LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man has been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison for a string of bank robberies in Nebraska and Iowa. U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Gilg said in a news release Tuesday that 53-year-old Cameron Mitchell will be required to pay more than $74,000 in restitution for the robberies.

Prosecutors say Mitchell robbed seven banks in Omaha, Lincoln, and Council Bluffs between June and August of 2012. Mitchell was accused of walking into bank lobbies armed with a handgun, and taking money from teller drawers.

Mitchell will be required to serve five years of supervised release after his sentence.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man has been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison for a string of bank robberies in Nebraska and Iowa. U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Gilg says in a news release that 53-year-old Cameron Mitchell will be required to pay more than $74,000 in restitution for the robberies. Prosecutors say Mitchell robbed seven banks in Omaha, Lincoln, and Council Bluffs between June and August of 2012. Mitchell was accused of walking into bank lobbies armed with a handgun, and taking money from teller drawers.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — An Ames man has been accused of displaying a handgun during an argument with a driver near Iowa State University. ISU police say 22-year-old Patrick Allen Stall followed a car Monday to a parking lot near the campus athletic center. Witnesses told police that Stall flashed his car lights, honked his horn and gestured toward the other vehicle. When the car he was following stopped, Stall is accused of displaying a handgun from under his coat. Stall later surrendered to county authorities.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A legislative panel has approved a measure limiting the use of restraints on pregnant inmates. A subcommittee approved the bill on a 2 to 1 vote yesterday, and it now goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill would ban correctional institutions from using restraints on known pregnant women, particularly during labor, delivery and postpartum recovery, except under certain circumstances.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have apprehended an inmate who briefly escaped from a work release facility in Davenport. Corrections spokesman Fred Scaletta says 35-year-old Shawn Eugene Leewas placed on escape status yesterday morning after an unexcused absence from the Davenport Work Release Facility. A news release says he was captured a few hours later.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican state Sen. Brad Zaun says he’s running for the U.S. House seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Tom Latham. Zaun announced his campaign Tuesday afternoon in Clive. Zaun, a former mayor of Urbandale, has served in the state Senate since 2005. He previously ran for Congress in 2010, losing to former Democratic U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell.

Latham, a Republican, announced last month his plans to retire after finishing his 10th term. Several other candidates have already announced plans to run in the GOP primary race for the seat.

A U-S District Court judge in Council Bluffs has sentenced a Missouri man to prison for his role in the June 2012 robbery of a bank in Hamburg. 48-year old Nathan Wayne Smith, of Lexington, MO., was sentenced Tuesday by Judge James Gritzner to 77 months (or nearly 6 1/2 years) in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for bank robbery.
On October 18th, 2013, after a three day trial, the jury found Smith guilty of robbing the Great Western Bank of Hamburg. The evidence produced at trial showed that on June 11th, 2012, Smith traveled from his home in Lexington to Hamburg, arriving at the Great Western Bank around 9:30 a.m. Smith approached a teller in the bank, placed a plastic bag on the counter in front of her and told her to fill the bag with money. After obtaining the money from the teller, Smith ran from the bank. Smith was identified as the party responsible when Buckner, MO. police officers recalled stopping a vehicle on the afternoon of June 11tg, 2012, that matched the description of the vehicle disseminated after-the-fact by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Buckner, Missouri, is located approximately 150 miles away from Hamburg.
The investigation was conducted by the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, the Buckner, Missouri Police Department, the Lexington, Missouri Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Officials with ASIC (The Atlantic School Improvement Committee) issued a statement Tuesday afternoon concerning their plans for a petition calling for a bond election related to Capital Improvements within the District.   The statement said:

“Due to the 2015 budget discussions at the January 27th Atlantic Community School Board meeting, the Atlantic School Improvement Committee is withdrawing the petition to obtain a bond for the proposed facility changes at Washington Elementary and High School buildings. The Committee still feels the need exists. However, they also feel that these discussions are essential and in the best interest of the tax payers to occur before any bond is brought forth.”

Atlantic Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein said Tuesday the school board would not accept a petition to put the $19.9-million school bond issue before the voters in a special election, until they get a better picture of what next year’s budget will look like. He cited the school’s spending limit with regard to the cash reserve levy and unspent budget.

ASIC had planned to present the petition before the school board during its Feb. 10th meeting.

In an update to our story last week about a rollover accident near the Cass/Audubon County line, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday the driver of a 2000 Dodge van faces  multiple charges associated with the accident. 36-year old Timothy Orville Welch, of Red Oak, was ultimately charged with felony OWI 3rd Offense, three counts of Child Endangerment and Driving While Barred (both Aggravated Misdemeanors), Possession of a Controlled Substance and Driving While Revoked (both are Serious Misdemeanors). Welch was also cited for Failure to Obey Stop Sign, No Proof of Insurance, and Failure to Maintain Control. He was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains on $14,000 bond.

The accident happened January 23rd, as Welchs’ van was westbound on 350th Street/Akron. Authorities say when Welch ran a stop sign, he swerved to avoid the tree in the middle of the road at that location. The van rolled onto its side in the west ditch of 710th Street. A female passenger in the vehicle, 31-year old Louisa Fay Homan, of Red Oak, was transported to Cass County Memorial Hospital by Anita Rescue. Three children in the vehicle were uninjured.