BURNSVILLE, MN (October 12, 2016) – Parents don’t prepare their teens to drive as well as they did a decade ago. According to a AAA survey of 142 driving instructors across America, 65% said the decline in quality parental involvement has added to the challenges facing young drivers. They also reported that parents often set a bad example through their own behaviors.

“With all the other challenges teens face learning to drive, it is critical for parents to re-engage in the process,” said Amy Stracke, Managing Director of Traffic Safety Advocacy for AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Teens can’t succeed safely on the road unless those closest to them make proper training a priority and set a good example behind the wheel.”

In the survey, Skills of Novice Teen Drivers, driving instructors also revealed the top three mistakes teens make when learning to drive:

Speeding – Traveling over posted speed limits or too fast for road conditions.

Distraction – Interacting with a cell phone, talking with passengers or looking at other objects in the vehicle.

Poor Visual Scanning – Driving with tunnel vision and not properly scanning the road for risks or hazards.

Past research shows that teens with parents who impose stricter driving limits reported fewer crashes and traffic violations. AAA recommends parents stay actively involved in coaching their teens through the learning-to-drive process by:

• Having conversations early and often about the dangers of speeding and distraction
• Taking the time to practice driving with their teens in varying conditions
• Adopting a Parent-Teen Driving Agreement that takes the learning to drive process in stages and sets family rules for the road
• Setting a good example by minimizing distractions and speeding when driving

AAA also recommends that teens preparing for the responsibility of driving should enroll in a driver education program that teaches how to avoid driver distraction and other safety skills. Resources to help parents choose a class and coach their teen through the learning-to drive process can be found on AAA’s award-winning website TeenDriving.AAA.com.

(Press Release)

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Urbandale police arrested a teenager and charged him with assault after a report he was chasing two people while wearing a clown mask. Police received the report around 12:30 p-m of a man possibly armed with a machete chasing two people on the northwest side of the Des Moines suburb. Officers talked to witnesses who identified the man and they found a metal baseball bat and a clown mask.

They charged 18-year-old Jacob Steil of West Des Moines with two counts of assault with a weapon. He was taken to the Polk County jail. Urbandale police did not report any injuries.

(Radio Iowa)

Officers with the Creston Police Department Tuesday afternoon arrested on a man wanted on warrants for assault, sexual battery and rape. 37-year old Larry Jordan, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center on a Union County Warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault – Impeding Air/Blood Flow causing Bodily Injury.  Jordan was being held in the Union County Jail on a $5000 bond, and was also being held on a felony warrant out of Tennessee, for 1 count of Aggravated Sexual Battery and 1 count of Rape. Jordan was being held without bond on those warrants, while awaiting extradition to TN.

Late Tuesday night, Creston Police arrested 24-year old Kevin Lee Davis, of Creston, for Driving While Suspended, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Possession of a Controlled Substance. Davis was being held in the Union County Jail on a $1000 bond.

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A former cellphone store employee in Council Bluffs has pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $30,000 while on the job. The Daily Nonpareil reports that 21-year-old Sayeg Moreno Padilla, who lives in Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced Monday to five years of probation and ordered to pay back what he stole.

Prosecutors say Moreno Padilla opened fraudulent accounts using 44 cellphones and took $1,500 in gift cards between May 6 and June 16 last year.

A Fort Dodge man who is the last of 10 people from Iowa and Nebraska charged in a nine-month poaching investigation by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has pleaded guilty. Twenty-three-year-old Kyle Alstott of Fort Dodge pleaded guilty to numerous charges. Iowa conservation officer Matt Bruner says the investigation started when he noticed online videos from Fort Dodge-based hunting and filming company A-T-M Outdoors. Bruner recognized Alstott from a previous encounter.

“He’d been charged in the past with a deer-hunting violation and it peaked my interest and we dug into it a little bit deeper,” Bruner says. Alstott co-owns the company with 22-year-old Roman Thompson of Omaha, Nebraska and they had several photos and videos of deer, deer hunts, fishing and other outdoor activities on their website. “We started comparing pictures and stories and hunts with licenses that were issued with the Iowa and some of the surrounding states to match up whether…these hunts had been done legally,” Bruner explains. “We discovered that there were some discrepancies and the fueled our investigation…to get several search warrants for that information.” The search warrants led to the eventual charges.

