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KXEL Morning News for Tue. Apr. 02, 2024

By Jeff Stein Apr 2, 2024 | 5:51 AM

BREMER COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) – A Florida man faces multiple drug-related charges after law enforcement in Iowa said they found a pound of methamphetamine in his vehicle. In a news release, the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office said it stopped the man on Highway 218 for a speeding violation on Sunday. Deputies said they found the pound of meth while conducting a probable cause search of the vehicle. Steven Lorentz, 62, of Winter Haven, Florida, was arrested and faces charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, drug tax stamp violation, two counts of unlawful possession of prescription drugs, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Lorentz is at the Bremer County Jail on a $25,000 cash bond.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (KCRG) – A 31-year-old man from Davenport has been arrested in connection with a 2022 Cedar Falls shooting that left one dead and two injured. On February 6, 2022, Black Hawk County Dispatch received numerous 911 calls about a shooting that occurred near the College Street and West 22nd Street intersection. Officers found a male, later identified as 19-year-old Arthur Craig Lang from Clear Lake, with a gunshot wound near the intersection. Lang died from his injuries shortly after being transported to Allen Hospital. Two more individuals were also taken to Allen Hospital with gunshot injuries that night. Now, Cedar Falls Police have announced that they have arrested Beau Bradley Ekstrom in connection to the shooting. He’s been charged with Murder in the First Degree, Intimidation with a Dangerous Weapon, and being a Felon in Control of a Firearm.

WATERLOO, Iowa (KCRG) – Monday was the first day the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Salvation Army gymnasium was empty at noon. For the past two months, the free lunch program put on by Salvation Army has been offered two days a week: Monday and Friday. The organization has had to suspend that program due to a staffing shortage. The last Foods Programs Manager had to resign due to health issues. Since then, volunteers and other staff members have tried to keep the lunch program operating. The Salvation Army said it’s facing a staffing shortage across multiple departments. Staff are being re-directed to its emergency shelters and youth program, leading to the suspension of the noon lunch program. But now the weekly meals, that offer so much fellowship for those who come, won’t pick back up until a cook is hired. The weekly Perishable Goods Pantry put on by the Salvation Army will continue to operate as normal. That pantry is open every Thursday from 11:30am to 12:30pm.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – A former Iowa City hospital administrator pleaded guilty on Monday to an identity theft scheme that spanned three decades and caused the victim to be falsely imprisoned for nearly two years. Officials said 58-year-old Matthew Keirans, from Hartland, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty to one count of false statement to a national credit union administration insured institution and one count of aggravated identity theft. During the hearing, attorneys presented evidence showing Keirans and his identity theft victim worked together at a hot dog cart in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the late 1980′s. Keirans used the victim’s identity for the next three decades, in every aspect of his life, obtaining documents and a Kentucky birth certificate in the victim’s name. Keirans was hired at an Iowa City hospital as a high-level administrator in 2013, using these false identification documents. He then worked for the hospital remotely from his Wisconsin home. Officials described Keirans as the “key administrator of critical systems” whose role in the hospital’s computer infrastructure was “the highest it could be.” Keirans remains in custody. He faces a possible maximum sentence of 32 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine. A sentencing date has not yet been set.