Meet the new officer at Storm Lake Police Department
Meet Duke, a Belgian Malinois. The dog was recently sworn in as a multi-purpose K-9 for the police department.
He's pictured with his handler, Officer Mitchell Fritz. Duke is Storm Lake's 9th K-9 unit in the program's history.
The program is entirely funded by private donations. Duke will make his first public appearance at Kids Fest on Sunday, June 8.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
5 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Latino tenants sued their landlord. A lawyer told them they would be 'picked up by ICE.'
In her entire law career, Sarah McCracken has never seen anything like the email she received on June 25. McCracken, a tenants' rights lawyer at Tobener Ravenscroft, is currently representing a Latino family suing a landlord and real estate agent for illegal eviction after being kicked out of their Baldwin Park home last year. A few weeks after being served, amid a series of ICE raids primarily targeting Latino communities in L.A. County, Rod Fehlman, the lawyer who appeared to be representing the agent at the time, sent McCracken's team a series of emails disputing the lawsuit and urging them to drop the case. He ended the correspondence with this: 'It is also interesting to note that your clients are likely to be picked up by ICE and deported prior to trial thanks to all the good work the Trump administration has done in regards to immigration in California.' 'It's racist,' McCracken said. 'Not only is it unethical and probably illegal, but it's just a really wild thing to say — especially since my clients are U.S. citizens.' The comment arrived as ICE raises tensions between landlords and Latino tenants. According to California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, ICE has been pressuring some landlords to report their tenants' immigration status. Bonta's office issued a consumer alert on Tuesday reminding landlords that 'it is illegal in California to discriminate against tenants or to harass or retaliate against a tenant by disclosing their immigration status to law enforcement.' Fehlman didn't respond to requests for comment, nor did the clients he seemed to be representing: real estate agent David Benavides and brokerage Majesty One Properties, Inc. Fehlman's role in the case is unclear; following requests for comment from The Times, Benavides and the brokerage responded to McCracken's complaint using a different law firm. But according to McCracken, Fehlman serves as the defendants' personal attorney and will likely still take part in the lawsuit in an advisory role. Evicted From 2018 to 2024, Yicenia Morales rented a two-bedroom condo in Baldwin Park, which she shared with her husband, three children and grandson. According to her wrongful eviction lawsuit filed in May, the house had a slew of problems: faulty electricity, leaks in the bathroom, bad ventilation, and a broken heater, air-conditioning unit and garage door. 'There was a lot that needed to be fixed, but we accepted it because we were just happy to find a place to live,' Morales said. The real problems started in 2024, when her landlord, Celia Ruiz, started asking the family to leave because she wanted to sell the property, which isn't a valid reason for eviction under California law or Baldwin Park's Just Cause Eviction Ordinance, the suit said. According to the lawsuit, Ruiz then changed her story, alleging that she wanted to move into the house herself, which would be a valid reason for eviction. According to the suit, Ruiz and her real estate agent, David Benavides of Majesty One Properties, constantly urged Morales and her family to leave. In September, the pressure mounted. Ruiz penned a handwritten note saying she needed the house back, and Benavides began calling them almost every day, the suit said. In November, assuming Ruiz needed to move back in, Morales left. But instead of moving in herself, Ruiz put the property on the market in January and sold it by March. 'I really believed she needed the house for herself,' Morales said. 'I'm just tired of people taking advantage of others.' Lawyer tactics Depending on your interpretation of California's Business and Professions Code, Fehlman's comment could be illegal, McCracken said. Section 6103.7 says lawyers can be suspended, disbarred or disciplined if they 'report suspected immigration status or threaten to report suspected immigration status of a witness or party to a civil or administrative action.' In addition, the State Bar of California bans lawyers from threatening to present criminal, administrative or disciplinary charges to obtain an advantage in a civil dispute. You could argue that Fehlman's email isn't a threat. He never said he'd call ICE himself, only claiming that Morales and her family 'are likely to be picked up by ICE and deported.' Morales and her entire family are all U.S. citizens. But she said she feels racially profiled because of her last name. 'It's not fair for him to take advantage of that,' she said. 'I was born here. I have a birth certificate. I pay taxes.' Just to be safe, Morales sent her birth certificates to McCracken's team. Even though she's a citizen, if Fehlman reports her to ICE, she still doesn't feel safe. Federal agents have arrested U.S. citizens during its recent raids across L.A, and a 2018 investigation by The Times found that ICE has arrested nearly 1,500 U.S. citizens since 2012, detaining some for years at a time. 'I was already depressed over the eviction. Now I'm hurt, embarrassed and nervous as well. Will he really call ICE on us?' Morales said. McCracken said Fehlman's message is a byproduct of the current anti-immigrant political environment. Fehlman sent the email on June 25, the end of a jarring month that saw the agency arrest 2,031 people across seven counties in Southern California, 68% of which had no criminal convictions. 'People seem to be emboldened to flout the law because they see people at the top doing it,' she said. 'It's totally unacceptable behavior.' An ironic twist, she added, is that Fehlman's own client at the time was also Latino. 'I don't know if Benavides was aware that his lawyer is making racially profiling comments, but I don't think he'd want to work with someone like that,' McCracken said. The case is still in its early stages. Benavides and Majesty One Properties responded to the complaint on July 17, and McCracken's team hasn't officially served the landlord Ruiz yet because they've been unable to locate her. In the wake of the ICE comment, communication between McCracken and Fehlman halted. McCracken decided Fehlman's rant and possible threat didn't warrant a response, and Fehlman hasn't said anything else in the meantime. Her team is still deciding how they want to proceed in the wake of the comment, which could justify legal action. She called it a dangerous attempt to chill her client's speech and a failed attempt to intimidate her into dropping the case. But he took it way too far. 'We're at a point in time where lawyers need to be upholding the rule of law,' she said. 'Especially in a time like this.'
