(Red Oak, Iowa) – A man who was reportedly laying down in the dog food aisle at the Red Oak Dollar General Store, and who refused to get up and leave, was arrested Sunday night. Red Oak Police say 46-year-old Dennis Gerald Tyler was charged with Public Intoxication, following his arrest at around 8:35-p.m.  Tyler was also taken into custody on two active Taylor County warrants for Violation of Probation (Aggravated Misdemeanor), and a Controlled Substance Violation (a Class-B Felony).

Tyler was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail. Red Oak Police were assisted in handling the incident, by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies.

(Radio Iowa) – The last holiday of summer is just ahead and tens of thousands of Iowans will hit the road for the Labor Day weekend. AAA-Iowa spokesman Brian Ortner says the record-breaking summer travel season will wrap up with what’s anticipated to be another exceptionally busy holiday for get-away vacations. “The Labor Day weekend is up 9% compared to last year, and the good news is that the cost of travel domestically is down 2%,” Ortner says, “so it’s great for consumers, and great to see people back out on the roads and taking that last summer trip.”

Since most Iowa kids are already back in school, regional road trips tend to be the most popular Labor Day option for families. Because of that, Ortner says other vacationers see this as an opportunity to travel the world, with the expectation of smaller crowds at popular sites. “Domestic airfares are 2% less compared to last year,” Ortner says. “Hotels are up a little bit compared to last year, about 7% but that balances out if you’re renting a car, which is 16% cheaper this Labor Day holiday compared to last year.”

The majority of vacationers over Labor Day will be traveling by motor vehicle, and while electric cars are becoming more common, most cars, trucks and SUVs still run on gasoline. Ortner does -not- expect any major jumps in gas prices in Iowa before the weekend. “Gas prices, thankfully, have remained steady, hovering around that $3.20 cent per gallon average across the state, and even with the popularity of summer road trips, gas demand is down,” Ortner says. “Daily driving habits have changed post-pandemic, tempering price spikes.”

Gas prices vary widely across Iowa. The most expensive fuel is reported in Dubuque at $3.45 a gallon, while Sioux City has the cheapest gas at $2.98.

(Radio Iowa) – The State Hygienic Lab has confirmed the first case of West Nile Virus this year in a man in Harrison County. Iowa State University entomologist Ryan Smith oversees the state’s mosquito surveillance program. “This year has been somewhat interesting in the fact that as we got into May and early June, we didn’t see a whole lot of mosquito activity,” he says, “and then later in June, especially as when we started seeing some of the heavy rainfall and flooding, really, across the state, and with that, I think we saw a big explosion of our mosquito numbers.”

The rains ended the drought and left the water that is key for mosquito breeding. “Mosquitoes take advantage of standing water. Any kind of flowing or moving water doesn’t allow for the juvenile stages of mosquitoes to survive, and so they really do thrive on that flooded or standing water in many of these locations,” Smith says. “And especially those counties that were impacted the most, especially out in western Iowa. I think we’ve seen really high numbers.”

He experienced the mosquito explosion first hand. “We’ve actually responded to some of the flooding that occurred in Sioux County this year, and you know, we saw really high numbers, and it doesn’t surprise me that we would have that kind of carry on, and many of the other affected areas that we kind of been able to trap in,” Smith says. Smith says there’s been an increase in disease carrying mosquitoes as well as those that are simply a nuisance. “Those are ones that will bite us, you know, and they’re going to be annoying, and, you know, that’s why we call them a nuisance,” He says. “Whereas others can actually kind of do the same. They can bite humans, but they can also transmit disease. And those are the ones that you know, at least from my perspective, that we really do worry about.”

The state Health Department recommends you dump out standing water to help cut the number of mosquitoes. Smith says that does work. “These mosquitoes usually don’t travel very far, and so if you can reduce places where they might breed, then more than likely you’re also going to reduce the impact of where you might find adult mosquitoes,” Smith says.

The Health Department also recommends that you wear mosquito repellent when outdoors to prevent mosquito bites. Mosquitoes are most active at dawn and dusk. The Health Department says those infected with West Nile may not experience any signs or symptoms of the virus. Some people experience minor symptoms like fever and mild headache, while others can develop serious symptoms such as a high fever, headache, disorientation, and muscle weakness. There were 17 confirmed cases of West Nile virus in 2023, and one death.

(Iowa News Service) – County health officials in rural Iowa are using a new app to connect people to their doctors and cut down on missed appointments. The Health Connector program provides transportation to and from medical appointments in Dallas County – and is geared toward people over 60, those with a disability, people who speak English as a second language, and veterans.

County Community Health Administrator Abigail Chihak said it will help reduce the number of missed appointments, that happen because people don’t have a way to get to the doctor’s office. “It’s an app that allows riders to schedule both their medical appointment and their transportation appointment at the same time,” said Chihak. “So, while they are at the doctor’s office scheduling a follow-up appointment, they can get that transportation for their follow up appointment set up before they even leave.” A one-way Health Connector trip countywide is $5, within the city limits it’s $2.50.

The pilot project is funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation and could be expanded to other parts of the country if it’s successful. Chihak said using the Health Connector app is helpful to the patients who need to schedule their doctor’s appointments and a ride to get there, but it will also help reduce costs and improve efficiencies for health care providers. “This also helps our healthcare teams to know if their patients are on the way, and help them to assure that their patients are going to be able to get to their appointments,” said Chihak, “to alleviate the number of no-shows that they have.”

The app also has options for vision impaired users who can get GPS style directions from the bus all the way to the front door of their doctor’s office, even if it’s deep inside a complex medical suite.

