(Radio Iowa) – Sioux City police say there’s been an increase in reports of scams involving online threats, and some people have fallen for them. Sergeant Tom Gill says they’ve had at least ten reports in the last several weeks. “Which means that that number is probably well above ten, because most people don’t report it for one reason or another, whether they’re embarrassed if they fell for the scam, which is probably why they don’t report it,” he says. Gill says the warning is the same for all types of scams, don’t fall to the pressure.

“Anytime you get a phone call somebody wanting you to give money over the phone or wire it through Western Union or put it on iTunes cards, it’s 100 percent a scam,” Gill says. “Don’t fall for it. A lot of times you’ll get text messages now saying that, hey, we’ve observed your social media activity, and we know you’ve been on all these different sites, and we’re going to make it public. Unless you pay us this money, don’t fall for it. It’s a scam.” Many scams are targeted at older people, but Gill says they are also now targeting young people as well.

“There’s so many different apps now, and it’s scary, especially for young kids, teenagers, they find out about these apps, and they’ll get on these apps, and then all of a sudden, next thing you know, they’re going to ask for a picture of them in the nude,” he says. “And sometimes those pictures get sent, and we advise never send a picture, especially a nude picture, to someone, because that never goes away. And then all of a sudden, they’ll try to blackmail that individual, saying we’re going to send this out to your family, your friends. We’re going to put it all over social media, unless you pay us X amount of money.”

Some of the scammers make vicious threats that include saying they are going to harm you. Gill says you should let police know if someone tries to scam you. “By all means, report this, because we want to know about the new scams that are going on and to alert the public not to fall for them,” Gill says. “But just understand, if you send money, whether you wire it through Western Union or pay for gift cards, you’re out that money.” Gill says report it even if you fall for the scam, because it may help prevent someone else from being a victim.

(Greenfield, Iowa)  – Officials with the Adair County Health system say they are “Thrilled to announce that Adair County Health System is officially open to all patients,” nearly six-months after an EF-4 tornado tore through the community, killed four people and damaged over 150 homes, as well as the hospital and other businesses. As of now (November 11th), the hospital is open and ready to provide patients and clients “with exceptional care” in their newly renovated facility.

From the ACHS: “Thank you for your continued support and patience!”

(Radio Iowa) – Waterloo police are investigating reports of “white power” flyers. The flyers claim to be from the Aryan Freedom Network and carry a line reading, “We are everywhere! Your race is calling, will you answer? Take a stand.” There’s a link to a white power website, and across the bottom it says, “Distributed randomly without malicious intent.”

Reports say the flyers appeared Sunday morning on various properties in Waterloo, and KGAN-TV says police don’t believe there’s an immediate threat.

The report says police are asking anyone with home security or doorbell camera footage that might help identify the source to forward it to investigators.

(Radio Iowa) – The visitors center at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Prairie City will remain closed indefinitely due to heavy damage from summer storms. Nancy Corona, the visitors services manager at the center, says heavy hail and flooding last July left extensive damage to the ceiling, drywall, rugs and exhibits, including the seed lab. She says the center will not be assessed for long-term repairs until next year.

“First phase was clean up, and second phase was just getting us back in the office and getting us up and running again,” Corona says. “And now third phase will be getting that engineering information and costs and the scope of the work, and then we can give a projection at that point.”

Corona says the visitors center will remain closed to the public for at least several months. The outdoor refuge, including the surrounding trails and hunting grounds, remains open to the public.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday morning (Nov. 13th), will canvass votes from the Nov. 5, 2024 General Election. The canvass takes place as part of the regular weekly Board meeting, which begins at 8:30-a.m. Wednesday, in the Red Oak Courthouse Supervisor’s Meeting Room. Following a canvass of the votes, the Board will act on passing a resolution certifying the outcome of votes cast during the General Election, as outlined in the Code of Iowa.

In other, regular business, the Board will act on approving the Treasurer’s semi-annual report ending-fund balance as of Oct. 31, 2024, in the amount of $15,280,458. They will also act on approving the Recorder’s report of fees for Oct. 31st, in the amount of $22,958.50, and Claims payable for Nov. 13th, in the amount of $1,284,556.94.

The next, regular meeting of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors takes place on Tue., Nov. 19th, beginning at 8:30-a.m.

(Radio Iowa) – While today (Monday) is Veterans Day, a solemn service on Wednesday will recognize three former Iowa State University alumni who served in the military and made the ultimate sacrifice. Megan Moore, with the I-S-U Memorial Union, says the Gold Star Hall Ceremony has been a tradition on the Ames campus for more than two decades. “Our first honoree is Air Force Second Lieutenant Max Harvey Collins. He died when his aircraft crashed on takeoff during the Korean War,” Moore says. “We are also honoring James Wayne Harrick, Junior. He was a captain in the Air Force, and he was on a mission when his plane was lost near North Vietnam.”

This year’s third honoree is Army First Lieutenant Sidney Peterson, who served in World War Two and died after taking on anti-aircraft fire aboard a B-26 Marauder. “These wonderful service members were young men, and they were Iowa State students studying various degrees here, and so part of the ceremony is we tell their personal story,” Moore says. “We tell from the very beginning, stories from when they were born and what their family life was like, and then we do go into detail of what their life was like here at Iowa State.”

