SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Oct. 18, 2024 – If you travel on Interstate 29 near Iowa 141 (exit 127) at Sloan you need to be aware of an upcoming ramp paving project that may slow down your trip, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Sioux City construction office. The southbound I-29 on-ramp and the northbound I-29 off-ramp at Iowa 141 (exit 127) at Sloan will be closed beginning at noon on Monday, Oct. 21. The ramps will reopen at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, weather permitting. During the ramp closures, oversize loads will not be permitted through the cities of Whiting or Sloan and the following marked detours will be in place:

Southbound Detour: From I-29 at the Iowa 141 interchange (exit 127), you will travel east on Iowa 141, travel south on Woodbury/Monona County Road K-45/Old Highway 75, travel west on Monona County E-24 near Whiting, and then south on I-29 (exit 120).
Northbound Detour: You will exit at the interchange with Monona County Road E-24 (exit 120), travel east on Monona County Road E-24, travel north on Woodbury/Monona County Road K-45/Old Highway 75 to Sloan and Iowa 141.

The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

RED OAK, Iowa – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee, Thursday, announced her Small Business of the Week: Greenfield Dental of Adair County. Throughout this Congress, Ranking Member Ernst plans to recognize a small business in every one of Iowa’s 99 counties. “While you may think you know the drill with dentists, Greenfield Dental is putting a smile on every face,” said Ranking Member Ernst. “You would think Dr. Frost is as popular as the tooth fairy given all of the rave reviews. The Greenfield Dental team really knows how to fill a need in our community!”

In 2018, Dr. Ryan Frost graduated from the University of Iowa’s College of Dentistry. Following graduation, Dr. Frost moved to work at Greenfield Family Dentistry. In 2020, he became the owner and merged with Nodaway Valley Dental to establish Greenfield Dental. Dr. Frost expanded from four workspaces to eleven and further invested in 3D X-ray imaging technology, which enabled Greenfield Dental to provide same-day emergency care, in-office root canals, and dental implant procedures.

In addition to his role at the practice, Dr. Frost is the treasurer for the Greenfield Main Street Chamber Board and aided in the community’s tornado clean-up and recovery this past spring. This fall, Greenfield Dental will celebrate its fourth business anniversary.

(Radio Iowa) – Court records show a 58-year-old northern Iowa man has agreed to plead guilty to second degree murder for killing a nurse who worked in Mason City. Sixty-two-year-old Leallen Bergman of Ventura was stabbed to death at a home in Britt last year. Police responding to a disturbance at the address encountered Monte Eckels before they entered the home and found Bergman’s body. Eckels was charged with first degree murder, but earlier this year he was found mentally incompetent to stand trial.

After receiving treatment, a judge ruled he was mentally fit for a trial, which had been scheduled in December. By pleading guilty to second degree murder, Eckels will be eligible for parole after serving 35 years in prison.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation news release identified Eckels as being from Britt, where the murder happened, but Iowa D-O-T records show Eckels has a Titonka address.

DES MOINES—Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird warns Iowans to be on high alert for government imposter scams. Her warning, Thursday, follows an instance last on Oct. 10th, where a scammer attempted to defraud a woman by calling from what appeared to be the Iowa Attorney General’s office’s phone number. Government imposter scams occur when a scammer pretends to be affiliated with a government agency to trick Iowans into sending money. Scammers often claim to be from agencies such as the Iowa Department of Revenue, Social Security Administration, or law enforcement.

“Scammers are master manipulators who will lie and scare people to get their way,” said Attorney General Bird. “I am warning Iowans to be on the lookout because these scammers will stop at nothing to steal from you, even if it means impersonating my office or law enforcement. If you or someone you know is suspicious of a call, please hang up and call my office at 888-777-4590.”

