(Radio Iowa) – A draft list from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources indicates 750 segments of lakes, rivers and streams in Iowa are impaired due to pollution and are not suitable for at least one of its intended uses, like swimming or as a source of drinking water. Ken Krier, a D-N-R environmental specialist, describes Iowa’s water quality as stable.

“I don’t know if we can really point to one direction or the other,” he says. “You know, last cycle from 2016-2018, there was a 2% increase and we’re at a 2% decrease this cycle.” The state is required by federal law to update the list of impaired waters every two years. This is the first time in more than two decades there’s been a decrease in the total number of bodies of water classified as impaired.

Alicia Vasto of the Iowa Environmental Council says with hundreds of bodies of water still on the impaired list, state officials must establish regulations that limit pollution. “We believe that the voluntary approach that the state is taking to water quality is not sufficient,” she says. The list is a draft and Iowans may submit written comments to the D-N-R about the list this month, before it’s submitted to federal officials.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says there are no plans to use millions of dollars of unused state surplus money to help businesses and families experiencing financial stress due to the coronavirus pandemic. Some other states have approved state funding aid or are considering it. Reynolds said Tuesday there isn’t enough state money. She placed the burden on Congress to reach an agreement. Pubic health data in Iowa shows signs that the coronavirus infection rate is slowing, but the number of people hospitalized and dying with the coronavirus remains high. Iowa reported 24 deaths and 1,906 new confirmed cases Tuesday. Hospitals reported 1,172 patients with the virus.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Sioux City police say they are investigating a death inside an apartment used by transients as a homicide. The victim’s body was found Tuesday. Police did not release the gender of the victim, who appeared to have signs of blunt force trauma. The person appeared to have been deceased for a week. A medical examiner has not yet determined the cause of death. The apartment is part of a complex where 33-year-old Solomon Blackbird was shot on Nov. 1. He later died. Police say the two deaths do not appear to be related.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a man inside a Cedar Rapids home, and a person of interest was being questioned. Police say the shooting happened Monday morning, when officers were called to the home for a report of a shooting. KWWL reports that arriving officers found the body of 24-year-old Charles James Griffin. Police have not released other details of what may have led to the shooting and have not announced any arrests, although a person of interest was questioned.

ODEBOLT, Iowa (AP) — A Texas company has announced it will build a $15 million plant in northwest Iowa that will make environmentally-friendly shipping pallets from corn plant waste, such as stalks, husks and leaves. The Des Moines Register reports that Corn Board Manufacturing will build the 50,000-square-foot plant on 40 acres west of Odebolt in Sac County. The company makes a wood alternative, named CornBoard, from corn stover, the plant debris that’s typically left in the field after a crop is harvested. The company already uses CornBoard to make ski, snow and skateboard equipment under the Stalk It brand name, as well as indoor and outdoor furniture. Company CEO Lane Segerstrom says construction will begin in the spring and the plant will employ up to 30 people.

(Radio Iowa) – A former southwest Iowa sheriff and his wife of 67 years died within minutes of each other last week after contracting Covid. A double memorial graveside service is set for Friday morning at 11 at the Benton Cemetery for 86-year-old Lyle Minnick and his wife, 84-year-old Judy Minnick. The couple died last Tuesday (Nov. 24th) at Mercy One Hospital in Des Moines due to complications from COVID-19.

Julia “Judy” Louise Minnick

Lyle Minnick (Photos via the Slade-O’Donnell Funeral Home.

An obituary states Judy preceded Lyle in death by four minutes. Lyle Minnick served as Ringgold County Sheriff from 1985 until his retirement in 1999. He served 10 years as a sheriff’s deputy prior to his election as sheriff. He was finishing a four-year term on the Ringgold County Board of Supervisors upon his death last week. Lyle also served two years in the U.S. Navy from 1953-to-’55, and worked as a farmer and truck driver.

Lyle and Judy Minnick were married in January, 1953. The couple had four children and five grandchildren.

