(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department report a Clarke County man was arrested Wednesday evening at the Creston/Union County Law Enforcement Center. 29-year-old Dennis Michael Simmerman, of Murry, was charged with Sexual Abuse/3rd Degree. He was brought to the Union County Jail and held without bond until seen by a Judge.

IOWA CITY, Iowa [KCRG-TV] —  The former University of Iowa Machine Shop manager accused of stealing nearly $950,000 from the university was arrested on Thursday. State Auditor Rob Sand released a report Sept. 4 detailing his investigation into Brian Busch’s activities as Machine Shop manager for the university’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. The investigation found Busch deposited nearly $1 million into his personal accounts that should have gone to the university’s account.

It also found Busch failed to tell the university about his ownership of D3Signtech (D3T), in compliance with university of policy. University officials were also made aware Busch may have used university assets and staff to divert revenue from the school to his business. The university says Busch was placed on administrative leave in 2021 but was not fired until last week when Sand’s investigation was finished. They say they’re looking at ways to recoup what they paid Busch and two other employees while on leave.

Busch was arrested on Thursday. He faces charges of first-degree theft, tampering with records, ongoing criminal activity and first-degree fraud.

(Radio Iowa) – The deadline passed Thursday afternoon and no one claimed a half-million dollar Powerball prize from a ticket sold at a northern Iowa convenience store. The 500-thousand dollar ticket was purchased at a Kwik Star in Mason City six months ago and it needed to be claimed at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive by 4 P-M Thursday. Lottery spokeswoman Mary Neubauer explains what will happen to the money.

“If a prize expires without being claimed, the money goes into the lottery’s prize pools for future games and promotions,” Neubauer says, “so it will go to pay prizes, just not those prizes that have expired.”

(Iowa Lottery photo)

The prize was not in a regular Powerball drawing but in the Powerball Double Play drawing on March 16th. The winning ticket was part of the Double Play option that was added to the Powerball game in Iowa back in November, which is a second drawing that takes place after the first drawing.

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (KCRG) – One person suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a small plane crashed in Linn County on Thursday. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office said the single-engine plane crashed in a farm field south of Highway 30 and east of Cedar River Road. The pilot – 65-year-old Mark Anton- was the only person onboard the plane. He was taken to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

There was no damage to anything other than the plane. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – A park south of Forrest City that is the second highest point in Iowa will mark its 100th anniversary Saturday. Pilot Knob State Park Manager Katie Hemann says people in two counties got things moving to preserve the area. “Kind of started in the 1920s with Winnebago and Hancock County residents seeing a piece of land and wanting to preserve it. So the process of it becoming a state park started in 1920 and then it became a dedicated State Park in 1924,” she says. A depression-era program led to the building of a feature at the park that has become its signature.

“Probably the most distinct feature in Pilot Knob is our observation tower that was built in 1934,” Hemann says, “so it will be 90 years old this year, which is really neat. It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps out of glacial rubble.” She says they put in a lot of work cutting those large rocks to build the structure, which is on the National Register of Historic Place. There’s also a lake, an amphitheater, and picnic shelter.

Pilot Knob State Park observation tower. (DNR photo)

Hemann says another unique feature of Pilot Knob is they have 90 camping spaces that are open year round. “We do have quite a few winter campers. A lot of them are hunters, but we do have some people that just enjoy camping in the winter, the peace and tranquility of fresh snowfall,” she says.

There are several events planned for the celebration, which is open to the public. “We ask that people use the main entrance in order to be able to manage all of the vehicle traffic coming in and making sure everybody has a place to park to the best of our abilities.

The celebration will start at 10am down by our warming house, which is right next to Pilot Knob Lake,” Hemann says. The volunteer group Friends of Pilot Knob State Park is hosting the celebration.

(Creston, Iowa) – An accident involving a loaded cement truck and an SUV in Creston, caused a police estimated $5,500 damage, but no one was injured. Creston Police say 2023 Mack cement truck driven by 61-year-old Mark A. Ingram, of Creston, was traveling west on W. Adams Street at around 8-a.m., Thursday, and had stopped at the stop light at the intersection with S. Sumner Street. The truck – with its extra rear axle and wheels down – entered the turn lane to turn north onto Sumner Avenue. As the vehicle was turning, the extra set of rear wheels swung into the rear passenger tire and door of a 2017 GMC Acadia SUV, driven by 25-year-old Mikayla Ann Duncan, of Orient.

Authorities say the impact caused the tire to pop, and significant damage to the rear passenger door area. The damage was estimated at $5,000. Damage to the cement truck – Registered to Holmes/Murphy & Associates, LLC, was estimated at $500. There were no citations issued.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Road Department reports beginning Monday, Sept. 16th, 210^th Street between Sheldon and Trenton Avenues, will be closed for a culvert replacement project. The road will be closed for anywhere from three-to five-days, or by no later than Sept. 20th.

210th St. in Adair County

(Radio Iowa) – A Mason City woman who was accused of embezzling thousands of dollars from an Osage Girl Scout troop she helped found has entered a guilty plea in the case. 30-year-old Kennika Gueller was originally charged with ongoing criminal conduct, a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison, as well as second-degree theft after authorities said she stole just under $6000 from the troop for personal purchases in Mason City, Manly, Charles City, Osage, as well as online.

A criminal complaint states the money was taken from the troop’s bank account and the proceeds of cookie sales. As part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, Gueller on Wednesday pleaded guilty to the second-degree theft charge with the ongoing criminal conduct charge being dismissed.

In exchange for the plea, prosecutors say they’ll recommend a deferred judgment and five years probation when Gueller is sentenced on November 5th in Mitchell County District Court.

(Radio Iowa) – A new report shows Iowans are continuing to pack on the pounds, with more than one in every three Iowa adults now being considered obese. Dr. Nadine Gracia, president and CEO of Trust for America’s Health, says the national report places Iowa tied for seventh with Indiana for the most overweight states. “Iowa, in the latest data shows that the rate of obesity among adults is at about 37%, not a significant difference from the previous year, but what’s more important is really that we look at trends,” Gracia says. “When we look at the state over the past five years, there has been a significant increase, demonstrating that there is a need to continue to really work on addressing adult and childhood obesity.”

The report shows Iowa’s young people are mirroring the adults in seeing elevated weights. “Rates of childhood obesity at the national level is at about nearly 20%,” Gracia says. “For children in the state of Iowa, between the ages of six to 17, that rate is about 15%, again, also seeing over time increases.” About ten years ago, the report found -zero- states with an adult obesity rating over 35-percent, while the new report puts Iowa — and almost half of all states — in that category.

“Now, 23 states have adult obesity rates at or above 35%,” Gracia says. “When we also look at the last five years, we’re seeing that actually about more than half of all the states in the country have experienced an increase in their adult obesity rate.” Obesity is a complicated issue to diagnose, and she calls it a national public health issue that goes far beyond individual behavior. “We also know how your environment, whether you have access to affordable, healthy, nutritious foods, living in a neighborhood where you can engage safely in physical activity,” Gracia says, “those types of structural factors are really important as it relates to risk for obesity.”

Trust for America’s Health graphic

Other factors may include medications, genetics, other health issues, and stress. The report shows West Virginia has the highest obesity rate at 41-percent, while Colorado ranked the lowest with 25-percent.

See the full State of Obesity 2024 report.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report a woman was arrested Thursday afternoon for Driving While Barred. 38-year-old Sara Sue Batten, of Red Oak, was taken into custody in the 300 block of Alix Avenue at around 4:15-p.m. Batten was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond.