w/ Ric Hanson

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HORNICK, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is monitoring the cleanup after a fertilizer fire at a co-op in Hornick in western Iowa.  The fire at the Western Iowa Cooperative broke out Tuesday. The Woodbury County sheriff’s office urged residents to evacuate because of concerns about air quality and residents’ safety.  The DNR says a small dam built by firefighters prevented water runoff contaminated with fertilizer and herbicide from reaching a ditch, which drains into the west fork of the Little Sioux River.   The dam and additional sand barriers also prevented runoff for storms that hit Tuesday night.  Officials say the fire was caused by a malfunctioning loader.  No one was injured. The DNR doesn’t plan to take any enforcement actions.

A couple from Harlan were arrested last week following a traffic stop. 45-year old Timothy, and 55-year old Patrice Turner, were arrested April 26th. Both face charges of Violation of a No Contact Order, and Open Container. Patrice Turner plead not guilty to the charges. Timothy Turner’s case was not listed in the Iowa Courts Online system.

The Harlan Police Department reports a Harlan woman, 27-year old Amanda Sue Wicker, was arrested Tuesday, on an active Shelby County warrant for Failure to Appear for a pre-trial conference on drug related charges, and a moving violation. Wicker’s bond was set at $10,000. Wicker was arrested on December 31st, 2011 on two counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance, Driving while denied or revoked, and OWI/1st offense. She had been scheduled to appear at her pre-trial conference on April 30th. Her trial is set to take place on May 30th.

Three days prior to her arrest for skipping her court appearance, Wicker was arrested on a Class-D Felony charge of Criminal Mischief in the 2nd degree, after police investigated an incident where a 2001 Chevy Suburban had been extensively damaged at a location on Market Street. She had posted a $500 cash bond and was ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing on the charges, on May 17th.

The Harlan Police Department reports a Kirkman man was arrested on drug charged Wednesday, following a traffic stop. 2o-year old Kolten Kobold was taken into custody on charges of: Carrying a weapon; Possession of drug Paraphernalia; and, two-counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance (marijuana and methamphetamine). Kobold was being held in the Shelby County Jail.

Three western Iowa students and an adult suffered minor injuries, including scrapes and bruises, when the bus they were in rolled over Thursday afternoon. A Lewis Township school bus carrying students with the Lewis Central School District  toppled onto its side into a ditch at around 3:15-p.m., after the driver of the bus apparently swerved to avoid another vehicle. The accident happened on Applewood Road in rural Pottawattamie County, near the Mills County line.  

The driver of the bus and one child, were taken to Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs. Two other children were transported to Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha. Their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

The accident remains under investigation.

A candidate for Sheriff in Pottawattamie County has issued a press release responding to Sheriff Jeff Jeff Danker’s claims his opponent made “Baseless allegations” against him.

John W. Hitchcock, (R) candidate for Sheriff/ Pott. Co., IA

Republican John Hitchcock says he took it upon himself to look into several complaints that he thought required additional information and scrutiny. Hitchcock says after announcing his political campaign to run for Sheriff of Pottawattamie County, members of the public began to bring numerous complaints to his attention regarding incumbent Sheriff Danker’s Office.

Hitchcock, who’s from Council Bluffs, is a Senior Trooper with the Iowa State Patrol. He says after reviewing the complaints on his off-duty time, making and paying for open records request under the open records laws under the Code of Iowa, many of the complaints were discarded or found to have no factual basis. But some of the complaints, in his opinion, required additional scrutiny.

He says since it would be a huge conflict of interest for him to conduct an investigation against Danker, a law enforcement officer, he made the decision to turn the information  over to a non-biased third party. He says on his personnel time, he made “The ethical and moral choice,” and turned the information over to his direct supervisor, with the understanding the Iowa State Patrol turned over the information for review to the Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber. Wilber claimed a conflict of interest and turned it over to Dallas County Attorney Wayne Reisetter for review.

Hitchcock says Reisetter did not contact him regarding any of the information that was released Thursday, for review, prior to issuing his opinion. He says it appears Reistter’s opinion was reached only by using the information provided by Hitchcock, and to his knowledge, no further investigation was conducted Reisetter. In his press release, Hitchcock said Danker released only “Small portions” of Reisetter’s letter, and he scolded the media for not requesting “All documents related to this information, instead of sound bites chosen by the Jeff Danker campaign during this primary election.” He suggested the citizens of Pottawattamie County request a copy of the letter and review it themselves.

