Emergency Management Officials in Mills and Pottawattamie Counties have lifted their bans on open burning which were set in place a little more than a week ago. The Burn Ban in Mills County ended at 8-a.m. today (Friday). The Burn Ban in Pottawattamie County will no longer be in effect as of 6-p.m today (Friday).

Forecasted temperatures and precipitation chances have prompted Fire Chiefs tin both counties to lift the open burning ban that was issued on February 1st. Fire officials want to remind citizens to always have safety measures in place when burning, even when environmental conditions appear safe.

The lifting of the open burning ban does not apply within the corporate city limits of Council Bluffs and other communities within Pottawattamie County where city ordinances restrict open burning year-round. Please check with your local City Hall for more information regarding open burning within city limits.

The Lenox Police Department reports two people were arrested on drug charges, Thursday, following an investigation into a suspicious vehicle parked at the Lenox High School. Officials say 21-year old Victor Daniel Govea and 20-year old Maria Alvarez, both of Lenox, were taken into custody at around 2:15-a.m.

Alvarez was charged with possession of meth, possession of alcohol under the legal age and possession of an open container of alcohol in a vehicle. Govea was charged with possession of meth, OWI-1st offense, open container of alcohol, failure to have a driver’s license, identity theft, a class D felony, and forgery, a class D felony. Both are being held in the Ringgold County Jail. .

The pair was arrested after Lenox Police stopped the vehicle they were in as it was leaving the Lenox High School parking lot. The vehicle was stopped for an equipment violation. When the officer approached the vehicle he could see several open bottles of beer. The driver (later identified as Govea) provided a Virginia drivers license identifying him as 32-year old Jeiel Hernandez. The man said he lived in Lenox. Alverez was a passenger in the car.

During a search of the vehicle, the officer located methamphetamine. While the search was underway, the owner of the vehicle, Alfredo Zapata-Gonzalez, arrived on the scene. Zapata-Gonzalez was issued a citation for allowing an unlicensed driver to operate a vehicle and the car was released to him.During the investigation it was discovered Hernandez’s real name was actually Victor Daniel Lopez Govea.  The Lenox Police Department obtained a search warrant for Govea’s residence, and at around 1:30-p.m., Thursday, officers with the Lenox Police Department, Taylor County Sheriff’s office, the Ringgold County K-9 unit and the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Office served the warrant at the home, which resulted in the recovery of additional evidence. The investigation continues, with additional charges possible.

The Page County Sheriff’s Department reports a Clarinda man was arrested Thursday night, on Domestic Abuse, drug and theft charges. 44-year old Alan Craig Gardner was taken into custody at around 8-p.m.  The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office says they received a call that same evening from the Page County Sheriff’s Office, indicating a male matching the description of Gardner was in the Clarinda Hospital. He was wanted on warrants stemming from the chase that began with a vehicle stolen from Northwest Missouri. The February 2nd chase wound its way through southwest Iowa and ended north of Hamburg.

Gardner had been on the loose since he and 37-year-old Sean Christopher Schmidt of St. Joseph, MO abandoned the vehicle, which crashed into a levee and burst into flames. Schmidt was arrested after he was seen walking along the West Nishnabotna River levee, several hours after the crash,  and following an extensive manhunt.

Gardner was identified at the hospital by Clarinda Police as the second chase suspect, and was placed under arrest. He was picked up by Fremont County deputies and was being held in jail on $50,000 bond. He’s been charged in Fremont County with Conspiracy to Manufacture Methamphetamines, Possession of Precursor/Anhyrdous Ammona, Unauthorized transport of anhydrous ammonia, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Methamphetamine, and Theft in the Second Degree. He faces additional charges in Page County, of Domestic Abuse and Theft in the 2nd Degree. Bond on those charges was set at $10,000.