The Mills County Sheriff’s Office today (Thursday), reports three arrests. On Wednesday, 43-year-old Joshua Robert Stroud, of Glenwood, was arrested following a traffic stop at Highway 34 and 221st Street. Stroud was taken into custody at around 2-a.m. for OWI/2nd offense (Bond: $2,000). And, 40-year-old Colin Joseph Kingsley, of Bellevue, NE., was arrested on a warrant out of Council Bluffs, for Failure to Appear, and a felony warrant out of Sarpy County, NE., for Violation of his Pre-Trial Release. Kingsley was taken into custody at around 10:30-p.m. in the vicinity of Hyland Avenue (Bond: $2,000).

On Tuesday, Mills County Deputies arrested 28-year-old Thomas Nicholas Barkley, of Young, AZ., for Possession of a Controlled Substance and Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia. He was arrested in the area of 195/Bunge Ave. at around 2-a.m. (Bond: $1,300).

Authorities said also, there were no injuries reported following a single-vehicle accident Sunday night, in Mills County. Officials say 22-year-old Makayla Huffman, of Glenwood, was driving a 2014 Jeep southbound on Pruden Avenue at around 10-p.m., when she failed to negotiate a curve on the gravel road. They indicated she was traveling too fast at the time. Her SUV left the road and entered the south ditch before flipping onto its top.

More area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.7MB)

Subscribe: RSS

The Creston Police Department reports the arrest early this (Thursday) morning, of a man from Ohio. 18-year-old Christopher Lamont Gaiter, Jr., of Springfield, OH, was arrested at a residence in the 300 block of N. Pine Street, at around 4:16-a.m. Gaiter was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense, and later released from the Union County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported following a collision Wednesday afternoon. Authorities say a 2018 Chevy Equinox driven by 65-year-old Marilyn Kay Ide, of Creston, and a 2012 Ford F-250 pickup driven by 68-year-old Thomas Edward Christensen, of Van Meter, were approaching the intersection of Highways 34 and 169 at around 1:40-p.m.  As Ide pulled up to the stop sign and was preparing to turn right onto Highway 34, her vehicle was struck from behind by the pickup truck.

Her SUV sustained about $2,000 damage. No damage was reported to the pickup, which is registered to Madison County Auction, Inc., of Winterset. There were no citations issued.

The news broadcast at 7:07-a.m., from Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS

(Washington, D-C/KCCI)  — Congressman Randy Feenstra announced his plans for re-election. KCCI says the fourth district congressman announced Wednesday he will be running to maintain his seat in 2022. In a statement released Wednesday, he said, “With the support of my family and friends, and through prayerful consideration, I launched my first campaign for Congress because we needed a conservative leader to deliver results for Iowa. In just our first 10 months in Congress, we’ve restored Iowa’s seat on the House Agriculture Committee, passed needed disaster relief for our farmers, promoted our biofuels, passed legislation to stop the Chinese Communist Party from stealing our taxpayer-funded research, defended our conservative values and fought against the advance of socialism in America. After we defeat Speaker Pelosi in 2022, we will enact a conservative agenda to end reckless spending, protect innocent life, defend our 2nd amendment and restore America’s strength around the world.”

Also in the statement, Gov. Kim Reynolds, Sen. Joni Ernst and Sen. Chuck Grassley gave endorsements for Feenstra’s run. Iowans elected Feenstra over Democrat J.D. Scholten in 2022 after Feenstra defeated long-time Rep. Steve King in the primaries. So far, no one else has announced a run for the fourth district seat.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says Iowa is scheduled to receive its first shipment of Covid-19 vaccines for younger children sometime this week. The dosage level will be different for kids between the ages of five and 11 than it has been for adults. “We will be dispersing them to pediatricians and pharmacies,” Reynolds says.

In the next couple of weeks, the F-D-A and C-D-C are expected to approve giving Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine to children who’re five through 11 years of age. Reynolds is making it clear she will oppose vaccine mandates in Iowa elementary schools. “I do not believe in mandating vaccines. I’ve been very clear about that,” Reynolds says. “I’ve been vaccinated…It’s our best defense in addressing Covid-19 and the delta variant.”

But Reynolds says parents should make the decision about whether their children get a Covid shot. “I believe that parents should be in charge of not only their children’s education, but their children’s health are, so they need to visit with their pediatrician, ask the questions they have and then parents will make the decision in what’s best for their children,” Reynolds says. “It’s not the government’s children. It’s their children.”

Reynolds says she opposes employment-related vaccine mandates for adults and may join a lawsuit challenging President Biden’s order, once the rule-making is done, to require vaccinations in the military, in the health care industry and in private companies with more than 99 employees.  “We’re going to see what is the best route, what are our options moving forward and how do we get this stayed,” Reynolds says, “so we’re not mandating that an individual make this decision between feeding their family or getting a vaccine that they fundamentally do not believe that they should.”

That latest information shows two-thirds of Iowa adults are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Among Iowa teenagers, 45 percent of 16 and 17 year olds are vaccinated and 39 percent of Iowa kids between the ages of 12 and 15 are vaccinated.

(Radio Iowa) – The second set of maps proposing new boundaries for Iowa’s four congressional districts and all state legislative districts will be released after 10 this (Thursday) morning. The non-partisan Legislative Services Agency will deliver the redistricting plan to legislators first, then release it to the public via the Iowa General Assembly’s website.

On October 5th, the 32 Republicans in the Iowa Senate rejected Plan 1 for redistricting and directed the Legislative Services Agency to develop new maps with legislative districts that were closer in total population. Governor Reynolds has set October 28th as the date for a special session so lawmakers can vote on this second set of maps.

(Radio Iowa) – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has visited the picket line outside the John Deere plant in Ankeny. Vilsack told the U-A-W members he’s there for them because they were there for him 23 years ago. The union endorsed Vilsack’s successful 1998 campaign for governor when he was trailing in the polls and Vilsack says that’s something he won’t forget. Vilsack later told reporters he hopes the strike is resolved quickly and fairly. Current Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says she’s confident the union and the company will come to some resolution.  “John Deere is a great company with a phenomenal workforce,” Reynolds says, “and this is part of the collective bargaining process.”

More than 10-thousand John Deere workers went on strike last Thursday after rejecting the company’s first contract offer. Negotiations resumed Monday. “I’m just hopeful that we can find resolution sooner rather than later,” Reynolds says. Reynolds, who grew up in the St. Charles area, has family members who worked at John Deere during previous strikes.

“My dad worked for John Deere for 40 years. My dad’s dad — my grandpa — worked for John Deere for many years. My dad’s brothers, my grandpa’s brothers all worked for John Deere. It was a stressful time when they would go on strike,” Reynolds says. “I had family members on both sides of the issue, but eventually at every point they were able to reach a resolution that really benefits both sides.”

Reynolds made her comments inside a manufacturing facility in Adel. Deere and Company operates plants in Ankeny, Davenport, Dubuque, Ottumwa and Waterloo. The union is seeking better pay and health care benefits as well as an end to a two-tiered system that pays workers hired in the past 24 years less than those hired BEFORE October, 1997.