He also blamed Danker for the situation, claiming he “Has not released a platform as to his plans for the next four years,” and instead chose to create a press release about Hitchcock’s allegations. Hitchcock said it was Danker’s campaign that “Has chosen to expose the questionable activities by his administration,” and questions if the long-time Sheriff has any plans for the next four-years, “Or is he only relying on his name to get him elected?”

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Waterloo police have arrested a suspect in a shooting that left a woman dead and her daughter wounded. Police arrested 33-year-old Kevin Ambrose during a raid on a Waterloo apartment building yesterday. Authorities say Ambrose is a suspect in Wednesday’s night shooting that killed 59-year-old Kay Straw and wounded her daughter, 33-year-old Marlene Buss.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa City has ordered a bar to tear down a platform where a student says she was told she was too overweight to dance. The city’s housing and inspection services department has sent a formal violation to The Union Bar, demanding the platform be removed by today. The platform, which is 4-feet square and 4-feet tall, overlooks the dance floor.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Governor Terry Branstad has approved a measure to create a state Public Information Board to ensure Iowa’s open records and meetings laws are enforced. The Republican governor signed the bill into law yesterday at a signing ceremony. The event capped a six-year effort to improve access to government meetings and records.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials in Des Moines are considering opening a dog park at a downtown spot along the Des Moines River. The City Council will consider the proposal on Monday. Plans call for a fenced off-leash area, a dog waste station and portable restrooms for people.

Iowans will honor their Vietnam Veterans at a remembrance ceremony to be held Monday, May 7^th, 2012, beginning at 12:00 p.m. at the Vietnam Memorial − located on the south side of the State Capitol in Des Moines. This year marks the 50^th anniversary of the beginning of the Vietnam War.

The ceremony will include keynote speaker Bill McCarthy, Vietnam Veteran, Sheriff, Polk County, Iowa, and guest speaker Lawrence Paul, Vietnam Veteran, retired IWD Executive Officer, Mason City. 

The event is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs, who invites you to join them, as we remember those who served, and those who sacrificed their lives for our country.

Bullying has been recognized as a widespread problem and the recent instances of bullying highlighted in the media bring this topic to the forefront for Iowans.  In response, the Iowa Department of Education, Iowa Department of Public Safety, Iowa Civil Rights Commission, Office of The Attorney General Tom Miller, and Office of The Governor Terry Branstad are working in partnership to provide information and resources to Iowans on the topic of bullying and cyber-bullying.

A 2011 study by the Pew Research Center on Teens and Social Media found that 88% of social media-using teens have witnessed other people being mean or cruel on social networking sites and 15% of social media-using teens say they have been the victim of online meanness.  Another study in 2009 sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics who conducted the National Crime Victimization Survey / School Crime Supplement found that 28% of 12-18 year old students stated they had been bullied at school during the school year and 6% stated they had been victims of cyber-bullying.

In light of the alarming statistics these agencies have formed a partnership to continue to educate Iowans and to provide necessary resources to address bullying and cyber-bullying.  Resources have been provided to every school district in the State of Iowa, including links to websites containing teaching materials, presentations, safety education kits, and other information for school use in educating Iowa students.  In addition, the Iowa Internet Crimes against Children Task Force and Iowa State Patrol Safety Education Officers (SEO’s) are available to provide presentations at Iowa schools on the topics of bullying, cyber-bullying, internet safety, and others.  Contact information for the SEO’s was provided to all Iowa school districts so they may arrange for these presentations when it fits with their curriculum. These agencies continue to communicate with each other as instances of bullying and cyber-bullying are discovered.  It is vital that state government assist local school districts with appropriate resources to address instances of bullying at the onset, and in-turn prevent the often tragic outcome of negative peer influences.

Online resources for parents are available at www.netsmartz.org, the Iowa Internet Crimes against Children website at www.iaicac.org, the National Crime Prevention Council website at www.ncpc.org, and www.cybersmart.org. These resources represent an important component of an overall school-wide bullying prevention effort.  Additional resources can be found on the Department of Education website at http://educateiowa.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1030&Itemid=2911 .

Officials say by striving to reach every Iowa student through our schools we can make a difference and put a stop to bullying in our state.