WEBSTER COUNTY, Iowa (WHO-TV) — Three people are dead following a shooting at a rural Webster County home Sunday night. The Webster County Sheriff’s Office said a 911 call came in around 7:40 p.m. from a juvenile that two people had been shot at 2101 140th Street. That’s about nine miles north of Fort Dodge. The caller told dispatchers the suspected shooter had fled on foot.

Deputies with the WCSO arrived minutes after the call and found 39-year-old Molly Barlow and 63-year-old Phyllis Versteeg in the garage area. Both had been shot. The deputies attempted life-saving medical care until paramedics arrived, but both victims died at the scene. In a search of the home by deputies and officers with the Fort Dodge Police Department, the body of 41-year-old Duran Barlow was located. The WCSO said it appeared he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation was called in to process the scene and conduct interviews. The investigation into what happened continues but the WCSO said there is no threat to the public.

(Creston, Iowa) –  A woman from Creston was arrested Sunday afternoon, on drug charges. Creston Police report 34-year-old Rachel Marie Colburn was arrested at 417 Wyoming Avenue, and charged with Possession of Controlled Substance-Methamphetamine/1st Offense, and Possession Drug Paraphernalia. Colburn was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on a $1,300 bond.

Also arrested at the same location, was 44-year-old Robert Todd Jackson, of Creston. Jackson was charged with Driving Suspended. He was cited and released from the scene with Promise to Appear in Court.

GLENWOOD, Iowa — The Iowa Dental Board suspended a Glenwood dentist’s license following his conviction for assaulting a patient. 65-year-old Dr. Calvin Weber was charged with improper sexual contact with, or making lewd, lascivious or improper remarks or advances to, a patient. A judge found him guilty, and sentenced Weber to pay an $855 fine and time served.

The Emergency Adjudicative Order prohibits Dr. Weber from practicing dentistry until a hearing is held in his case. The Board called Dr. Weber an “imminent threat to public safety.”

In the 1990s, Weber lost his license to administer anesthesia after three female patients said he inappropriately touched them during their appointments. The board disciplined him for “gross immorality or dishonorable or unprofessional conduct.”

A hearing on his license was tentatively scheduled for January 19th, but upon request, a Continuance was granted until further order of the Board.

(Radio Iowa) – The Des Moines Civic Center is launching a new Explorer Series tomorrow (Tuesday) night that will include in-person talks from a NASA engineer who puts robots on Mars, a deep-ocean underwater photographer, and Mike Libecki, who describes his life as a National Geographic Adventurer the following way. “I’m a professional climber and explorer, and you know, you could even call it a professional child. I absolutely love what I do,” Libecki says. “I travel around the world climbing and adventuring, supporting science, going to places no one’s ever been to before. Honestly, it’s a dream come true.”

Libecki will present what he’s calling “Paddling with Polar Bears.” It documents one small part of his exploits in the high Arctic, though his job has taken him to all seven continents, including Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa and the peaks of Nepal and Peru. “The best part about my lifestyle is getting to go on these expeditions and travel around the world, but the second best part is coming back to share these stories,” Libecki says. “These are places that few people get to experience and to bring these emotional stories back and share them with people, it’s one of the best parts of my life.”

Lebecki talked with Radio Iowa from his rural home in the mountains of Utah, a place he says is only accessible by snowmobile or skis during the winter. While Iowans who long for adventure in their lives might think this state has little to offer, Libecki disagrees, saying Iowans can use the current environmental challenges to steel themselves for even more harsh conditions elsewhere on the globe. “Iowa is a great place to train for Antarctica and Siberia in the winter, I mean, from what I understand it gets pretty darn cold out there,” Libecki says. “These adventures take me to places with minus 60-70 degrees where we’re climbing and adventuring, so we’re up against the most difficult challenges and climates on the planet.”

Saying he’s obsessed with climbing the world’s most remote and untouched mountains, Libecki says he’s completed more than 100 major global expeditions, reaching summits from Afghanistan to Antarctica, Greenland to Guyana, Siberia to Socotra, and most places in between. “I’ve got some pretty tough criteria how I define an expedition, and that’s being 100% self-reliant in places you can’t be rescued,” Libecki says. “I have a question that I ask myself and that’s why ration passion? The time is now and we’ve got to live this life. It’s an absolute gift to have enthusiasm about something in life.”

Libecki’s appearance on Tuesday night will be followed by, “Beyond Earth: The Quest for Life on an Icy Moon” on March 21st, and “Aboard SeaLegacy 1: Documenting our Blue Planet” on May 13th.

(Radio Iowa) -The Waterloo Community School District is considering merging its two largest high schools into one. Waterloo East and Waterloo West’s buildings are a combined 160 years old and the district hopes to combine its nearly two-thousand high schoolers under one new roof by 2028. The plan also involves renovating both the old schools for lower grades and raises some financial concerns for residents like Michael Chapman.”I’d love to see a new building, that’d be great, but we’re not putting in a new building, we’re actually spending the same money twice, which is where my concern lies,” he says. “No matter which way it was sugarcoated, it still seems like twice the amount of money’s going to be spent.” Chapman has kids in the district and says he hasn’t had a chance to make his voice heard.

