The Glenwood Police Department reports the arrest on Tuesday of a woman wanted on a warrant. 25-year old Esperanza Cadena, of Glenwood, was arrested on a Mills county warrant for OWI 1st offense. Cadena’s bond was set at $1,000.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Eight people have been accused of helping a man flee Sioux City after he shot a police officer. The federal grand jury indictments charge the eight with various crimes and all are charged with conspiracy to obstruct or interfere with governmental functions.

Jamal Dean, the man convicted of shooting officer Kevin McCormick, fled Sioux City after the April 29, 2013, shooting. He was arrested five days later during a traffic stop in Riviera, Texas, 105 miles from the Mexican border. Although McCormick’s police vehicle was riddled with bullets and he was shot in the head, he wasn’t seriously injured. He’s returned to work.

Dean later pleaded guilty to attempted murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – The 4th Judicial District is planning to launch a court for nonviolent offenders with mental illnesses. In September, Pottawattamie County was awarded a $250,000 federal grant to start the project. Officials say the purpose of the mental health court is to decrease re-arrests and divert the offenders from correctional facilities to treatment programs.  The Daily Nonpareil reports officials hope to launch the court in late January.

For a person to be eligible for mental health court, they must not have committed a violent felony. They also must have had a mental health diagnosis in the past six months or have a history of mental illness.  A mental health court team will be formed to collect information and decide whether to admit a person. Court sessions will be held at least once a month.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors had a very brief meeting this (Wednesday) morning, in Atlantic. The Board approved a Livestock Facility Construction Evaluation Resolution (commonly referred to as the “Master Matrix”). Auditor Dale Sunderman pointed out they typically wait until after the first of the year to act on the resolution, but the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) sent the information and forms out early.

He also said the County’s approval of the Master Matrix doesn’t guarantee a livestock confinement facilities’ application with the DNR will be denied, based on the scoring of the Matrix. He said “The DNR doesn’t have to listen to us, but at least they are basically obligated to listen to what local officials say, that they may bring up points they [The DNR] is unaware of.” That’s especially true, he says, if, when the board assesses the application using the Master Matrix, they [the applicant] doesn’t pass that point rating. Sunderman says “It’s a pretty good sign the DNR won’t approve of it…until the issues are reconciled.”

Cass County Supervisor Duane McFadden mentioned that the Iowa DNR (in Aug. 2014) issued construction permits for the “Circle G” and Geidel Pork sites, near Orient, despite the Adair County Board’s rejection of the application, based on the Master Matrix. He said Adair County twice denied the Geidel brothers all the points, but the DNR in its review added more points to the application. Sunderman said actions by the Board in denying confinement facility requests sometimes prompts the applicant to change their plan of operation slightly, to in-effect move-up their point rating. The Geidel brothers had each wanted to double their hog operations from 2,500 head to 5,000 head.

In other business, the Board heard an update from Cass County Engineer Charles Marker, with regard to various Secondary Roads Department activities. Marker said as far as the bridge on the Cass-Montgomery County line, the east abutments have been completed. He said the piles have been driven, and concrete pile-cap supports were being added as weather allows. A.M. Cohron is the contractor for the project.

Work is also nearly finished on the Interstate 80 bridge at the Marne Exit. The DOT is handling the project, and Marker says the bridge should be open soon.

The holidays are a time of fun with family and friends across Iowa, but all too often those festivities turn tragic when a driver gets behind the wheel after drinking. Among those who have had their lives turned upside down by drunk driving is Arlene Victor, whose son and daughter-in-law were killed in a crash in 1984.

“A drunk driver drove five feet over center and literally ran over their car with his jacked-up pickup,” says Victor. “Their baby survived the crash. She was injured and orphaned and we’ve raised her and we’ve lived it now for 30 years.”

Victor is now a victims’ advocate for the Dubuque/Jackson County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. On average, there are around 2,000 people arrested in Iowa for operating while intoxicated each year, along with nearly 100 alcohol-related traffic fatalities.

Another concern for Victor are those driving under the influence of drugs, especially as prescription medication abuse is growing and with the rising number of states allowing medicinal and/or recreational marijuana.

“It’s an increasing problem,” says Victor. “I have a real hard time with these states legalizing marijuana because, from what I understand it’s much more difficult for the officer to detect a drugged driver as compared to the drunk driver.”

(Iowa News Service)