during a three-year term of probation.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge says Iowa must pay more than $4.9 million in fees to attorneys who sued over treatment of juvenile boys at the Eldora Boys State Training School. Former students at the school and advocacy groups sued the state in 2017, contending the center used used inhumane methods to control the boys.” Judge Stephanie Rose ruled last year that the methods were “torture” and ordered the center to change. The plaintiffs did not seek any monetary damages. The state then argued that the plaintiffs’ attorneys fees were inflated. Rose ruled this week that attorneys were due all but $10,000 they had sought.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds ended limits on sports and recreational gatherings as of Friday on a day when the state recorded 59 additional deaths caused by the coronavirus. Reynolds announced Thursday night that she would end restrictions on the number of fans who can attend high school sporting events. Spectators still must wear masks and adhere to social distancing rules at indoor events. Before the change, schools could only allow two spectators for each athlete. On Friday, the state reported 59 deaths, bringing the total to 4,124. In the past 24 hours, the state reported 2,058 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former Iowa trash collection official has been sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution of more than $1.6 million. Federal prosecutors in Des Moines say Jeffrey Dworek, of Urbandale, was sentenced Friday to 57 months in prison after pleading guilty last August to one count of federal mail fraud. Dworek had been the director of operations for Metro Waste Authority from 1996 until he resigned in 2017. He was arrested and indicted in 2019. Prosecutors say he set up a shell company purported to provide services to Metro Waste Authority, then paid out company funds for his own use between 2012 and 2017. He also took kickbacks from various vendors.
CLARINDA — Third District Democrat Representative Cindy Axne’s office reports that on Tuesday, Jan. 5th, President Trump signed legislation authored by Axne, to rename the U.S. Post Office in Clarinda in honor of Jessie Field Shambaugh, the former school superintendent from Page County and longtime Iowa educator known to many as the ‘Mother of 4-H.’
(FILE PHOTO) Rep. Axne announced her bill to rename the Clarinda Post Office with Jessie Field Shambaugh’s grandson, Seth Watkins, at American Legion Post 98 in Clarinda
With the President’s signature, Clarinda’s post office will now be officially designated the Jessie Field Shambaugh Post Office Building. Shambaugh began teaching in Page County in 1901, and formed the Boys Corn Club and the Girls Home Club to teach students essential skills for the farm and home through extracurricular programs. To boost participation in the Clubs, she created a clover pin – with each leaf labeled with an H. Her design became the symbol of 4-H in 1914 when the Smith-Lever Act established the Cooperative Extension System at the USDA, formalizing 4-H clubs across the country.
Today, over 6 million schoolchildren participate in 4-H activities – learning life skills, leadership, and cooperation through the same values of ‘Head, Hands, Heart, and Health’ that Shambaugh helped pioneer over a century ago.
Shambaugh was also an author, radio contributor on KFNF in Shenandoah, and the mother of two children. She was born in 1881 near Shenandoah, studied at Shenandoah’s Western Normal College, graduated Tabor College in Fremont County, and was elected superintendent of schools in Page County in 1906. She died in 1971 in Clarinda. In 1977, Shambaugh was named to the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame.
Representative Axne says “I am incredibly proud to see my proposal to create the Jessie Field Shambaugh Post Office Building become a reality for Clarinda. I fondly remember my time as a 4-H kid, and this renaming not only cements her pioneering accomplishments, but also recognizes the values of leadership, engagement, and community that have been instilled in millions through 4-H,” said Rep. Axne. “I am deeply thankful for my colleagues in the House and the Senate for their support and assistance in getting this bill signed into law.”
The bill introduced by Rep. Axne to rename the post office at 101 S. 16th Street was cosponsored by the other three members of the Iowa House delegation in the 116th Congress: Reps. Abby Finkenauer (IA-01), Dave Loebsack (IA-02), and Steve King (IA-04).
Officials with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office are warning Social Security scams are making the rounds, once again. If someone calls (often a foreign sounding voice) claiming your Social Security has been stolen or used illegally, request more information, then hang-up and call Social Security if you are in doubt.
The U-S Inspector General’s Office says “Using robocalls or live callers, fraudsters pretend to be government employees and claim there is identity theft or another problem with one’s Social Security number, account, or benefits. They may threaten arrest or other legal action, or may offer to increase benefits, protect assets, or resolve identity theft. They often demand payment via retail gift card, cash, wire transfer, internet currency such as Bitcoin, or pre-paid debit card.”
Social Security will never:
If there is ever a problem with your Social Security number or record, in most cases Social Security will mail you a letter. If you do need to submit payments to Social Security, the agency will send a letter with instructions and payment options. You should never pay a government fee or fine using retail gift cards, cash, internet currency, wire transfers, or pre-paid debit cards. The scammers ask for payment this way because it is very difficult to trace and recover.