A few weeks ago, the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office warned residents about a phone scam taking place in the area. Now Cass County authorities are saying the same thing. As we’ve warned you time and time again, these phone scams target mainly the  elderly, and they involve calls from someone claiming to be a persons grandchild. The supposed grandchild always says they are in trouble with the law, and need money wired to them right away.

Another age-old phone scam involves the caller saying you’ve won a prize, but in order to receive it, you need to wire a certain amount of money to persons out of state. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says if you receive the “grandchild in trouble”  type of calls, make certain you are sure of the caller’s identity. Before wiring money to someone who seems like they are a relative, hang up the phone and attempt to call that relative or other relatives on your own, to be sure of the situation. You can also call the law enforcement agency where the alleged “grandchild” was being held, to confirm their status.

If you receive a prize-winning-type call, keep in mind that winning a VALID prize will not require you to pay anything to anyone. Most importantly…do not give out any personal information to persons who may call you, such as social security number, bank account number, credit of debit card information. Following this simple rule, can help prevent identity theft, a loss of your hard earned money, and a bad credit rating resulting from stolen financial information.

Authorities in southwest Iowa say a rural Clarinda man was arrested recently on charges he impersonated a public official, on more than one occasion. 20-year old Ryan Joel Kaleb Christie, of Clarinda faces three-counts of Impersonating a Public Official, an aggravated misdemeanor, after an investigation was conducted into traffic stops he allegedly made on Highway 2, on January 22^nd and 29^th. 

Taylor County Sheriff’s officials say a joint investigation into Christie’s alleged activities was conducted with the assistance of the Bedford Police Department, Iowa DNR, the State Patrol and Page County Sheriff’s Office. During the investigation, authorities looked into reports a young man – later identified as Christie — had made traffic stops on Highway 2 during the early morning hours of January 22nd and 29th. Witnesses said the man claimed to be with the Sheriff’s Office or the Fire Department.

Christie was being held in the Taylor County Jail on $50,000 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A state economic development official says Iowa is competing with Nebraska to attract a $1.2 billion data center.  Debi Durham, director of the state Partnership for Economic Progress, says Thursday she can’t name the company due to a confidentiality agreement. But she said it’s not Google, Microsoft or IBM, all of which already have operations in Iowa.
 
Durham says the company is considering two locations in Iowa and one in Nebraska. She expects the Iowa Economic Development Authority Board to hear the plan and consider incentives to attract the business at a March meeting.

Iowa has a law aimed at attracting high-tech projects that includes a potential sales tax break on electricity used at those operations. Nebraska is considering similar legislation.  The company hopes to begin construction in May.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Democrat Christie Vilsack is mounting a serious financial challenge to veteran Republican Rep. Steve King in western Iowa’s new 4th District, but she still faces big hurdles in the GOP-leaning district. New financial disclosures show Vilsack has raised nearly $1.2 million for her campaign, far more than the $817,000 King has raised.
 
Her challenge will be running in a district where new registration numbers show there are more than 179,000 registered Republicans, compared to about 132,000 registered Democrats. That makes it the most heavily Republican of the state’s four congressional districts.  There are 179,133 registered voters not affiliated with either party.

Vilsack is the wife of Tom Vilsack, the former Iowa governor now serving as U.S. agriculture secretary.