On Oct. 10th, the Iowa Attorney General’s office was alerted of a scammer who was spoofing the Iowa Attorney General office’s phone number to deceive people. A scammer, using an Iowa phone number, called a woman in Oregon and left a voicemail claiming to be a special agent with the Department of Justice. The concerned woman immediately forwarded a transcript of the voicemail to her husband. He returned the scammer’s call and asked for proof of identification or government affiliation. The scammer refused and instead insisted on calling back from a “main line” to prove they were a special agent. As the scammer called back from a different Iowa phone number, the husband found online that the number appearing on the caller ID was associated with the Iowa Attorney General’s office. The husband then confronted the scammer, but the scammer evaded questions and abruptly ended the call. The husband immediately reported the scam to the Iowa Attorney General’s office.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird (file photo)

How to Spot a Government Imposter Scam:

• Unexpected Contact: Scammers call out of the blue and claim to be affiliated with a government agency.
• Threats: They use scare tactics, including threats of arrest, deportation, or fines.
• Demands for Immediate Payment: Scammers ask for money to solve a problem, such as paying taxes, fines, or fees. They also ask for the money to be sent via gift cards, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency—all methods where it is near impossible to retrieve the stolen money.
• Flawed Emails or Letters: They send fake letters or emails that look like they are from a legitimate agency but contain spelling errors or mismatched logos.

How to Protect Yourself:

• Verify the Source: If suspicious of someone claiming to be from a government agency, hang up or ignore the message. Use a verified phone number to directly call the agency.
• Use Official Channels: Always check the official website of the government agency for communication, guidelines, or instructions.
• Be Skeptical of Threats: Government agencies and law enforcement will not make threats of immediate arrest or ask for payment over the phone.
• Protect Your Pocketbook: Never provide personal or financial information over the phone, text, or email.

If you or someone you know has been targeted by a government imposter scam, contact the Iowa Attorney General’s office at 888-777-4590 or file a complaint online: https://www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov/for-consumers/file-a-consumer-complaint.

(Creston, Iowa) –  Police in Creston, Thursday night, arrested a woman on an OWI charge. Authorities report 31-year-old Paige Nicole Ruggle, of Creston, was arrested at around 11:20-p.m. at McKinley Lake. Ruggle was charged with Operating While Under the Influence – 1st Offense. She was taken to Union County Jail and later released after posting a $1,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – A filmmaker who was born in Italy and now calls Iowa home says shooting should wrap today (Friday) in Oskaloosa on the first round of filming on his latest movie. Max Leonida, the Film Artist-in-Residence at William Penn University, says after spending much of his life in his native country and then a decade in Los Angeles, he’s thrilled to be directing his latest work, “Winter Harvest,” in the Hawkeye State, what he calls a viable location for filmmakers.  “Working in such a beautiful community where everybody is so supportive,” Leonida says, “we realized that basically filming over here, even if there’s not a real tax incentive, and we can work on that in the future, we can go to the legislators and try to rebuild some kind of film commission and tax rebate so that we can attract other production here.”

A movie that costs two-million dollars to make in Iowa, he says, would’ve run 15- or 20-million in Hollywood. Some scenes were shot in Ottumwa, with others in Des Moines, including at the Iowa Capitol, though the majority of the three weeks of filming was in Oskaloosa. The 54-year-old Leonida tells Radio Iowa they’ll be taking a break for the next few weeks, then will resume filming in Italy for another month or so. Many local Iowans and William Penn students and staff are being used in the film, as actors, extras and as members of the crew.  “Some of them were so committed, so passionate and overachieving on the set that we decided to bring some of them with us in Italy. How about that?” Leonida says. “How many universities can claim that they’re making a feature film and bringing the students overseas, not for an internship, for a real job? I think it’s pretty cool.”

Leonida is passionate about how he and his wife became U-S citizens in Iowa in 2022. He says he intends to return to Oskaloosa with his team to begin editing and producing the film. “Students will be exposed to some high level professionals working on the editing, and usually post-production, the whole process takes two or three months, so let’s say January, February, March,” Leonida says, “so by April, we should be done with the first good final cut.”

Director Max Leonida (in black “FREEDOM” shirt) on the set in Oskaloosa (Photos by Reed Peterson, William Penn University)

The film is set in the early 1980s and follows the story of an American military general who’s kidnapped by an Italian terrorist group. Leonida has directed 28 previous films and says he got his start in the movies as a ten-year-old boy in Milan with a Super 8 camera. “That was not even a movie, actually. It was like, that was my crappy stuff that I was doing because I was in love with the job, of course, and I was willing to be a storyteller,” Leonida says, laughing. “So I involved all my friends, my sister, and I was doing some very poor and bad stuff, but that’s my beginning actually.”

Leonida plans to enter “Winter Harvest” in a variety of international film festivals, including Cannes (CAN), and intends to have the world premiere in Iowa in mid-2025.