SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — The Storm Lake Police Department took to social media on Thursday to address a recent uptick in youth violence as juveniles in the area have been recording and sharing videos of them fighting each other, officials said. In their statement about the recent issue, the police department said that they have recently seen an uptick in youth violence in public areas. They said that they are specifically seeing juveniles fighting each other, recording these fights, and posting them on social media platforms.

“This trend is dangerous,” the police department said. “By recording and sharing these fights, our youth are not only putting themselves at risk, but they are also normalizing and sensationalizing violent behavior. That is not the community we want to foster.” The police department is asking parents to talk with their kids about the situation, inform them of the consequences, as well as monitor what they are up to.

The police department also said in their statement that going forward, arrests may be made when these fights happen. “Understand that moving forward, if three or more people gather in a public place and any of them act in a violent manner, with intent to commit any public offense, they could be arrested and charged with unlawful assembly. This includes individuals gathering to watch, record, or participate in a fight or any other public offense,” SLPD said.

They also said that recording illegal activities such as these fights may also result in the police department seizing juveniles’ cell phones. “We encourage members of the public to call the police when they see fights occurring within our community. If you see something, say something,” SLPD said. “Let’s work together to stand together against youth violence.”

FORT DODGE, Iowa [KCCI] — Two best friends turned co-business owners are in shock after security footage shows someone setting the clothing in their Fort Dodge business on fire early Thursday morning. Dreyzon Phillips runs Fear to Dream, where he designs apparel. Taj Lowrey runs Just for Kicks, where he designs shoes. Together, the two opened a store called FTD in Fort Dodge last October.

Video from a security camera shows the moment someone broke the front window of their shop and stepped inside Thursday at 1 a.m. Seconds later, the person can be seen using what appears to be a torch to light the clothing on a few racks on fire. Not even a minute later, the flames can be seen growing and some falling to the ground.

Lowrey and Phillips say they didn’t know what was going on until 8:30 in the morning. That’s around the time both say they received a call from the person who owns the shop next door and their landlord. Both 21-year-olds quickly made it to the store and saw that the fire was out.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa National Guard, say “As anticipated, the Director of the Air National Guard (ANG) has released a Force Structure announcement that divests the 133rd Test Squadron’s mission located in Fort Dodge. We anticipate that this will result in the eventual closure of the unit and Air Guard facility in Fort Dodge.” The statement went on to says “The Iowa National Guard is among a handful of states impacted by Air Force and ANG’s force-restructuring decisions which are driven in large part by the need to modernize and reprioritize our national defense capabilities and redefine mission sets. There is no official timeline with this confirmation from the ANG, but we are working with the community of Fort Dodge to honor the history of the 133rd and to prioritize the care of our people with future opportunities within the Iowa National Guard.”

The National Guard will maintain its presence in Fort Dodge with 107 Soldiers of the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion 194th Field Artillery and a full-time force of seven employees at the Field Maintenance Shop (FMS).

Full deactivation of the 133rd may take years to complete and is dependent on Department of Defense resources to fully execute and comply with all related regulations and polices. Officials say “Our priority currently is to ensure that all affected Air Guardsmen/women are afforded options to continue their careers with the Iowa Air National Guard. This diverse team brings a wide range of skills and views to the table enhancing the overall unit capabilities as a test squadron.”

(Radio Iowa) – State officials say about 233-thousand Iowans are no longer receiving Medicaid coverage after a year-long review. Federal guidelines established at the start of the COVID pandemic prevented states from removing most recipients from the Medicaid program, but that rule ended a year ago. Elizabeth Matney is the state Medicaid director. She says about 50-thousand Iowans who were notified they’d be removed from the Medicaid program in the past year are still enrolled after officials confirmed they qualified for the benefit.  “There is a fairly expedited process to get back on and those are the individuals that, you know, we see reinstated.”

Kelly Huntsman is the C-E-O of Primary Health Care, a federally qualified health center that operates clinics in central Iowa. She says some of their patients missed state notifications and didn’t realize they had lost coverage until they showed up for an appointment.  “When the state sends out, you know, the letters, sometimes they’ve changed addresses once or twice since then,” she said. “And many of our patients are non-English speaking.”

State officials say based on recent state and federal data, they believe most of the 233-thousand Iowans who are no longer enrolled in Medicaid were eligible for other types of health coverage.

(Radio Iowa) – A new policy going into effect this summer clarifies the prosecution of cases when illegal drugs acquired in one county lead to a person’s overdose in another county. Representative Jon Dunwell of Newton said one of his constituents has personal experience with this kind of situation. “This mother lost her 24 year old daughter. Her daughter was heading back into getting some treatment (but)…she was going to take her last little bit of drugs,” Dunwell told Radio Iowa. “She bought some drugs in one county, but she died in another county.”

The law, which goes into effect July 1, says a person who supplies drugs that cause an overdose can be charged in the county where the drugs were obtained or in the county where the death or serious injury occurred. If both county attorneys are building a case, the county in which the drugs were obtained would have the primary right to proceed with a prosecution Dunwell said in his constituent’s case, it wasn’t clear that either county could bring charges and, in the end, no one was charged. “The one county had some concerns about the case and the other county thought they could get it through,” Dunwell said, “so this would allow either county to do it.”

The bill passed the Iowa House and Senate unanimously. Dunwell and his constituent were at the Capitol this week to watch the governor sign the bill into law in a private event. “She’s sitting there with the governor. The governor has her granddaughter on her lap and she says: ‘I never thought I could make a difference,’” Dunwell said.

The child was four years old when her mother overdosed.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department say a woman was arrested Thursday evening on a Theft charge. 40-year-old Judy Kay Gunter, of Creston, was taken into custody at the Creston Wal-Mart Store, at around 6:40-p.m., for Theft in the 5th Degree. She was cited, and released at the scene on a Promise To Appear in court.