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Peoria woman accused of hijacking SUV from man in shopping center parking lot
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A Peoria woman faces up to 30 years in prison for 'brazen behavior' when she allegedly attacked and hijacked a 66-year-old man's vehicle. Taccara V. Dear, 32, appeared in Peoria County Circuit Court on charges of aggravated vehicular hijacking and possession of a stolen motor vehicle in connection with an incident Sunday afternoon in Sterling Plaza shopping center. The aggravating factor in the case was the victim's age. If convicted, Dear faces up to 30 years in prison. She appeared by way of ZOOM, clad in the orange jumpsuit of an inmate at the Peoria County Jail. Peoria County prosecutors sought to have Dear detained pending the outcome of her case. Judge Mark Gilles agreed. The reason behind Gilles' decision? It was a 'brazen behavior' on a 'vulnerable population' and on a stranger, showing no combination of pretrial conditions could protect the public from Dear, he said. She shook her head and put her head in her hands several times as Gilles handed down his decision. At about 4 p.m. Sunday, officers were called to the shopping center on a report of a stolen car. When they arrived, they found the victim who said he was getting into his vehicle when a woman, allegedly Dear, reached through the window of his 2008 Ford Escape, took his keys from the ignition, and fled on foot. When he tried to stop her, she struck him multiple times before getting into his vehicle and driving away. She was caught later and allegedly admitted to taking the vehicle. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
East Cleveland mayor fires police chief: I-Team
EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio (WJW) — The FOX 8 I-Team has learned the East Cleveland police chief has been fired. His replacement could be named in the next few days. Mayor Lateek R. Shabazz wrote a letter to Acting Chief Kenneth Lundy informing him he has been terminated effective immediately. Lundy received the letter on Monday. Police: Woman exchanges gunfire with 2 suspects after spotting them on doorbell cam The letter states Lundy was not properly hired. 'The decision follows a comprehensive review that uncovered multiple violations of Ohio civil service laws and East Cleveland ordinances regarding his appointment and promotions,' a news release from the East Cleveland mayor's office states. 'According to the review, Mr. Lundy was originally appointed in June 2016 and promoted through the ranks of sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and, most recently, Acting Chief of Police on January 2, 2024 — none of which adhered to the required competitive civil service examinations. Additionally, East Cleveland's ordinances limit temporary classified appointments to no more than 180 days in a calendar year; Mr. Lundy's continuous service far exceeded that limit. The only unclassified police employee is a six-month beat patrol commissioned officer who is not authorized to be a member of a collective bargaining union.' Shabazz, on Monday afternoon, told reporters Lundy's lack of civil service testing opens the city up to liability. : 'In addition to your unlawful appointment and promotions, news that you became romantically involved with the girlfriend of a homicide suspect you were investigating, without disclosing your live-in relationship with her to Cuyahoga County prosecutors prosecuting the suspect, is not the mindset of someone I want managing police going forward,' the letter from the mayor to the chief states. 'The duties of police are to obey and enforce all the ordinances of the city, and the criminal laws of the state and United States pursuant to R.C. 737.11. Police do not disobey laws. I am demanding strict constitutional compliance and obedience to laws from all law enforcement personnel.' Offensive demonstrations cause outrage in Summit County Shabazz said the city expects to name a permanent police chief by the end of the week and suggested Lundy's successor could be someone promoted from within the department. 'When I came in, I promised to reform the police department and that's what I'm doing right now. That's the first step in getting this city back on track,' he said. 'Your police department and your school systems — that's what brings people to your city,' he continued. 'The school system is the next thing we're going to address. But the police is most important. I don't want people to think they don't have protection.' We reached out to Lundy to discuss the matter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