He says the search open up a treasure trove of other information on illegal hunting activities. Bruner says the investigation led to the 10 people being charged with numerous violations. “Hunting deer, hunting turkeys without valid licenses…or using licenses issued to other hunters who were not there. We had issues of the illegal use of bait to attract the animals in illegally, also using a spotlighting to lure them in at night, using illegal weapons and those types of violations,” Bruner says. He says it appeared they wanted to show the hunts online and sell videos of them.

He says the end goal would have been to sell the videos of the hunt, but they never got that far as things stopped with the investigation. Officers collected phones, computers, video equipment, deer and turkey mounts, meat and equipment used to harvest the game animals when they executed the search warrants. The 10 individuals were charged in December 2015 and plea deals began in January.

Kyle Alstott pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of illegally killed whitetail buck deer, hunting deer with aid of bait, hunting with the aid of artificial light, unlawful use of two-way radio transmitter while hunting, making false claim for hunting license/tag by non-resident, failure to tag harvested deer, failure to report harvested deer, hunting deer without a valid deer tag, taking whitetail buck without a valid tag, unlawful possession of illegally killed whitetail buck deer in 2014 season and unlawful possession of illegally killed wild turkey in 2014 season. He was fined 19-hundred dollars and assessed four-thousand dollars ($4,000) in liquidated damages and restitution.

Roman Thompson pleaded guilty to hunting without a nonresident hunting license and habitat fee, hunting without a nonresident antlered deer tag, unlawful use of another’s deer tag, unlawful use of two-way radio transmitter while hunting, and unlawful possession of illegally killed whitetail buck deer in 2014 season. Thompson was fined 17-hundred-60 dollars and assessed two-thousand dollars ($2,000) in liquidated damages plus 80 hours of community service.

Forty-four-year-old Michael Alstott of Fort Dodge pleaded guilty to making a false report, hunting deer without a valid license or tag, unlawful use of two-way radio transmitter while hunting, unlawful tagging of illegally killed buck deer, unlawful transportation of deer without tag, taking doe deer without valid license or tag, and unlawful use of out of county deer tag. Michael Alstott was fined 15-hundred-57 dollars.

Fifty-three-year-old Randy Vaught of Algona, pleaded guilty to hunting with aid of artificial light, shooting/discharging rifle over highway, and failure to report harvested deer. Vaught was fined 369 dollars and assessed two-thousand dollars ($2,000) in liquidated damages plus 80 hours of community service.

Twenty-year-old Tanner Dawson of Fort Dodge, pleaded guilty to unlawful taking and possession of whitetail doe deer and failure to report harvested deer. Dawson was fined 282 dollars and assessed 15-hundred dollars in liquidated damages. Twenty-two-year-old Mariah Thompson of Omaha, Nebraska pleaded guilty to hunting deer without a valid non-resident license or tag. Mariah Thompson was fined 667 dollars. Forty-four-year-old Matthew Alstott of Fort Dodge, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting a non-resident taking deer unlawfully and unlawful use of deer tag by another and was fined 390 dollars. Forty-five-year-old Travis Miller of Monroe pleaded guilty to hunting with the aid of artificial light and unlawful transportation of illegally taken deer and was fined 390 dollars. Thirty-one-year-old Brendon Nicholas of Fort Dodge, pleaded guilty to unlawful tagging of whitetail buck deer and failure to report harvested deer and was fined 282 dollars. Thirty-six-year-old Mike Kenyon of Clare, pleaded guilty to failure to report harvested deer and was fined 87 dollars.

Kyle Alstott, Roman Thompson, Michael Alstott, Randy Vaught and Tanner Dawson all face license suspension in Iowa and 44 other states that are part of the wildlife violator compact. Roman and Mariah Thompson are also facing charges in Nebraska.

