MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Officials in northern Iowa have opted not to hire any of the five finalists for city administrator after an extensive search. Mason City Council members decided not to move forward with any of the final candidates for the city’s vacant administrator position and notified the finalists Wednesday. Mayor Bill Schickel tells The Globe Gazette that council members didn’t reach a consensus regarding one candidate after discussing over the past few months. He says the finalists aren’t a right fit for Mason City at this time.

Schickel says city officials will look into more search options to find finalists, which may be decided by the next city council meeting. The council is paying two men with city administrator experience a $6,000 fee to lead the search.

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — A woman who was forced to view sexually explicit photos of her examiner during a test drive is suing the Iowa Department of Transportation for damages. The 49-year-old was seeking a license when she was paired with 62-year old John Alexander for a drive at the Ankeny DOT station in 2016.

Records show Alexander instructed her to pull into a parking lot, handed her his phone and instructed her to delete several photos of his penis. He then forced her to view a video of him masturbating while making comments about her breasts and his sexual history. Alexander gave her a passing score but threatened her to keep quiet. She nonetheless reported the half-hour incident to police.
Alexander who was fired, pleaded guilty to felony misconduct, and was sentenced to probation.

The lawsuit accuses DOT of being negligent in hiring Alexander and allowing him to be secluded with customers.

A traffic stop on Interstate 80 in Pottawattamie County Thursday night, resulted in the arrest on drug charges, of 49-year old Jeffrey Dean Long, of Burlington. Long was pulled over a little after 10-p.m. near the 28 mile marker of I-80 westbound, and arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance (6.4 grams of Meth), and Driving Under Suspension.

Thursday afternoon, 27-year old Derrick Alan Wolfert, of Council Bluffs, turned himself-in to the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office. Wolfert was wanted on a warrant for Failure to Comply with the State’s Sex Offender Registry. He was arrested for Sex Offender Registration Violation/1st offense, and booked into the Pott. County Jail.

A man transported by Shelby County Deputies to the Pott. County Jail, was booked in on a warrant. The warrant for 35-year old Zachary Isaac Goodside, of Shelby, was for Violation of Probation on an original charge of OWI/2nd offense. Goodside was booked into the jail and held on a $1,000 bond.

Authorities said also, 42-year old Shane Elam Rouse, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Violating a Protection Order. He was taken into custody at around 12:03-a.m. today (Friday), at a residence in Oakland, at the protected victims’ home. While deputies were at a secondary location looking for Rouse, drug paraphernalia was observed in plain view. Upon further inspection, drugs and additional paraphernalia were found. Deputies arrested 64-year old Brenda Faye Bornn, of Oakland, for Possession of a Controlled Substance (a small, stamp-size bag containing less than .6 gram of a white crystal substance [meth], and a green leafy substance – .9 gram of marijuana). She was also charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (pipes & other miscellaneous items). The woman was taken into custody at around 11:35-p.m., Thursday.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Another trial starting date has been granted to a man accused of stabbing to death a Mason City resident. Court records say the new date is Aug. 20 for 21-year-old Braedon Bowers. He’s pleaded not guilty in Cerro Gordo County District Court to a charge of first-degree murder. Authorities say he stabbed 23-year-old Wraymond Todd on May 30 in Mason City. Todd died June 4.

The records say Bowers’ previous trial starting dates were Aug. 8, Sept. 26, Dec. 12 and May 21. Bowers also lives in Mason City.

Members of the Griswold and Lenox Community School District Boards of Education held a joint meeting Thursday night, in Griswold. During their session, the Board conducted a cooperative evaluation of the performance of Superintendent Dave Henrichs, and agree to extend his sharing agreement contract for another year.

Henrichs said the time between now and when his contact next comes up for renewal will be very busy.