SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities have arrested an Iowa woman accused of abducting her three daughters. Police say 25-year-old Danica Noel Arzaga was arrested in Sioux City Wednesday afternoon. Authorities had been searching for Arzaga since she allegedly abducted her three children from Royal, Iowa, on Tuesday morning. An Amber Alert was issued and then canceled after the three young girls were found abandoned in Sanborn, in northwest Iowa, late Tuesday.

Arzaga faces three counts of third-degree kidnapping. The children were taken to an undisclosed location by the Iowa Department of Human Services. They had previously been removed from Arzaga’s custody and placed in another relative’s care.

Atlantic Police Chief Dave Erickson reports anyone interested in bow hunting within the Atlantic City limits for the 2017-18 hunting year, may receive a permit application from the Atlantic Police Department during their regular business hours (8-a.m. to 4-p.m., M-F). The permit will allow you to harvest antlerless deer, and once you have reported the harvest to the Atlantic Police Dept., you will be allowed to harvest a buck.

Bow hunters who qualified last year with the P-D do not need to do so this year, but you still need to pick up the permit application, fill it out and return it to the Police Department. New Hunters will have to contact the A-PD and set up a time with Chief Erickson, in order to qualify. Land owners who wish to allow bow hunters to hunt on their land, should contact the Police Department at 712-243-3512 during regular business hours, in order to sign-up.

Erickson said the number of deer causing damage to plants and vegetation inside the Atlantic City limits have been down in recent years, due to the success of the Urban Deer Control program.

Iowa 3rd District Congressman David Young continues his schedule of hosting open meeting events with his constituents with four more Open Office Hours events in September. Open Office Hours are a resource for Iowans who reside in the District to meet one-on-one with the Congressman to discuss opinions, concerns, and ideas about the issues being discussed in Congress or to get casework assistance with problems they may be having with a federal agency or program.

Scheduled Open Office Hours:

Friday September 29, 2017: 10:30am to 12:30pm – Stanton Viking Center – Viking Community Room, 501 Elliott Street, Stanton, IA 51573

Friday September 29, 2017: 2:30pm to 4:30pm – Afton Community Center, 240 N. Douglas Street (Hwy 169), Afton, IA 50830

Saturday September 30, 2017: 12:30pm to 2:30pm – Panora Public Library – Meeting Room, 102 N. First Street, Panora, IA 50216

The Congressman says “Being an elected official is about accessibility, listening and acting in the best interest of the people you are honored to represent. Over the past three years I have had the honor of hosting hundreds of meetings with thousands of Iowans. These Open Office Hours serve as an additional resource for my bosses who want to petition their government, or seek assistance with government red tape, in person.”

Residents of Iowa’s Third District who are interested in meeting with Congressman Young are encouraged to attend any of the Open Office Hours events. Individual, ten-minute meetings to discuss personal concerns, opinions and possible casework needs will take place with constituents in attendance on a first-come, first-serve basis. Participants must be residents of one of the 16 counties of Iowa’s Third Congressional District.  Those counties include: Adair, Adams, Cass, Dallas, Fremont, Guthrie, Madison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Polk, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Taylor, Union and Warren.

Atlantic City Administrator John Lund, Wednesday, reported to the City Council, that he has been working a lot on the Fiscal Year 2019 Budget, and that “Things are proving to be not as much fun as it’s been in the past. By that he means “Our Capital Expenditures have been going up. We have new Operational Spending. A loss in the General Fund….Our Debt limit Capacity will be just below [the] limit set in the City’s Financial Policy. And, the actual Debt Levy is very high, which makes for a lower score on the Standard and Poors when it comes to bond rating.

Lund said he’s only in the preliminary stages of putting together the Budget, and hopefully things will improve. But he warned City leaders need to be aware the amount of money the City takes in from the Local Option Sales Tax, is based on what the State takes in. And those numbers he said, are looking a lot worse. He said “I thing we’re starting to reach the limit of what we can do with our current revenue and fee structures. New “needs” or “wants” in the future that are outside the budgeting process, will involve in increasing fees, finding new fees, or we’re gonna  be running down the reserve balances.

Lund said also “We can’t just raise property taxes to solve the problem.” The bottom line, he said, is “We should be cautious in spending, here.”

Cass County Public Health and Loess Hills Safe Kids Coalition are teaming up to offer free car seat inspections on Saturday, September 23rd from 9 am to noon at the Ann W. Wickman Child Development Center parking lot. Multiple certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians will be on hand to inspect car seats, help parents install them correctly, give tips about car seat safety, and answer any questions.

There is no cost to attend, but appointments are needed. Please make an appointment by calling Cass County Public Health at 712-243-7475.

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court has taken the unusual move of hearing a small claims case stemming from a speeding ticket. The court Wednesday heard a case brought by 67-year-old Marla Leaf. She says her constitutional rights were violated after an automated camera ticketed her for speeding on a freeway in her hometown of Cedar Rapids. Attorneys for the city say its system abides by state law. After the hearing, Leaf said she pursued the case because, “Why should I pay for a ticket I didn’t do?”

