[7:05-a.m. News] (Creston, Iowa) -The Creston Police Department reports numerous recent arrests:

Friday afternoon, Brandon Scott Lawrence, of Diagonal, was arrested on a Union County warrant for the charge of Failure to Appear, on the original charge of Controlled Substance 3rd, a Class D Felony. He is currently being held in the Union County Jail for $5,000 cash only bond.

Just before 1-a.m. Saturday, 53-year-old Darryn Dugan, of Creston, was arrested at a residence in the 500 block of S. Pine Street, in Creston. Dugan was charged with Harassment in the 4th degree and Disorderly Conduct. He was later released on a $2,300 bond. Saturday night, 30-year-old Diego Manzanarez, of Creston, was arrested for OWi 2nd offense. He was released from Union County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

Early Sunday morning, 30-year-old Casey Ray Welcher, of Afton, was arrested in Creston for Possession of a Controlled Substance 2nd, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Driving while Barred, and Intent to Deliver/Manufacture Meth. He is being held in the Union County Jail on a $29,000 bond. Sunday night, 23-year-old Noah Alexander Young, of Creston, was arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Possession of a Controlled Substance 2nd. He is being held at Union County Jail on a $1,300 bond.

A woman from Creston reported to Police Friday night, that sometime between 7pm-7:30pm someone had broken the driver’s side window out of her car parked in the 700 block of W. Jefferson Street. Estimated loss under $300.

(Radio Iowa) – After a near-decade long world tour, the Jackson Pollock oil painting simply known as “Mural” is back in Iowa City and will return to public display later this month. Lauren Lessing, director of the University of Iowa’s Stanley Museum of Art, says if Mural were a person, its passport would show at least 14 new venues and it would have earned more than 20-thousand frequent flier miles.

“It was in Berlin, London, Venice, Barcelona, and then it came back to the United States. It’s been on the West Coast and the East Coast and several places in between,” Lessing says. “It has certainly made the rounds, but we’re very, very happy to have it home.” The oil painting was produced in 1943 and measures eight feet high by 20 feet long. Pollock was commissioned to create Mural by legendary art collector Peggy Guggenheim, who donated the piece to the University of Iowa in 1951. Lessing first saw Mural in 2004 and says it was breathtaking to see it again more recently after it was painstakingly cleaned and restored at the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles.

“Mural” by Jackson Pollock (Photo via guggenheim.org.)

“It was a revelation to me. It was really like a different painting and so I think a lot of our visitors will have that experience,” Lessing says. “Maybe they grew up with the painting, but they might really be seeing it for the first time with all of the dirt and grime removed. Paintings get dirty when they hang in the atmosphere for a long period of time.” The painting was viewed by more than two-point-seven-million people after leaving Iowa City on a planned world tour immediately after the 2008 flood. During its tour, Mural was insured for 144-million dollars, though Lessing says that figure is abstract because the painting is irreplaceable. She calls Mural a beacon for art lovers everywhere as it marks a pivotal moment in Pollock’s career.

“We want to teach students to take that kind of risk, and to really make that kind of leap, and innovate, which is what that painting is all about,” Lessing says. “Because Pollock did what he did, it really paved the road for a whole school of artists to take that same route and that really led to the Abstract Expressionist movement.” Like food or music, everyone has their own opinion of art and not everyone loves Pollock’s swirls and spatters of paint. Lessing says she’ll enjoy watching visitors see Mural for the first time.

“Some people are going to love it right off the bat. Other people will struggle and then maybe come to a space where they appreciate it. Some people will struggle and never really find that it sings to them,” Lessing says, “but those are all valid ways to engage with works of art.” The Stanley Museum of Art will reopen August 26th. The Pollock is among some 700 works of art in all media by more than 600 artists that will be on display.

https://stanleymuseum.uiowa.edu/

(Radio Iowa) – The 2022 Iowa State Fair starts Thursday. Gary Slater, the fair’s C-E-O and general manager, says the organization is still recovering financially from the cancellation of the 2020 fair due to the pandemic. “Certainly, we’re still in recovery mode, but we had a great fair last year, which really, really helped,” Slater says. The State Fair lost 13 million dollars when the event was cancelled in 2020, but qualified for an 11 million dollar “shuttered venues” grant from the federal government.

“You still have 450 acres to take care of,” Slater says. “You still have full-time employees.” Events are held at the fairgrounds in every month of the year and the Fair has nearly 60 year-round, full-time staff members. Attendance was down a bit during last year’s Iowa State Fair, but the 11-day run of the 2021 State Fair turned a 36 million dollar profit.

“It wasn’t maybe a record-setter like 2019 was, but it came back,” Slater says, “and so we’re not just in fair mode and we’re really working hard to give you a great State Fair in 2022.” Slater made his comments during an appearance this summer on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S. Slater has said Grandstand entertainment is key to drawing crowds and more than 10-thousand tickets have been sold for country star Carrie Underwood’s show on the final night of the fair.

(Clarinda, Iowa) – The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests took place, Saturday. According to Sheriff Lyle Palmer, 50-year-old Jacob Alan Blake, of Corning, was arrested by the Adams County Sheriff’s Office and then transferred to the Page County Sheriff’s Jail. Blake faces a charge of Assault with the intent to commit sexual abuse (an Aggravated Misdemeanor). His cash or surety bond was set at $2,000.

And, 44-year-old Jeremy Lynn Martin, of Clarinda, was arrested Saturday on three separate warrants:

Jeremy Lynn Martin

• Warrant #1 is a Aggravated Misdemeanor. The charge is Harassment in the 1st degree. The bond on this warrant is $2,000.00 cash or surety.
• Warrant #2 is a Simple Misdemeanor. The charge is Harassment in the 3rd degree. The bond on this warrant is $300.00 cash or surety.
• Warrant #3 is Simple Misdemeanor. The charge is Failure to Appear. The bond on this warrant is $300.00.

Martin was was booked into the Page County Jail.

“A charge is merely an accusation and that the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.”