Authorities in Pottawattamie County have released the name of a pilot killed during the crash of an aircraft late Thursday morning, near Council Bluffs. Pottawattamie County Chief Deputy Sheriff John Reynolds told KJAN the crash victim and sole occupant of the aircraft, was 65-year old John W. Rogers, of Omaha. Reynolds said the plane, a 2003 Piper Malibu Meridian single-engine plane, left Omaha’s Eppley Airfield at 11:51 a.m.

He said the Pott. County 9-1-1 Center was notified about the crash at 11:55-a.m. Deputies and Troopers with the Iowa State Patrol arrived and discovered the body of the pilot inside the aircraft. Reynolds said when rescue and law enforcement arrived on the scene, they found the plane upside down after it struck some power lines. The left wing was completely torn-away from the fuselage.

Officials with the FAA were on the scene Thursday to begin their investigation, while crews from the NTSB were expected to be at the crash site some time today. The aircraft was registered to Airsea Charters, Inc., in Omaha. The NTSB was expected to conclude their on-site investigation today (Friday) before the plane is moved to a secure facility for a more thorough investigation.

Reynolds said early indications are the aircraft had experienced some sort of mechanical issue shortly after take-off from Omaha. Early reports indicated Rogers had radioed the tower requesting permission to return to the airport. As he was flying extremely low southbound, he banked to left. The wing-tip caught a power line, which caused the plane to cart-wheel into the ground.

According to FlightAware, the plane was scheduled to go from Omaha to a small airport in Trinidad, Colorado, and then later depart for Chandler, Arizona.

An investigation earlier this week in Shelby County into a disturbance and possible car accident with injuries, resulting in a man being arrested on numerous charges, including for allegedly assaulting a deputy. 40-year old Michael Stessman, of Defiance, faces charges that include: Assaulting a Peace Officer (Serious Misdemeanor); Interference with Official Acts, Possession of Prescription Drugs, and Public Intoxication (all three are Simple Misdemeanor’s). Stessman was being held in the Shelby County Jail on $4,000 bond.

His arrest followed a call to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office at around 10-p.m.,  Monday, with regard to a disturbance in the 2300 block of Linden Road. Before deputies arrived, they were notified of a possible car accident. A deputy arrived on the scene and saw a man (later identified as Stessman), lying in the middle of the road, with a pickup in the ditch.

When the deputy checked on Stessman, he allegedly attacked the deputy. A fight ensured, but the deputy was able to restrain Stessman until rescue personnel arrived on the scene to aid in handcuffing the man.

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

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A Mills County man was arrested late Thursday morning, in Creston. Authorities say 20-year old Dominique Schlup, of Hastings, was arrested at a home in the 200 block of Pine Street at around 11:50-a.m. He was wanted on a Dept. of Corrections warrant for Violation of Parole. Schlup was being held without bond, in the Union County Jail.

And, Creston Police says Creston Automotive staff reported Thursday that sometime between 5:30-p.m. Wednesday and 8-a.m. Thursday, someone shot out two windows on the north side of the business. Damage was estimated at $500.

Red Oak Police report a man from Pottawattamie County was arrested Thursday night on theft and other charges. 26-year old Nicholas Thomas Rohrberg, of Council Bluffs, was taken into custody in the 1300 block of North Broadway Street. He faces charges that include Driving While Barred, Identity Theft, and two counts of Unlawful use of a License.

Rohrberg was cited for at least four other traffic violations, and he was wanted on a Pott. County warrant for fraudulent practice in the 3rd degree. Authorities say additional charges are pending.

Rohrberg was being held in the Montgomery County jail on $4,000 bond.

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

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City elementary school has been given a monetary prize for their computer programming efforts during an international week dedicated to teaching code. The Sioux City Journal reports that Loess Hills Elementary received the Code Iowa award from the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council and code.org, a computer science nonprofit, this week.

The school received $4,000 to be used toward instructional technology for their efforts in Hour of Code week. Millions of students work on a computer-coding related activity in the worldwide event. Loess Hills Elementary is a computer programming specialty school. Instructors teach core subjects through a computer programming lens.

The students dedicated their Hour of Code week to spreading knowledge to City Council members, business owners and representatives of higher education institutions.

The 3-State Beef Conference is designed to provide beef cattle producers and other agricultural professionals in Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska an update on current cow-calf or stocker topics. The topics are based on producer suggestions. The Iowa site is Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa, on January 12, 2016. Registration starts at 5:30 p.m., and the program runs from 6 to 8:45 p.m.

Craig Payne, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine with the University of Missouri, will explain the Veterinary Feed Directive. Feed grade and water soluble antibiotics are moving from over the counter to prescription status. Dr. Payne will help participants think through the impacts this may have on their operations.

The use of cover crops as a source of forage is of interest, and producers asked for a presenter who could address establishment, yield, forage quality, and calf performance. Dr. Mary Drewnoski from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln will address the topic.

With crop prices lower there’s interest in converting low productivity crop ground to pasture. Joe Sellers, Iowa State University Extension Beef Specialists, will walk producers through the decision process. He’ll explain the use of a spreadsheet tool at the Ag Decision Maker website and address practical limitations.

Pre-registration is required for the 3-State Beef Conference by January 8. The registration fee is $25, which includes a meal and materials. To register, call Page County Extension at 712-542-5171. More Information is available at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/feci/3stbeef/.

Police in Council Bluffs are investigating the armed robbery of a bank. The incident took place at around 4:40-p.m. Thursday, at the Frontier Savings Bank, located at 509 South 23rd Avenue, in Council Bluffs. Upon arrival officers learned that the suspect, a white male, was last seen running westbound on foot from the bank.

Suspect, was described as being about 6-feet tall and weighing about 225-pounds. He wore an orange, hunting-style stocking cap, mirrored sunglasses, a gray sweatshirt, black knit gloves and faded jeans with work-style boots.

Surveillance still image of robbery suspect.

He entered the bank and as he approached the female bank teller, said “Are you all ready for Christmas?”. The suspect then handed the teller a hand written note which demanded all of their money and not to set off any alarms. He also produced what appeared to be a small caliber handgun, and laid the weapon down with his right hand on the counter towards the teller.

The suspect then pulled from his pocket what appeared to be some type of a retail store bank bag with a drawstring and the teller gave him an undetermined amount of U.S. currency. The man made no threats towards the teller or any other person in
the bank.

Anyone with any information regarding the identity of the suspect is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 712-328-7867.

Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker is expected to release sometime today (Friday), the name of the pilot who died late Thursday morning, after his plane crashed into the median between the north and southbound lanes of Interstate 29, near the northwest side of Council Bluffs.

Sheriff’s officials told the Daily NonPareil Thursday, that the pilot, flying a Piper Malibu Meridian single-engine plane, left Eppley Airfield at 11:51 a.m. Shortly after takeoff, the man radioed back to Eppley that he was having plane troubles and requested an emergency landing. A motorist who witnessed the crash said the plane was flying low, parallel above the railroad tracks, when it pitched hard right and the wing clipped a power line. Authorities said three lines were cut during the collision. One of the lines landed across I-29 northbound, causing one lane to be closed for about an hour.

The witness, an off-duty police officer and former firefighter, said the elderly male pilot had no pulse when he checked him after arriving on the scene. He was believed to be the lone passenger in the plane. The pilot was still in the plane hours after the crash as authorities waited for investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board to arrive.