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Iowa early News Headlines: Sunday, March 18, 2018

News

March 18th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:15 a.m. CDT

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A nonprofit overseeing Davenport’s Nahant Marsh wants to ensure it can protect and preserve the natural resources already under its watch before buying 40 more acres of adjoining land. Nahant Marsh has seen a sharp increase in the number of visitors within the past 10 years from about 2,500 annually to almost 18,000 this past year. Nonprofit Nahant Marsh board of trustees is considering purchasing 40 acres of adjacent land, including wetlands, to expand its property.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Prosecutors say a man convicted of killing his girlfriend can’t use allegations of juror bullying as grounds for a new trial. The Telegraph Herald reports that assistant Dubuque County Attorney Brigit Barnes made the argument in his response to Fontae Buelow’s motion for a new trial. Buelow’s attorneys claim that a juror who did not believe Buelow was guilty of murder was bullied by two other jurors, and then was then improperly removed by the judge.

CENTERVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Officials in south-central Iowa say an elderly couple has been killed in a fire that tore through condominiums in Centerville. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that the fire occurred late Thursday night at the Diamond View Condominiums. Centerville police officers had rescued two residents from one building, but two other residents couldn’t be reached.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa power company has sent help to restore power to the East Coast, which has been slammed by three powerful winter storms in the span of two weeks. MidAmerican Energy of Des Moines sent 78 employees to Rye, New York, late last week to help utility crews restore power after recent major winter storms left 200,000 people without electricity. MidAmerican Energy’s response followed New York-based energy company Con Edison’s mutual aid request.

Agnew leads No. 11 Creighton to 76-70 win over No. 6 Iowa

Sports

March 17th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jaylyn Agnew scored 24 points and Sydney Lamberty added 20 to lead No. 11 Creighton to a 76-70 win over No. 6 seeded Iowa in a first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. The Bluejays (19-12) snapped a four-game losing streak to Iowa and advanced to the second round and will play UCLA on Monday. Megan Gustafson scored 29 points and had 17 rebounds for the Hawkeyes (24-8).

Gustafson is the only player in the country averaging 25 or more points and 12 or more rebounds per game and is one of two NCAA women basketball players to do so in the last 10 years. She was named Big Ten Player of the Year and has registered 28 double doubles this season and has recorded double doubles in 33 of her last 40 games.

Prosecutor replies to bullied-juror claim in motion

News

March 17th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Prosecutors say a man convicted of killing his girlfriend can’t use allegations of juror bullying as grounds for a new trial. The Telegraph Herald reports that assistant Dubuque County Attorney Brigit Barnes made the argument in his response to Fontae Buelow’s motion for a new trial.

Buelow’s attorneys claim that a juror who did not believe Buelow was guilty of murder was bullied by two other jurors. They say the juror was then improperly removed by the judge during deliberations and replaced with an alternate.

But the two accused jurors reported to the judge that the removed juror had refused to participate in deliberations and that he had entered the jury room declaring his mind was made up.

Buelow was convicted in January of second-degree murder in the March 2017 death of 21-year-old Samantha Link. Prosecutors say Buelow stabbed Link multiple times, but Buelow maintained that Link stabbed herself.

Officials: 2 killed in south-central Iowa condo fire

News

March 17th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

CENTERVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Officials in south-central Iowa say an elderly couple has been killed in a fire that tore through condominiums in Centerville. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that the fire occurred late Thursday night at the Diamond View Condominiums. When firefighters arrived, they found heavy smoke and fire coming from two of the buildings.

Centerville police officers had rescued two residents from one building, but two other residents couldn’t be reached. Firefighters were able to control the blaze within three hours. They found an older couple dead in one of the buildings. Their bodies were taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for identification.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Centerville Fire Department and the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

JUDY SCHWARTZ, 60, of Greenfield (Svcs. 3/21/18)

Obituaries

March 17th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

JUDY SCHWARTZ, 60, of Greenfield, died Saturday, March 17th, at home. A Celebration of Life service for JUDY SCHWARTZ will be held 11-a.m. Wed., March 21st, at the St. Paul Lutheran Church in Winterset. Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield has the arrangements.

The family will greet friends from 4-until 7-p.m. Tuesday, March 20th, at the Warren Cultural Center, in Greenfield. Online condolences may be left to the family at www.steenfunerals.com.

Memorials may be directed to the Warren Cultural Center in Greenfield, or the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

JUDY SCHWARTZ is survived by:

Her husband – Leon Schwartz.

Her son – Samuel (Melissa) Schwartz, of Greenfield.

Her daughters – Sara Schwartz (& Michael Anderson), of Iowa City, & Stephanie (Gregory) Ennis, of Northfield, Minnesota

Her brothers – Ed (Deanna) Donahue; Gene Donahue; Raymon (Mary Ellen) Donahue.

