Sioux City Police say a car witnesses saw submerge in the Missouri River Monday afternoon likely belongs to a local family of three reported missing on Tuesday morning. Police Captain Mark Kirkpatrick gave an update on the investigation today (Thursday).

“We have a fair degree of confidence that this may be, in fact, that vehicle,” Kirkpatrick said. “We can’t say with 100-percent certainty that it’s that vehicle.” Divers have not been able to reach the vehicle to inspect it because it’s located in a portion of the river with dangerous currents. The family members, 51-year-old Salomon Medina, his 41-year-old wife Angelica Medina-Gonzales, and their 17-year-old daughter Vanessa Medina Gonzales, were last seen at a WalMart Monday about an hour or so before the accident that sent the car into the river. Kirkpatrick said the evidence officers are checking out includes surveillance video from WalMart.

“One of the more solid pieces (of evidence) was probably the cell phone pings,” Kirkpatrick said. “We did receive phone pings from their particular phones at about the time we believe the incident occurred and there have not been pings since then.” If divers are eventually able to reach the car, Kirkpatrick said they’ll have to operate by feel because of zero visibility in the murky waters of the Missouri River.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with the Iowa Judicial Branch report Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark S. Cady, of Ft. Dodge, on Thursday, signed an order appointing judges to serve as chief judges for the district courts commencing January 1, 2018. Among the eight justices he appointed, was Jeffrey L. Larson, of Harlan, to the Fourth Judicial District.

Fourth District Chief Judge Larson was appointed to the bench in 2003 and became Chief Judge due to the retirement of Judge Charles L. Smith III. He earned his law degree from the University of Iowa in 1985. He has been in private practice as well as serving as Shelby County attorney.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials say projections for Iowa’s budget are down again, and could force spending cuts when lawmakers return in January. A three-person panel concluded Thursday that the $7.2 billion budget in effect since July is down by about $130 million. The panel says Iowa’s economy is growing more slowly than expected.

Iowa Department of Management Director David Roederer says it’s too early to know the impact on the current budget but midyear reductions may be necessary. The news comes months after the GOP-controlled Legislature cut agency budgets and borrowed money to offset reduced projections released earlier this year and last.

Democrats and Republicans blamed each other for poor budget priorities. GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds is seeking bipartisan support for tax cuts and skilled jobs training. The revenue panel meets again in December.

BOONE, Iowa (AP) — Officials in the central Iowa city of Boone have announced plans to close the Mamie Doud Eisenhower Birthplace, citing waning revenue in recent years to the museum.

The quaint, yellow clapboard house is where Mamie Doud was born in 1896. As first lady, she often returned with her husband, WWII general and President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The home now serves as a museum filled with memorabilia from Mamie Eisenhower’s life.

Boone County Historical Society Director Mara MacKay tells station KCCI that the home is in need of repairs, and declining revenue has left the organization unable to cover those costs.

MacKay says fundraising events intended to help have fallen short.

New research from an Iowa State University psychology professor finds smartphones are causing a “seismic shift” in sleep patterns among teenagers. I-S-U’s Zlatan Krizan and a colleague at San Diego State University found teens who spend more than two hours a day on their smartphones get fewer than seven hours of sleep a night.

“I’ve studied sleep for a few years now and it seemed that the technological revolution is having unprecedented effects on sleep and especially among younger generations,” Krizan says, “the ‘iGen’ that grew up with internet and smart phones.” Krizan and his colleague reviewed surveys of more than 360-thousand American teenagers. They found an “abrupt shift” in sleep patterns, just as more teenagers began using smartphones to text and gain access to social media sites. Krizan says the sleep deprivation leads to a “lack of energy and motivation.”

“Research with children has also found that when they’re able to improve sleep among students in school, you have less auto accidents on the roads, you have less conflict among students, better focus,” Krizan says. “Sleep is one of those things that really reaches into every single corner of the way our bodies and brains work, which is what makes it so important.” Health professionals recommend that teenagers get about nine hours of sleep each night. Krislan’s new research on teen sleeping habits has been published in the journal “Sleep Medicine”.

(Radio Iowa)

A man and woman from southwest Iowa were arrested today (Thursday) in connection with the Nov. 9th, 2016 death of their biological 17-month old child. Officials with the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI) report 29-year old Ambrashia Marie Chrzan, and 36-year old Anthony Lamont McCoy, of Riverside, were taken into custody on felony warrants for Child Endangerment Resulting in Death.

On November 9, 2016, the child, identified only by the initials “A.M.”, was discovered unresponsive in her crib by her mother, Ambrashia Chrzan.  Chrzan and Anthony McCoy were identified as the biological parents and the sole caretakers responsible for care and feeding of A.M.

On November 10, 2016, an autopsy was done on A.M. by a pathologist at the University of Iowa Hospital’s Decedent Care Unit.  A.M’s death was ruled a homicide and the cause of death was undetermined while malnutrition and neglect significantly contributed to the death.  At the time of the autopsy, A.M.’s body weight was eleven (11) pounds and the pathologist found A.M. to be in a state of malnutrition.

Ambrashia Chrzan and Anthony McCoy are currently being housed in the Washington County Jail.  If convicted of the Class-B felony, both face up to no more than 50 years confinement.

A joint investigation leading to their arrest was conducted by the Iowa DCI, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Washington County Attorney’s Office, the Office of the Iowa Attorney General, and the Iowa Medical Examiner’s Office.