The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports four prisoners from the Douglas County, Nebraska, Jail, were transported to Pott. County Corrections today (Wednesday), or Tuesday, to address their respective warrants, and one was transported to Pott. County from Crawford County. Among those transported from Nebraska, was:

• 49-year old Hector Alonso Aguilar, on warrants for Willful Injury Resulting in Serious Injury, and two counts of Child Endangerment.
• 23-year old Chance Parker Featherstone, on a warrant for Escape from Custody.
• 29-year old Eric L. Wilson, for Theft in the 1st Degree
• and, 37-year old Brandon Edward Drummer, for Violation of Probation.

In addition, 32-year old Carl Allen Jannsen was transported from Crawford County, to address a warrant for Violation of Parole.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Firefighters helped a crane operator reach safety after a fire broke out below at a building under construction in downtown Iowa City. Flames were being blown up and sideways Tuesday afternoon at the Hieronymous Square project. It’s unclear what started the blaze. No injuries have been reported.

Fire Chief John Grier says mist on the tower might have made it slick, so they took a precaution: Firefighter Andy Wulfekuhle climbed up the inside of the crane to fit the operator with a safety belt before his climb down. It’s unclear how much the fire will affect the project, which will include two 7-story towers with hotel, office, retail and apartment space.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A man who had said he was only defending himself when he beat another man at a central Iowa bar has been convicted of second-degree murder. On Monday a jury found 49-year-old Rodney Henricksen guilty. His sentencing is set for April 15. Joshua Sadlon, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, died a day after the incident at the Escape Lounge in Urbandale in January 2018.

Henricksen had said he’d tried to de-escalate threats made by the drunken Sadlon and said Iowa’s “stand your ground” law protected him from prosecution. The law says a person doesn’t have to retreat before using deadly force if he or she reasonably thinks his or her life is being threatened. The jury rejected his claim of self-defense. Prosecutors called it a bar beating, not a bar fight.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Voters in Des Moines and five other Polk County cities have approved raising the sales tax to 7 cents from 6 cents on the dollar spent. More than 70 percent of Des Moines voters said yes to the measure Tuesday, and it also easily passed in Alleman, Altoona, Pleasant Hill, West Des Moines and Windsor Heights. The increase goes into effect July 1.

Three attempts for the increase have failed since 1996, most recently in March 2018. A majority of Des Moines voters backed the measure a year ago, but it failed because a majority of suburban voters rejected it. In May the Iowa Legislature canceled a state rule that required cities with contiguous borders to vote together on local option sales tax issues.