Her sisters – Caroline (Rex) Travis; Marilyn Reed; Mary Alice Donahue; Cecilia (Gene) Foral, and Rita (David) Bristol.

Her mother-in-law: Arlene Schwartz, of Greenfield.

7 grandchildren, other relatives and friends.

Clarinda P.D. Discovers Counterfeit Money Operation, Two Arrested

News

March 17th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports that at around 7-p.m. Friday, his officers were called to a local business to investigate a report of counterfeit money being used in a purchase. Pursuant to the investigation, 25-year old Alexander Sterling Potter Milledge, and 36-year old Katie Ann Milledge, both of Clarinda, were arrested and charged with felony forgery.

Officers seized a large amount of counterfeit United States currency and printers used in the operation at a residence in Clarinda where the Milledge’s reside. Alexander Milledge was also charged with possession of a substance believed to be methamphetamine. Alexander Milledge and Katie Milledge were arrested without incident at their home and are being held in the Page County Jail in lieu of bond in the amount of $11,300 for Alexander Milledge and $5,000 for Katie Milledge.

The investigation is on-going with the assistance of The United States Secret Service. Reports concerning the incident have been submitted to the Page County Attorney’s Office for review, regarding the filing of formal charges.

MidAmerican sends crews to help restore power on East Coast

News

March 17th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa power company has sent help to restore power to the East Coast, which has been slammed by three powerful winter storms in the span of two weeks. MidAmerican Energy of Des Moines sent 78 employees to Rye, New York, late last week to help utility crews restore power after recent major winter storms left 200,000 people without electricity.

MidAmerican Energy’s response followed New York-based energy company Con Edison’s mutual aid request. MidAmerican Energy sent caravans of 62 lineworkers and 16 support staff from across its service area to help repair infrastructure and restore electrical service.

Accident reported south of Anita

News

March 17th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Rescue crews from Cumberland, Massena, Anita and Wiota were called to the scene of a motor vehicle accident south of Anita, this (Saturday) morning. The accident happened near 750th (Highway 148) and Jackson Road at around 9:35-a.m. Initially, one person was said to have been injured, but any injuries they suffered were not severe enough to require transport to the hospital.

The Sheriff’s Office is expected to have more information on Monday.

First three-dozen-plus inductees named to Iowa’s Racing Hall of Fame

News, Sports

March 17th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

The new Iowa Hall of Fame and Racing Museum is planning for its first-ever induction ceremony later this month. Museum president Marty Pringle of Otho, says the big night will be held Saturday, March 24th, in Webster City.  “I’ve been working on this museum and the hall of fame for five or six years now and we’re finally getting it going with our first inductees,” Pringle says. “This is all Iowa racing, drag racing, figure-eight racing, motorcycle racing, stock cars, any racing involving Iowa is involved with us.”

The induction ceremony will take place at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds Event Center in Webster City. Doors to open at 5 P-M. Pringle says 37 people will be inducted into the museum’s Hall of Fame. “People don’t realize the history of Iowa racing, it’s just huge,” Pringle says.

Janet Guthrie: A retired professional race car driver from Iowa City. The first woman to qualify and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500.

“You’ve got Janet Guthrie from Iowa, Billy Moyer, Scott Bloomquist, Tommy Johnson Junior, Justin Brayton just won Daytona on a motorcycle Saturday night, so the history in this state is just unbelievable.”

Pringle is trying to locate a permanent home for the proposed Museum and Hall of Fame. For more information, including the names of the inductees, visit: https://www.facebook.com/iowahalloffameandracingmuseum/

Creston Police: Polk County woman arrested on drug charges

News

March 17th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

An investigation into an accident in Creston this (Saturday) morning, resulted in the arrest of a woman from Polk County. According to Creston Police, a car driven by 20-year-old Natalie Eslinger, of Ankeny, was traveling southbound in the 400 block of North Sycamore Street, when the vehicle crossed the center line of the road, and hit   a legally parked, 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe.

The force of the collision caused the SUV to be pushed backward, into a parked Buick. A nearby resident heard the crash and looked outside to see what happened. They noticed Eslinger had backed down the street approximately 50 yards and stopped when the back tires of her vehicle touched the curb.

When officers arrived on scene Eslinger was still in her car. She was arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Possession of a Controlled Substance. An OWI charge was pending. Inside her vehicle, officers located drug paraphernalia and a bottle of vodka, in plain view.

In addition to the drug charges, Eslinger was cited for Failure to Maintain Control and Failure to Provide Proof of Financial Liability. She was transported to the Union County Law Enforcement Center.  Her vehicle sustained disabling front-end and driver’s side damage. The Hyundai Santa Fe her struck sustained front-end damage, driver’s side damage, and rear-end damage. The other vehicle sustained major front-end damage and some driver’s side damage. A dollar amount of the damage was not immediately available.