DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa transportation officials say residents should be able to start downloading their driver’s licenses onto their smartphones by late next year. The Des Moines Register reports the Iowa Department of Transportation has conducted a pilot program with about 100 state employees who used state-issued iPhones last year.

The state conducted the test with help from MorphoTrust USA, a contractor that provides identity-related products and services. Department director Mark Lowe says the agency worked with a technology consultant on plans to award a contract to develop a fully functional mobile driver’s license for the public.

Iowa is among the first states in the country to explore digital driver’s licenses as an alternative to traditional plastic licenses. At least nine other states are considering the concept.

The Atlantic Police Department reports 28-year old Cameron Misner, of Atlantic, was arrested Friday. Misner was taken into custody for Theft in the 5th Degree (Shoplifting), and booked into the Cass County Jail.

The Red Oak Police Department reports 34-year old Heather Annette Zeigler, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 8:40-a.m. today (Monday), following a traffic stop. Zeigler was taken into custody on a Pottawattamie County warrant for Criminal Trespass and Criminal Mischief. She was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and released after posting a $300 cash bond.

A U-S District Court Judge, Friday, sentenced a Pottawattamie County man to nearly 11-years in prison on methamphetamine and weapon charges. 24-year old Christopher Alan Durrett, of Council Bluffs, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger to 130 months in prison for possession of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

Durrett will be required to serve five years of supervised release following his imprisonment. On January 4, 2017, Durrett pleaded guilty to these charges and admitted on October 24, 2016, he possessed over 38 grams of methamphetamine that he intended to distribute. Durrett admitted he was also in possession of a 9mm handgun with ammunition.

Durrett had previously been convicted of misdemeanor domestic abuse assault, and, as a result, was prohibited from possessing a firearm. The Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, the Council Bluffs Police Department and the Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office conducted the investigation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

San Francisco-based Core-Mark Holding Company announced they have entered into a Definitive Asset Purchase Agreement to acquire all of the assets of Carroll’s Farner-Bocken Company for 190 million dollars. Farner-Bocken Chairman, John Norgaard says, “After a careful evaluation of potential partners to preserve the Farner-Bocken Company legacy, Core-Mark emerged as the obvious choice.”

Third-generation-owned Farner-Bocken is a landmark Carroll company founded in 1939. Their more than one-thousand employees provide foodservice and fresh supplies to nearly six-thousand customers in 14 Midwestern states.A timeline for the acquisition has not yet been released.

(Radio Iowa)

MANCHESTER, Iowa (AP) – A trial has been delayed for an eastern Iowa man charged in the death of a woman hit by fragments from a homemade cannon. The Telegraph Herald reports the trial of Max Fenton, of Greeley, now’s scheduled to begin Aug. 16. He’s pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of involuntary manslaughter.

The improvised cannon was made from the sawed-off barrel of a .50-caliber, black powder rifle and was supposed to serve as a noisemaker. A Delaware County news release said the rear of the barrel “blew out” the night of July 2, 2016, sending fragments toward where 55-year-old Lori Heims was sitting, hitting her in the head. She died later at a hospital.

Sheriff’s officials in Sac County say a Marshalltown man was arrested Sunday morning after a Sac County Deputy Sheriff used a Taser to take the man in custody. 23-year old Korey Austin Martz was arrested at around 6:30-a.m. following an investigation into a suspicious person who was twice at Sparky’s in Lake View, wanting to used the phone.

The description of the subject person matched the description of a man who fled on foot during an earlier traffic stop by a Lake View police officer. The deputy encountered Martz, who matched the suspect description, walking behind TCT Trucking in Lake View. When the deputy made contact with Martz, he fled on foot. The deputy gave chase and after several warnings to stop, the deputy deployed his Taser. Martz was taken in to custody without further incident.

Martz had two warrants for his arrest out of Marshall County. The first warrant was for Violation of Parole and the other was for Voluntary Absence from Custody. Martz was charged by sheriffs’ officials with interference with official acts. He was booked in to the Sac County Jail.

Afton Police Chief John Coulter says his Department has been informed that there is a new device used to scan credit cards and debit cards. The device is called a ‘Shimmer’ and is smaller and slimmer than a ‘Skimmer’ most commonly seen in Iowa. Coulter say, “So far it has been seen in Europe but recently was discovered in Canada by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.”

He suggests that when you are using your credit, to look at the card reader and see if there are signs of tampering. If there are indications of tampering, notify the store management.The shimmer devices will slip inside the ATM or credit/debit card slot, so they may not even be detectable. But if you see anything unusual, let the bank or store know.