The Woman Accused Of Abducting Her Daughters Creating An Amber Alert Has Pleaded Not Guilty
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A woman accused of abducting her three daughters in northwest Iowa has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping charges.
25-year-old Danica Arzaga entered a written plea Thursday to three counts.
Authorities say Arzaga took the two 8-year-olds and the 4-year-old from their home in Royal on Sept. 19. The children were found abandoned in Sanborn later that day. She was arrested Sept. 20 in Sioux City.
The children previously been removed from Arzaga’s custody and placed in another relative’s care.
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Former Iowa DNR Official Says Department Took Funds Away From Program
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The former manager of a state program that regulates Iowa livestock farms and the manure they produce alleges money dedicated by law to the program has been illegally diverted for other uses by the Iowa Department
of Natural Resources.
Gene Tinker, who was laid off last month after 14 years as the DNR coordinator of animal feeding operations, says there should be plenty of money to pay him since the state gets $1.6 million a year from fees paid by the farms the program oversees.
State Sen. David Johnson, an Independent from Ocheydan, also believes money in the fund has been spent elsewhere even though a 2005 state law prohibits it. Johnson says he plans to
seek a special audit of the fund.
DNR spokesman Alex Murphy says the agency “fully denies the allegations.”
State Medical Examiner’s Office Could Lose Accreditation Due To More Cases With Fewer Staff Members
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Medical Examiner’s Office is performing more autopsies with fewer staffers amid a cut in state funding, causing delays in bodies being returned to families and endangering the office’s national accreditation.
The Des Moines Register reports the office’s accreditation is up for reconsideration on Nov. 6.
State reports show that in 2006, the office’s four pathologists completed almost 570 autopsies. In 2016, three pathologists completed almost 860 autopsies.
The National Association of Medical Examiners recommends that pathologists not perform more than 250 autopsies a year. Iowa pathologists exceeded that recommendation in 2015 and 2016. Association examiners may not re-accredit the office if examiners are taking too many cases.
Association President Brian Peterson says offices don’t need accreditation to operate, but accreditation shows the office is meeting a certain standard.
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Pottawattamie Authorities Involved With Chase
UNDERWOOD, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say two men have been arrested after a western Iowa chase in which gunshots were fired at a sheriff’s deputy.
The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office says that around 3:45 a.m. Thursday, one of its deputies tried to stop a car matching the description of a stolen car. The car sped off west on Interstate 80. The car left the interstate at the Underwood exit and was forced into a ditch on a rural road, where it
stopped.
The two men fled on foot, but the driver was soon caught. The Sheriff’s Office says the passenger entered a pickup truck but was caught after the pickup got stuck in a cornfield.
Authorities say the deputy was not hit by the gunshots. Court records don’t yet show charges against the men.
Lawsuit Filed Against Branstad Is Requested To Be Delayed
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – State lawyers say a lawsuit brought by a fired Iowa criminal investigator should be delayed until former Gov. Terry Branstad completes his service as ambassador to China.
The Iowa attorney general’s office filed a motion Wednesday asking a judge to suspend proceedings in Larry Hedlund’s lawsuit indefinitely or to alternatively delay the trial scheduled for Dec. 4.
The filing says Branstad will be unable to attend, and his “vital duties to this country make it extraordinary difficult” to participate in his defense.
Hedlund is the former Division of Criminal Investigation agent who was fired in 2013, days after reporting speeding by Branstad’s security detail. He’s suing Branstad for defamation and Department of Public Safety supervisors for wrongful termination.
Branstad has said Hedlund’s firing had nothing to do with the speeding complaint and the department says Hedlund was fired for insubordination.
Pork Producers Name Webster City Restaurant With “Best Tenderloin”
(CLIVE, Iowa) – The Iowa Pork Producers Association has selected a Webster City restaurant as the winner of its 2017 Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin contest.
The Grid Iron Grill owned by Burke Risetter was judged by IPPA to have the best tenderloin in the state this year.
The Grid Iron Grill has been in business since 2008 when Risetter and his uncle opened the restaurant. Burke buys 300 to 400 pounds of fresh pork a week and serves about 400 tenderloins each week. Fresh pork loins are cut daily and each
tenderloin is seven to eight ounces. They are tenderized twice, tapped out instead of pounded out and given a light egg wash. One fryer is used for all pork items to preserve the true pork flavor.
The IPPA Restaurant and Foodservice Committee will make the official presentation at the restaurant next week. Risetter will receive a check for $500, a plaque and a large banner to display. The Grid Iron Grill also will need to brace itself for a substantial increase in traffic.
IPPA judges selected the Northside Café in Winterset as the runner up in this year’s contest. IPPA will present the café with a check for $250 and a plaque.
The Buffalo Tavern in Burlington, Lake View’s Thirsty Carp and the Double Dip in Chariton rounded out the top five finalists. These restaurants will receive a Top Five Plaque to display in their restaurant.
IPPA received 3,014 nominations with 271 different establishments named. The committee judged 43 establishments last summer on the quality of the pork, taste, physical characteristics and eating experience.
