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Iowa early News Headlines: Mon., Sept. 29 2014

News

September 29th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

INDIANOLA, Iowa (AP) — Democrat Bruce Braley and Republican Joni Ernst clashed over health care, Social Security and foreign policy during the first debate of the Iowa Senate race. The candidates in the closely-fought race have largely campaigned using scripted television ads and carefully controlled public events. Both candidates fielded questions from voters last night at Simpson College.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Disease causing bacteria have been found at the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Hospital, but officials have not informed patients about the problem. The Des Moines Register reports the VA is planning to spend $6.5 million to address the legionella bacteria that has been found in the hospital’s water pipes. VA pathologist Stacy Klutts says the bacteria are at low levels, so there is little risk of infection at this point.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa City police are looking for a man who robbed a convenience store and then forced an employee to leave with him. Police say the robbery at Gasby’s in southern Iowa City was reported at 6:39 a.m. yesterday when an employee hit a panic alarm. Authorities are asking anyone with information about the robbery to call Crime Stoppers at (319) 358-8477.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) —The Pottawattamie County Attorney will review the circumstances of 17-year-old Dakota Escritt’s death on Monday. The Daily Nonpareil reports Escritt was knocked unconscious during the fight when his head hit the tile floor. Escritt died Saturday evening at an Omaha hospital.

LILLIAN MAY KINKENNON, 88, of Harlan (Svcs. 9/30/14)

Obituaries

September 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

LILLIAN MAY KINKENNON, 88, of Harlan, died Sat., Sept. 27th, at Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan. Funeral services for LILLIAN KINKENNON will be held 2-p.m. Tue., Sept. 30th, at the Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Harlan.

Friends may call at the funeral home one-hour prior to the service, Tuesday (from 1-to 2-pm).

Burial will be in the Harlan Cemetery.

LILLIAN KINKENNON is survived by:

Her sons – John (Ruby) Kinkennon, of Vancouver, WA., & James (Rita) Kinkennon, of Omaha, NE.

Her daughter – Mary (William) Sager, of Reinbeck, IA.

4 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.

Cardinals beat D-backs 1-0 after title decided

Sports

September 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

PHOENIX (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals clinched their second straight NL Central title before the first pitch Sunday and closed out the regular season with a 1-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Cardinals were already in the postseason entering the day and celebrated the division title in the dugout minutes before first pitch, when Cincinnati’s 4-1 win over Pittsburgh was announced. St. Louis finished 90-72 and opens their NL division series Friday at the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Once Sunday’s game started, both teams seemed to go through the motions, the only run coming on Kolten Wong’s groundout in the sixth inning off Josh Collmenter (11-9). The Cardinals scratched scheduled starter Adam Wainwright just before the start, using five relievers instead. Justin Masterson (3-3) pitched two scoreless innings and Carlos Martinez got the final two outs for his first save.

Arizona went down meekly, managing two hits to finish 64-98, the second-worst record in team history.

VA Hospital finds bacteria but doesn’t disclose it

News

September 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Disease causing bacteria have been found at the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Hospital, but officials have not informed patients about the problem.  The Des Moines Register reports  the VA is planning to spend $6.5 million to address the legionella bacteria that has been found in the hospital’s water pipes.

VA pathologist Stacy Klutts says the bacteria are at low levels, so there is little risk of infection at this point. And officials say they have been able to control the problem. But critics say patients should be informed so they can make their own decisions, especially because so many VA patients are elderly.

Vietnam War veteran Dick Allison, who used to work at the hospital, says he’s upset administrators aren’t being upfront with the public about the bacteria.

2 fatal accidents Sunday in Central IA

News

September 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Two people died in separate crashes Sunday morning in Central Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol says 26-year old Scott A. Trimble, of Davenport died in a crash near Colfax at around 2:50-a.m., on Interstate 80 westbound, in Jasper County. He was not wearing a seat belt.

Authorities say Trimble was traveling eastbound and fleeing from law enforcement in a 2014 Lincoln, when he lost control of the car after it hit stop-sticks that were set down earlier, by Mitchellville Police. The car vaulted through the median and into the westbound lane, where it collided with a 2013 Freightliner truck driven by 52-year old Michael T. Grodoski, of Lake in the Hills, IL. Grodoski was not injured. Steve Miller, a passenger in Trimble’s vehicle, was injured and transported by ambulance to Skiff Hospital. Police didn’t say why they were pursuing Trimble.

The other accident happened in Polk County, at around 8-a.m., Sunday. The State Patrol says a 2014 Chevy Cruze driven by 55-year old Linda Neubauer, of Des Moines, was traveling north on northeast 56th Street and failed to yield for a stop sign. Her car was hit by a 2013 Ford Taurus driven by 64-year old Nancy Bein, of Bondurant, as she was traveling west on northeast 78th Avenue.

Neubauer, whose car was hit on the passenger side, died later at Methodist Hospital in Des Moines. Bein was injured in the crash and also transported to Methodist. A report on her condition was not immediately available. The accident remains under investigation.

FRANCES KLEIN, 92, of Elk Horn (Svcs. 10/1/14)

Obituaries

September 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

FRANCES KLEIN, 92, of Elk Horn, died Sat., Sept. 27th, at the Salem Lutheran Home. Funeral services for MRS. FRANCES KLEIN will be held 10:30-a.m. Wed., Oct. 1st, at the Elk Horn Lutheran Church.  Ohde Funeral Home in Kimballton has the arrangements.