(Anita, Iowa) – (Updated 6:12-a.m.) No injuries were reported following a residential structure fire early this (Monday) morning, in Anita. Anita and Wiota Fire crews were dispatched at around 2:19-a.m. to a home at 206 Cherry Street, where smoke was seen coming from the structure. Anita Fire arrived on the scene a few minutes later, and reported flames coming from the home.

In a statement to KJAN News, Anita Fire Chief Eric Steffensen said “When we arrived on the scene, there was a young man stating everyone was out of the house, except two dogs [that were] upstairs.” Steffensen said “We had crews knocking down the fire and a crew rescuing the dogs. [We] got the fire knocked down fast, and the dogs rescued safe!

The home sustained heavy smoke damage. The living room sustained heavy fire damage. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.  Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies assisted at the scene.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says it’s critical to ensure Iowa has enough electricity and upgraded water treatment plants, to support business expansion. “Especially for rural Iowa, we need to figure that out,” Reynolds says. “We’ve got a lot of capacity in rural Iowa, but if you don’t have the load capacity or you don’t have the water treatment capacity, it’s hard for those existing businesses to expand or think about locating there.”

Water treatment plants are expensive. For larger communities, it can cost 12 million dollars for a plant that can handle an average of 10 million gallons per day. Reynolds says the cost for smaller communities, while less, cannot be easily borne by residents who’d pay higher utility bills to pay for it.  “The populations aren’t where they need to be to sustain it,” Reynolds says. The State Revolving Fund provides communities with low interest loans to finance drinking water systems, water treatment facilities and sewers, but Reynolds says she’s asked the director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority to review the range of state incentives that are available — and could be proposed for the future.

“We’ve just kind of delving into that right now and taking a look at how do we then project that for the next 10 to 20 years,” Reynolds says, “and how do I get in front of that and make us competitive when businesses are looking at locating and expanding in Iowa.” The E-P-A recently announced a dozen drinking water systems in Iowa need upgrades to remove so-called “forever chemicals” that are linked to sites where firefighters have used foam to quickly put out fires.

(The following drinking water systems are cited: Buffalo, Burlington, Camanche, Davenport, Dubuque, Muscatine, Osage, Sioux City and Tama as well as Bayer Crop Science near Muscatine, a mobile home park in Muscatine and the Peteschs campground near Bellevue.)

(Rural Greene County, Iowa) – One person died and another was injured during a single-vehicle, rollover accident Saturday night, west of Paton, in rural Greene County. The Iowa State Patrol reports the driver of a pickup truck, 31-year-old Kyle Shank, of Paton, died at the scene. His passenger, 30-year-old Sydney Shank, also of Paton, was injured and transported by ambulance to the Greene County Hospital. The crash happened a little after 10-p.m.

According to the report, the 2017 Chevy Silverado pickup was traveling east on 130th Street, when Kyle Shank attempted to pass another vehicle also traveling eastbound, at a high rate of speed. The pickup’s tires dropped-off the north shoulder of the road, causing the vehicle to go out of control. It entered the north ditch, hit a field drive, and became airborne before rolling several times end-over-end and coming to rest in a corn field.

Kyle Shank was not wearing a seat belt. He was ejected from the pickup and came to rest east of the vehicle. Sydney Shank was wearing a seat belt. A report on her condition was not available.

(Corning, Iowa) – The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports a total of five arrests occurred between August 9th and the 23rd. Last Friday (8/23), Deputies in Adams County arrested 33-year-old Frank Sylvester Mills, Jr., of Merathon, NY. Mills was taken into custody at around 6:30-p.m. on an active warrant for Failure To Appear (FTA) on a previous, Domestic Abuse Assault, charge. Mills also had a second active warrant for Harboring a Runaway.  He was being held in the Adams County Jail on a $10,000 cash-only bond.

At around 1:20-p.m. on August 19th, Adams County Deputies arrested 29-year-old Jeffery Whitt, of Villisca, following a traffic stop for a window tint violation. Whitt was found to allegedly be in possession of marijuana. He was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance (PCS)  3rd offense, and held in the Adams County Jail on a $2,000 cash bond, until seen by a magistrate.

On August 11th, deputies arrested Noble John Murren, of Creston, for OWI/1st offense, and Driving Under Suspension. He was booked into the Adams County Jail and held on a $1,300 cash bond, until seen by the magistrate.

And, on August 9th, Deputies in Adams County conducted a traffic stop at Highway 148 & 200th Street. The driver of the vehicle, 27-year-old Aaron Johnson, of Creston, was arrested for PCS (A serious misdemeanor), and Possession of drug paraphernalia. His passenger, 34-year-old Tonya Tindle, of Creston, was arrested for PCS (A Class-D Felony), and possession of paraphernalia.

Adams County Deputies were assisted during their investigation, by Adams County K9 “Midge.”

Sheriff’s disclaimer: “Any potential charges identified above are merely allegations, and any defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston say a hit-and-run property damage accident caused a reported $1,500 damage, Saturday afternoon. Authorities say a legally parked SUV was struck by a 2012 Chevy pickup at around 12:40-p.m., in a parking lot located off of Sheldon Street, in Creston.

According to the report, the pickup, driven by 91-year-old Harold Carr, of Greenfield, was traveling the wrong way, and attempted to park in an angled parking space, when the vehicle struck the SUV on the rear, passenger side, causing minor damage.

Carr left the scene, apparently unaware his truck hit the SUV. No citations were issued. No injuries were reported.