Ames Police are investigating a violent sexual assault which occurred over the weekend on the city’s west side. Ames Police Commander Geoff Huff says a woman was in a driveway north of Franklin Park when she was attacked around 2:45 a.m. Saturday. “The victim was getting into a car when she was forcibly removed from the vehicle by our suspect and she was dragged into the park where she was sexually assaulted multiple times,” Huff said. The suspect left the victim and fled the park on foot around 5:15 a.m. Police are asking for the public’s help, specifically if anyone in the area heard or saw anything.

“We’re obviously going around and looking for any kind of surveillance footage that may be in businesses, but we don’t know who may have private cameras at their home or apartment,” Huff said. The suspect was reported to be wearing baggy clothing, a hooded sweatshirt, possibly gray in color, and jeans.

“Our victim described him as a light-skinned, non-white male, about 5-foot-9, with possibly a heavier build,” Huff said. The victim is not an Iowa State University student, Huff added.

(Radio Iowa)

In an update to our reports over the weekend, Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports an Indiana man was being held in the Adair County on $5,000 bond, in connection with a crash that caused severe head lacerations to his 5-year old son. The child, Logan Lester, of Ft. Wayne, IN., also suffered from a broken wrist. He was  transported by Stuart Rescue to Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines.

His father, 30-year old Patrick Thomas Lester, of Ft. Wayne, IN., was arrested for: OWI/1st offense; Child Endangerment with bodily injury; Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana; Possession of Drug paraphernalia (A glass pipe); Open container; Failure to secure a child in a child safety seat; No seat belt (driver); Reckless Driving; Excessive Speed, and Failure to provide proof of financial liability/accident related. Lester’s Blood Alcohol tests results indicated he was more than twice the legal limit for intoxication (0.176%). In his vehicle, authorities found two jars with a green leafy substance, and cookies with marijuana as an ingredient.

Moments before Lester’s 2007 Honda CRV rear-ended a pickup truck on Interstate 80 eastbound near mile marker 83 at around 9:15-p.m. Saturday, motorists called 9-1-1 to report the vehicle was traveling at approximately 100-mile per hour. After the collision, the pickup left the road and entered the south ditch.

Lester’s SUV then swerved left and side-swiped a 2009 Saturn Outlook, causing both vehicles to enter the median, where they hit the cable barriers before coming to rest. None of the drivers involved in the crash were injured.

Atlantic Police Monday (today), reported several arrests took place over the past week. Today (Monday), 35-year old Brian Beard, of Atlantic, was arrested for Public Intoxication, 3rd or subsequent offense. On Sunday, Atlantic Police officers arrested 32-year old Daniel Fredericksen, of Atlantic, on a Cass County warrant for Failure to Appear for Probation Violation on an original charge of Failure to Comply with the Sex Offender Registry. Also arrested Sunday, was 25-year old Morgan Dvorak, of Atlantic. She was taken into custody on a Cass County warrant for Probation Violation. That same day, 38-year old Kimberly Ruiz, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Failure to Appear on an original charge of Illegal Dumping.

On Saturday, Atlantic Police arrested 43-year old John Eichelberger, of Atlantic, for Harassment in the 3rd degree, and 25-year old Joshua Peters, of Brayton, for OWI/1st offense. Police also cited into court, 42-year old Teresa Lennon, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

And, on Jan. 9th, 18-year old Austin Boggs, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Failure to Appear. Each of those individuals, with the exception of Teresa Lennon, were booked into the Cass County Jail.

(12:40-p.m. News)

Shelby County Engineer Dan Ahart has advised that they are pulling the Motor Graders off the gravel roads.  With the freezing rain still falling they are not able to make much progress.  Ahart advised that the Motor Graders would start back up at 6-a.m. Tuesday.  Shelby County Engineers Office wanted to assure the public that the Sanding Trucks would remain out at this point.

Road conditions continue to deteriorate, travel is not recommended unless it is an Extreme Emergency.