Friends may call from 5-and 7-pm Tuesday at the funeral home, and at the Elk Horn Lutheran Church on Wednesday, one-hour prior to the service.

Burial will be in the Elk Horn Lutheran Cemetery.

FRANCES KLEIN is survived by:

Her son – Larry Klein, of Harlan.

Her daughter – Faye Nelson, of Anita.

Her brother – Dale Berst, of St. Paul, NE.

4 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren, 3 step-grandchildren & 1 step great-great grandchild.

CAROL HOPP, 84, of Elk Horn (Svcs. 9/29/14)

Obituaries

September 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

CAROL HOPP, 84, of Elk Horn, died Thu., Sept. 25th. Funeral services for CAROL HOPP will be held 10-a.m. Mon., Sept. 29th, at the Congregational United Church of Christ in Harlan. Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Harlan has the arrangements.

Visitation is from 6-to 9-pm Sun., Sept. 28th, with the family present to greet friends from 6-to 8-pm.

Burial will be in the Harlan Cemetery.

CAROL HOPP is survived by:

Her husband – Donald Hopp, of Elk Horn.

Her daughters – Cynthia (Keith) Hulsebus, and Kristie Sterler, all of Harlan.

Her sons – Larry (Linda) Hopp, and Gary (Jodie) Hopp, all of Harlan.

Her sisters – Frances Grann, of Springfield, MO.; Verda Larsen, of Harlan; Lile (Richard) Petersen, of Harlan; Norma Ingwers, of Lakewood, CO; and Linda Pollert, of Wilmington, NC.

Her brother – James (Alveta) Petersen, of Ft. Collins, CO.

her in-laws, 13 grandchildren 17 great-grandchildren, a 1 great-great grandchild.

LORIE CHRISTINE ANDERSON, 64, of Minden (Svcs. 10/1/14)

Obituaries

September 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

LORIE CHRISTINE ANDERSON, 64, of Minden, died Thu., Sept. 25th, at home. Funeral services for LORIE ANDERSON will be held 11-a.m. Wed., Oct. 1st, at the Minden United Church of Christ. Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Avoca has the arrangements.

Visitation at the funeral home is from 2:30- until 9-p.m. Tue., Sept. 30, with the family greeting friends from 6-to 8-pm.

There is no burial.

LORIS ANDERSON is survived by:

Her son – Chad (Jessica) Anderson, of Harlan.

Her daughter – Jaime Anderson, of St. Paul, MN.

Her brother – Scott (Pam) Schuett, of Springfield, IL.

and 3 grandchildren.

MARY ANN BLUM, 84, of Harlan (Svcs. 09-30-2014)

Obituaries

September 28th, 2014 by admin

MARY ANN BLUM, 84, of Harlan died Friday, September 26, 2014 at Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan.  A Mass of Christian Burial for MARY ANN BLUM will be held on Tuesday, September 30th at 10:30am in the St. Boniface Catholic Church in Westphalia.  Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Harlan has the arrangements.

Visitation will be held on Monday, September 29th from 5:00-8:00pm at the Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Harlan.  A Rosary will be held that evening at 7:00pm.

Burial will be in the St. Boniface Cemetery.

MARY ANN BLUM is survived by:

Sons: Ben (Carol) Blum of George, IA.  Jerry (Nancy) Blum of Pacific Junction. Roger (Teresa) Blum of Hastings.  Dean Blum of Harlan.

Daughters: Barbara Malik of Harlan. Mary Ohlinger of Omaha. Joan (Dave) Tweedie of Lincoln, NE. Jean (Norman) Smith of Dunlap. Delores (Tom) Huey of Harlan. Lois Reeves of Harlan. Sheila (Nick) May of Westphalia. Karen (Dan) Jones of Council Bluffs. Lisa (Rodney) Bengford of Harlan. Angela (Warren) Bertch of Papillion, NE.

Sisters: Frances (Raymond) Anastasi of Portsmouth. Helen (Edward) Miller of Portsmouth. Theresa Blum of Harlan.

Brothers: Nick Springman, Jr. of Porstmouth. Joe (Arlene) Springman of Portsmouth. Donald (Mary) Springman of Pourtsmouth

34 Grandchildren

24 Great-Grandchildren

UPDATE–Student Injured in School Fight Passes Away

News

September 28th, 2014 by admin

A fight on Thursday, September 25th at Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln High School ended with a 17-year-old student being sent to the hospital and ultimately passing away. The Council Bluffs Police Department reports that a Council Bluffs School Resource Officer responded to a fight between two students at the school at approximately 7:45am Thursday.  During the course of the fight that occurred in a common area just outside the cafeteria, 17-year-old Dakota Escritt fell to the ground, striking his head on the tiled floor, which rendered him unconscious.  Staff intervened in the fight and rendered aid and upon arrival the officer requested ambulance assistance due to the serious nature of the injuries.

Escritt was transported to Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs and later transferred to Children’s Hospital in Omaha, where he was in critcal condition initially. Council Bluffs Police reported on Saturday at 8:00pm that Escritt was pronounced dead at Children’s Hospital.

The other student involved in the fight was identified as 16-year-old Gregary Teer whom was arrested after the incident.  Teer was charged with Assault Causing Serious Injury, a class D felony and was later released into the custody of his guardian. After the news of Escritt’s passing the CBPD will meet with the Pottwattamtie County Attorney’s Office to discuss possible amendments to the charges against Teer. A press conference is expected after a decision is made.

Detectives are still working with school officials on the case and anyone with information regarding the incident are asked to contact the Council Bluffs Police Department, Criminal Investigation Division at 712-328-4765.