Mills County Public Health along with Mills County Emergency Management Agency, Monday, announced two additional deaths associated with novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the county today. One individual was in the 41-60 age range and the other in the 61-80 age range.

“We have had another sorrowful day in Mills County today.” said Mills County Emergency Management Director Larry Hurst. “I am concerned what the coming holiday season will do for the spread of COVID-19. Everyone needs to do their part to stop the spread of the virus.”

Mills County continues to see a significant number of new cases and an increase in test positivity. We are in the RED Zone, which means we are experiencing high level of community transmission. Mills County residents and businesses must act now to get the spread of COVID-19 under control.

For further statistical data available, in near real time, visit the Iowa Coronavirus webpage at: https://coronavirus.iowa.gov

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A slim lead held by a Republican candidate for an open congressional seat in Iowa has gotten even smaller as counties recount their votes. Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks led Democrat Rita Hart by 47 votes in the race for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District in unofficial results before recounts began last week.

The Iowa Secretary of State’s office says Miller-Meeks’ lead has shrunk to 36 votes out of more than 394,000 cast as the recount continues. So far, 15 of 24 counties have completed recounts and sent their new unofficial totals to the state. None of the four counties Hart carried have reported new totals, including Scott and Johnson.

Glenwood Police report four arrests. On Sunday, 29-year old Kristopher Sparks, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Theft in the 1st and 5th Degrees. His total bond was set at $10,300. And, 44-year old Shane Baxter, of Omaha, was arrested on a Pottawattamie County warrant for Eluding. His cash/surety bond was set at $2,000.

On Saturday, 49-year old Tiffany Monson, of Pacific Junction, was arrested for Assault causing bodily injury. Her Cash/surety bond was set at $1,000. Also arrested Saturday, was 36-year old Dallas Smith, of Placitas, NM., for Harassment in the 2nd Degree. His cash/surety bond was set at $1,000 also.

Rescue crews and law enforcement are very busy this afternoon, responding to and handling numerous accidents. The latest (as of 2:38-p.m.) is on I-80 eastbound at mile marker 51, where a vehicle rolled into the north ditch. A male occupant was trapped, with a female subject bleeding from the head. Marne and Atlantic Fire along with Cass EMS were responding.

A few minutes earlier, an accident was reported near the Cass-Pottawattamie County line, at Whitepole Road and 525th. Initially, there were no reported injuries, but just before 3-p.m., a woman reported she had suffered a head injury during the accident, when she was struck by a tool box.

And, at around 2:10-p.m., Cumberland-Massena Rescue was called to the scene of an accident on Highway 92, just west of the Cass-Adair County line. No injuries were reported.

Roads are reported to be very slick. Drive with caution!

NEW YORK (AP) — The Chicago White Sox will host the New York Yankees in the rescheduled Field of Dreams game at Dyersville, Iowa, on Aug. 12. MLB says the plan is tentative, contingent on the status of public health next summer. The teams had been scheduled to play at the ballpark next to the “Field of Dreams” movie site last Aug. 13. When the schedule was revamped because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Yankees were replaced as the opponent by the St. Louis Cardinals, but the game was called off on Aug. 4. The rescheduled game will be MLB’s first in Iowa.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports five recent arrests. A little before midnight, Friday, 36-year old Dallas Merrill Smith, of Placitas, NM., was arrested at 221st Street and Highway 34, for Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Eluding, Careless Driving, two counts of Speeding and No Valid Driver’s License. His bond was set at $4,000.

Friday evening, 63-year old Norman Dale Bucholz, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at the Pottawattamie County Jail on a Mills County warrant for Theft in the 2nd Degree, with bond set at $5,000. Saturday evening, 41-year old Amy Marie Kanuff, of Pacific Junction, was arrested following an investigation into a non-injury, single-vehicle accident at 180th and Jardine Ave, She was charged with OWI/1st offense, and Failure to Maintain Control. Bond was set at $1,000.

Sunday night, 49-year old Christopher Carl Oliphant, of Glenwood, was arrested in Mills County, on a warrant for Contempt of Court. His bond was set at $3,000. And, at around 11:15-p.m. Sunday, 56-year old Terry Lee Prine, of Sidney, was arrested for Violation of an order.  Prine was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports a man was arrested Saturday night on Union County warrants for possession of controlled substance (methamphetamine & marijuana) AND possession of drug paraphernalia. 40-year-old Bart Douglas Dunkerson, of Creston, was arrested at around  9:26 PM at his residence, and later released from the Union County Jail on $2,300 bond.

A Union County man reported to the Sheriff’s Office Saturday night, that shortly after 10:00 PM that day, someone drove a truck through his yard in the 2100 block of Yellow Rose Avenue, tearing up the yard and the tires flung rocks at the house causing a window to break and dents on the side of the house. The damage was estimated at $400.

The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests from the past week. On Nov. 15th, 43-year old Patrick Lee Karnes, of Des Moines, was arrested by Stuart Police for Theft in the 5th Degree, for allegedly stealing two bottles of alcohol and a sweatshirt, from the Stuart Kum-and-Go Store. He was also charged with Violation of a No Contact Order. Karnes was released the following day from the Adair County Jail, on his Own Recognizance.

And, Saturday night (Nov. 21st), 63-year old Jeffrey Allen Jennings, of West Des Moines, was arrested by the Iowa State Patrol, for OWI/1st offense. His arrest followed an investigation into an accident, whereby Jennings’ vehicle crashed into a high tension cable barrier off westbound I-80, near mile marker 88. Jennings admitted to drinking three Bloody Mary’s earlier in the evening. He refused to take a breath test at the Adair County Jail, and was held on Sunday afternoon and then released on a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

(Radio Iowa) – There’s a sign on the Iowa Department of Transportation’s website, acknowledging “technical difficulties.” The Iowa D-O-T’s Andrea Henry says the private company that provides the online capacity for the agency’s website is dealing with a ransomware attack on its system.  “We utilize a hosting vendor and they have had a major outage,” she says, “so we have been working with them since last Monday to get that website restored.”

Henry says the data stored on the D-O-T’s website does not appear to be affected. “We’ve been assured that there has been no compromise to any of our data, information or anything that lives on our website,” Henry says. The entire Iowa D-O-T website is down. “However, we do have a temporary site at our usual address, which is www.iowadot.gov, and we’re able to connect you to some of the most time-sensitive services,” Henry says, “such as making appointments for drivers license services, online renewal, renewal of license plates and some motor carrier services as well.”

Henry says there’s also a chat feature on the website, to get other questions answered during normal business hours. It could be next week before the D-O-T’s website is fully functioning again. “We are, of course, approaching the outage carefully to make sure that there’s no continued security concerns, so we’re hoping to have it up in the next day or two,” Henry says. “However, with the Thanksgiving holiday, it may continue into next week.”

Managed.com, the Iowa D-O-T’s web hosting company, shut down all its servers last Monday to prevent the malware from spreading to all it clients.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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