The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest on Tuesday of a Malvern man. 18-year old Dylan Lee Conn was arrested late Tuesday night on a warrant for Failure to Appear on a Possession of Controlled Substance charge, for which there is no bond. He faces additional charges of Possession of Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Bond on those charges was set at $2,300.  Also arrested on Tuesday, was 33-year old James Leonard Burson, of Council Bluffs. Burson was taken into custody at the Pottawattamie County Jail, on a warrant for allegedly violating his probation. Bond was set at $10,000.

Authorities in Mills County report also the arrest on Wednesday, of 41-year old Darold Eugene Bredberg, of Emerson. Bredberg was wanted on a warrant for Theft in the 2nd degree. His bond was set at $5,000.  And, 38-year old Preston Wayne Mathis, of Glenwood, was arrested Wednesday afternoon at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office for Assault/Display of Weapon. His  bond was set at $2,000.

PELLA, Iowa (AP) – A tire company has paid 25 mechanics at six retail locations in Iowa nearly $217,000 in back wages after regulators found violations of federal overtime law.  The U.S. Department of Labor said Wednesday that DJR Holding Corp. made the payments to mechanics at Heartland Tire and Auto Center locations in Ankeny, Creston, Boone, and Waukee; Raceway Tire and Exhaust in Knoxville; and Muscatine Tire in Muscatine.

The Labor Department says its investigation determined that DJR Holding paid mechanics a weekly salary, but cut their pay when hours fell below 40 per week.  Regulators say the company did not increase their pay, however, when their hours exceeded 40 per week, which was required under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The Atlantic Police Department reports the arrest on Wednesday, of 35-year old Robert Atkinson. The Atlantic man was taken into custody on a charge of Theft in the 5th degree (Shoplifting), in association with the alleged theft of clothing from a local hardware store, and on an Adair County warrant for Forgery. Atkinson was booked into the Cass County Jail and held pending a court appearance.

Three Harlan residents were arrested February 15th in connection with a burglary that occurred on February 3rd, as well as drug-related charges, following the execution of a search warrant at 301 Hill Street, in Harlan. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office says 39-year old Chad Darrow, 41-year old Michael Arnold, and 31-year old Nicole Andersen, all of Harlan, were taken into custody after deputies recovered several pieces of evidence believed to be narcotics related.

Chad Darrow (Shelby County Sheriff’s Office photo)

Darrow faces varying degrees of misdemeanor charges that include Possession of Burglary Tools, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of a Controlled Substance/Methamphetamine, and a felony charge of Burglary in the 3rd degree. He was being held in the Shelby County Jail on $5,000 bond, and is scheduled to make his initial appearance in court on February 26th.

Nicole Andersen (Shelby Co. S/O photo)

Michael Arnold (Shelby Co. S/O photo)

Arnold faces a felony charge of Burglary in the 3rd degree. He was released from custody today (Thursday), on $,5000 bond.  And, Andersen was released on $2,000 bond Tuesday. She faces varying degrees of misdemeanor charges that include Possession of a Controlled Substance/Methamphetamine, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drugs.  Andersen made her initial appearance in court this (Thursday) morning.

Montgomery County Emergency Management Coordinator Brian Hamman reports the Midwest Regional Dive Team recently received a donation from the family of a man whose body they recovered last Summer, from a lake in Nebraska.

Pat and Connie Palmerton back row center, standing with members from Midwest Regional Dive Team that were at the recovery in July. (Photo courtesy Brian Hamman, Montgomery Co. EMA)

Members of the Michael D. Hartsook family presented the team with a check for $2,500 on Sunday, January 27th. The team also received a plaque showing the families’  appreciation for the support and closure they received on July 3rd, 2012 at Hansen Lake #3 in Sarpy County, NE.

Members of the Midwest Regional Dive Team were requested by the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office for a dive recovery for a possible drowning victim from July 1st, 2012, that hadn’t been located by other local dive teams and was still missing. The Dive Team responded on July 3rd and battled 100 degree weather for nearly 10 hours. A systematic grid search was done and after 96,000 square feet was searched, the body of Michael Hartsook was recovered.

Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy Ben Bartholomew has been a member of the MRDT for three-years. He told KJAN News their training really pays-off in preparing them for the variable conditions they face when searching for a victim. He says when they train for rescue and recovery efforts, they’re in little-to zero-visibility water, that can range in temperature from the high 30’s to low 40’s.

Even though the family met with the members of the dive team six-months after the tragedy, it brought them one step closer to closure as it was Michael’s birthday, and they wanted to share it with those that were able to recover him from the lake that day. The Dive Team helped to recover three drowning victims in July 2012. On July 4th, they located the body of a 31-year old Lewis woman who drowned while swimming in the Nishnabotna River, in the “Rock Cuts” area of Cold Springs State Park near Lewis, and only July 24th, they helped search for the body of a 25-year old man who died after jumping in to save a girl at Lake Red Rock near Pella. Bartholomew says efforts to recover victims can wear emotionally on the volunteer team. He says it can be “taxing,” especially with the back-to-back searches, but it can be rewarding, as well, especially when it brings closure to the family. He said also it’s nice to be appreciated by those families, because that’s who they’re doing it for.

The Midwest Regional Dive Team consists of divers and support staff ranging in age from the early 20’s to mid-50’s. Some of the older members have decades worth of diving experience. The come from the Red Oak Fire Dept, Clarinda Fire Dept, Ringgold County Water Emergency Team, Adams County EMS, and Cass County, IA Sheriff’s Office. The dive team responds to any requests within a 200 mile radius of Clarinda, Iowa. In 2012, the team responded to a total of four dive recoveries in Iowa and Nebraska.