(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston report five separate arrests took place Tuesday.

• At around 1:30-p.m., 31-year-old Dalton James Cormeny, of Creston, was arrested in the 800 Block of N. Division. Cormeny was charged with Domestic Abuse Assault Impeding Flow of Air/Blood. He was taken to Union County Jail and later posted a $2,000 bond before being released.
• About 90-minutes later, 40-year-old Mark Anthony Weems, Jr., of Creston, was arrested for two-counts of Burglary in the 3rd Degree. His bond was set at $10,000.
• At around 3:15-p.m. Tuesday, Creston Police arrested 32-year-oldTrevor Forrest Kinkade (no known address), in the 600 Block of N. Sycamore. Kinkade was charged with Criminal Mischief 5th Degree. He was later released on a $300 bond. At about the same time, 35-year-old James Leroy Jones, of Creston, was arrested for Theft 5th Degree. Jones was cited and released on a Promise to Appear.
• And, a little after 5:15-p.m. Tuesday, 20-year-old Chase McClain Parascando, of Creston, was arrested for Operating While Under the Influence/1st Offense. Parascando was taken to Union County Jail, posted a $1,000 bond, and was released.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Small Business Administration (SBA) has granted the governor’s request to provide assistance in the form of low-interest disaster loans for eight counties impacted by the March 31st tornadoes. Homeowners, renters, businesses, and most nonprofit organizations in Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Johnson, Linn, Louisa, Muscatine, and Washington counties, whose property was damaged or destroyed by this disaster, will be able to apply for low-interest disaster loans from the S-B-A.

Small businesses, agricultural cooperatives, and most private, nonprofit organizations impacted by the severe weather will be eligible to apply for working capital loans.

(Radio Iowa) – Gamblers in Iowa wagered 232 million dollars in March, which was around one million dollars below March of last year. Racing and Gaming Administrator Brian Ohorilko says that was still much better than what the recent trend. “The sports industry in Iowa had been trending lower every month, year over year, since September of 2022. And so, essentially, that was six consecutive months of lower handle from the previous year,” Ohorilko says. He says there were concerns the trend would lead to a bigger year-to-year difference in the March betting, but the difference ended up not being that significant.

“I think many people in the industry here in Iowa, we’re happy to see that. It is quite possible that some of those bumps were due to the local interest in March. March Madness really kind of drives that that month in terms of sports wagering handle,” he says. Ohorilko says the market appears to be leveling off after the early rush to get operating, and lots of incentives to get people to sign up. “We’re to a period of time where I think the market will become more predictable in this state, the number of operators are leveling off,” Ohorilko says. “We’re not seeing a lot of new companies applying for licenses. In fact, we’re actually seeing a bit of consolidation in the market for a number of companies.” March is the last big betting period for the current sports gambling fiscal year that ends in June. Ohorilko says the next fiscal year that starts in July will let them know more about where sports gambling is headed.

“You know, next year will be pretty telling but we we certainly saw a decline in handle this football season. And now we’re starting to kind of see some leveling off of the market, and that is what I would expect, as we head into the summer and into football season here in 2023,” Ohorilko says. Sports betting began in Iowa in August of 2019.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest Tuesday night on a Montgomery County warrant, of 34-year-old Nikki Mae Brown, from Red Oak. Brown was taken into custody at around 8:15-p.m. on a warrant for Compulsory Education Violation – 1st offense (A simple Misdemeanor). She was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.