Iowa City Press-Citizen from Iowa City, Iowa • Page 1

LOW A GITY PRESS-CITIZEN Friday, June 29, 1979 20' Iowa City, Iowa A annett Newspaper afternoon Algona weekend events All-State Music Camn Concert jj today at 7 p.m., Hancher Des Moines Little Marv Sunshine tndav Hat 8:30 p.m., E.C. Mabie The- 9 later. I i Twelfth Night Saturday at 0 18:30 p.m., E.C. Mabie Theater. Comment The threatened crisis fol Thre in murder By The Associated Press As National Guardsmen and state troopers kept on-lookers away, residents of Algona and Manson began digging out from the tornadoes which smashed through their towns Thursday night, killing five and injuring at least 55.

At Manson, National Guardsmen patrolled the community of 1,900 in the wake of a storm that ripped through the town's mid-section, des-toying or damaging more than 100 homes and businesses and killing three persons-. The dead were identified as Norma Agnes Pearson, no age available, and Eveline Kirchoff, 95. Authorities said the Jackson woman had gone to the home of the Kirchoff woman to help her. The two women were found a few minutes later huddled together in the street. The Jackson woman was dead and the Kirchoff woman died shortly after being found.

Both suffered massive head injuries. Troopers said this morning they planned to search some buildings again to make sure no casualties were overlooked in the dark Thursday night. Troopers were also standing watch at the Manson bank, drug store and a sporting good store to make sure no money, drugs or guns were taken. City officials said this morning the lowing accusations of discrimination against a local disco has calmed, but the matter suggests that proce-! dures of the Iowa City Civil Rights might be studied to P3 uciciimiie quicKer action may not be possible. Page I 4A.

Sports Martina Navratilova and I Chris Evert Iioyd won today at Wimbledon to advance to 1 the final 16. Page 1C. AP Uaerphotoa Algona tornado damage Musicland store in a shopping center at High- businesses in the center were heavily damaged ways 18-169, in Algona, was one of six stores in by storms which claimed five lives and left the center destroyed by a tornado that hit the numerous persons injured in Algona and Man-northern Iowa town Thursday night. Two other son. An Iowa City couple was arrested Thursday evening and charged with first degree murder in connection with the April 14 shotgun slaying of Ady Jensen of Iowa City.

The murdered man's widow Jeanne M. Jensen, 32, of Iowa City pleaded guilty Thursday in Cedar County District Court to a charge of conspiracy to commit a forcible felony in connection with the murder. Cedar County Sheriff Keith Whitlatch said today that Mrs. Jensen, accompanied by an attorney, appeared at the courthouse in Tipton Thursday. Sentencing is set July 31.

The accused couple, Robert Lee Kern and Judy Sorge Kern, 33, were arrested about 9 p.m. Thursday at their home, 47 Amber Lane, said Gerald Shanahan, director of the state division of criminal investigation. The arrests were made by agents of the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Johnson and Cedar County sheriffs' deputies. The Kerns, held in lieu of $100,000 bond each, appeared in Cedar County District Court this morning on charges of first degree murder. Court records about that appearance were unavailable early this afternoon.

After the arrests, Judy Kern was taken to the Johnson County Jail, where she was held overnight. She was taken to the Cedar County jail at Tipton this morning where she and her husband are held. Robert Kern was taken to the Cedar County Jail after his arrest. According to a police account of the murder, Ady Jensen, a 39-year-old employee in the plumbing department at the University of Iowa, was killed by two shotgun blasts at about 10:30 a.m. April 14 in his parents' farm home near West Branch.

The murderer, who was "partially disguised," showed up at the home north of town about 11 hours before the killing. Jensen was not the house, but his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand Jensen, were. The killer tied them up in a bedroom with a rope.

Jensen arrived at his parents place about 10 a.m. the next morning. Just prior to his arrival, the phone rang twice, an apparent tip-off that Ady Jensen was on his way. The victim appeared to have no idea the killer was lying in wait. The murderer made his escape in the elder Jensen's car.