Council Bluffs Police, Tuesday, updated a story we brought you late last week with regard to a “Shots fired” incident Thursday night, outside of the gas station/convenience store at 1305 N. 25th Street. The Council Bluffs Police Department Criminal Investigations Division is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the two persons in the photographs (shown on the right side of this page). It is believed that the female arrived with the male shooter in a dark colored SUV. Do not attempt to confront these persons, they are considered armed and dangerous.

The male has numerous tattoos on his arms and upper chest, he also has long dark hair that goes to the middle of the back. He may be of Hispanic descent.

This investigation is ongoing by the Criminal Investigation Division. Anyone with any information that was in the area at the time of this incident or recognizes the suspects is encouraged to contact this Division at 712-328-4728 or they may call Crime Stoppers at 712-328-7867.

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Police in Council Bluffs late Thursday night, said a shots-fired incident took place outside of a gas station/convenience store at around 9:46-p.m. As the results of an investigation, authorities say an adult female patron went into the gas station at 1305 N 25th Street for coffee. Upon returning to her vehicle, she noticed a white male party walking rapidly towards her. The male began to fire shots at the female, so she drove away fleeing the area.

The victim’s vehicle was struck by two rounds, but she was not physically injured. The motive for the incident was unclear at the time of the report. The suspect fled the area and has not been located. The suspect was a white male, no further description. He was with two white females and they were in a newer model black Mitsubishi SUV.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Council Bluffs Police Department at 712‐328‐ STOP. The victim was aware of what was going on around her. She took immediate decisive action, preventing any further harm to herself. Bluffs Police remind citizens, that “As the holidays approach, criminals tend to look for easy marks. Be vigilant and have a plan of action to keep yourself out of harm’s way.”

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Sioux City police say they are investigating a death inside an apartment used by transients as a homicide. The victim’s body was found Tuesday. Police did not release the gender of the victim, who appeared to have signs of blunt force trauma. The person appeared to have been deceased for a week. A medical examiner has not yet determined the cause of death. The apartment is part of a complex where 33-year-old Solomon Blackbird was shot on Nov. 1. He later died. Police say the two deaths do not appear to be related.

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says there are no plans to use millions of dollars of unused state surplus money to help businesses and families experiencing financial stress due to the coronavirus pandemic. Some other states have approved state funding aid or are considering it. Reynolds said Tuesday there isn’t enough state money. She placed the burden on Congress to reach an agreement.

Pubic health data in Iowa shows signs that the coronavirus infection rate is slowing, but the number of people hospitalized and dying with the coronavirus remains high. Iowa reported 24 deaths and 1,906 new confirmed cases Tuesday. Hospitals reported 1,172 patients with the virus.

Fremont County Sheriff’s Deputies, Saturday afternoon, were called to Penn Drug in Sidney for a report of prescription drug fraud. Deputies made contact with 29-year-old Travis Locke, of Saint Paul, Minnesota and 35-year-old James Webb, of Chicago, Illinois.

Webb

Locke

Deputies allege that a fraudulent prescription was used in an attempt to procure a Schedule V controlled substance. Both parties were arrested for Prohibited Acts, a Class B Felony and Possession of Marijuana 1st Offense, a Serious Misdemeanor.

Both are being held on $26,000 10% bond. Locke is also being held on a felony no-bond warrant out of Minnesota. More charges are pending.

A traffic stop just before Noon, Sunday, in Fremont County, resulted in a man’s arrest on drug and other charges. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports deputies stopped a vehicle near the Highway 2 Missouri River Bridge, and in the process, made contact with a passenger in the vehicle, 20-year old Dretavious Evans, of Lincoln, Nebraska. After

Evans

Evans provided law enforcement with fraudulent identification information,  a probable cause search of the vehicle was conducted, and a loaded firearm was found in the vehicle as well as an undisclosed amount of marijuana. Evans was placed under arrest for Carrying Weapons and Providing False ID to Law Enforcement. He was being held in the Fremont County Jail on a $2,000 bond, with 10% acceptable. The driver was cited for traffic violations and released.