COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A former Council Bluffs doctor has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison on a child pornography charge. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports 69-year old Dennis Seaborn Jones received the sentence Friday (Aug. 15th) in federal court in Council Bluffs on one count of possession of child pornography. Jones pleaded guilty to the charge in May as part of a deal. He also agreed to permanently surrender his medical license.

Authorities say they found about 1.2 million images and 9,300 videos of child pornography during a search of Jones’ home. Court documents say other images and videos showed patients at Jones’ medical clinic that were taken secretly with a pen camera.

Jones faces a separate sexual abuse charge involving a minor. He also faces lawsuits in connection to the patient images and videos.

The two major party candidates running for Iowa’s third district congressional seat have given short speeches at The Des Moines Register’s “Soapbox” this week. David Young is the Republican seeking the seat now held by the retiring Congressman Tom Latham. Young emphasizes his work the past six years as Senator Chuck Grassley’s chief of staff. “So I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t work and you know a lot of it doesn’t work,” Young said. “But I’ve seen what can be done and how to get it done.” Staci Appel (APP-ull, like the word apple) is the Democrat running in the third district, which covers southwest Iowa and includes the cities of Des Moines and Council Bluffs. Appel emphasizes that she might break the glass ceiling in Iowa politics.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have a woman’s voice in congress that represents the state of Iowa?” Appel said, to cheers from the crowd on the fairgrounds. Appel is one of two women from Iowa seeking seats in the U.S. House this election. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa is running against Democratic Congressman Dave Loebsack of Iowa City, the third time the two have faced one another on the ballot.

Iowa voters have never sent a woman to serve in the U.S. House. Iowa is one of six states which have never had a female elected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Those other states are Alaksa, Delaware, Mississippi, North Dakota and Vermont.

(Radio Iowa)

Six Iowans were honored at the Iowa State Fair today (Friday) for actions they took that likely saved the lives of other citizens. Seth Thompson of Treynor was presented with a Governor’s Lifesaving Award for his bravery on the morning of December 14, 2009. The wind chill was five-below-zero and roads were icy at the time Thompson and a co-worker were driving near Storm Lake on their way to Okoboji for a construction job. The truck in front of them spun around, rolled twice off the road, and landed upside down in a frozen creek. Thompson and his co-worker, Nolan Strobehn, stopped, ran through the snow, and jumped a fence to reach the truck.

Seth Thompson and family (father Marv, wife Michelle, son Taytum, mother Melinda) with Governor Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds

“We both jumped down on our stomachs and started feeling around in the water. We just barely felt a hand or an arm or something, grabbed a hold of that and pulled the guy out,” Thompson said. “As we were all standing there, in disbelief of what just happened, the guy slowly muttered out as he was freezing, ‘there’s another guy.'” Thompson reached back in the submerged pickup and pulled the driver out as well. Thompson said both men in the pickup, Jesus Alvarado and Joshua Allsup, would have likely drowned had they not been followed on the highway.

“If we were not behind them, there was nobody else on the highway…the truck was not visible from the highway, so there would have been cars passing all day,” Thompson said. The two men in the pickup suffered only minor injuries and were treated at a hospital for symptoms of hypothermia. Thompson credits his six years of service in the Coast Guard for his quick response to the accident.

“I was used to crazy, gruesome stuff happening, so it was just respond, do what you need to do to help out, and that was it,” Thompson said. While Thompson has not kept in close contact with the men he helped rescue over five years ago, he did hear that one of the men, inspired by the incident, became a volunteer firefighter.

(Radio Iowa)

Shelby County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Seivert reports a bridge on Redwood Road, located over the Dutch Branch of the East Branch of the West Nishnabotna River, will be closed for about the next 10 weeks, for work on a bridge replacement project.

The bridge is between Monroe Townships 16 and 17. Emergency responders and others in the area needing to reach residences in the affected area, should plan to take alternate routes. If you have any questions, call the Shelby County Engineer’s Office at 712-755-5954.

(12-p.m. News)

Officials with the Cass and Audubon County Community Foundations are issuing a reminder to non-profit organizations in the respective counties, that the deadline to apply for fall grant program funds is Sept. 1st. In Cass County, $26,775 is available. Of that, $2,275 is from the Griswold Community Development Endowed Fund, and $500 is from the Triumph Endowed Fund for Cass County.

In Audubon County, $39,770 is available for eligible non-profit organizations. Of that, $2,500 is from the Leon and Iva Milliman Endowed Fund for the Exira area, $2,800 is from the Charles T. and Kathleen K. Manatt Endowed Fund. Another $690 is being made available by the Audubon State Bank/Stephen Garst Endowed Fund, $1,200 is from the Audubon Masonic Association Endowed Fund for the City of Audubon area, $490 is available for the City of Audubon from the Fred and Evelyn Nissen Endowed Fund for Audubon, and $490 is made possible through the Merle and Norma Petersen Endowed Fund for the City of Audubon.

Only organizations providing services in Cass and Audubon are eligible for funds in their respective counties. Those groups must be able to demonstrate broad community/county support, and supply a copy of their 501(c)3 IRS determination letter.

Application procedures and grant guidelines can be found online at www.iowacommunityfoundations.org.  (Add /auduboncef after.org for Audubon County, or /casscef for Cass County)

(Correction to charges issued to Wiebeseik & Bergren by Chief Brothers)

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers today (Friday), released details about a drug bust conducted in his community last weekend. Brothers says at around 3:50-a.m. August 9th, Clarinda Police Officers responded to a loud party/noise complaint at 422 N. 17th Street. The residence is rented by 21-year old James Kinghorn, of Clarinda.

