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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.4MB)

Subscribe: RSS

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS

One person suffered what were described as minor injuries, during an accident late Friday night on Interstate 80, in Cass County. According to dispatch reports, a vehicle went into the median at about the 59.5 mile marker, at around 10:30-p.m.  A woman in the vehicle suffered from abdominal pain, possibly the result of a seat belt, according to authorities at the scene. She was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital.

No other details are currently available.

A traffic stop late Friday night in Montgomery County resulted in an arrest. Sheriff’s officials say 47-year old Lonnie Lee Votava, of Clearfield, was arrested at around 10:20-p.m. after he was pulled over on Highway 34, in Red Oak. Votava was charged with OWI/1st offense, and brought to the Montgomery County Jail where his bond was set at $1,000.

The Iowa State Patrol says a man and child from Dallas County were injured during an accident Friday night in south central Iowa’s Warren County. 38-year old Jason Edward Hopkins, and an unidentified 8-year old child, both from Waukee, were transported by ambulance to Methodist Hospital in Des Moines following the accident that happened at around 8:30-p.m. near the intersection of Highway 92 and northbound Interstate 35.

Officials say a 2004 Harley Davidson motorcycle driven by Jason Hopkins, was westbound on Highway 92 and approaching the northbound I-35 on-ramp in a construction zone. Hopkins slowed his motorcycle while waiting for eastbound traffic to pass before turning left onto I-35. As he was slowing down, his bike was hit from behind by a 1992 Chevy C-15 pickup, driven by an unidentified 16-year old from Prole, IA.

The accident remains under investigation.

A man from Nebraska was arrested early this (Saturday) morning on eluding, drug and other charges, in Fremont County. The Sheriff’s Department says deputies with the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit attempted to stop a 2001 Dodge Ram for an equipment violation near the intersection of Waubonsie Ave and Western Ave in Bartlett. The driver of the vehicle, 31-year old Skip Skalak, of Waverly, Nebraska, failed to yield to law enforcement and stopped his vehicle at a residence in Bartlett.

Skalak was arrested for Eluding, Interference with Official Acts, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Driving without a License, and 2 vehicle equipment violations. He was being held at the Fremont County Jail on $3,155 bond. The Iowa State Patrol assisted the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office in the arrest.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Council Bluffs woman convicted of fatally stabbing her former boyfriend has been sentenced to 50 years in prison. A judge Friday sentenced 47-year-old Jodie Sherman in the July 2014 death of 52-year-old Douglas Richt, her ex-boyfriend. She was found guilty of second-degree murder in February after being accused of stabbing Richt in the throat during an argument. Richt died while being taken to a hospital.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa powerbroker Bruce Rastetter has long used his $5 million pledge to the Hawkeye football program to build his image as a successful businessman and philanthropist. But years after his 2008 commitment was touted as the largest gift to Iowa athletics, he has given less than a third of that amount.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court says a man cannot recover damages for the time he spent in custody before his conviction for having sex with another man while infected with HIV was overturned. The court ruled Friday that since Nick Rhoades initially pleaded guilty to criminal transmission of HIV in 2008 he cannot sue the state for wrongful imprisonment.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Community leaders are calling for unity in Dubuque after two crosses were found burned, echoing a spate of similar hate crimes more than two decades ago. The Telegraph Herald reports that the crosses were found Wednesday around 9 a.m., more than four hours after emergency dispatchers received a call about something burning in the area. Police Chief Mark Dalsing says the burnings are considered a hate crime.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office said Friday, that a Creston man was arrested Thursday afternoon in Polk County, on a Union County warrant. 53-year old Kirby Jay Konkler was taken into custody for revocation of pre-trial release.  Konkler was being held in the Polk County Jail on $2,000 bond.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Council Bluffs woman convicted of fatally stabbing her former boyfriend has been sentenced to 50 years in prison. The Daily Nonpareil reports a judge Friday sentenced 47-year-old Jodie Sherman in the July 2014 death of 52-year-old Douglas Richt. Sherman must also pay $150,000 in restitution.

She was found guilty of second-degree murder in February after being accused of stabbing Richt in the throat during an argument. Richt died while being taken to a hospital. Sherman’s attorneys argued that she’s not guilty by reason of insanity. The judge rejected the insanity defense but dropped the charge down from first-degree murder.

A man from Minnesota was transported to a hospital in Council Bluffs, following a single-vehicle accident Friday afternoon in Pottawattamie County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 40-year old Scott D. Kerling, of Northfield, MN, was traveling east on Interstate 80 near Underwood, at around 2-p.m., when his 2015 Ford F-350 pickup left the road and entered the east ditch.

The pickup ended-up in a ravine before it came to rest. Kerling was transported by Underwood Rescue to Mercy Hospital. The Patrol says a medical condition may have caused the accident. Pott. County Sheriff’s Deputies assisted at the scene.