Inflation to exceed 10 percent WASHINGTON (AP) Inflation, fanned by OPEC oil-price increases, will exceed 10 percent this year, presidential adviser Alfred Kahn is predicting. Petroleum costs are rising fastest, but food could go up more than 11 percent in 1979, the Carter administration says. Kahn's inflation assessment Thursday, the gloomiest yet by the administration, is brought home by a private economist's estimate that the average family's bill for gasoline and motor oil will increase at least $230 a year because of OPEC price boosts. Albert H. Cox president of Merrill Lynch Economics, also said home heating oil costs for the average family will rise more than $90 a year.

While the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries raised oil prices Thursday from a base of $14.55 per barrel to between $18 and $23.50 per barrel, the Agriculture Department was estimating food prices this year will zoom between 10.2 percent and 11.2 percent. Department forecasters said they were forced to revise previous estimates upward because of uncertainties throughout the economy from rising grain prices to fuel shortages and costs which affect the transportation and processing of food. mountain of rubble left behind poses a major cleanup problem. Bulldozes and dump trucks began moving into town this morning to clear away the rubble. The twister cut a swath through the town a block and a half wide and about 15 blocks long.

This morning, the National Guard and state patrol had erected barricades around the area. The Red Cross moved in within hours, providing temporary shelter, food and clothing. General Telephone Co. moved in a mobile telephone unit this morning with a 400-line capacity that workers said they hoped to have in working order later in the day. The morning damage count tallied about 100 homes and 24 businesses.

Two killed in Algona ALGONA, Iowa (AP) Two tornadoes, one of them staying in the air and the other touching down, destroyed or seriously damaged homes and businesses in about a 30 block area of Algona Thursday night, killing two people and injuring about 35. Dead are Leona Smith, 69, and Eva Pfeffer, 66. Both died at a Rochester, hospital early this morning. Mrs. Pfeffer's husband, Lawrence, 73, remained in serious condition at Rochester with head injuries.

The disaster struck just two days before the town was set to mark its 125th anniversary. But now, instead of welcoming visitors, the town is seeking to discourage sight-seers. Highway patrol officers said this morning they were stopping traffic on U.S. Highway 169 leading into the town and turning away all travelers except relatives and friends and those wishing to volunteer in the clean-up. Mayor Harold Van Allen said it is the worst such disaster in the community's history.

An estimated 200 persons were left homeless as between 50 and 75 homes were destroyed. Officials said the homeless all apparently found temporary shelter with friends and relatives. The Red Cross took over a public school building to house the tornado victims. But none stayed through the night. This morning, some of those whose property was damaged were returning to survey the damage.

"It hurts me much more to come here this morning than last night," said Mrs. Neva Johnson. Mrs. Johnson and three other members of her family took refuge in their basement during the storm. Minutes later, the roof of her house was gone.

Tornado aftermath at Manson 0 The Iowa City Sundevils 1 leave tomorrow for the I national AAU girls basket- If I ball tournament. Page 1C. on the inside fi New York Times corre- I I spondent Graham Hovey if looks at the menacing world t) I of international politics. i Page SA. Is 5 Classified 7MB a Comics, TV 3B Comment 4A3 DearAbby 3B 6 Emphasis 7A4 Mars 6Bl People 3B Sports 1B-2B3 20 pages 2 sections 1 And 1 Supplement Local Weather Sunny on Saturday Forecast on page 6B.

Economic index rises still weak WASHINGTON (AP) An index designed to forecast economic trends rose a modest 0.4 percent in May after a precipitous 2 percent drop in the previous month, the government reported today. The heavily revised figures in the Commerce Department's Index of Leading Indicators suggest that the slowdown, or recession, that many economists have been predicting could be on its way. "It still hasn't come back from the level it was in mid-1978," said a Commerce analyst who asked not to be named. "The indicators still are very weak." In fact, the index reading of 141.2 was the same as it had been in July 1978. There had been a 6.2 point increase from July 1977 to July 1978.