The Iowa D-N-R worked in conjunction with the Webster County Attorney’s Office, Boone County Attorney’s Office, Nebraska Game and Parks, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, Missouri Department of Conservation, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and the U-S Fish and Wildlife Service.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety said Tuesday, an arrest warrant has been issued in connection with a stabbing incident that took place this summer, during the Iowa State Fair, in Des Moines. Authorities say on August 21st, the last night of the Iowa State Fair, the Iowa State Patrol responded to a call of a stabbing that happened at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.  The stabbing occurred at approximately 10:22 pm near the southwest corner of the Midway.  Upon arriving at the scene, Iowa State Patrol Troopers found a victim that had been stabbed two times.  The victim was later identified as Darquan Jones.  Jones was transported to Mercy Medical Center for his injuries and has since been released.

The Iowa State Patrol then requested the assistance of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation to investigate the stabbing of Jones.  Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Agents, the Iowa State Patrol, the Des Moines Police Department and the Des Moines Police Department Crime Scene Unit responded to the Iowa State Fairgrounds Midway to assist with the investigation.

Throughout the investigation, several interviews were conducted and a suspect was developed in the stabbing.

Stabbing suspect, Craig “C-Note” Hunt

The suspect, Craig Hunt, also known as C-Note, was identified as being the person responsible for stabbing Jones.  Hunt is described as a 21 year old African American male, 5 foot 7 inches tall and weighs approximately 150 pounds.  After consultation with the Polk County Attorney’s office, an arrest warrant was issued for Craig Hunt for Attempted Murder.

Hunt is also currently under investigation for several shootings throughout the Des Moines area and should be considered armed and dangerous. If you see Hunt, do not approach him and immediately call 911.  If anyone knows the whereabouts of Craig Hunt please contact the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at 515-725-6010 or callers can remain anonymous by calling Polk County Crime Stoppers at 515-223-1400.

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

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Purdue University this week is launching an effort to reduce food waste with a focus on developing countries. The school says it will formally start the Purdue Postharvest Initiative with an exhibit at the World Food Prize meeting that starts Wednesday and runs through Friday in Des Moines, Iowa. Purdue says it will work on reducing postharvest loss, improving nutrition and helping food entrepreneurs among other efforts.

STORM LAKE, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge has rejected Tyson Foods’ request for a new trial in a case that awarded $5.8 million to thousands of employees at the company’s pork plant in Storm Lake, Iowa. Storm Lake employees sued Tyson in 2007 to collect pay for the time they spent putting on and taking off protective work clothes. Tyson lawyers said a new trial was needed to ensure those included in the suit are entitled to a share of the award. A judge ruled Thursday that suitable safeguards are in place.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A judge will decide the fate of a man charged with fatally stabbing his girlfriend in Dubuque. The Telegraph Herald reports that 27-year-old Eddie Hicks waived his right to a jury trial during a hearing Tuesday at the Dubuque County courthouse in Dubuque. Hicks has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder in the June 2015 stabbing death of 21-year-old Kahdyesha Lemon.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa farmers are a little behind getting corn and soybeans out of fields because rain has caused soft ground and in some cases muddy conditions, slowing their progress. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says in its weekly crop update released Tuesday that 19 percent of the state’s corn is harvested, about three days behind last year and a week behind the five-year average.

STORM LAKE, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge has rejected Tyson Foods’ request for a new trial in a case that awarded $5.8 million to thousands of employees at the company’s pork plant in Storm Lake, Iowa. The Sioux City Journal reports that Tyson lawyers filed a brief in June saying a new trial was necessary to address liability and damages issues and ensure workers included in the suit are entitled to a share of the award.

Storm Lake employees sued Tyson in 2007 to collect pay for the time they spent putting on and taking off protective work clothes and equipment before and after their shifts. U.S. District Judge John Jarvey said in his ruling Thursday that the payment method ensures workers not entitled to damages won’t receive a portion of the award.

The Supreme Court upheld the award in March. Tyson spokeswoman Caroline Ahn declined to comment.