In an update to our Adair County Sheriff’s report on Monday, the Union County Sheriff’s Office today (Wednesday) said 43-year-old Niels Curtis Mikkelsen, of Orient, was arrested July 4th by an Adair County Deputy in Union County, for Operating a vehicle While Intoxicated, following an investigation into an accident. His preliminary breath test (PBT) registered .153, or nearly twice the legal limit for intoxication.

Authorities say Mikkelsen was driving a 2014 Dodge RAM bucket truck registered to Alliant Energy/Interstate Power and Light, when he failed to maintain control while traveling westbound on 110th Street a little before 2-a.m. The truck entered the north ditch and struck the backside of an unoccupied 1993 Toyota pickup that was parked in the ditch. The pickup is registered to John Weeks, of Orient.

Damage to the pickup was estimated at $8,000. The bucket truck sustained approximately $7,000 damage.

A rollover accident between Exira and Hamlin Tuesday night resulted in two juveniles being transported to the hospital for treatment of unknown injuries. Audubon County Sheriff Todd Johnson said the Sheriff’s Department received a call about a rollover accident at around 9:35-p.m. in the 2,500 block of Highway 71. When Deputies arrived, they found the vehicle – a 2005 Chevy Impala – on its top in the ditch. Audubon and Exira Fire and Rescue responded to the scene and transported the juveniles to the hospital.

The Sheriff says it’s believed the vehicle was traveling left of center on Highway 71, when the driver over-corrected, causing the car to go out of control. Additional details are currently not available.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office is asking for your help in locating a man who ran from law enforcement during a traffic stop at around 2-a.m. today (Wednesday). Deputies conducted the traffic stop on a 2013 Dodge Avenger, at Lambert Ave & 190^th Street in Pacific Junction. While the deputy was conducting their traffic stop with the female driver, the male passenger identified as 27 year old JACOB ERIC STONER, of Council Bluffs, jumped into the driver’s seat and stole the vehicle before fleeing from deputies and heading into Nebraska.

Jacob Eric Stoner (Mills Co/ S/O photos)

Stoner is wanted by Mills County authorities with numerous charges. If you have information on STONER, please contact your local law enforcement office or the Mills County Sheriff’s Office at (712) 527-4871.

(Updated 12:30-p.m.) (Radio Iowa) – The Jasper County Board of Supervisors has unanimously passed a resolution declaring rural and unincorporated areas of the county a “Second Amendment Sanctuary.” It bars city or county employees in Jasper County from enforcing state or federal mandates that infringe on gun rights in those areas. Jasper County Board of Supervisors Chairman Doug Cupples says the resolution changes nothing now and would only kick in if state or federal gun restrictions go into effect. “What we are saying is that if the state or federal government is going to enforce those laws, they are the ones that are going to have to come enforce them,” he says. “One is for the resources, that would be part of it, but also for the safety of the people of Jasper County.”

Jasper County Supervisor Brandon Talsma says banning any type of firearm is an infringement on gun rights. He also cites so-called “red flag” laws that lets police or family members get a court order to temporarily remove weapons from someone who may be a danger to themselves or others.  “It does away with your right to be able to face an accuser. It does away with your right to jury by your peers,” he says, “and further it completely does away with the entire premise that our judicial system was set up upon which is you’re innocent until proven guilty and instead it says you are guilty until you are able to prove your innocence.”

The supervisors held a public hearing before their unanimous vote before becoming the first county in Iowa to adopt the policy. One resident said it was an important pre-emptive move as the Biden Administration pushes for new gun laws. Others said there was no need for the resolution. Republican supervisors in Hardin County did the same Wednesday (today). Jasper and Hardin are the first Iowa counties to implement such measures. Elsewhere in the U.S., at least 1,200 local governments have declared themselves sanctuaries insulated from state and federal gun laws since 2018. An ordinance passed in Columbia County, Oregon, last year is the first to face a legal challenge over whether it can be enforced.

AMES, Iowa – All the information you need to more easily travel Iowa’s state and U.S. highways and interstates is now on one, cohesive website www.511ia.org. For many years Iowa’s authoritative source of traveler information has been available in different formats depending on the needs of the driver and the bandwidth of your internet service. A single, fully functional site is now available with just one click. Previous versions which included a “Streamlined” version for lower bandwidth connections and “Full Featured” versions for travelers and commercial drivers have been retired. The new site, which can easily be viewed on any device, has been ramping up its functionality over the last year, and the final pieces were added in late June to allow the old sites to be retired. Anyone who had bookmarked the previous sites will automatically be redirected to the new www.511ia.org.

The 511 system allows you to set up an account that alerts you of activity such as construction or incidents on routes or areas you have saved. In addition, you can save your favorite cameras to more easily see the traffic situation on routes you want to monitor. If you had an account previously set up on 511, your account was transitioned to the new site back in March.

With the retirement of the final legacy 511 website, we are launching a refreshed 511 logo. The popular 511 app for iOS and Android is also in the process of being updated and new features will be available in 2022.

As a reminder, www.511ia.org tracks traffic incidents, highway construction, and weather impacts on state and U.S. highways, and interstates. Traffic events on county roads and city streets are not shown on www.511ia.org.

There will also be an adjustment made to the 511 information on Twitter. The @statewide511 Twitter posts will no longer be retweeted to the @iowadot Twitter feed. All information input into the 511 system will continue to come to you on the @statewide511 Twitter handle. The @IowaDOT feed will focus on traffic safety and transportation-related information. There will be no change to the regional or metro 511 Facebook or Twitter feeds.