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Man shot by officer charged with burglary, other crimes

News

March 22nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have charged a burglary suspect shot by a police officer in a Des Moines suburb. County records say 27-year-old Myles Regenold is charged with burglary, possession of burglary tools, criminal mischief and probation violation. Regenold was shot around 4 a.m. Tuesday after Ankeny officers were dispatched to a car wash to check a burglary call. Police say officers found a door to the business that had been forced opened and a masked man inside.

Police say the man later identified as Regenold did not comply with police commands and was shot in an elbow by Officer Tony Higgins when he advanced on Higgins and other officers. Regenold wasn’t armed. Ankeny Police Chief Darius Potts says that when officers don’t know whether a suspect is armed, suspicious hand and body movements can prompt officers to act, which includes firing their weapons.

FRIDAY, MARCH 22nd

Trading Post

March 22nd, 2019 by Jim Field

WANTED:   I’m looking for a 2-3 bedroom apartment or house in Atlantic.  We need someone willing to work with us for the first month.  We’ve been living in the same place for over 5 years, never EVER had any issues with late rent or anything.  The landlord we have now has sold the house and we have to be out by April 1st.  The problem is we don’t have any money saved back so we need someone willing to work with us.  My husband is on disability and he receives monthly benefits between the 1st and the 3rd of every month, as do I, so there’s no worry about anyone losing their job.  We are great tenants, never had a complaint about us.  We’re just good people who are in a tight spot.  We do have a dog and are willing to pay a pet deposit.  He thinks she’s a great Dane but she’s really just a chihuahua.  We are also planning on applying for SIRHA, so someone who accepts that would be wonderful.  My email address is kweil25@yahoo.com or you can call or text me at 712-249-6614.

FOR SALE: Steel slide in stock rack for full size pickup bed. Fair condition $55. 712-250-0902. NO TEXTS. Leave message if no answer.

Couple from Sidney arrested on Child Endangerment charges

News

March 22nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

A man and woman in Fremont County were arrested Thursday night in rural Sidney, following a reported fight in progress. Deputies were advised the fight could be heard over one-half mile away from the residence. They responded to the residence at around 7:42-p.m., and determined that a physical disturbance occurred between 37-year old Joseph Dale Linkenhoker and 37-year old Lynette Kae Linkenhoker, both of Sidney.

Lynette Linkenhoker

Joseph Linkenhoker

During the fight both parties suffered minor injuries, and property was damaged. Deputies allege that during the fight two minor children were located inside the residence within a close proximity to the disturbance.

The couple were each arrested on two counts of Child Endangerment, an aggravated misdemeanor, and taken to the Fremont County Jail. They were released on bond after an initial appearance before a Magistrate. The Iowa Department of Human Services assisted the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office.

More flooding a possibility as we enter wetter months

News, Weather

March 22nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — National forecasts show the potential for continued flooding across the country as we move further into spring. D-N-R Hydrologist Tim Hall says it is hard to believe we had some extreme areas of drought in the state back in September. The wet fall washed any dry conditions in a trend that’s been seen across the country. “This is the first time in almost a decade that there is no drought in California. In fact — there’s almost no drought in the entire eastern half of the United States. As in zero,” Hall says.

The abundance of groundwater is usually welcomed in Iowa.  “We went into the winter with a pretty healthy level of soil moisture — which normally is a good thing — because that means when you get out to do the next year’s planting, you’ve got moisture to build of off,” according to Hall. “But once that moisture gets locked in for the winter, that combined with a lot of snowfall, and some untimely rain, has led to some significant flooding conditions.” The water balance is now on the wrong side. “We’re in a tenuous spot. If we get a heavy dose of rain, we could see some at least localize, if not some large scale flood issues,” Hall says.

He says the entire state could use some dry days to drain. “Even just a few weeks of dry weather would really, really help. The water can drain out of the stream system fairly quickly — and that’ll give the chance for the tile drains to drain the soil profile where the land has tile under it,” Hall says. “Unfortunately we are coming into the beginning of the time period where we historically have a lot of moisture that comes. April May and June.”

Hall says we can only hope there are enough dry days to make some room in the waterways to handle any of the spring rains.

