(Creston, Iowa) – An accident caused by an emotionally overcome driver occurred at around 7:20-a.m. today (Friday), in Creston. According to Creston Police, 38-year-old Brandi Lynn Atkins, of Creston, was driving a 2006 Chevy Uplander van northbound in an alley between Elm and Maple Streets, when her vehicle collided with a utility pole. The woman told police she was crying prior to the accident and couldn’t see well. She was cited for Failure to Maintain Control.

Damage to the van was estimated at $4,000. Damage to the Alliant Energy pole was estimated at $500.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – A Fremont County man was arrested Thursday evening on a Mills County warrant. The Sheriff’s Office says Jericho Cash Clements, of Sidney, was arrested at the Pottawattamie County Jail, on a warrant for Violation of Probation. Clements’ bond was set at $5,000.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Corrections reports a man convicted of Robbery 2nd Degree in Polk County, took flight from the Fort Des Moines facility, Thursday (June 8th). 25-year-old Jordan Anthony Matias is a white male. He stands about 5-feet 7-inches tall and weighs 179 pounds. Matias was admitted to the work release facility on March 24 (2022).  Persons with information on Matias’s whereabouts should contact local police.

Jordan Matias

(Radio Iowa) – A small bipartisan group is trying to come up with gun reform measures that could pass the Senate — and both of Iowa’s Republican senators say they’ll wait to comment on potential ideas until a plan is unveiled. Senator Joni Ernst has described herself as an ardent supporter of the Second Amendment and she says any proposal must be thoroughly examined before a vote is taken. “But I think what you will find, at least amongst the Republican conference, is a willingness to do something,” Ernst says, “but we haven’t arrived at what that final something is.”

Grassley says he has not ruled out any specific proposals. Ernst is expressing similar sentiments. “There’s a lot of ideas. You know, not one person won’t be for all of them or against all of them,” Ernst said. “We just have to figure out the right path forward.” Ernst and Grassley in the past have raised due process concerns about so-called red flag laws that let law enforcement seize guns from people deemed a threat to themselves or others. Grassley says the Texas senator leading the negotiations has asked his fellow Republicans not to lock themselves in as being opposed to any specific proposals. Ernst is part of the Senate’s Republican leadership team, but not directly involved in negotiations. “I think we should consider all different options that are brought forward,” Ernst says.

The Republican and Democratic senators who are leading negotiations over a gun bill say they hope to make incremental progress. The gun reform measure the HOUSE passed this week will not be considered in the Senate. The wide ranging HOUSE bill called for raising the minimum age for purchasing the type of rifles used in recent mass shootings in Texas and Buffalo to 21. Both shooters purchased their guns when they were 18.

(Radio Iowa) – Plans for a major expansion project at a beef processing plant in Tama County are now on hold indefinitely due to high construction costs. Iowa Premium had announced plans to replace its current beef processing facility in Tama with a bigger plant in 2021. In a filing with the state, the company announced that it planned to hire 400 additional workers by the end of 2024, bringing its total workforce to more than 1,200.

Company officials announced Thursday that the current facility will continue to function at normal capacity where nearly 800 people are presently employed. The company plans to further review the status of the expansion at a later time.

(Radio Iowa) – One person was killed in a two-vehicle crash in Fort Dodge on Thursday afternoon. The Webster County Sheriff’s Department reported an eastbound 2013 Buick Verano operated by 65-year-old Ann Lenox of Fort Dodge was struck by a westbound 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee by an unidentified juvenile female driver. Both drivers were transported to Unity Point Trinity Regional Medical Center in Fort Dodge for treatment of their injuries. Lenox died of her injuries late yesterday afternoon.

(Radio Iowa) – A former Casey’s employee in southeast Iowa is accused of stealing lottery tickets while working and claiming the prizes. Police say 29-year-old Jesse Burtlow worked at a Casey’s in Ottumwa. During multiple shifts in May, video surveillance observed Burtlow taking multiple lottery tickets without purchasing them. Burtlow was also seen redeeming the prizes for the tickets. Authorities estimate Burtlow stole approximately 60 tickets in total.

Burtlow was arrested on Wednesday and charged with ongoing criminal conduct, three counts of forgery, fourth-degree theft, and two counts of fifth-degree theft. Burtlow was transported to the Wapello County Jail and is currently free after posting bond.

(Bridgewater, Iowa) – The hail storm that passed through Cass and area Counties Tuesday evening stripped trees of leaves and decimated an Adair County organic vegetable farm. Bridgewater Farm is the largest organic vegetable farm in Iowa. It has 25 acres of vegetables. Owner Dale Raasch reports almost all of his outdoor produce was lost during an approximately 10-minute burst of hail and heavy rain.

The hail, whipped by approximately 80 mph winds caused damage that was estimated at $150,000.  Raasch said he did not have insurance on the specialty farm. He estimates the losses from strawberries alone to be $32,000. On the Bridgewater Farms Facebook page, Dale Raasch said “We have received donated transplants to replant, some have offered to volunteer their time and energy and the amazing monetary donations that will help mitigate the losses of all the seed costs, labor and infrastructure, not to mention the potential profits lost. Thank you all for giving us hope.”

Lettuce

Beets

Garlic

In addition, a Go Fund Me page has been established, that (as of early Friday morning), had raised more than $88-hundred dollars. Replacement plants are on their way to the farm, and new seeding has begun. (Photos from the BF Facebook page show some of the many different vegetables that were lost to the storm)

(Radio Iowa) – A Mason City man is jailed on a kidnapping charge.  The Mason City Police Department says on Thursday just before 1 PM, officers and fire medics responded to a report that a person had been assaulted and held against their will for several days by a man known to them. The victim was taken by ambulance to the hospital. A search warrant was served at a residence in the 400 block of 1st Southwest in connection with the investigation.

23-year-old Moises Erreguin-Labra was initially arrested on a charge of serious assault, but as the investigation developed, police additionally charged him with first-degree kidnapping, a Class A felony punishable by life in prison. Erreguin-Labra is being held in the Cerro Gordo County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) – The State Board of Education has approved plans by the University of Northern Iowa to offer an online accelerated elementary education and special education teacher program. U-N-I’s Director of Education Preparation, Benjamin Forsyth says courses in this program will be offered in eight-week, eight-credit terms. “The way we had to do this to be able to accelerate was to bundle courses that typically aren’t taught simultaneously,” he says. You will need an Associate of Arts (AA) or Associate of Science Degree and must be employed as a paraeducator or teachers’ aide within a K through sixth-grade school setting to get into the program. Forsyth says surveys on the interest in such a program show it is high.

“Just one example, on Facebook, if you and I say hey we’re doing something, you got about three shares, we’re up to almost 200 shares on this,” Forsyth says. Iowa and other states have been struggling with teacher shortages, and it’s hoped this will help. “We’re expecting a lot of people to apply, but then a portion of those not to actually meet requirements. And because chapter 79 is the way it is we really can’t take anyone that doesn’t have an A-A or A-S. We really can’t take a paraeducator that’s teaching preschool because they’ve got to have these field experiences,” he says. Forsyth says they will slowly get the program rolling.

“We want to take as many as we can but we’re not expecting to go that large on this first round,” Forsyth says, “we know that we don’t have the resources to go beyond about 30 or 60. We know that we’re going to have to work out some bugs on the first round but we want to see this happen.” Those who complete the accelerated program will have a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and a minor in Special Education with teaching endorsements for a K-6 elementary teacher and K-8 instructional strategist.

The State Board of Education approved the plan at their meeting on Thursday.