(Radio Iowa) – Officials in a northwest Iowa city have adopted changes to an ordinance that now gives the city authority to essentially evict a vicious animal. Okoboji Police Chief Jason Peterson says under the old ordinance, his only option was to write a ticket if a dog was off its owner’s property and attacked a person or another dog. “The change would be that we have recourse if there is multiple times that a dog has bitten other animals or attacked other animals unprovoked,” he says, “and if somebody’s hurt in a dog attack — or any domestic animal attack — the animal can be made to leave town.”

Okoboji City Administration Michael Meyers says the city council tightened up the language in the ordinance before approving it this week. “Under the previous language, it could have been argued that: ‘He only did that — he only killed the other dog once, so I’ve got one more,'” Meyers said. The Okoboji ordinance now addresses attacks that happen without provocation and cause serious injury.

Earlier this year, a two-year-old was bitten by a pit bull in the eastern Iowa town of Hopkinton and there’s been a long-running dispute over enforcement of Hopkinton’s ordinance which bans pit bulls from city limits. At least 20 other states have laws which ban cities and counties from having breed-specific ordinances. Okoboji’s refers simply to “vicious animals.”

(Radio Iowa) – A World War Two veteran who was a charter member of the Iowa Air National Guard and former commander of the 185th Air Wing has died at age 97. Colonel Warren “Bud” Nelson served in the military for almost 40 years. Brigadier General Larry Christensen, a recent commander of the 185th, says Nelson was a true pioneer of the Air Force. “He was there at the beginning of the Air Force and the Air National Guard coming out of World War Two. And so then you think about those guys and what they did, I guarantee there wasn’t a how to book back then, how to start an Air Force how to start an Air National Guard,” he says. “And that’s why I always say to retirees, especially up there at the 185th, that we’re standing on their shoulders, they’re the ones that created the foundation.”

Nelson had been working as a P-51 instructor pilot after World War Two and was determined to continue flying. At the age of 21, with three years under his belt, he moved to Sioux City to join the newly formed 174th Fighter Squadron. There he continued to fly the P-51 Mustangs until 1950 when he switched to the jet-powered F-84 Thunderjet.

Warren “Bud” Nelson (photo by Vince DeGroot,ING)

Christensen says Nelson was unique in flying several different aircraft. “A lot of people they only fly one airplane. I was lucky enough to do three, but he actually did eight,” Christensen says. “So again, we go back to the history that he had, the knowledge that he had, you know the different experiences. We’re gonna be hard pressed to find anybody with that kind of experience.”

Nelson volunteered to become part of the world’s first nuclear fighter bomber wing when he and other 174th pilots were assigned to the 20th fighter bomber wing in Europe. They flew regular missions along the West German border as a show of force against Soviet-occupied East Germany. The 174th eventually grew into the 185th tactical fighter group which was assigned the F-100 super saber and was activated again in 1968 for the war in Vietnam. Nelson became the wing commander in 1976 and went through his final airframe change when the unit transitioned to the A-7 Corsair in 1977, and then retired in 1980. Christensen says with all that Nelson accomplished, he was very humble about it.

“He’d sit and talk to you for as long as you want to talk — but he definitely wasn’t a person to brag. Even though he had the right to do so, he never did,” Christensen says. Nelson was a native of Jackson, Minnesota, but called Sioux City home for most of his life, and continued to live here after his retirement in 1980. The funeral for Nelson will take place at 10 a-m Friday at the First Presbyterian Church in Sioux City. Visitation is Thursday from 4-6 p-m. at Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel, with a Masonic service at 6 p-m.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Malvern was arrested Tuesday evening. 71-year-old James Edward Pontow was arrested at around 6-p.m., for Driving While Barred.

Deputies investigated an incident that resulted in property damage, Wednesday afternoon. Authorities say 48-year-old John Lindeman, of Defiance, was backing a 2020 Kenworth semi tractor-trailer up a driveway at 21505 Eastman Road at around 4:45-p.m., after he improperly turned down the driveway. The truck was unable to gain traction on the gravel road, and was privately towed back to Eastman Road.

