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Two walk away from plane crash near Ankeny

March 31, 2010 By

A small airplane crashed in rural Polk County this morning as the pilot tried to land at the Ankeny airport. The pilot and a passenger both escaped serious injury. The plane was experiencing engine problems and flipped over when it hit the ground.

Elizabeth Isham-Cory, a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration, says F.A.A. investigators will review the crash. She says the investigation will include a review of the weather conditions, the plane’s maintenance record and if the pilot was certified and following “rules of flight.”

The pilot, Andy Gille, and passenger, Sid Samuels, were flying from Wisconsin to the Des Moines Airport. Gille said he was trying to land on a dirt road when the plane ran out of fuel.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Indianola man dies in accident at Des Moines plant

March 31, 2010 By

An Indianola man died Tuesday after he was injured in a workplace accident. Forty-five-year-old Christopher Gehringer was injured Monday at the Anderson Erickson Dairy facility in Des Moines. A.E. Marketing Director Kim Peter declined to provide details, but said the accident is under investigation.

Gehringer was a manager at Anderson Erickson and had worked there for more than 25 years. He was married with four children.

Filed Under: Business, Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Hampton bank says program to bring people home a success

March 31, 2010 By
Joel & Stephanie McWilliams "Come Home to Franklin County" participants with Brad Davis, Hampton State Bank president.

Joel & Stephanie McWilliams "Come Home to Franklin County" participants with Brad Davis, Hampton State Bank president.

The president of a north-central Iowa bank says their incentive program to bring people back to the community has paid off — and they will extend it.

Hampton State Bank president, Brad Davis, says the program started in the fall of 2005 and  is called “Come Home to Franklin County.”

Davis says they set aside one-million dollars in below-market loans in the hopes of enticing people back to Franklin County. He says they focused on the graduates of the three high schools in the county, because they believed those graduates would know about the quality of life in the county. Davis says 14 households have taken advantage of the program by buying or building a home in the county.

Davis says it’s a win-win situation for everyone as the people who move back get the low-interest loans, the bank gets new customers and the businesses in the county gets people who pay property taxes, send kids to school and shop in businesses. Davis says they have had people with a variety of different occupations. He says people tend to forget that a lot of people can work out of their homes and can choose to live wherever they want.

Davis says the first couple to take advantage of the program was a couple from Ames, and their primary job was working out of their home and they chose to move to Franklin County. Davis says the program also helps show the role banks play in communities. Davis says the banking industry in general has been getting a bad rap the past couple of years during the recession, but he says community banks in rural areas have not seen the same problems as the larger banks. He says community banks see themselves as part of the solution and not part of the problem.

Davis says they are expanding the program with another one-million dollars. The loans are available to graduates of the West Fork, Hampton-Dumont or Cal Community school districts.

Photo courtesy of Hampton State Bank.

Filed Under: Business, Education, Human Interest

Iowa State Patrol preparing for 75th birthday

March 31, 2010 By

This summer, the Iowa State Patrol will be three-quarters of a century old. The agency started off in July of 1935 as the Iowa Highway Safety Patrol.

Lieutenant Kelly Hindman, of the Fort Dodge post, says Iowans may have noticed a commemorative license plate on troopers’ cruisers.

“We put those on all of our patrol cars at the beginning of the year and we’ll run those on our cars for the entirety of 2010 and then we’ll take them off at the end of the year and put our more customary plates back on,” Hindman says. “We thought it might be a way for all of our officers to display to the public our pride in our 75th anniversary.” Hindman said there will be events over the next several months to celebrate the founding of the State Patrol.

There will be open houses at all of the district offices during July, along with a banquet for all current and former state troopers, in addition to special events during RAGBRAI and the Iowa State Fair. A Highway Patrol yearbook is also being assembled, in addition to a commemorative firearm. The patrol’s original motto “Save Lives First” still serves as the primary foundation of the agency’s enforcement programs.

For more information on the patrol’s anniversary, visit: www.dps.state.ia.us/ISP.

By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

Filed Under: Crime & Courts Tagged With:

Culver praises Democratic legislators for standing firm on civil rights for gay couples

March 31, 2010 By

Governor Chet Culver is praising Democratic legislative leaders for blocking a vote on a proposed amendment to the state’s constitution that would ban gay marriage.  Culver held a news conference in his statehouse office on Wednesday afternoon, about 24 hours after the Iowa House and Senate completed their work. 

Culver called the top two Democrats in the legislature M.V.P.s for their efforts over the past three months, including their fulfilled promise to block anti-gay marriage efforts. “We stood firm for the civil rights of every Iowan by saying loudly and clearly that any and all efforts to add discriminatory amendments to our state constitution have no place in our state constitution,” Culver said, reading from a prepared statement.

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Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , ,

Iowa native charged in Ohio murder

March 31, 2010 By

A native of the northern Iowa town of Belmond is charged with murder after the weekend stabbings of two people in Ohio. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department is holding 44-year-old Wade Gaunt of Jackson, Ohio, on $1.5-million after he allegedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death, as well as slashing another man’s throat as they were in the ex-girlfriend’s hot tub.

Gaunt is a 1983 graduate of Belmond-Klemme High School. Gaunt has been charged with aggravated murder, felonious assault, endangering children, driving while under the influence, fleeing and eluding. Gaunt faces a preliminary hearing in the case on April 6th.

By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Olin teacher charged with inappropriate contact

March 31, 2010 By

Authorities in eastern Iowa’s Jones County have charged a teacher with having inappropriate contact with a student. Thirty-two-year-old Jeremy Chamberlin of Olin was arrested Tuesday. He’s been on paid administrative leave from Olin High School since January 11 while Jones County Sheriff’s deputies investigated his relationship with a 15-year-old female student.

Chamberlin is accused of engaging in inappropriate behavior with the girl which included touching, text messaging and obscene picture texts. Chamberlin is charged with one count of sexual exploitation by a school employee, three counts of dissemination of obscene material to a minor and two counts of lascivious conduct with a minor.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts
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