“I think it should go back to the drawing board. This current idea that we’re going into was kind of done maybe behind doors, maybe without a lot of community input. This is rearranging how our entire school system is to operate,” Chapman says. Renovation costs for both high schools are comparable to the new facility. A committee has been planning for more than a decade to convert the old schools for 8th and 9th grades, with the new center for grades ten through 12. A combined school would make Waterloo’s the 10th largest high school in Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill ready for debate in the Iowa House would get rid of the legal limits on the salaries of county attorneys. Republican Representative Brian Lohse of Bondurant says there’s currently no limit on pay for the county attorneys in Polk and Linn Counties, but the other 97 can’t be paid more that a judge. “Under current law, salaries of county attorneys are limited and tied to that of a district court judge,” Lohse says. “Salary must be between 45% and 100% of the judge’s pay.” Lohse says getting rid of those caps will help counties recruit and retain lawyers in the county attorneys offices, especially in rural areas.

“Also allowing them to potentially earn more than the judge in front of whom they’re practing,” Lohse says. “That just highlights the problem with judicial pay that we need to remedy.” House Judiciary Committee chairman Steven Holt of Denison agrees. “We definitely need to deal with judicial pay, the sooner the better,” Holt said. “Our judicial pay is under everybody around us and that needs to change, without a doubt.”

Iowa judges are paid less than judge in every state that borders Iowa. Iowa judges make 16-thousand dollars less per year than South Dakota judges. The salaries for judges in Nebraska are 38-thousand dollars higher.

(Radio Iowa) – The leader of Democrats in the Iowa House says there’s troubling testimony in recently revealed court documents about the state investigation of sports gambling among Iowa and Iowa State athletes. House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst) says the way the Division of Criminal Investigation appears to have initiated the probe raises questions.

“Obviously it’s frustrating to see there’s this kind of dysfunction, this kind of lack of accountability in an agency as important as this agency,” Konfrst says. According to court documents, a long-time D-C-I agent who asked to be taken off the case alleged the agency had conducted an illegal search of the athletes’ online bets because it had not obtained a warrant. Konfrst says that’s scary.

“They did that without permission in a way that can be really scary when you think about our liberties,” Konfrst says. “…Data privacy is something that Iowans are really concerned about and we need to look into.” Konfrst, who was asked about the sports gambling investigation on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S, says the D-C-I must account for its conduct.

“If this is the kind of place where people can go rogue and start doing things like, you know, illegally listening to other people, doing illegal searches, things like that — what are the consequences?” Konfrst asked. “…I heard the governor said it’s not up to her to address this issue, but she’s the leader, her job is to hold people accountable and I think Iowans are noticing.”

Reynolds told Radio Iowa state law requires the D-C-I to monitor sports gambling in the state and agents don’t check with her when they’re doing their jobs. Reynolds declined to comment further on the cases since many have yet to be resolved in court. The governor did say the state’s public safety commissioner is getting ready to provide some information about the D-C-I’s investigation.

(Creston, Iowa) – A wheel/tire from an SUV sheered off at the lugs Sunday evening in Union County, and struck a pickup truck. The Union County Sheriff’s Office says a 2006 Jeep Liberty driven by 24-year-old Brock Bucy, of Osceola, was traveling eastbound on Highway 34 when the incident occurred at around 7:20-p.m.

The wheel and tire hit a 2014 F-150 pickup that was traveling westbound, and being driven by 61-year-old David Gaffney, of Essex. Gaffney wasn’t hurt, but his pickup was declared a total loss (estimated damage $5,000). The Jeep sustained $1,500 damage.

(Lewis, Iowa) – Numerous rescue crews responded to the scene of a collision involving two-vehicles this (Sunday) evening, near the Cass-Pottawattamie County line. Lewis First Responders, Griswold Rescue and Cass EMS were dispatched to the scene at 490th Street and Highway 6, at around 5:10-p.m.

Four people were reportedly injured, with a female unconscious. One of the victims was being transported by ambulance to a hospital in Council Bluffs. Two patients, an adult and a juvenile were transported by ambulance to Cass Health, in Atlantic. One of the victims was flown by helicopter to the UNMC in Omaha.

Additional information is currently not available.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department today (Sunday) report five recent arrests.

1-26-24 8:43am: Keifird Kewaun Griffith, 24, of California, was arrested at the Creston/Union County LEC. Griffith was charged with a Union County Bench Warrant for FTA Possession of a Controlled Substance-Marijuana 1^st Offense. Griffith later released on a $1,000 cash-only bond.

1-26-24 8:03pm: Lonny Richard Watters, 46, of Creston, was arrested at the intersection of Montgomery and Vine. Watters was charged with Driving while barred. He was later released on bond.

1-27-24 12:30pm: Charles Ray Balius, 53, of Creston, was arrested in the 200 Block S Walnut. Balius was charged on 2 Union County Warrants for Interference with Official Acts and 2^nd Driving while Revoked. He was later released on bond.

1-27-24 1:35pm: Megan Marie Brown, 42, of Creston, was arrested at the intersection of Division and Summit. Brown was charged with Driving while Barred. Brown was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on bond.

1-28-24 1:53am: Crystal Leigh Estell, 37, of Murray, was arrested at a Creston bar & grill. Estell was charged with Public Intoxication. She was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on bond.