The Sheriff’s Office said the semi’s actions caused significant ruts and damage to the gravel driveway that had just been resurfaced by the homeowner. Lindeman told Deputies that his GPS told him to use the driveway as he was delivering goods, but he realized too late that the address was not correct, and he was unable to back-up on the driveway. No citations were issued.

(Radio Iowa) – Triple A is reporting gasoline prices in Iowa are about 30 cents a gallon higher than a month ago. Meredith Mitts is a spokeswoman for Triple A Iowa. “The reason we’re seeing this is while crude oil is still hovering around roughly the same prices, we’re seeing an increase in demand,” she says, “which is driving some of those prices up.” Mitts says gas prices in the weeks ahead are expected to rise because of holiday travel and weather may be another factor.

“It could be a snow storm or a rain storm. It could be a hurricane hitting some of those pipelines,” Mitts says, “but severe weather has the ability to impact what gas prices we’re seeing locally even if hitting somewhere else, like down in Florida or on the east or west coast.” Council Bluffs is where gas is selling for the lowest price right now — three-59 ($3.59) a gallon, according to Triple A. Ames has the highest price at three-84 ($3.84) a gallon. “In the last week, though, we’ve really only gone up three or four cents, depending on where you’re at,” Mitts says.

Diesel fuels prices are averaging above five dollars a gallon in Iowa. That’s about 38 cents more than a week ago — and nearly equal to the nationwide jump in diesel this past week.

Coralville, Iowa – The Iowa Dept. of Corrections, on Wednesday, reported 21-year-old Brent Lee Robinson, convicted of Robbery 2nd Degree in Linn County, failed to report back to the Hope House Residential Facility as required, Tuesday.

Robinson is a white male, height 6’3″, and weighs 201 pounds. He was admitted to the work release facility on August 11, 2022. Persons with information on Robinson’s whereabouts should contact local police.

Brent Robinson (IA DOC photo)

Des Moines, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau report, 68-year-old Alan Steven Kessler, of West Des Moines, was recently charged with one count of Theft in the First Degree Against an Older Individual (Class B Felony), one count of Ongoing Criminal Conduct (Class B Felony), and one count of Securities Fraud (Class C Felony) following an investigation by the Iowa Attorney General’s Office and the Iowa Insurance Division’s Securities Bureau. The charges against Kessler stem from an investigation which began in April of 2022.  According to a criminal complaint filed by the Dallas County Attorney’s Office, Kessler allegedly had an ongoing scheme to steal from and defraud an elderly individual.

Alan S. Kessler (Photo Courtesy of Dallas County Sheriff’s Office)

Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen said “This case is working its way through the legal system, but it’s possible that there may be more victims out there. I encourage anyone that may have been defrauded by Mr. Kessler to come forward and contact our offices immediately.” Attorney General Tom Miller says “This is one of the first charges filed under Iowa’s new criminal elder abuse law, which went into effect July 1. We’ve been advocating for the legislation for years to address abuses like these.” Miller encouraged Iowans to report other alleged instances of fraud by Kessler to the Consumer Protection Division at consumer@ag.iowa.gov or 888-777-4590.

On October 2, 2022, Kessler was arrested and booked into the Dallas County Jail.  Kessler posted a $25,000 bond and was released.

In a separate case, 47-year-old Sang Nguyen, of Des Moines, pled guilty on October 4, 2022, to one count of Insurance Fraud – Application Submission (Class D Felony) following an investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau.  The investigation began in June of 2022 after the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau received information indicating Nguyen had provided false information to an insurer when purchasing full coverage automobile insurance.

The investigation determined that after Nguyen’s motorcycle was involved in a single vehicle collision and sustained over $3,000 in damage he contacted an insurer to purchase auto insurance coverage.  During the purchase Nguyen provided false information about the existing damage to his motorcycle and was granted full coverage automotive insurance.  Days later, Nguyen filed an insurance claim alleging that the pre-existing damage occurred after he obtained the insurance coverage.  Nguyen’s intent was to receive insurance benefits to which he was not entitled.  Nguyen was arrested on July 20, 2022.

Sang Nguyen (Photo courtesy of the Polk County Jail)

Following his guilty plea, Nguyen received a five year suspended prison sentence and was placed on supervised probation for two years.  Nguyen was also ordered to pay a fine of $1,025.

Note: A criminal charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.