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A North Iowa man serving life in prison for killing two people last year is appealing his conviction. The Globe Gazette reports that 31-year-old Peter Veal, of Lake Mills, filed the appeal in Cerro Gordo County District Court on Wednesday. Veal was convicted and sentenced for shooting Caleb Kavars and stabbing Melinda Christensen to death last year and trying to shoot a witness, Ron Willis.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s two senators are part of a push to increase funding for American agriculture promotion programs. Republican Sen. Susan Collins and independent Sen. Angus King say a bill they are helping to introduce would help American farmers get an edge in the world market. They say the bill aims to revitalize the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s export promotion programs.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A man accused in a deadly shooting on Iowa City’s pedestrian mall plans to use Iowa’s new “stand your ground” law in his defense. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that 23-year-old Lamar Wilson is charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and intimidation with a dangerous weapon in connection to an Aug. 27 shooting that killed one man and injured two others. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His trial is scheduled for Nov. 7.

The time is running out for persons wanting to file nomination papers to run for various city offices in Cass County. The deadline to file papers with the proper number of signatures for the Nov. 7th Elections, is 5-p.m Thursday (Sept. 21st). The Cass County Auditor’s Office said late Wednesday afternoon, that five more candidates had filed their nomination papers. They include:

Nancy Virginia Coughlin-(Incumbent) Cumberland City Mayor

Mike Hill-Cumberland City Council

Michael Martin-Cumberland City Council

Gary Cooper-Cumberland City Council

John Krogman-Atlantic Parks & Recreation Department Board.

In an update to our earlier online and broadcast reports, Wednesday, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Wednesday evening, provided additional information with regard to a death that took place Tuesday afternoon. Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports Deputies responded at around 1:20-p.m., to a call about a man who had fallen out of a bucket truck lift while trimming trees. The accident happened at 2474 Bluff Road, north of Highway 2.

Sidney Rescue arrived and performed life saving measures, but 32-year old Keith Sorensen, of Clarinda, died at the accident scene. No foul play was suspected.The Fremont County Coroner and LifeNet Rescue assisted the Sheriff’s Office and Sidney Rescue.

Earlier in the day, Wednesday, officials with Essex-based Sorensen Brothers Southwest Iowa Tree Service,  Inc. said on their Facebook page, that an employee of their company died Tuesday in a job related accident. They identified the victim as Keith Sorensen.

A statement from the company said also, “Those who had spoken to Keith and gotten bids or scheduled work, please call the Sorensen Law Office at 712-246-1924 for arrangements to have the work completed.”

Members of the Atlantic City Council, Wednesday evening, received a report from Alexis Fleener, Lead Planner at SWIPCO (Southwest Iowa Planning Council), with regard to a community-wide survey that was conducted recently, via social media and the mail. The response rate of 13% fit within the norm of similar surveys.

182 responses were from those under the age of 50, while 303 came back from those who were age 50 and over. The vast majority (153) were retired, 80 respondents were employed in a managerial, business, science and arts occupations, while 69 came from the service sector. Alexis said “We received disproportionately more surveys from people who generally made more of an income,” ($50-60k/year) than those who made less.

Alexis Fleener

The survey’s for Atlantic were designed to try and help determine what priorities residents have as far as improving and growing the City of Atlantic. Fleener said one of the elements of the survey was with regard to Housing survey. The conditions were determined by SWIPCO staff rating every home in the City limits, based on the conditions of the home.

The teams took two business days and rated the homes on a scale of 1-to 5, with 1 being excellent (brand new condition) and 5 being Dilapidated (appears to be uninhabitable and beyond repair). In between ratings were good, average and poor.
Fleener said they drove 81 miles of City streets to examine homes from the Street perspective. The results showed about 175 homes were rated Excellent, but the vast majority of homes (just under 1,200) were in Good condition.

Close behind were the number of homes rated Fair (1,100). Homes listed as Poor amounted to 162, while 11 homes were deemed to be Dilapidated. There were also 97 vacant lots. The survey showed 82% of those who responded lived in single-family housing, while 14% reported living in multi-family housing (apartments, condos and townhomes). When it comes to the current condition of the City as far as services are concerned, the top three categories were Fire Department, Police Department and Public Library. The lowest rated were road conditions, drainage/flood control, childcare and healthcare.

Many respondents to the survey skews more negatively when it comes to the number of rental properties available, as opposed to homes for sale, with 178 saying the rental market is “Poor,” while buyers rated homes for sale as in between “Adequate,” and “Does not meet the needs.” A vast majority of the respondents were happy with the quality of life here, that they feel connected to the City, feel safe and that City leaders are responsive to citizens’ needs.

About 75 people indicated they would likely be moving away from Atlantic in the next 1-to 3-years, while a slightly lesser number of respondents weren’t sure. As far as activities, most of the respondents wanted a bigger/better pool and/or splash pad, followed by more youth activities and additional bike/walking paths. The next steps include additional public engagement/input, goal settings, bringing together certain groups to act as “Topic groups,” such as Utilities & Transportation, Public Safety and Emergency Management, Housing and Economic Development, and Community Interest (Health/Education/Art and Culture).

Meetings for those groups, which are open to the public, will be set for the coming months, with additional information still to come.

Spirit Lake police have released the name of a person who died following a short pursuit early Tuesday. The man is identified as 26-year-old Colton Baschke, of Spirit Lake. Police say the incident started around 12:30 a.m. when an officer attempted to pull over a pickup in Spirit Lake. The driver refused to stop and instead lead officers on a pursuit that lasted about three minutes. That’s when officers lost sight of the vehicle. It was later located after it had been involved in a crash.

Police believe the pickup traveled across a residential lawn and collided with a utility shed. Then, the pickup entered East Lake Okoboji, about 15 feet off shore. Authorities say it appears Baschke was ejected from the truck. He was then transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

(Radio Iowa)