(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston report the arrest at around 2:30-p.m., Monday, of 41-year-old Jessie Wade Stauffer, of rural Creston. Stauffer was pulled over at Lucas and Elm Streets, and charged with Driving while Barred. He was transported to the Union County Jail and held on a $2,000 cash or surety bond.

(Radio Iowa) – State Racing and Gaming administrator, Brian Ohorilko, says the amount of revenue at the state’s traditional casinos went against the recent trend in December. “We did see for the first time in quite some time the month of December year over year we had seen a decline in revenue,” Ohorilko says. The gross revenue in December was down by more than five million dollars. “So maybe they’re starting to see some signs of softening with casino revenue here in this state — and so that will be important to kind of watch,” he says. The drop in the December 2022 revenue comes halfway through this new fiscal year, and Ohorilko says things had been holding pretty steady.

“Up until that point, numbers have been strong and we’re actually seeing increases year over year from a record year the year before,” Ohorilko says. Ohorilko says the weather can have a big impact on casinos, especially when there’s poor weather on Fridays and through the weekend.

The Catfish Bend, Isle of Capri Bettendorf, Prairie Meadows, Riverside and Wild Rose in Clinton each saw small increases in December compared to December of 2021. All of the other casinos saw a drop in gross revenue.

(Creston, Iowa) – A collision in Creston, Monday afternoon between an SUV and a pickup truck, resulted in the driver of the SUV being transported to the hospital. Creston Police report a 2022 Ford Explorer driven by 80-year-old Joyce Elaine England, of Mount Ayr, was traveling east on Highway 34 at around 3:30-p.m., Monday. Near the intersection with Patriotic Parkway, she turned on her left turn signal and crossed the east inside lane and the west inside lane.

A 2007 Dodge RAM 1600 pickup driven by 16-year-old Dylan Robert Hoepker, of Cromwell, was westbound on Highway 34 in the inside lane, when the SUV struck the pickup. England was transported by medics to the helipad at the Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston. She was transferred by helicopter to another medical facility. She was said to have suspected serious/incapacitating injuries. Both drivers were wearing their seat belts.

Damage from the crash amounted to $3,000. No citations were issued as of this report.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak have arrested a man on two Class-D Felony counts of Theft in the 2nd Degree. Officials say 36-year-old Jesse Ray Nelson, of Red Oak, was arrested Monday evening in the 1500 block of Forest Avenue. His bond at the Montgomery County Jail, was set at $5,000.

(Radio Iowa) – A St. Ansgar man who was convicted in the January 6th riots at the U-S Capitol is facing new charges of invasion of privacy and interference with official acts after an incident in Clear Lake. Clear Lake police say 52-year-old Daryl Johnson was arrested on Friday after an ongoing investigation regarding a report of Johnson secretly recording patrons of a local tanning business. Investigators say they determined a digital recording device was placed by Johnson to intentionally record customers without their knowledge or consent.

The police department’s investigation remains open at this time. Johnson and his 31-year-old son Daniel admitted to entering the Capitol building through a broken window and pushing through a police line once inside. Daryl Johnson was sentenced to 30 days in jail while Daniel Johnson was sentenced to four months.

(Radio Iowa) – Newly-elected Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart says there’s still a chance national party leaders will relent and let the Iowa Democratic Party’s Caucuses go first in the 2024 presidential election. This weekend, the Democratic National Committee is scheduled to vote on a 2024 presidential campaign schedule that would prohibit Iowa Democrats from having Caucuses before any other state holds a Democratic primary. Hart says that is certainly not a done deal and national party leaders need to sure their decisions are practical.

Hart, who was elected state party chair on Saturday, says the Caucuses are a tradition worth preserving and she’s talking with people who’ve been working for the past two years to try to keep the Democrats’ Caucuses first. The Republican National Committee ratified a plan this summer that keeps the Iowa G-O-P’s Caucuses first as Republicans nominate a presidential candidate in 2024.