Wanted Man Shoots At Iowa State Patrol Trooper
(Sioux City) — A suspect is in custody facing charges, including attempted murder following a traffic stop on Highway 75 on Sioux City’s eastside Thursday morning.
Trooper John Farley says the incident began around 10AM when an Iowa State Trooper pulled over a vehicle at Lincoln Way and South Lewis Boulevard near the city’s wastewater treatment plant:
But the armed suspect, 27 year-old Anthony Walls of Omaha, recovered and then fled on foot, firing two shots at the the trooper, who was not injured.
Sioux City Police and other area law enforcement agency members set up a perimeter in the South Ravine Park area began a manhunt for Walls.
Sioux City Police Chief, Rex Mueller soon spotted the suspect in that area.
The suspect was captured within a half hour after the search began and Chief Mueller credits the fast response of authorities for the successful arrest.
Trooper Farley says Walls was wanted for domestic assault of a pregnant woman.
Both Walls and the driver were taken in for questioning, and Farley says Walls will probably will be charged with several counts charged, including attempted murder.
Rosacker To Retire From Le Mars Ambulance Services
(Le Mars) — After 12 years as the Director of the Le Mars Ambulance Services, and more than 30 plus years involved as an Emergency Medical Technician, Bill Rosacker of Le Mars is retiring. Rosacker will end his tenure with the Le Mars Ambulance Services on Tuesday, December 31st. An
open house reception will be held in Rosacker’s honor at the city council chambers on Monday, December 30th beginning at 5:00 p.m. Rosacker says he first got interested in being an EMT after witnessing an accident.
Rosacker says he isn’t sure as to how many medical calls he has responded to during his time as an EMT, however, he says the Le Mars Ambulance Services has seen a steady increase of calls going from around 400 per year when Rosacker first started, to now more than 1100 calls this year. Rosacker estimates he was on a third of all those calls. Rosacker says the advancements with technology have been the biggest change with the Le Mars
Ambulance Services.
Rosacker says the job is filled with tragedies, but he finds some peace of mind by reading the many thank you notes that are directed to the Le Mars Ambulance Services.
The Director of the Le Mars Ambulance Services is quick to share the credit with the entire team that comprise of the local ambulance service.
Under Rosacker’s direction with the Le Mars Ambulance Services, the number of people assisting as an EMT has grown.
Rosacker says one of his proudest achievements with the Le Mars Ambulance Service was to introduce a Life-saving EMT course in the high schools.
Woman Pleads Not Guilty To Throwing Her Infant Son Against Hospital Crib
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A woman who told investigators she threw her baby son at his hospital crib in Sioux City has pleaded not guilty. Court records say Megan James entered the plea Monday to child endangerment resulting in serious injury. A court document says James acknowledged to detectives that
she’d became frustrated while trying to breastfeed her son two days after he was born on Nov. 15. She says he hit his head on the crib when she threw him and then on the hospital room floor. The document says he suffered skull fractures.
Museum To Hold Nativity Epiphany Party
(Le Mars) — For the fourth year, the Plymouth County Historical Museum in Le Mars will host an “Epiphany Party” at 2 p.m., Friday, Jan. 3, three days before Epiphany. Highlighting the party will be a brief Christmas concert by the Rev. Paul Eisele of Le Mars.
The retired priest will entertain with piano music and a sing-along of Christmas favorites in the Museum’s 1905 Study Hall, beginning at 2. Those attending also will be able to ask questions about the 75 nativities Father Eisele donated to the Museum in 2016. Those nativities, originating from all over the world, are now headquartered in Room 413, adjacent to the Study
Hall.
The public is invited to attend the “Epiphany Party,” which will include homemade holiday refreshments served among the nativities. Admission is free.
Epiphany is a Christian festival on Jan. 6 commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles in the person of the Magi.
The nativities, which opened as “The Museum Manger” in the Study Hall in mid-November, will close at 5 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 5, Epiphany weekend. This
is the 10th year for the nativity display, which started in 2010, the year the Study Hall renovation was completed.
Weather Pattern To Change During This Weekend
(Omaha) — The National Weather Service issued winter storm watches Thursday for much of western Nebraska and is warning Iowa travelers about the potential for icy roadways and heavy rain. Snowfall ranging up to 6 or even 8 inches has been forecast for the western two-thirds of Nebraska, starting Friday afternoon and ending early Sunday. Storm winds could gust to 35 mph,
adding to the difficulty of maintaining vehicle control on slick highways and streets. The service says freezing rain is expected to fall starting Friday night across west-central and northern Iowa . Rainfall of up to 1.5 inches is forecast for most the state.
The weather forecast is calling for a change of weather pattern beginning this evening and continuing through the weekend. Most of the snow that we received this winter has melted, giving us a “Brown Christmas.” Samantha Garrett, a meteorologist with the National Weather Services of Sioux Falls says we are going to see a change.
Trump Says Farmers Will Benefit Through The Chinese Trade Agreement
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – President Donald Trump likes to joke that America’s farmers have a nice problem on their hands: They’re going to need bigger tractors to keep up with surging Chinese demand for their soybeans and other agricultural goods under a preliminary deal between the world’s two largest economies. Yet skeptics are questioning how much China has committed to buy
– and whether American farmers would be able anytime soon to export goods to China in the quantity Trump has promised: $40 billion a year, according to Trump’s trade representative, Robert Lighthizer. For perspective, U.S. farm exports to China have never topped $26 billion in any year.
Iowa Is Known For Political Swings
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Few states have changed politically with the head-snapping speed of Iowa. In 2008, its voters propelled Barack Obama to the White House. In 2012, Iowa backed Obama again. But by 2016, Donald Trump
easily defeated Hillary Clinton in Iowa. Republicans were in control of the governor’s mansion and state legislature and held all but one U.S. House seat and both U.S. Senate seats. Democrats are hoping the state could be swinging back. Tom Vilsack, Iowa’s only two-term Democratic governor in the
past 50 years, says Republicans have “gone too far to the right and there is the slow movement back.”
