The teenaged driver of a Chrysler PT Cruiser and four teenage passengers escaped injury during an accident Tuesday evening about nine-miles north of Clarinda, in Page County. The Sheriff’s Office says 15-year old Brandon Ray Kammerer, of Clarinda, was driving the car southbound on Quince Avenue at around 8-p.m. Tuesday, when the vehicle went out of control and hit a power pole.

Passengers in the vehicle at the time of the accident included 16-year old Joslyn Renea Dale, 14-year old Collin Steven Gregory, 16-year old Dylan Gregory Dalton, and 15-year old Amber Rae Anne Foster.  Each of the vehicles’ occupants were released to their parents or guardians.

Kammerer was cited for Careless driving and Failure to have a valid driver’s license.

A former Denison resident was sentenced Monday to a maximum of five-years in prison in connection with the May 11th assault of a Crawford County Jailer. 20 year old Jayden Chapman is currently incarcerated in the Anamosa State Penitentiary. His telephone hearing took place before Judge Jeffrey Poulson.

The plea agreement Chapman accepted specified that, “an indeterminate term of imprisonment, not to exceed five years, shall be imposed.” Chapman had also been charged with attempted escape from custody, but that charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement. The new sentence will run concurrently with the two consecutive life sentences Chapman is now serving for the March 10, 2014, murders of 81-year old Alice Huisenga, of Arcadia, and 80-year old Marvin Huelsing, of Maple River. Chapman was convicted of their murders on May 5th.

The Crawford County Attorney says while awaiting sentencing, Chapman, who was in the exercise area of the Crawford County jail, went to a locked door to tell the jailer that he had a bloody nose. When the jailer opened the door to attend to him, Chapman “grabbed the door handle, pulled the door open and bodily assaulted her,” according to Prosecutor Roger Sailer.

Chapman then forced the jailer to the floor, punched her with his fist, choked her with his hands, and choked her with his arm from behind, while holding her body with his legs. Sailer says when Chapman heard others coming, he released the jailer and ran down a hallway to another part of the jail, where he was apprehended and placed in a restraining chair.

There’s good consumer news for Iowans who use liquid propane — from backyard grillers to farmers and homeowners. Propane prices are at an all-time low, according to Harold Hommes, an energy analyst at the Iowa Department of Agriculture. Hommes says those who grill probably won’t notice a difference, but he says the impact will be significant for the two-thousand or so Iowans who heat their homes with L-P.

“People are just now taking advantage of summer fills and buying opportunities where they try to lock in their needs for the winter,” Hommes says. “I think they’re going to be fairly happy with the results and where they can lock in those values.” Just how good are those values? In the winter of 2013, propane prices hit a record five-dollars per gallon due to increased exports and high demand from farmers needing it to dry grain. This summer, Hommes says many suppliers are offering the gas significantly cheaper.

“Depending on different locations in the state, anywhere from 70 to 95 cents and the dollar mark,” Hommes says, “but certainly a very favorable value compared to where we were at just a couple years ago.” Just like gasoline, Hommes says L-P inventories are up and foreign investors are not finding it as attractive as it’s been in the past.

(Radio Iowa)

A high-speed chase that led law enforcement officers through Denison and portions of Crawford County ended in a crash near Westside, Monday night.

Edwin Diaz

Edwin Diaz of Denison, the driver, was transported to Crawford County Memorial Hospital in Denison where he was treated for injuries.

The chase started at about 10:05-p.m., Monday, when an officer with the Denison Police Department attempted to stop a gray Ford Explorer on 16th Street in Denison, for a traffic violation. According to authorities, the SUV took off at a high rate of speed and failed to stop for the officer. The pursuit left the Denison city limits and continued for several miles through Crawford County at speeds of up to 80-miles per hour.

The SUV eventually crashed between on Highway 30 between 370th Street and 380th Street. Diaz faces numerous charges, including failure to maintain control, driving while suspended, operating while intoxicated and felony eluding.

Denison Police were assisted during the incident by personnel with the Iowa State Patrol, Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, Sac County Sheriff’s Office, Westside Fire Department and Crawford County Memorial Hospital Ambulance.

Are your children and grandchildren safe in their car seat? Officials with the Atlantic Fire and Rescue Department said on their social media page, that there will be a FREE car seat check on July 17th, from 2-5 p.m., at the Atlantic Farm Bureau Insurance Office (1501 E. 7th St).

The AFD says they don’t want to respond to an accident where kids have been thrown about the vehicle, and urge you to stop by and have your car child safety seat checked.

BEDFORD, Iowa (AP) – The father of a 3-year-old girl slain in southwest Iowa now faces a murder charge. The Omaha World-Herald reports that new charge was filed last week against 25-year-old Charles Hall, who is from Chicago. Hall originally was charged with child endangerment resulting in serious injury, the same charged filed against his girlfriend, 25-year-old April Clair, who is from Bedford.

The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call in Bedford on May 22 and found little Janiya King unresponsive. The Taylor County medical examiner later pronounced her dead.

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

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The Creston Police Department reports the arrest on Monday of a local man on drug and other charges. Officials say 35-year old Dustin Kilgore, of Creston, was arrested at around 8:50-p.m. on charges that include Violation of a Protection Order, and Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana. Kilgore was being held in the Union County Jail while awaiting a bond hearing.

(7-a.m. News)

The 7:06-a.m. report w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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VAN METER, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa clergyman is buying raffle tickets with the hope that he wins and will be able to spare a city official from being shocked by a stun gun.
The city of Van Meter has been selling raffle tickets as part of a public safety fundraiser. The winner will get the opportunity to use a stun gun on City Administrator Jake Anderson or Councilman Bob Lacy.

A pastor at Van Meter Baptist Church, Paul Porter, has been raising money to buy as many raffle tickets as he can. He told The Des Moines Register that if he were to win, neither man would get shocked. The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa has condemned the event as an improper and dangerous use of a stun gun.