CLERMONT, Iowa (KCRG) – A Fayette County man has been arrested and charged with possession of child pornography. On April 23, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office conducted a search warrant at a home in Clermont. The search warrant took place as part of an investigation that determined 63-year-old Robert Kurdelmeyer was in possession of a large amount of child pornography. Several computers were seized from the residence. Kurdelmeyer was arrested and charged with numerous counts of purchase/possession of depiction of a minor in a sex act. Kurdelmeyer is being held at the Fayette County Jail on a $20,000 bond. A man by the same name works as an IT director for Clayton County. TV9 is reaching out to Clayton County for clarification, and will provide updates as necessary. This is an ongoing investigation. More charges are pending.
JONES COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) – A Kellogg, Iowa man will serve an additional 15 years in prison for forgery and possession of methamphetamine in a case that attorneys say is subject to a Habitual Offender enhancement. Matthew Bakalar was sentenced to two concurrent indeterminate 15-year prison terms for forgery and possession of methamphetamine (third offense). Bakalar has at least two previous felony convictions. According to the Jones County Attorney’s Office, Bakalar went to Jones County on Feb. 14, where he attempted to buy a vehicle using counterfeit cash. When officers arrested him, he was found to be in possession of a significant amount of methamphetamine. Bakalar has previously been sentenced to serve three 5-year prison sentences for two cases in Jasper County, with one of the sentences being consecutive for a total of 10 years in prison. However, records show Bakalar was released on parole just over a year later in 2023. He was then convicted of a new felony in a separate Jasper County case in March 2024, but was granted a suspended 5-year prison sentence and was placed on probation even though he was on parole at the time of the offense. Bakalar was then released from county jail on probation on April 3, 2024, and escaped his probation and parole supervision just three days later. He had been at large until he was arrested in Jones County on February 14. Because of a change in the law that went into effect in July 2024, Bakalar will have to spend at least three years in prison before being eligible for parole.
MECHANICSVILLE, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH/KCRG) – A Cedar County farmer is suing a manufacturer of wind turbines, alleging three turbine fires scattered debris over hundreds of acres of land, damaging his crops. Alan Weets of Mechanicsville is suing the Chicago-based company Nordex USA, which does business as Acciona Windpower North America and Anchor Wind, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Weets alleges that in 2010, he entered into an agreement with Acciona that gave the company an easement on his property for the installation of two wind turbines. Acciona, the lawsuit claims, was aware of “serious problems” with the turbines that it installed on Weets’ property but failed to repair or replace them in order to render them safe. In March 2023, one of the turbines caught fire and spread debris across 160 acres of Weets’ land, the lawsuit alleges. The damage allegedly resulted in Weets having to restrict that section of the property to grain production rather than forage and fodder for livestock feed. In May 2024, a second turbine on Weets’ property allegedly caught fire, spreading additional debris across the land. Over the next several months, according to the lawsuit, Weets grew frustrated with a perceived lack of progress by Acciona contractors, who used farm-type equipment in an effort to clean up the property. In August 2024, the second wind turbine allegedly caught fire again, causing one of the massive blades to fall to the ground. Weets claims that shortly thereafter, the Cedar County Co-Operative informed him it would not accept any grain from him that was contaminated by turbine debris. In all, 230 acres of land were allegedly contaminated by the debris. Weets alleges that although he and Acciona never agreed on the cost or extent of the damages, the company issued him a check for $230,000 as compensation. The two sides have yet to come to terms on that issue, the lawsuit claims. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for alleged negligence, breach of contract and consumer fraud. Nordex media representatives did not immediately respond Wednesday to requests for comment.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (WBBM/KCRG) – A Chicago-based firefighter has died in a garage fire and collapse. The firefighter, identified as 54-year-old David Meyer, is survived by his wife, three daughters, and a son. One of his daughters is a student at the University of Iowa. According to a statement from The University of Iowa Police Department, UIPD received a request from The Chicago Fire Department early Wednesday morning, asking UIPD to help bring his daughter home. The Illinois State Patrol met UIPD at the Iowa-Illinois border, where Illinois officers then drove the daughter the rest of the way home. “This is the first time we’ve received this specific request, but we do anything we can to support our students,” said UIPD Chief of Staff Hayley Bruce.