OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Some Omaha-area school districts are installing bleeding control kits inside schools to give staff and students quick access to resources in case of an emergency, including a shooting. The Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Agency has led the effort to get the kits into school districts, including Omaha Public Schools in Nebraska and Council Bluffs Community Schools in Iowa, The Omaha World-Herald reported. Southwest Iowa Preparedness Partners provided the funding.

The kits cost about $56 each and contain an instruction card, gauze, rubber gloves, scissors and a tourniquet that can be used to stop bleeding. The supplies could be used to address a range of injuries, from accidents in shop class or emergencies such as a school shooting, school officials said. Emergency responders typically respond quickly, but having supplies on hand can make a difference in cases with intense bleeding, said Tim Hamilton, the executive director of student and family services at the Council Bluffs district.

“The idea is if we can stop the bleed, we’re going to save a life,” he said. The Council Bluffs district has trained its health staff, teachers, support staff and some students on how to use the kits, Hamilton said. Sarpy County Sheriff Lt. Jacob Betsworth has been collaborating with CHI Health and the Gretna Community Foundation to install kits at Gretna Public Schools.

Betsworth said training people on how to stop bleeding is similar to training people in CPR.
“At some point in our history, CPR wasn’t a thing,” he said. “Now, almost everybody at some point has been exposed to it. We’re kind of going down that path here.”

A traffic stop at around 1:11-a.m. today (Sunday), in Red Oak, resulted in the arrest of a man from Nebraska. Red Oak Police report 24-year old DeMarco Torrez Clayton, of Nebraska City, NE., was taken into custody for Driving While Suspended, with three withdrawals in effect. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a slightly more than $566 bond.

Police in Red Oak say three people were cited and then released, following an investigation into a reported beer party involving minors, Saturday night. Officers went to the 1200 block of N.3rd Street at around 8:25-p.m. and subsequently cited into Juvenile Court, a 16-year old for Minor in Possession of Alcohol. The teen was then released to the custody of his parents. 18-year old Addison James Bull, of Corning,along with 18-year old Jacob Christopher Cashatt, of Red Oak, were also cited for Minor in Possession. Bull was also cited for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies assisted Red Oak Police during the investigation.

At least two people were transported to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital in Red Oak, Saturday morning, following a collision between a pickup and a van that was blamed on dense fog in the area. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says at the accident happened at around 11-a.m. on Highway 34 near Avenue A. A 2019 Dodge Ram pickup owned & driven by 41-year old Joshua Weston, of Red Oak, and a 2014 Chrysler van owned and driven by 29-year old Kassandra Houdek, of Stanton, were both traveling west on Highway 34. Houdek told authorities in appeared that the pickup was preparing to pass when it struck the van in the rear, center area. Weston said he observed an eastbound semi that was across the center line, and when he looked back into his lane, saw Houdek’s van directly in front of him. He was unable to avoid striking the van, and causing a  total of $8,000 damage. A passenger in the Houdek van confirmed an eastbound semi had crossed the center line.

Following the collision, both vehicles stopped on the north shoulder of Highway 34, just west of Avenue A. Red Oak Fire and Rescue personnel arrived on the scene and administered aid to the occupants of the van, who had complained of pain. Houdek and a juvenile passenger in the rear seat were transported to MCMH for treatment of possible, minor injuries. Authorities say heavy fog conditions resulting in limited range of view, are believed to have been a factor in the collision.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by Red Oak Police along with Red Oak Fire and Rescue.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:00 a.m. CST

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A trial date has been set for a man accused of killing an Iowa high school student almost 40 years ago. Cedar Rapids station KCRG reports that trial for 65-year-old Jerry Burns, of Manchester, has been set for Oct. 14 in Linn County. Burns has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. Police arrested him Dec. 19, 39 years to the day after 18-year-old Michelle Martinko was killed. Her body was found the next day inside her family’s car at a Cedar Rapids mall.

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — A new trial date has been set for a former farmhand charged with first-degree murder in the abduction and stabbing death of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts in Iowa. The Des Moines Register reports that a judge on Friday set trial for 24-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera on Sept. 3 in the Poweshiek County courthouse in Montezuma. Trial had been set for April 16. Defense attorneys said they needed more time to go through a massive investigation file from prosecutors.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Funeral arrangements have been set for a University of Iowa student who died this week in sub-zero temperatures that swept the Midwest. Television station KCRG reports that the funeral service for 18-year-old Gerald Belz will be held Monday morning at St. Jude Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids. Burial will be at St. Joseph Cemetery. Officials believe Belz’s death was weather-related. His body was found just before 3 a.m. Wednesday behind an academic hall on the Iowa City campus.

ADEL, Iowa (AP) — The last of several people charged in the starvation death of a 16-year-old Iowa girl has been sentenced to prison. Station KCCI reports that Josie Bousman was sentenced Friday to up to 14 years after she pleaded guilty to neglect and two child endangerment counts in the death of Sabrina Ray. Bousman lived in the home with the teen and was there when the teen died in May 2017. Sabrina weighed just 56 pounds at the time of her death.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A trial date has been set for a man accused of killing an Iowa high school student almost 40 years ago. Cedar Rapids station KCRG reports that trial for 65-year-old Jerry Burns, of Manchester, has been set for Oct. 14 in Linn County.

Burns has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. Police arrested him Dec. 19, 39 years to the day after 18-year-old Michelle Martinko was killed. Her body was found the next day inside her family’s car at a Cedar Rapids mall. She had been stabbed in the face and chest.

Police say investigators matched a blood sample from the crime scene with a sample taken from Burns.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Funeral arrangements have been set for a University of Iowa student who died this week in sub-zero temperatures that swept the Midwest. Television station KCRG reports that the funeral service for 18-year-old Gerald Belz will be held Monday morning at St. Jude Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids. Burial will be at St. Joseph Cemetery.

Officials believe Belz’s death was weather-related. His body was found just before 3 a.m. Wednesday behind an academic hall on the Iowa City campus. The temperature at the time was more than negative 20 degrees.

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — A new trial date has been set for a former farmhand charged with first-degree murder in the abduction and stabbing death of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts in Iowa. The Des Moines Register reports that a judge on Friday set trial for 24-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera on Sept. 3 in the Poweshiek County courthouse in Montezuma. Trial had been set for April 16. Defense attorneys said they needed more time to go through a massive investigation file from prosecutors.

Rivera is charged in the killing of Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student who disappeared while out for a run July 18 in Brooklyn, Iowa. Investigators recovered her body a month later in a cornfield. A medical examiner has said Tibbetts was stabbed to death.

Rivera is a Mexican national who has been accused of being in the country illegally. He worked at a dairy farm a few miles from where Tibbetts disappeared.

WASHINGTON –  U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) today (Saturday) announced she will hold a town hall meeting February 9th in Audubon County, as part of her 99 County Tour for 2019. Senator Ernst says she looks forward to hearing from constituents in the area about the issues most important to them.

The town hall meeting is open to the public. It takes place 9-a.m. Feb. 9th in the Audubon Middle School/High School Auditorium.

w/ Chris Parks

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