Des Moines, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Insurance Division said Friday (today), former insurance producer Dustin French of Red Oak, was recently sentenced in Montgomery County District Court after pleading guilty to his actions in an insurance fraud scheme. The sentence follows an investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau which began in April of 2020.  The investigation concluded French received compensation from his insurer on multiple occasions following claims to his insurance provider.  The investigation determined the documentation supporting the claims was not accurate, leading to French receiving benefits to which he was not entitled.

In February of 2021, French was charged with one count of Insurance Fraud – Presenting False Information (Class D Felony) and one count of Theft in the 2nd Degree (Class D Felony).  In July of 2021, French pled guilty to one count of Theft 3rd Degree (Aggravated Misdemeanor).  French received a deferred judgement and was ordered to serve two years probation.  French was also assessed a civil penalty of $855 and ordered to pay $1,800 in victim restitution.

Photo courtesy of the Montgomery County Jail.

Iowans with information about insurance fraud are encouraged to contact the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau at 515-654-6556.

(Omaha, Nebraska) – A fisherman who saw what he thought was a body in the Missouri River, Thursday, under the I680 bridge, alerted authorities, who recovered the remains of a child who had been missing from N.P. Dodge Park in Omaha, since Tuesday evening.

Authorities had searched for 7-year-old Abi Gurung since he disappeared. Police say no foul play is suspected. N.P. Dodge Park, which was closed during the investigation, reopened this (Friday) morning.

The Gurung family told KETV they’re planning on a funeral ceremony where Buddhist monks will pray over Abi’s body before cremation. A friend of the family said Abi was born in America, and his parents worked hard raising him to be a good citizen.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports three arrests took place the first-half of this week. On Monday, 43-year-old Jeffery Lee Simpson, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, OWI 1^st Offense and possession of drug paraphernalia.  Simpson was transported to Cass County Jail where he remained held as of the latest report.

On Wednesday, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 47-year-old John Duane Anderson, of Cumberland, on a Cass County warrant for domestic abuse assault 1^st offense.  Anderson was transported to Cass County Jail where he later posted bond.

And, on Thursday, 41-year-old Jamie Marie Tallant, of Council Bluffs, was arrested in Cass County for OWI 3^rd offense and driving under suspension.  Tallant was transported to Cass County Jail where she was later released after posting bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Electric scooters will be a form of public transportation in another Iowa city. Burlington has partnered with the Los Angeles-based company Bird Rides to bring a total of 35 shared electric scooters to the city. Burlington City Manager Chad Bird said that the scooters made for a “useful way to bridge the gap between public transportation and a person’s home or work.”

The scooters are rented and tracked through a mobile app, which riders use to find a scooter, and pay for their use by the minute at no cost to the city. The company plans on offering scooters to residents and visitors in order to help reduce carbon emissions, as well as traffic congestion on roadways.

A Bird brand scooter

Cedar Rapids has an electric scooter sharing program and Davenport officials are considering an e-scooter ordinance. In April, Mason City signed a scooter contract with the same company Burlington is using.

(Radio Iowa) – A group that advocates for the civil rights of Hispanics is asking Iowa’s Secretary of State to offer documents related to voting that are translated into other languages. “Thousands of Iowa citizens have been denied their right to have election material, including the ballot, in other languages,” says Joe Henry, a member of LULAC’s Iowa board of directors. Under federal guidelines, Tama County offers voting materials in the Meskwaki language and Buena Vista County has translated documents in Spanish. LULAC has filed a formal request, asking the secretary of state to allow voting materials be made available statewide in Spanish, Burmese and other languages.

“This should not be difficult for the secretary of state to acknowledge the right of Iowans who are U.S. citizens to have voting material, election material in other languages,” If that doesn’t happen, Henry says the group may go to court. “If our rights are not acknowledged, then we will go to court to demand justice,” Henry says. “…We hope that the secretary of state…realizes that our rights have not been upheld. They’ve been held hostage.”

The Iowa secretary of state’s office previously allowed translated voting materials throughout the state, but changed the practice in 2008. A district court judge ruled that voter registration forms offered in other languages conflicted with the state’s so-called “English Only” law requiring government business be conducted in English. Henry says that interpretation conflicts with the constitutional right to vote and he says the ruling should have been appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court.

A spokesman for Iowa’s secretary of state says the office “will follow the process outlined in state law” as it reviews LULAC’s request for administration action.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 21-year-old Tyler Baucom, of Red Oak, was arrested Thursday on a warrant for Violation of a Protective Order. Baucom was being held on a $2,000 cash bond in the Montgomery County Jail.

Tyler Baucom