It has been almost one week since the final Iowa National Guard units returned from Afghanistan. Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Kruse helps soldiers make the transition on their return from active duty. Kruse says the approximately 28-hundred soldiers are still technically on duty, but they are not working.

He says all the soldiers earned a minimum of 30 days leave, so all of the soldiers are on leave or vacation. Soldiers who had been deployed prior to the duty in Afghanistan may have earned up to 78 days leave before returning to their civilian jobs. Kruse says soldiers who have been

Kruse says from what he’s seen, every deployment is a little different, and while some soldiers may know a little more about what to expect, the different type of duty could make readjusting different to handle as well. Kruse says soldiers have several sessions where they learn about

Kruse says they try to make the leadership in the units understand what issues to look for in soldiers, but they really target families and friends because they see the soldiers throughout the month. He says unit leaders only see the soldiers a couple of times a month when they come in for drills. He says the success of a soldier’s transition back to civilian life may not be totally

Kruse says sometimes issues don’t come up until 30, 60 or 90 days after they are back because there is a euphoric reunion and honeymoon period when they get back from a deployment before issues start cropping up. Kruse says the help soldiers get now is much different than back in the 90’s after the Gulf War.

He says soldiers deployed to the Gulf, they returned home and had some medical checkups, but there weren’t a lot of resources available to the soldiers, particularly the reserves at that time.

Kruse says since the beginning of the global war on terror, a lot of resources are not available that soldiers and their families can utilize. Kruse says they encourage family and friends to report any serious changes in behavior in soldiers after they return and settle in. He says they also work with the soldiers to get them to understand the importance of seeking out help if they need it.

(Radio Iowa)

Authorities in Pottawattamie County say a double-fatal crash July 17th just north of Council Bluffs, may have been caused by the driver texting a message and not paying attention to the road. The driver of the vehicle, 19-year old Elizabeth Chadwick of rural Crescent, and her passenger, 18-year old Jessica Weinfurtner, of Council Bluffs, died in the late night crash with another vehicle.

An investigation by the Sheriff’s Office showed Chadwick, who was driving a 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse, was southbound near 19591 Old Lincoln Highway, when her car drifted off the road to the right. When Chadwick over-corrected, the car entered the northbound lane and collided with an airport shuttle van. The accident happened at around 11:15-p.m. Both women died at the scene.

Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker said Chadwick had placed a phone call at 11:10 p.m., and then sent a text message at 11:11 p.m. He says “It appears she was texting around the time the accident occurred.” Danker acknowledges they can’t prove that, but there was nothing else to indicate why the car dropped off the shoulder,  on the passenger side of the road.
Authorities found alcohol in the car at the crash scene, but a toxicology report showed alcohol was not a factor. The report also showed trace amounts of marijuana were in the system of both women.

A Red Oak man was arrested Thursday on a charge of Breach Of Peace. Red Oak Police report 18-year old Tyler L. Gene Coddington was arrested Thursday evening at Dutton Park.

His bond was set at $300.

Officials with the Iowa Air National Guard reports the Guard and various active duty units will participate in a joint training event, Operation Badger Denial, on selected days in August though December 2011 over parts of western and northwest Iowa. The exercise will begin on August 9th. 

Guard spokesman Col. Greg Hapgood says Iowa’s participation in overseas contingency operations requires joint reconnaissance and combat support missions. Those types of missions, and certain Close Air Support operations, require lower altitudes not available in current Iowa Military Operating Areas.

To experience realistic training and in order to support multi-faceted overseas combat missions, the joint exercise will include the establishment of a temporary operating area situated in northwest Iowa, where military aircraft will operate at an altitude of approximately 8,000 feet and may extend as low as 2,500 feet.

A number of urban ground teams will commence the exercise in and around the Military Operating area, including in the rural and urban areas. Iowa Air Guard F-16 fighters will fly over northwest Iowa as part of their routine training, and, a KC-135 tanker will refuel the fighters at an altitude above 20,000 feet. At no time will anything be dropped from the aircraft, and no hazardous activities will take place.

The temporary military operating area will extend west from Carroll to Charter Oak, then north to Sanborn, then east to Whittemore (wit-uh-more), then southwest to Carroll. Given the temporary operating altitudes during Badger Denial, aircraft may be visible at lower altitudes and audible as late as 9 p.m. throughout the temporary operating area.

Tom Olsen, Iowa State University Extension Farm Management Specialist, spoke to a
crowd of 48 area landowners, tenants and agriculture professionals during the
Farmland Leasing Meeting on Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at the Guthrie Activity Center
in Guthrie Center. Olsen presented current leasing information including the latest
land value survey and cash rent survey. The program was organized and sponsored by
the Guthrie County Extension Office.

Iowa farmland values increased by at least 15 percent during 2010.  ISU Extension
research indicates that the average age of farmland owners continues to rise.
Fifty-five percent of Iowa's farmland is owned by people over the age of 65, while
28 percent of the land is owned by individuals over age 75. The research found that
children and surviving spouses of farmers are less likely to continue operating the
farm themselves. That's a major reason why farmland leasing continues to increase.

CRESTON, Iowa – Aug. 3, 2011 – Road construction work will reduce Iowa 2 to one lane
between Iowa 25 west of Benton and the east junction with U.S. 169 in Mount Ayr
beginning Monday, Aug. 8, weather permitting, according to the Iowa Department of
Transportation’s (DOT) Creston construction office.

A 16-foot lane width restriction will be in place in the open lane. Flaggers and a
pilot car will be used to control traffic during the closure. The roadway will
return to normal traffic patterns when workers are not present.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Council Bluffs man has been charged with bestiality and animal cruelty after police say he performed a sex act on a cat and then threw the cat out of seventh floor window, killing it.

29-year-old Gerardo Martinez was arrested Wednesday after witnesses reporting seeing him naked in an apartment window throwing the cat to the ground below.

Police say Martinez told officers he had recently used methamphetamine and admitted to performing a sex act on the cat.

He also was charged with indecent exposure.

Martinez is being held in the Pottawattamie County jail under $10,000 bond.

w/ Ric Hanson

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PLATTSMOUTH, Neb. (AP) – The remaining charge against a former Nebraska sheriff candidate has been dismissed. Donnie Brennan was arrested in October last year and spent more than three days in jail. He was charged with three felonies: filing a false candidate form, filing a false political financial statement and illegal voting.

The charges stemmed from accusations that Brennan was living in Council Bluffs, Iowa, when he filed to run for sheriff in Cass County, Neb. He also was accused of voting in a Plattsmouth election while living across the Missouri River in Iowa. A Cass County district judge ruled in April that Nebraska law requires that a sheriff be a resident of the county he’s serving only after taking office.

Court records say the voting charge remaining against Brennan was dismissed on Tuesday.

Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green is urging residents of the community to remove the keys from their vehicles and make sure they are locked at all times, when not in use.  Green says in recent days, a number of incidents have occurred, where vehicles have been entered, and items, including keys, have been removed.

One of the most recent incidents, according to Green, resulted in the vehicle being stolen a few days after the keys were found to be missing. In an earlier posting on our KJAN.com News page, and in a Facebook post, we mentioned a pickup was reported stolen this morning, out of Atlantic.

The vehicle was taken sometime between 11-p.m. Wednesday and 5:30-a.m. today.