Montgomery County Sheriff Joe Sampson says Montgomery County Crime Stoppers have paid a reward to a person or persons, associated with a tip that resulted in the arrest of a suspect wanted on numerous charges. Crime Stoppers actively followed-up on the proceedings that led to the arrest of the suspect involved in an incident that took place in Stanton, in Dec., 2016.

Sheriff Sampson says Montgomery County Crime Stoppers thanks the individuals and law enforcement agencies involved, and further requests all citizens of Montgomery County to call 1-888-434-2712, when you see any and all suspicious activity, or with any information relative to current or ongoing investigations.

When you call that toll-free number, you and your tip or information will remain totally anonymous. You are connected to an operator who takes down your information before issuing you a special ID number. You will the be instructed to call back into the Crime Stoppers line with your ID number to receive updates on the case. A successful prosecution resulting from your information may result in a cash rewards, which will also be handled on an anonymous basis.

A Red Oak man who had been arrested early Monday morning on Assault and Obstruction of Emergency Communications charges, was arrested again Wednesday evening for Violating a Protective Order. Red Oak Police says 28-year old Zachary Charles Burkes, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 6:45-p.m. and was being being in the Montgomery County Jail without bond.

And, 38-year old Kevin Duane Staley, of Red Oak, was arrested just after 6-p.m. Wednesday in Red Oak, on a Page County warrant for Probation Violation. Staley was brought to the Page County Jail, where his bond was set at $2,000.

And, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 27-year old Eduardo Monrreal-Robles, of Elliott, was arrested just before 7-p.m. Wednesday in Elliott, on a Montgomery County warrant for Failure to Appear in Court on a Driving While Suspended charge. Monrreal-Robles was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 cash only bond.

Nineteen Republicans in the Iowa Senate are co-sponsoring a bill that would require Iowa businesses with more than 25 employees use the federal government’s “E-verify” system to confirm all new hires are citizens or legal residents of the United States. Dave Stitz is a vice president at the McAninch Corporation, a central Iowa contracting company that’s been using E-Verify for about eight years. Since 2009, the company has had just one applicant who failed the cross-check.

“If they know that a business is doing this, they will not come and apply for work, so they avoid us, which is a good thing,” Stitz says. “Word of mouth (moves) pretty fast.” Senator Julian Garrett, a Republican from Indianola, says about three percent of Iowa businesses currently use the E-Verify system to ensure they’re following federal law and only hiring citizens and legal residents.

“Their competitors that don’t check and do hire people in the country illegally and pay them substandard wages — I think we all understand that happens — it’s not fair to the people that are obeying the law,” Garrett says. Critics like Pastor Ryan Arnold of the First Christian Church in Des Moines call
the bill anti-immigrant.

“It runs contrary to my church’s faith-affirmed responsibility to welcome the immigrant in our midst,” Arnold said. Iowa Catholic Conference executive director Tom Chapman says the state’s four Catholic bishops aren’t experts in labor law, but they are opposed to the bill.

“The reason for that is when you start messing around with people’s employment, you’re messing around with families,” Chapman said. “And I don’t think there’s any doubt that if this bill gets passed and starts being enforced, you’re going to start having some problems with people being able to provide for their families and harm real families.” Madeline Cano of the Iowa Citizens Action Network suggests the requirement would “promote” discrimination against potential workers who are in the country legally.

“There is a stereotype of what an undocumented immigrant looks like,” she says. A wide range of business groups are registered as undecided on the bill. A spokesman for the Iowa Chamber Alliance says his group supports mandatory use of E-Verify, but it should be FEDERAL requirement, rather than a hodge-podge of laws from all 50 states. In addition, business groups say upgrades are needed in the system to make it work better.

(Radio Iowa)

Home sales are a key economic indicator and sales cooled off across Iowa last month.
Just 2,028 homes were sold in Iowa during the first month of the year. That’s down from 2,107 home sales in January of 2016. The numbers come from the Iowa Association of Realtors (IAR) and president Cindy Miller blames inventory levels, in part, for the sales slowdown.

The number of homes on the market is down over 20-percent compared to a year ago. It was also extremely cold during much of January, which may’ve kept prospective buyers from doing a lot of shopping. The IAR reports the median price for a home sold in Iowa last month was $145,000 – up from $135,000 a year ago.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The winning Powerball numbers have been drawn for the jackpot that’s climbed above $400 million for the first time in nearly three months. The numbers are 10-13-28-52-61 and Powerball 2. The game’s website says one winning ticket was sold in Indiana. During Wednesday night’s drawing, it was announced that the jackpot increased to an estimated $435 million.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld the use of automated speed cameras in Iowa, rejecting challenges in two separate court cases filed by citizens claiming Cedar Rapids cameras violated their constitutional rights. In one case six car owners ticketed on Interstate 380 sought class-action status claiming the cameras violate equal protection and due process rights among others.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Protesters have crowded Gov. Terry Branstad’s office to oppose the Dakota Access pipeline that passes through Iowa. Around 20 people came to the Iowa Capitol at 1 p.m. Wednesday to speak with Branstad, who is in Washington D.C. for National Governor’s Association meetings until Monday. The protesters say they want to speak directly to Branstad about denouncing the pipeline.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A man has been arrested after police say he used a hammer to smash nearly 30 sculptures in the Robert D. Ray Asian Gardens in downtown Des Moines. The Des Moines Register reports that the incident occurred Tuesday evening, when 48-year-old Dung Van Nguyen began smashing 27 pillar and two lion sculptures with a hammer. Police who confronted him shocked the man with a Taser when they say he refused orders to drop the hammer.