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Arrest made in 31-year-old murder case in Lyon County

August 17, 2009 By

Authorities in northwest Iowa have made an arrest in connection with a 31-year-old murder investigation. An elderly rural Inwood man has been arrested in connection with the Wilma June Nissen cold case homicide investigation in Lyon County.

The murder happened in 1978. Lyon County Sheriff’s officials are not saying the subject is a suspect in the case. Sheriff Blythe Bloemendaal reports that 82-year-old John W.

VanGammeren of rural Inwood was arrested for six counts of perjury, all class-D felonies. A class-D felony is punishable by up to five years in prison per count, for a total of up to 30 years. Bond was set at $5,000.  

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Pilot identified in southwest Iowa crash

August 17, 2009 By

Family members are confirming the name of the pilot who was killed in a plane crash in southwest Iowa’s Adams County over the weekend. The victim is identified as 60-year-old James Pankratz of Calipatria, Californina.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson Elizabeth Isham Cory says the plane’s wreckage was discovered near Corning early Sunday morning. She says the single-engine plane was discovered about 7:55 A.M. Central time about eight miles east of Corning.

The only person on board was killed. Cory says the cause of the crash is undetermined. She says the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate and it could be several weeks to a year, or more, before the reports are complete. Cory would not speculate on the cause of the crash.

Adams County Emergency Management coordinator Donnie Willet says the initial search was launched on the ground and from the air late Saturday night and was suspended early Sunday morning. Willet says the plane was found in a field and was hard to spot at night.

The State Patrol airplane located the wrecked plane deep in the field, far from any roads. Willet says the thermal imaging cameras never showed the downed aircraft.

Willet says there was no fire associated with the wreckage. The plane was reportedly headed from Illinois to North Dakota. Todd Panratz of El Centro, California, confirmed it was his father killed in the crash. Todd says his father was an experienced pilot with over 50,000 hours of flying time.

Todd says his father had been a cropduster since he was 16 and had also flown helicopters. While James Pankratz was doing some cropdusting in the Midwest this summer, Todd says it’s believed his father was ferrying a plane when the crash occurred.  

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Urbandale celebrates Little League World Series team

August 17, 2009 By

Urbandale Little Leaguers meet a crowd at their field Sunday. A team of 11 and 12-year-olds from Urbandale leave, today, for Williamsport, Pennsylvania to take part in the Little League World Series.

The squad advanced after winning the Midwest Regional title in Indianapolis on Saturday with a 7-6 victory over a team from Columbia, Missouri. A few hundred fans were on hand to welcome the team home on Sunday night.

Scott Grau Urbandale manager Scott Grau says the fans and amount of people illustrates why Urbandale is successful as it is, as he says the focus on the Little League program is "second to none."

The team began it’s road to the World Series in early July. Grau says the length of the road to get there was a testament to the strength of the Little League in central Iowa.

He says some of the teams he talked to had played 7 or 8 games to get to Indianapolis, while it took them 14 games to out of the state tournament and they played 20 games overall.

Grau says team chemistry has been a critical part of their success. He says it was hard to prepare for spending 10 days in a small dorm, with community showers and restrooms and little access to their parents. But he says the group got along well together.

Their first game will be on Friday afternoon against a team from Georgia that will represent the Southeast Regional.

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Stanzi back with more experience for Hawkeyes

August 17, 2009 By

After entering the 2008 season as the back-up Rick Stanzi gets ready for this season as the established starter at quarterback. The junior passed for nearly two thousand yards and 14 touchdowns a year ago and became the full time starter at the start of conference play.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz says the feel good about Stanzi and his development, as last year he was just trying to play. The experience Stanzi gained last year should help him this season. Ferentz says the exciting thing is that Stanzi can get a lot better.

Stanzi says he is not approaching this season any differently. He says the only difference is that he has more responsibility, but he is still competing for a job. The Hawks ended last season with a four game winning streak but Stanzi that momentum won’t automatically translate to this season.

He says they have their own expectations for the team and last year doesn’t matter for this season. Stanzi says the seniors did a good job of leading last year, and they will have to pick up that leadership this year to have a good year. Iowa opens September fifth at home against U.N.I.

 

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Escape attempt fails at Webster County jail

August 17, 2009 By

An attempt to escape by two inmates at the Webster County Jail in Fort Dodge failed early Sunday morning. The incident started at around two o’clock when 25-year-old Amanda Kay Bever overpowered a female correctional officer.

Bever then choked the officer to the point of incapacitation. She then took the officer’s flashlight used for night time cell checks and used it as a weapon striking her repeatedly on and around the head. Bever then took the correctional officer’s keys and opened the door of a cell housing 23-year-old Rochelle Watts.

The pair left the jail and escaped down the stairwell leading to the first floor lobby of the Webster County Law Enforcement Center. Both Bever and Watts were apprehended on the second floor of the building by a male correctional officer and two Fort Dodge police officers. The correctional officer assaulted was taken to Trinity Regional Medical Center for treatment and later released.

 

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Joffrey Ballet performing fundraiser for Hancher

August 17, 2009 By

Flooded Hancher Auditorium in 2008. The internationally-acclaimed Joffrey Ballet plans to perform for one night only in Des Moines next month to benefit the University of Iowa’s Hancher Auditorium, which was destroyed in last year’s record flooding.

 Chuck Swanson, Hancher’s executive director, says he’s thrilled this fundraiser in Iowa’s capital city coming together.

"On September 11th at 8 o’clock at the Civic Center (of Greater Des Moines), we are going to have a performance by the Joffrey with music by the University of Iowa Symphony Orchestra," Swanson says. "It is really a benefit for both Hancher and the University of Iowa School of Music."

The Chicago-based Joffrey is considered one of the top ballet companies in the world. In the midst the worst-ever flooding on the Iowa City campus last year, Swanson says he was contacted via email by the leaders of the ballet and the Des Moines auditorium with offers of help. This single performance is what resulted.

"It’s important for us to keep the arts alive," Swanson says. "The whole arts campus was really devastated by the flood and when you get offers like this, from the Des Moines Civic Center and from the Joffrey, it just shows you that good things come out of bad things." U-of-I officials are still in the process of determining where to build the new auditorium, as the current location on the banks of the Iowa River is clearly no longer an option. Swanson says the price tag for Hancher — Part Two — is a bit overwhelming.

"I’m understanding it’s over 300-million dollars," Swanson says. "It is a lot of money but yet it’s a great investment for the university. It’s a great investment for the state of Iowa. I’m just anxious because it’s going to affect and be a such great asset for generations and generations to come."

He says funding through FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will apparently take care of 90% of that cost for rebuilding Hancher elsewhere on campus. For information about the Joffrey performance in Des Moines, visit "civiccenter.org" or call (800) 745-3000.

 

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With:
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