The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports 5 people were arrested over the past few days. Today (Monday), 23-year old Daylan Gene Kleen, of Audubon, turned himself-in to the Sheriff’s Office on an outstanding warrant. Kleen faces charges that include Possession of Marijuana within 1,000 feet of a public park, Possession of Marijuana/1st offense, 4 counts of Possession of Prescription drugs, and removing labeling of a drug and altering a drug. The charges stem from an investigation into a traffic stop Sept. 14th near Highway 44 and Bluebird Avenue. A search warrant was also executed at Kleen’s residence in the 200 block of W. Broadway in Audubon on Sept. 15th. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by K9 “Axel,” and the Audubon Police Department.

19-year old Tristin Lee River Stevens, of Audubon, also turned himself-in to the sheriff’s department today (Monday). Stevens was wanted on an warrant for Child Endangerment issued by the Iowa State Patrol. The charge stems from an investigation into a traffic stop in Audubon on July 8th. Stevens was seen by a magistrate and released, with a preliminary hearing set for Oct. 6th.

41-year old Mitchell Lee Zinke, of Gray, turned himself-in to the Audubon County Sheriff’s Office today (Monday), as well. Zinke was wanted on a warrant charging him with Theft in the 5th Degree, with regard to a check written on June 28th to a business in Audubon County. He pled guilty to the offense and was fined.

On Saturday (Sept. 17th), 21-year old Dustin Owen Ferguson, of Brayton, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, following a traffic stop in Exira. Ferguson was released after appearing before the magistrate. And, last Thursdsay (Sept. 15th), 50-year old Timothy Duane Smith, of Audubon, was charged with Driving While Barred. The charge was the result of an incident that occurred Sept. 4th. Smith was cited into court on Oct. 6th.

Police have identified three men involved in a vehicular assault at a baseball field in Des Moines. It happened Sunday morning at the Highland Park Little League complex. Polk County Sheriff’s deputies say 40-year-old Chad Winninger of Monroe was working at the complex with two other men, 49-year-old Dean Bradham of Sioux City and 56-year-old Edwin Sullivan of West Des Moines, when Winninger struck the two men with his truck before crashing into a concession stand. Winninger fought with responding officers before he was arrested. Bradham was not seriously injured, but Sullivan remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Photo courtesy Dsm PD

Winninger is facing charges of willful injury causing serious injury, willful injury causing bodily injury, criminal mischief 1st degree, and three counts of interference with official acts causing bodily injury.

(Radio Iowa)

The six Catholic colleges in Iowa are banding together to address the challenges facing private higher education. The Iowa Catholic Collegiate Association will explore possible joint ventures and shared academic programs. Ham Shirvani, the president of Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, says the schools hope to see their economy of scale increase by joining forces. Shirvani says, “Each of these schools are small and therefore there are a lot of costs incurred when you are small.”

The coalition also includes: Clarke University and Loras College in Dubuque, Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Saint Ambrose University in Davenport and the Mercy College of Health Sciences in Des Moines. Shirvani says the schools see advantages to collaboration. “When you join forces, you suddenly become a major force,” Shirvani says. “Your economy of scale increases, your efficiency increases, you can serve the students better with a lower cost.”

Shirvani says savings may also come in jointly purchasing equipment and bringing in guest speakers as a group.

(Radio Iowa)

Governor Terry Branstad says he “has some concerns” about a proposal from Iowa State University’s president, that juniors and seniors pay higher tuition than freshmen and sophomores. “A lot of our students are starting out at the community colleges because they can’t afford to go to the state universities, so we don’t want to penalize them by having a higher tuition for them in their junior and senior years,” Branstad says.

I-S-U president Steven Leath unveiled the “two-tiered” tuition proposal last Wednesday during a speech on the Ames campus. Branstad first heard of the idea “over the weekend” after news reports outlined Leath’s idea. Branstad says the board that governs Iowa State needs to “carefully study” the proposal, to ensure I-S-U doesn’t price itself out of the market for community college transfers. “We already know that a lot of students are starting in the community colleges and I think one of the reasons for that is the cost,” Branstad says.

Eight years ago, half of Iowa State’s operating budget was financed by students through tuition payments and the other half was state taxpayer support. Leath says the state finances about 30 percent of Iowa State’s general operations now, and students’ tuition pays the other 70 percent. Branstad says he doesn’t know “what the right mix” should be in terms of state funding. “We need to make sure that’s it’s accessible to Iowa students and that it’s affordable and if you look at Iowa State University, they’ve been extremely successful,” Branstad says. “They now have a record enrollment of over 36,000 students and a growing share of Iowa students have chosen to go to Iowa State University.”

Iowa State’s challenge now is overcrowding, according to the governor. “But it also says something about the fact that Iowa students and their families see because they have programs like engineering and agriculture that are much in demand, they’re a leader in STEM education — those things have benefited Iowa State University,” Branstad says.

On a related topic, Branstad is praising members of the Board of Regents for saying they’ll start coming up with two-years worth of tuition recommendations at a time. Branstad says that will help students and their families better budget for the cost of going to Iowa State, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa.

(Radio Iowa)

Sheriff’s officials in Sac County are investigating the shooting death of a Guthrie County woman. Sheriff Ken McClure says the shooting was reported at around 11:40-a.m. Sunday. It occurred at the intersection of Highways 175 and 71, east of Lake View. McClure says a male front seat passenger in a vehicle was handling a loaded 9-m.m. handgun, when it accidentally discharged, striking the unidentified 24-year old female driver of the vehicle.

The woman was transported to Loring Hospital in Sac City and then airlifted to a hospital in Des Moines, where she died from her injuries. The identities of those involved were being withheld pending completion of an investigation and autopsy results.

The Sac County Sheriff’s Office, Lake View Police and Lake View Ambulance, along with Lake View Fire, all responded to the scene.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An analysis of data from Iowa law enforcement agencies shows they seize cash, vehicles and other private property from at least 1,000 people a year without proof the property was acquired as a result of a crime or was being used to help people commit crimes.

The Des Moines Register reports  the seizures have increased markedly since the 1980s, when state and local governments reported fewer than two dozen such cases annually. The civil forfeiture laws have let helped the agencies pump millions of dollars into their budgets, mostly in uncontested cases.

Iowa County Attorneys Association guidelines say prosecutors are supposed to use forfeiture to deter future criminal activity. But critics of the practice say it has strayed beyond the original intent of the state’s forfeiture laws.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest on Friday of 19-year old Megan Riley Wilker, of Orient. Wilker was arrested in Clarke County, on a Union County warrant for failure to appear on the original charge of possession of a controlled substance – methamphetamine.  She was later released from the Union County Jail on $1,000 bond.

And, 29-year old Shane Christian Peacock, of Winterset, was arrested Sunday morning at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on a Union County warrant for failure to appear on child support matters.  Peacock was being held in the Union County Jail on $2,000 bond.