WALNUT, Iowa (AP) – Residents hope streetscape work and building renovations will help return their small town of Walnut to its former glory. The Pottawattamie County community of around 775 residents has long been known as the Antique City for its many antique shops. Mayor Gene Larsen told The Daily Nonpareil that the project is part of the community’s effort “to maintain the vitality of the antique trade.”

Construction started in November on facade upgrades on 16 storefronts. The work should be finished in time for the 35th annual Walnut Antique Show Father’s Day weekend, June 16-18. The streetscape work includes upgrades to sidewalks, curbs and gutters as well as straightening and leveling the cobblestone roadway downtown.

The $1.09 million project is funded in part by $700,000 in grants.

Ice-covered tree limbs are snapping across a wide section of Iowa, causing hundreds of power outages. An Ice Storm Warning is posted for much of western and central Iowa, stretching as far east as Waterloo. Meteorologist Brad Small, at the National Weather Service bureau in Johnston, says that layer of ice is making travel very slow-going.

State and local crews are spreading sand, salt and brine on the roads, feverishly working to make those thoroughfares passable, but the elements aren’t cooperating. “Air and road temperatures are hovering right around the freezing mark, plus or minus a degree or two,” Small says. “There will be some melting today but unfortunately, with this additional rain, we could see additional accumulations of ice. Temperatures for highs will only be the mid-30s at best and that’s only over southern Iowa.”

Sometimes, even the road crews get into trouble. Earlier this (Monday) morning, two Adair County snowplows and a County truck spun off White Pole Road into the ditch south of Interstate 80. No injuries were reported.

(Photo submitted)

Tuesday morning’s commute should be much better, Small says, as the road crews will have had a full day or more to combat the sheets of ice. “Tomorrow, there could be some minor melting but the good news is, we don’t have any precipitation in the forecast into mid-week,” Small says. “We may actually see highs in the 30s and 40s and possibly even 50 or more by Thursday.”

In southwest Iowa, about 62 customers of the Southwest Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative were without power in Taylor and Ringgold Counties, combined, and minor, scattered outages were reported by Mid-American Energy in Pottawattamie County. The few customers affected in Pott. County had their power restored by 9-a.m. or so. As of 9:30-a.m., Alliant Energy reported 64 customers were affected by an outage in Adair County, 90 in Madison County, and 27 were affected in Union County.

Power outages were worst in the Des Moines metro as MidAmerican Energy reported nearly 24-hundred customers had no electricity earlier today, though the utility say most are now back online.

(Radio Iowa/KJAN)

Sheriff’s officials in Union County report the arrest Sunday evening, of 19-year old Mikhail Matthew Smith, of Maryville, MO.   Smith was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center for theft 1^st degree.  His bond was set at $10,000.

Saturday evening, 56-year old Tommy Allen Green, Jr., of Lorimor, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center on a Union County warrant for failure to appear on the original charge of dominion/control of firearm/offensive weapon by felon.  Green was being held in the Union County Jail without bond pending a decision  by a Judge.

Sheriff’s officials said also, a Lorimor man reported Friday morning, that sometime in the past week, someone broke in to his garage and took a salamander heater and 5 gallons of gasoline.  Estimated value of the items taken is $665.

Conditions across Shelby County and western Iowa are expected to remain treacherous today.  Shelby County Sheriff Neil Gross is not recommending travel at this time.  Also, a tow ban is in effect until further notice.  Shelby County Emergency Management will post up to date information on their facebook page (Shelby County Emergency Management), and through local media outlets, including KJAN.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A few states in the Midwest again are on alert for icy conditions, while strong storms are moving through the Houston area. While the weekend’s storm caused travel issues in parts of Oklahoma and Kansas, some meteorologists acknowledged it fell short of dire forecasts. Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa are expected to see a mix of rain and freezing rain today (Monday).

Strong storms moved through Houston on Monday morning, following a night of storms.  There was at least one tornado in Texas on Sunday evening, and severe weather kept some fans, the Packers and a few Cowboys inside Dallas’ AT&T Stadium for more than hour after the NFL divisional playoff game on Sunday night.

In southwest Iowa, only scattered power outages were reported this morning, due to icing.