Wednesday’s program is scheduled to begin at 4:15 P-M at the ISU Memorial Union.  “The Gold Star Hall Ceremony did start in 2003 and it’s our way to remember and honor Iowa State students who died while serving their country,” Moore says. “Their names are engraved into the walls and so every year, we select a handful of our service members who are in the Gold Star Hall to be honored at our ceremony.”

The Memorial Union was built in 1928 as a memorial to Iowa State students who died in World War One. It has continued to be a living memorial for students who died in future conflicts and names have been added to the walls throughout the years.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors will meet Wednesday (Nov. 13th), beginning at 9-a.m. in their courthouse Boardroom. On their agenda is:

• A Quarterly Report from Cass County Conservation Executive Director Micah Lee, for the quarter ending June 30, 20224.
• An Annual Report from the Cass County Library Association.
• A presentation by Cass County Tourism President Laura Kanning, with regard to a new, interactive brochure.

The Board will also discuss, and possibly act on:

• A lease agreement with the 4th Judicial District as it pertains to County-owned property off of S. Walnut Street.
• The issuance of a county credit card with a $2,500 spending limit, to Cass County Public Safety Communications Director Mike Kennon, and Bobbi Jo Steffensmeier.
• Approval of a Federal-Aid agreement for the replacement of Bridge 269, over the Jim Branch of 660th Street.

And, the Cass County Board of Supervisors will receive a regular report from County Engineer Trent Wolken before conducting the 1st Tier of the November 5, 2024 General Election Results.

(The full agenda and Zoom link/Call-in information can be found here:Agenda – 2024.11.13 – for publication-2)

DES MOINES, Iowa — The jury has come to a verdict following the two-week-long court case of the Safris family vs. Urbandale Schools. WHO-TV reports the lawsuit was filed by the Safris family alleging that negligence and ignorance of policy led to their daughter being assaulted by a male classmate during her middle school English class, eventually causing her to become suicidal. Their daughter had sent nudes to a male classmate in the fall of 2018, he later began assaulting her and sharing the nudes with others in the school after she refused to go out with him.

The jury has been tasked with determining if the school was negligent in its supervision of the classroom and reporting the incident. They have also been asked to determine if the alleged assault has permanently affected the girl, resulting in lifelong consequences. The Safris family alleges that because the photos were reportedly spread throughout the school and several students were aware of them, administrators and teachers should have also noticed something and opened an investigation. The defense argues that nobody ever reported the issues, not even the victim or students, so they weren’t aware. They also explained their in-depth policy, ensuring that if they had been aware of the issue they would have acted swiftly and made sure the issue was addressed.

The jury heard testimonies from teachers and students in the school, each providing different perspectives on whether they knew about the photos and if they knew there were issues surrounding the victim and the male classmate. They also heard from several administrators who laid out their clear policy and all the steps they took. Finally, psychologists were asked to give their perspectives on the issue and the lasting effect of the incident on the victim.

The jury was also presented with evidence proving the existence of policies and procedures that were in place to keep the students safe. They also saw messages that were exchanged between administrators and the family. The court also presented the jury with a detailed outline of the sequence of events beginning with the fall of 2018 until the present day.

The jury was released to deliberate at the end of court Thursday, they reconvened at 9 a.m. on Friday where they remained sequestered until a verdict was reached. A verdict has been reached but the full report was not immediately released due to the Veteran’s Day holiday.

(Mound City, MO.) – The Missouri State Patrol reports a man from Council Bluffs was injured during a motorcycle accident Sunday night, in northwest Missouri. The unidentified 48-year-old male suffered serious injuries and was transported to the Fairfax County (MO.) Community Hospital before being flown by LifeFlight to the Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha.

According to the report, the crash occurred at around 9-p.m. Sunday, as the 1984 Honda motorcycle was traveling south on Highway AA. The machine struck a deer and then skidded across the center line of the road before traveling off the east side of the road. The motorcycle came to rest on its right side off the east side of the road.

The Missouri State Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Atchison County, Missouri Sheriff’s Department.

(Creston, Iowa) – Three people were arrested on separate charges over the last three days, in Creston. According to the Creston Police Department, 26-year-old Gordon McKensie Carroll, Jr., of Osceola, was arrested at around 1:24-a.m. Sunday, for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was arrested in the 400 block of New York Avenue, and transported to the Union County Jail. He later posted a $1,300 bond before being released.

There were two arrests Friday, in Creston: At around 7:07-p.m., 47-year-old William Peter Fargo, of Creston, was arrested on a Union County warrant for Failure To Appear on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense. Fargo was booked into the Union County Jail and later posted at $1,000 bond; And, 43-year-old Clinton Lawrence Hoffman, of Diagonal, was arrested at around 11:19-p.m., Friday, for OWI/2nd offense. Hoffman was later released after posting a $2,000 bond.

Creston Police said also, an individual reported Friday morning, that his silver, 2014 Chevy Impala was stolen. The loss was estimated at $1,000.