The Iowa State Patrol, Monday evening, released additional information on an accident involving two teens who had absconded from the Clarinda Academy Monday afternoon. Authorities say the accident happened as Clarinda Police were chasing a 2018 Chevy passenger car that had been reported stolen. The vehicle was occupied by the driver, 16-year old Isaiah Mikah Fontana, and his passenger, 16-year old Chris Nathaniel Sullivan, both of Clarinda.

Authorities say at around 2:26-p.m., the car, which was traveling at a high rate of speed on Highway 2 near mile marker 37, topped the crest of a hill and went out of control before entering the north ditch and vaulting over a field drive. The vehicle rolled twice before coming to rest on its top. The teens were transported by Shenandoah and Clarinda Rescue squads to the Clarinda Regional Hospital.

Authorities had been looking for the teens since they absconded from the Clarinda Academy earlier in the afternoon, on Monday.

(Radio Iowa) — An Iowa State University study finds Iowa’s job rate grew by more than seven-percent in the decade since the Great Recession, but that growth was very lopsided. I-S-U economist Dave Swenson says between 2007 and 2018, jobs in Iowa’s metro areas grew by nine-percent, while the state’s rural areas saw jobs fall by two-percent.

“Iowa recovered a little bit more rapidly from the Great Recession than the nation,” Swenson says. “We didn’t contract as much as they did nationally and we recovered back to our pre-recession level of employment about a year before the nation did, but growth at the national level had a much sharper slope.” Compared to the national average at just over 16-percent, and job growth in surrounding states which averaged more than nine-percent, Iowa’s recovery was not nearly as strong.

“We rank this decade alone just 6th worst in growth,” Swenson says. “Among our neighbors, we rank worst and among all of the Plains states, we’re growing at a slower pace than all of the Plains states as well.” Swenson notes that Iowa’s jobless rate didn’t take as great of hit during the recession, falling just over two-percent compared to a five-and-a-half-percent drop nationally. Using federal data, Swenson found the state’s strongest job gains were in real estate and rental or leasing, which includes farmland rentals, while the greatest loss was in durable goods manufacturing.

“The growth in the metropolitan economies is relatively strong, but our economy is being dragged down somewhat because we’re populated with a lot of industries, agriculture, manufacturing, and industries that depend on agriculture and manufacturing that aren’t growing very fast,” Swenson says. “Our industrial mix is somewhat unfavorable towards growth.”

During the past decade, Swenson says Iowa’s metro areas added more than 30-thousand jobs in areas like health care and social assistance, while smaller communities lost nearly 13-thousand jobs. The shift makes it harder for people in rural communities, he says, as they have to travel farther for health care. In the future, Swenson says, rural areas may have to rely more on technology for those services.

(Radio Iowa) — A Spencer man is facing several charges after a domestic disturbance call turned into a standoff at a home Sunday. Upon arrival, officers determined the suspect 21-year-old Dawson Walker had threatened the occupants of the home with a gun and was keeping them locked inside. Officers made entry into the house and evacuated the occupants safely, along with removing the firearm.

Police say Walker armed himself with a butcher knife, and a standoff ensued. Walker eventually gave up and exited the home, where police took him into custody without further incident. Walker was charged with felon in possession of a firearm, domestic abuse assault while displaying a dangerous weapon, operation without owner’s consent, false imprisonment and interference with official acts.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports two 16 year old white male students who absconded from the Clarinda Academy earlier this (Monday) afternoon, were captured following a high-speed chase. The teens were in a vehicle that had allegedly been stolen from Clarinda. The vehicle went out of control and crashed.

No further information will be made available until sometime tomorrow (Tuesday).

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports two 16 year old white male students absconded from the Clarinda Academy a little after 2-p.m. They were last seen on foot heading westbound from the campus.

Law Enforcement & Clarinda Academy staff are conducting a search at this time. No further information available.