SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say they’re investigating a man who has been posing as a police officer and making traffic stops in western Iowa. The Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office says two traffic stops were conducted late Saturday night and early Sunday morning near Correctionville and Anthon, Iowa. KTIV-TV reports no threats were made during the fake traffic stops.

According to a news release, the vehicles were pulled over by a seemingly new Dodge Charger with red and blue lights in the dash. The release says the man driving the Dodge identified himself as a member of law enforcement. Those who were pulled over later reported the incidents to police.

The sheriff’s office says officials making traffic stops will be dressed in complete uniform and can display their credentials upon request.

One of the suspects in a plot to kill people at a shopping mall in Canada has ties to Iowa. Twenty-three-year-old Lindsay Souvannarath was arrested on Friday in Canada where authorities claim she and two young men planned to kill “as many people as possible” at the Halifax Shopping Centre. One of the men was arrested along with Souvannarath and both are charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

Lindsay Souvannarath (High School Yearbook photo)

The other male suspect was found dead in a house in Halifax with Canadian media reporting he shot himself. Investigators say the murder plot was foiled after a CrimeStoppers tip. Souvannarath is from Geneva, Illinois. She attended Coe College in Cedar Rapids, enrolling in 2010 and graduating in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, double majoring in English and creative writing.

(Radio Iowa)

Governor Terry Branstad says he is open to looking at changes in the state law that would make it easier for parents of to get ahold of cannabis oil used to treat sick children. The people who pushed for the law allowing them to possess the oil in Iowa, say it is too tough to get and bring in from other states and they would like to see Iowa manufacture the marijuana oil here. “There might be a possibility that we could work something out with a neighboring state in dealing with this, but I want to be careful that we avoid unintended consequences,” Branstad says. “…We want this to be available for the children with epilepsy that it could help, but we also don’t want it to get into the hands of other people who are not authorized to have it.”

Branstad says approving the manufacture of marijuana brings a whole lot of things with it. He says the governor of Colorado has said there are a lot of unintended consequences and he wished the legalization of medical marijuana hadn’t happened in his state. “When you get into the manufacture and distribution, which they are now doing in his state, there are a lot of issues that they really weren’t prepared for.” Branstad says Iowa could possibly work something out with Illinois, which passed a law which allows for the production of medical marijuana. He says Illinois is still working through the process.

“There is a firm in the Quad Cities that is intending to bid on this, so I guess we have to see what happens there. Obviously the Quad Cities is right across the river from Iowa, so I thought if Governor (Bruce) Ruaner approves this and they go forward with this, maybe that is a possibility of something we could do,” according to Branstad. Branstad says the state has to be cautious in whatever changes are made to the law.

“And again, as I said, this is an area that I think we need to be very thoughtful and very careful about. We want to do what we can to try to help the families, but we don’t want to create a lot of unintended consequences like what they are facing in Colorado,” Branstad says. Branstad says he’s not sure if anything will get done in this session, but says the possibility is there to work with a neighboring state.

(Radio Iowa)

Authorities in Fremont County responding to the scene of a single-vehicle accident Sunday afternoon east of Randolph, found an 82-year old woman who was pronounced dead at the scene. Officials identified the woman as Donna Jean Pierce, of Malvern.

An investigation determined Pierce’ vehicle was traveling north on 330th Avenue when it left the road and entered the west ditch, before crashing through a set of closed gates and coming to rest in a creek. The accident happened in the 1100 block of 330th Avenue.

The woman was not wearing a seat belt. Her body was sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny, for autopsy. Fremont County Sheriff’s deputies were assisted at the scene by Tabor Police Department, Randolph Fire and Rescue, Tabor Fire and Rescue and the Iowa State Patrol.

Police in Creston report a hit-and-run accident took place early Sunday morning. Officials say a pickup legally parked on Spruce Street was struck on the left front side by an unknown vehicle traveling northbound. The incident happened at around 4-a.m., Sunday. The unknown vehicle…believed to be a white colored truck… left the scene. Damage to the 1996 Chevy C-25 was estimated at $4,000.