Red Oak Police & Montgomery County Sheriff’s reports (3/22/19)

News

March 22nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Red Oak Police report this arrest at around 1-a.m. today (Friday), of 39-year old Jason Michael Eppenbaugh. The Red Oak man was taken into custody for Domestic Abuse Assault by impeding air flow. Eppenbaugh was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail. And, at around 7:30-p.m. Thursday, Red Oak Police arrested 38-year old Luke Daniel Rinehart, of Red Oak. Rinehart was arrested for Disorderly Conduct. His bond was set at $300.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 61-year old David Joseph Cash, of Emerson, was arrested at around 7-p.m. Thursday. Cash was taken into custody on an active Montgomery County warrant for assault. His bond was set at $300.

Top lawmaker says money in state’s economic emergency fund *may* be used in flood response

News

March 22nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Republican leaders in the Iowa legislature say they will meet with Governor Kim Reynolds to chart the state’s response to the catastrophic flooding that’s hit western Iowa, but House Speaker Linda Upmeyer of Clear Lake says she’s worried more flooding is on the way. “Certainly applications will go to FEMA, but there’s also a state role in that,” Upmeyer says. “We’ll take a look and see how we can insert best to fill the gaps where they exist.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency requires states and local governments to come up with “matching funds” when federal aide is distributed in disaster areas. “We’ll address it. I don’t know if it affects the current budget, the future or a special kind of budget,” Upmeyer says. “We’ll see.” After the massive flooding that struck Iowa in 2008, state officials dipped into the state’s economic emergency fund to pay for some of the response.

Upmeyer says legislators will first look for ways to find extra money within existing budget plans to respond to this year’s flooding, but that emergency fund is an option. “This genuinely, in my opinion, does classify as an emergency,” Upmeyer says, “so if we need to access those resources, we could.” Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver of Ankeny says the governor has seen the flood damage firsthand and she’ll take the lead in determining the extent of the state’s response.

“It is a tough situation and a dire situation in southwest Iowa and we’re getting constant feedback from our senators that represent that area,” Whitver says. In 2009, Democrats who held majority control established new committees in both the House and Senate to address flood-related issues. Senator Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids was chairman of the Senate’s Rebuild Iowa Committee.

“I am all ears, waiting to hear what Governor Reynolds and Republican legislative leaders are going to do in response to this flood,” Hogg says. “This is absolutely devastating for thousands of people across the state.” Hogg says as chairman of the Rebuild Iowa Committee in 2010, he asked Kim Reynolds — who was a freshman state senator at the time — to manage a bill about disaster case management.

“We did a lot things to not just handle immediate recovery, but to create policy and set up things in place to try to prevent future flood damage,” Hogg says. “Well, we just still have never done enough on that.” Upmeyer — who was a member of the Iowa House after the floods of 2008 — cited creation of the Iowa Flood Center as one of the accomplishments of that time period.

“That still exists, so we have resources already in place that we can go to,” Upmeyer says. The center has developed flood-risk maps and has a website with a variety of flood-related data, including some flood depth analysis.

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the area: 3/22/2019

Weather

March 22nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Today: Areas of fog this morning; Mostly sunny this afternoon. High 56. NE @ 10.

Tonight: Fair to Partly cloudy. Low 30. Winds light & variable.

Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy w/light rain in the afternoon. High 52.

Sunday: Cloudy w/rain. High 50.

Monday: P/Cldy. High 48.

Yesterday’s High in Atlantic was 56. Our Low this morning 27. Last year on this date our High was 58 and the Low was 36. The record High in Atlantic on this date was 86 in 1910. The Record Low was -6 in 1912.

Midwest Sports Headlines: 3/22/19

Sports

March 22nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

UNDATED (AP) — For all that Iowa star Megan Gustafson has accomplished, she has yet to win an NCAA Tournament game with the Hawkeyes. Expect that to change. Gustafson and the second-seeded Hawkeyes will open tournament play when they host 15th-seeded Mercer. Iowa, which won the Big Ten tournament, hasn’t won in the NCAAs since making a Sweet Sixteen run in 2015 _ before Gustafson arrived on campus.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Cassius Winston scored 26 points and second-seeded Michigan State held off Bradley 76-65 in the opening round of the East Region. Xavier Tillman had 16 points with 11 boards for the Spartans (29-6), who’ll face Big Ten rival Minnesota in search of its first trip to the Sweet 16 in four years. Bradley gave the Big Ten champions all they could handle though.

