The Clear Lake Police Department will host a week-long Supervisory Leadership Institute, taught by the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (LEEDA) this week.
    The class is designed for the development of first-line supervisors and middle managers.  Forty-two officers from Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Nebraska and Kansas will be in Clear Lake for the week to attend the training.
    According to Clear Lake Police Chief Greg Peterson, the FBI’s LEEDA has offered the prestigious Command Institute for top police executives for many years.  Peterson is a graduate of the Command Institute, which he attended in the mid-1990s.
    The Supervisory Leadership Institute is new and has been offered only within the past year.  
    Shortly after coming to Clear Lake, Peterson became aware of the new training from the FBI and learned it had not been previously offered in North Central Iowa.  He contacted LEEDA several months ago and offered to host the class.  This October the Clear Lake Police Department will again host the FBI LEEDA, this time for the Command Institute.
    Commenting on the class, Chief Peterson said, “Many times police officers are promoted after proving their skills on the street.  Many of these officers have not had the kind of training they need to prepare them for supervision and management. These are totally different skill sets that you do not learn working on the street.  Training like this will benefit departments by making these officers better supervisors and managers.  The result will be better managed departments, and that translates into better service for the citizens of the communities these officers serve in.”

    Due to favorable ice conditions over most of the state, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has pushed back the deadline for removing permanent ice fishing shelters from public waters to March 1.  The usual deadline is Feb. 20.
    Ice shelter owners should be aware that weather and ice conditions can change and they should be prepared to remove the permanent ice shacks from the ice, if a period of unseasonably warm weather develops.

At least it has for the Great Horned Owl
by Lowell Washburn
Iowa Department of Natural Resources

Many of the birds that will nest and rear their young in Iowa backyards this summer are still many hundreds or even thousands of miles to the south, soaking up sunshine and warmth in central or South America.
But there is one dramatic exception. For resident great horned owls, the spring nesting season is currently in full swing. Of all Iowa bird species, horned owls are the earliest to initiate nesting each year. For most pairs, the noisy courtship displays that began in December have nearly concluded. Some females are even setting on eggs, and the first downy chicks will appear next month.
No avian mother is more dedicated. While sitting atop her clutch of two to three eggs, the brooding female endures a solid month of ice, sub-zero wind chills, and may even become covered in several inches of new snow. Regardless of how severe the weather becomes, the female sits tight. To leave the nest would doom eggs to freezing.
During the next two months, the male will be a complete support system for his mate and newly hatched chicks. Great horned males are fierce hunters and will take on virtually anything that flies, hops, or crawls. Rodents and cottontails are the most common fare. More bizarre menu items include crows, cats, and striped skunks. In spite of the fact that late winter supplies of prey items are at low ebb, the family rarely misses a meal.

Valerie Lea Hasbrouck, 47, of Ventura, entered a not guilty plea Tuesday in response to charges she attempted to murder her mother.  No court date has been set.
    Hasbrouck was arrested Monday, Dec. 3, on the charge of Attempt to Commit Murder based on an incident at the home of her mother, Tressa Waddingham, 81, also of rural Ventura.
    Waddingham told Hancock County authorities she layed on the floor and pretended to be dead after her daughter allegedly attacked her and then ransacked her home to stage a break-in.      
    Documents filed in Hancock County District Court state the incident began Monday morning, Dec. 3, when Hasbrouck entered Waddingham’s home.  Hasbrouck made a 911 call to authorities at 1:55 p.m. and reported she had just found the house burglarized and her mother dead.  But when authorities arrived, Waddingham wasn’t dead and she identified her daughter as the person who had attacked her and then scattered and broke belongings so the home would appear to have been broken into.
    Hasbrouck made her initial appearance before a Magistrate on Tuesday, Dec. 4.  The judge ordered she be held in Hancock County Jail on $200,000 bond.   A no-contact order was also issued to keep Hasbrouck away from her mother.  If convicted, Hasbrouck faces up to 25 years in prison.

    Two persons have been arrested on charges they used false identifications at banks in Clear Lake, Mason City and Algona in an attempt to withdraw funds from accounts which did not belong to them.
    Tyish Hamilton, 22, of Antioch, Calif., and Mark Stephens, 31, of Oakland, Calif., were taken into custody Friday, Feb. 8.  
    It was the second time in six weeks that employees at the Bank of America branch in Clear Lake helped to stop a theft attempt.
    This time, Mason City police were alerted at 3:55 p.m. Feb. 8 of a report of a possible forgery.  They arrested Hamilton at the Bank of America in Mason City on a forgery charge. Police continued their investigation and shortly after 11 p.m. arrested Stephens, charging him with aiding and abetting forgery.
    Both are being held in the Cerro Gordo County Jail on $5,000 bond.
    On Dec. 27, three men were thwarted in an attempt to steal $15,000 through fraud, thanks to the actions of Bank of America Clear Lake office Assistant Manager Doug Weiland.  
    Othello Gaye Karngbaye, 25, of Brooklyn Park, Minn. and  accomplices Oladipo Sowunmi Woodduck, 26, of Woodbury, Minn., and 30-year-old Adetakunbo Olumbunmi Adejumo, of Crystal, Minn. were charged. Adujumo has been arrested and convicted of felony credit card fraud in Prior Lake and Brooklyn Park, Minn., and felony swindle in Minnetonka, Minn.  Karngbaye and Woodduck also have arrest records in Minnesota.
    Police ask that anyone who knows of suspicous circumstances concerning bank accounts or fund transactions contact them.  The Clear Lake Police Department may be reached at 357-2186.

Winter just keeps marching on, with snowfall occuring at least a few times each week. Monday, the area received about six inches of new snowfall. More is predicted Thursday.   

Sholly will play football at Ivy League’s Penn
Jared Sholly has become Clear Lake’s first, and one of only two players in the State this year, to sign on to play football in the Ivy League. Sholly signed a letter of intent with the University of Pennsylvania on Wednesday, Feb. 6.
Sholly said he had many options to consider after high school, but ultimately chose the one which would allow him to play football at a strong program and provide a quality education. The football and academic standout plans to study business. Penn’s business school is ranked number one in the country.
“First off, Jared is a fantastic person and that is the first thing we look for in recruiting,” said Penn Assistant Coach Jon McLaughlin, responsible for the school’s recruiting in Iowa. “He’s one of two in Iowa who will play Ivy League athletics next year--combining elite academics with Division I football ability. We are excited about his work ethic and toughness and feel it will raise the level of everyone in our program.
Sholly will play on Penn’s defensive line. Ivy League schools do not redshirt athletes, he noted.
Clear Lake Football Coach Fred Wieck said he is proud of Sholly and expects him to achieve on the field and off at Penn.
“Jared is an exceptional student-athlete,” said Wieck. “He is a very good pass rush guy who will come hard off the edge and rush the quarterback.”
Sholly is a two-time First Team Class 3A All-State player, who also earned First Team All-District and All-District Academic honors twice. The four-year A Honor Roll student was a leader in quarterback sacks for not only Clear Lake, but the state.
McGrath to play soccer at Missouri State