Kinghorn was arrested for delivery of a controlled substance believed to be marijuana. Also arrested at the residence was 21-year old Brodie Lee Bergren, and 23-year old Jared Daniel Wiebesiek, both of Clarinda. They were charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance.

All three men were booked into the Page County Jail and held while awaiting initial appearances before the Page County Magistrate. The matter has been referred to the Page County Attorney’s Office for review and the formal filing of charges.

A pancake feed featuring homemade maple syrup will be held in Pottawattamie County this weekend. Botna Bend Park located outside of Hancock will be the site of the big breakfast from 8:30- until 11-a.m., Saturday. Park Ranger Jon Fenner says your free will donation breakfast will leave you feeling full. “We’ll have good hot coffee in the morning, orange juice and then pancakes, pure maple syrup and we get sausage from Gress Locker. They donate sausage every year.”

Making homemade maple syrup is a process that starts earlier in the year. “Right after winter, late February early March when the trees are coming out of their dormant period they start to bring up the sap from the ground and it is all the stored food that they have in their roots that they bring up. We tap the trees and able to take some of the sap that has some of that sweet sugar, maple flavor and we take that down and boil it to make syrup.”

Fenner says it takes 40 to 50 gallons of sap to produce just one gallon of syrup. During the breakfast, tickets will be sold for the fundraiser raffle to benefit the children’s craft program at Botna Bend with the top prize being a handmade quilt created by Botna Bend Park volunteers.

Other prizes include a jar of homemade maple syrup, a hand crafted bird feeder and two chances for a free weekend of camping at Botna Bend. Tickets are $1 each or 6 tickets for $5. Botna Bend Park is located at 42926 Mahogany Road near Hancock. Visitors can take exit 40 off Interstate 80 then south 8 miles on U.S. Highway 59 and follow the signs to the park. For more information, contact Botna Bend Park at 712-741-5465 or online at www.pottcoconservation.com.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A digital replica of the Iowa Constitution is now available online for public viewing. Secretary of State Matt Schultz said Friday that the document from 1857 had been scanned so that a replica could be provided online. Previously, people could only see the original beneath glass in the Secretary of State’s office at the State Capitol.

The constitution – which features 40 pages of hand-written text – was digitized through a partnership between Schultz’s office and the State Library of Iowa. The library bought a $23,000 scanner a year ago to use on fragile documents.

State officials said they hope the public will enjoy being able to look over the historic document. The digital version of the Iowa Constitution is on the State Library of Iowa’s website.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors today (Friday) approved the purchase of two new, 2013 model-year motor graders for the Secondary Roads Department. Their decision followed a report from County Engineer Charles Marker, on test drives, fuel consumption and other factors associated with a John Deere model 770-G, Volvo, Caterpillar (“CAT”) 2013 12M2 and 2014 12M3 graders. Marker said his recommendation on the purchase of two “CAT” 12M2’s from Ziegler for a total of $287,352 (with trade-in’s), was based partly on input from his motor grader operators.

Caterpillar Model 12M2/M3 motor grader

The operators discussed and created a list of pro’s and con’s for each grader they tested, which included the ability to stand up and sit down inside the cab, visibility (of the blade and behind the grader), whether it was equipped with steering wheel or “joy stick” steering and controls, along with other factors.

When it came down to the nuts and bolts of each of the machines tested, Marker said the CAT 12M2 would use less fuel, and unlike the John Deere 770G, it does not require an expensive fuel additive necessary to make the machine EPA compliant on emission controls.

You may recall last November, KJAN News mentioned the Cass County Board of Supervisors had authorized County Engineer Charles Marker to work with County Attorney Dan Feistner, in an effort to draft a Resolution it’s hoped would put a little more “bite” into a State law penalizing those who use 4-wheel drive vehicles to tear up County dirt roads after it rains. Today (Friday), Feistner told the Board of Supervisors the efforts of law enforcement has resulted in action being taken against some of the parties responsible for the damage.

Feistner said there have been convictions and/or guilty pleas made in association with the Criminal Mischief charges filed against three individuals who “played” in the mud with their 4-wheel drive vehicles on Level B roads. If Probable Cause is established, Feistner said other charges will continue to be filed against persons who destroy dirt roads, which become muddy during periods of heavy or consistent rain. The individuals who have already been convicted or plead guilty to the offense are being required to pay restitution to the Secondary Roads Dept.

Supervisor Mark Wedemeyer wanted to make clear that farmers who are using the roads to get to their crops are not the ones being charged with destroying the roads. Feistner agreed. He said the incidents in question were clearly intentional, whereby the trucks “fishtailed” down the road one-quarter mile or more and could not be retrieved by conventional means. He said they obviously had not entered the road by mistake and simply got stuck.

Feistner said also, if it had been a farmer, they wouldn’t have run from law enforcement.
Anyone who sees an obvious case of “Mudding” on county roads, is urged to call law enforcement with a description of the vehicle, direction of travel, and if possible, a license plate.

In other business, the Board approved a Resolution placing a Public Measure on the Nov. 4th General Election ballot. The measure calls for the appointment of township officers by the Board of Supervisors, rather than by election. Auditor Dale Sunderman points out 14 townships are now by appointment by the Board. The change would affect Edna and Union Townships.