UNDATED (AP) — The spotlight of the NCAA Tournament shifts to Zion Williamson and No. 1 overall seed Duke. Along with the other 31 teams playing in first-round games Friday. But there won’t be more attention on anybody than the Blue Devils’ star freshman, who gets to open against North Dakota State in his home state of South Carolina.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Dedric Lawson had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Kansas dominated inside for an 87-53 rout over Northeastern in the opening round of the Midwest Region. The fourth-seeded Jayhawks had a notable size advantage inside and used it, outscoring the Huskies 50-16 in the paint while grabbing 17 more rebounds. Kansas shot 56 percent and advanced to Saturday’s second round against fifth-seeded Auburn.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Utah State and Washington are making their first NCAA Tournament appearances since 2011. The two teams are back and play each other in a first-round game on Friday. Utah State made it for the 21st time, but they haven’t won a game since 2001. Washington, the No. 9 seed, has been here 17 times and advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2006 and 2010.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The blue bloods have plenty of competition in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Texas Tech and Buffalo are building powerful programs in under-the-radar outposts. Houston is a budding mid-major in a large city. Kansas State, which fights in Kansas’ shadow, tied Texas Tech for the Big 12 title. Tennessee and Virginia Tech are better known for football. All have the talent to make a run in the tournament.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Many of the 1,000 players on NCAA Tournament’s teams know what it’s like to be on the pencil end of a bracket, trying to pick the most probable upsets. Now they’re on the other side, filling the brackets instead of guessing how they’ll turn out.

Iowa early News Headlines: Friday, March 22nd 2019

News

March 22nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:00 a.m. CDT

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Pottawattamie County jury has found a man not guilty of the 2015 killing his 68-year-old mother in her rural south-central Iowa home. Des Moines station KCCI reports that 46-year-old Jason Carter was found not guilty on Thursday. He had been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Shirley Carter, whose body was found in the kitchen of her Marion County home.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Weather Service says the flooding in Nebraska and Iowa is just a preview of widespread major flooding to hit much of the country this spring. More than 200 million Americans will be at risk for some kind of flooding _ with 13 million of them at risk of major flooding. The Mississippi, Missouri, Great Lakes, lower Ohio lower Cumberland and Tennessee rivers and their basins are at biggest risk.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. (AP) — The flooding in Nebraska provides a dramatic example of how climate change poses a national security threat, even as the Trump administration plays down the issue. High water didn’t damage the headquarters of the U.S. military’s Strategic Command, which plays a central role in detecting and striking at global threats, but muddy water was still lapping at almost 80 flooded buildings at Nebraska’s Offutt Air Force Base, some were inundated by up to 7 feet of water.

House sends Senate a children’s mental health system framework

News

March 21st, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa House has passed two bills designed to address a lack of mental health services for Iowa children. The first bill established a state board to oversee the system. “A robust children’s mental health piece of legislation that lays the groundwork for what will come in the state of Iowa.” That’s Representative Joel Fry, a Republican from Osceola who guided the bill through the legislative process.

The second bill, which passed unanimously, gave counties more flexibility to build up cash reserves in order to finance expansion of mental health services. Representative Mary Mascher — a Democrat from Iowa City — says legislators need a better plan, particularly for kids who need long-term mental health care.

“Our suicide rates are increasing in Iowa, especially among our young people,” Mascher said. “We are failing them.” Mascher was among just 14 House members who opposed the bill establishing the framework for a children’s mental health system. Representative Mark Smith, a Democrat from Marshalltown, was another no.

“I think that there are way too many unanswered questions on this,” Smith said. While a few others expressed similar reservations, Democrats like Representative Lisa Heddens of Ames said it was worth supporting. “Families want something. We have absolutely nothing out there for them,” Heddens said. “They want some sort of structure in place. They want somewhere to go to find out: ‘How do I navigate this mental health system?’ They don’t know where to go.”

The bill sets a goal of developing and maintaining a children’s mental health system in Iowa to provide services regardless of where the child lives or whether the child’s parents can afford to pay for the care. Both bills now go to the Iowa Senate for consideration.