Bond election set to build new Woodbury County jail
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Woodbury County leaders hope voters will approve building a new $50.3 million jail on the outskirts of Sioux City. The new larger jail would replace a building built in 1987 that is dealing with a number of mechanical problems. Consultants have identified $22 million in upgrades that are needed in the current jail’s heating and cooling system. County Supervisor Keith Radig says it makes sense to invest in a new facility instead of repairing the current jail. Voters will decide March 3 whether to build a new 110,000-square-foot jail that could house 440 inmates. The current jail holds roughly 230 inmates.
Western Iowa man convicted of first-degree murder
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Council Bluffs man has been convicted of first-degree murder in the death of a man whose body was found wrapped in a sheet near the city’s downtown. Prosecutors say 36-year-old Dubol Koat was convicted last week in the death of 35-year-old William Josephtong Dut. Dut’s body was found Oct. 28 wrapped in a sheet. Koat was arrested nearly a month later. Police said Koat and Dut were roommates and co-workers.
New riverboat passes sea trials, set for April cruise
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The American Queen Steamboat Co. says its fourth cruise boat has passed its second sea trial and will make its first cruise in April from New Orleans to Memphis. The company based in New Albany, Indiana, says the 245-passenger American Countess went through the Intracoastal Waterway from Houma to Morgan City, Louisiana, as part of its trial. A news release says the ship will move to New Orleans in late February for four weeks of finishing touches. The American Queen was built on the hull of a former casino boat from Iowa, but was lengthened by 60 feet.
Iowa State Patrol: 2 boys killed in crash near Hebron
ADAIR, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa State Patrol says two boys have been killed in a head-on crash just northeast of Hebron in central Iowa. The Des Moines Register reports the crash happened around 3:30 p.m. Friday when a large sport utility vehicle collided head-on with a small sedan on a rural road in Adair County. Investigators say a woman and child inside the SUV both suffered serious injuries. The two boys killed were in the car. The patrol has not yet released the names of those killed or details of what caused the crash.
Des Moines police arrest teens in spate of robberies
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Des Moines say they’ve arrested three teens suspected in a spate of robberies carried out after the victims agreed to meet up with people they met online. Police say they noted several similarities in a rash of robberies reported between Feb. 7 and Feb. 13 and were soon able to identify suspects. On Friday, detectives executed search warrants at two Des Moines residences, and police say evidence connected to the robberies was recovered. Police say three suspects were then arrested at a local high school. Police say two 16-year-old boys and a 17-year-old boy have been charged with robbery.
Corps closes Missouri River levee break near Rock Port
ROCK PORT, Mo. (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Omaha District says work crews have closed the final breach of a Missouri River levee in the far northwest corner of Missouri that broke open during massive flooding last year. The break just southwest of Rock Port was one of several along the levee section that saw thousands of rural acres submerged and a section of Interstate 29 and other roads in the region damaged and closed to traffic. The Corps says crews will continue restoring the levee section to its pre-flood height. Crews have been scrambling to make repairs ahead of spring and the likelihood of renewed flooding along the river in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas.