Figures released through May had shown declines in the index in four of the previous six months. But revised figures, a frequent phemon-enon with the index, showed drops in only three of the past seven months. April, which had shown a record 3.3 percent decline in preliminary tabulations last month, was revised to the 2 percent drop, mostly because of revision in work-week data, the Commerce Department said. The May increase resulted from rises in only three of the 10 components of the index. Most of the improvement was attributed to a average work week from strike-depressed levels of April.

Also rising were new orders and building permits. Work-week figures for May showed a 1.02 percent improvement after falling an "abnormally large" 1.34 percent in April, today's report said. Commerce Department economists blamed the April work-week decline on the Teamsters and United Airlines strikes and the fact that statistics had been gathered in the week in which both Passover and Easter fell. A house in the center of Manson sits demo- 1,900 people Thursday night. Destruction ranged lished after a tornado ripped through the town of over a 15-block area.

Algona hard hit 40 Iowa tornadoes reported By The Associated Press As many as 40 tornadoes roamed through northern and central Iowa Thursday night, killing four, injuring as many as 70 and damaging property in at least six communities, according to the Iowa Highway Patrol. Tornadoes reported By The Associated Press Here is a list of locations where tornadoes were sighted or touched down Thursday night, based on Iowa State Patrol and National "My mother was trapped," said Harold Ricklefs. "The kitchen in her house just collapsed and she was buried in some stuff. We had to dig her out." Ricklefs of rural Fort Dodge went to rescue his mother Rose at Manson, which along with Algona, were the heaviest hit. "It's a mess, I'll tell you," Ricklefs said.

"It just flattened houses. The streets are all blocked." The state patrol reported four confirmed dead and eight to 10 seriously injured in Manson and 10 hospitalized and 35 treated and released at Algona. Both are in north central Iowa. In Renwick, about 420 residents were evacuated after two tanks holding anhydrous ammonia a fertilizer exploded, releasing toxic fumes into the air, after a tornado struck the community. One tank later sealed itself and a second 26,000 gallon tank was sealed and residents began returning home early Friday, the highway patrol reported.

Lt. Gov. Terry Branstad, National Guard, State Patrol and Disaster Services officials were to visit the area today. A spokesman said Gov. Robert Ray may be called back from Romania where he is on a tour with the American Governor's Association if the situation warrants.

Ray was not scheduled to return until July 4. The governor's office called out the National Guard to help in Manson and Algona, which had been preparing to start a week-long celebration of its 125th anniversary Saturday. Policeman Dave Nelson said he saw twin tornadoes strike Algona. "There was a pair one was big, one was small. And I don't think the small one touched down.

If it did, it was only for a moment." The Iowa State Patrol reported a shopping center and a 100-square block residential area were heavily damaged in Algona, population 6,000, and 24 businesses and 100 homes destroyed or heavily damaged in Man-son. "I was petrified," said Julie Ann Evanson of Manson, who watched the tornado which struck the city of 1,900, destroying a five block long area, including the middle school. "I was standing out in the back yard and it sounded like a freight train going through town," she said. "I saw things flying and debris and I watched it go through town and head southeast out of town." Observors said virtually every business in the three-block area of downtown Manson suffered extensive damage and Police Officer John Ewing said no homes were left in the area from downtown to the southeast edge of town. "It's just gone, clear out to the edge of town," Ewing said.

"The houses are gone." Weather Service Reports: Manson Mooreland Algona Goldfield Renwick Perry Ringsted Fenton Estherville Lone Rock Havelock Plover Burt Pocahontas Palmer Emmetsburg Pomeroy Callendar Boone Webster City Woodward Jewell Dallas Center Panora Dawson Adel Story City Waukee Martinsdale DeSoto Indianola Norwalk New Virginia "We don't know if we will try to rebuild or rent or what. They say there's very little value left of our house. My house is off of its foundation," she Mrs. Johnson had been keeping watch over a neighbors' residence while they were on vacation. "I watered their plants yesterday.

Now the house is gone," she said..