(Radio Iowa) – A team from the Animal Rescue League of Iowa was called to a house in Des Moines last week to rescue dozens of animals. The A-R-L says it removed 31 dogs and two birds from conditions that were so deplorable, the house was deemed uninhabitable. A news release says the floors were coated with feces and puddles of urine that were warping the flooring. The dogs were as young as a week old and suffered from a host of conditions, including flea infestations. They’re now being cared for at the league’s headquarters.

One of the 31 dogs rescued (ARL photo)

The release says 26 animals were rescued from the same house four years ago. There’s no word on charges against the homeowner.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – Having a light agenda, the Adair County Board of Supervisors today (Wednesday), breezed through their business in about 10-minutes.

The Board approved a General Relief application, a 2024 ISAC Wellness Agreement, and .Homestead & Military Disallances. They also passed a Resolution calling for Board Chair Jerry Walker to accept a bid of $211,327.69 from Gus Construction, and sign the contract for, the N-24 Prussia (Township) Reinforced Concrete Box (RCB) Culvert Project for the Local Farm-to-Market road. County Engineer Nick Kauffman said the bid was 17-percent over the engineer’s estimate.

The Adair County Supervisors also authorized the Chair to sign documents pertaining to the N-36 Lee (Township) RCB Culvert Project, and a Right-Of-Way contract for the N-19 Lincoln (Township) Bridge Project on the Local Farm-to-Market road.

Kauffman updated the Board on Secondary Roads Department maintenance work and activities.

(Radio Iowa) – The leader of the University of Northern Iowa’s faculty union is voicing concerns over how the school is handling its money. U-N-I released a statement defending the movement of nearly a million dollars from its general fund to athletics, saying one of its missions is to identify opportunities for those programs to be more self-sustaining. United Faculty leader Chris Martin says that shouldn’t come at the cost of education, especially when athletics can already borrow from the general fund. “There was a deal way back in 2010 that UNI’s athletics programs could take money out of the general fund, but it couldn’t go past 2.4 percent,” Martin says. “So there’s always been money going toward that, but in the past year or two, it wasn’t budgeted for.”

Martin says athletics programs borrowed nine-hundred thousand dollars, which exceeded the allowed percentage. He says the university’s overall budget has shrunk by several million dollars since 2019, largely due to a decrease in funding from the state legislature.  “When we’re confronted with losing academic dollars towards athletics or other auxiliary units, that’s a concern for us on the academic side,” Martin says, “since we’re already feeling an incredible pinch from being underfunded from the state.”

U-N-I’s overall budget has shrunk by about nine-million dollars, and the number of tenure-track positions has dropped by nearly 100 over the past four years.

(Radio Iowa) – Two juveniles face felony charges after allegedly making threats against two small northwest Iowa school districts. Palo Alto County Sheriff John King says a 16-year-old suspect has been charged with a felony for an alleged threat at Ruthven-Ayrshire Community Schools on Friday. A threatening social media post on Saturday against the Graettinger Terril School District was investigated by federal, state and local authorities.

A juvenile located by Eagle Grove Police on Sunday has been charged with making threats of terrorism. The two school districts have a sharing arrangement for their athletic teams, which are known as the G-T-R-A Titans, and one superintendent oversees both districts.

STORY COUNTY, Iowa — Authorities in central Iowa are searching for a missing Ames girl. The Iowa Department of Public Safety says five-year old Avery Lydia Doherty was reported missing to the Story County Sheriff’s Office, on Oct. 13, 2023. Avery Doherty weighs 45 pounds. She’s 4-feet, 5-inches tall, has blonde hair and blue eyes.

According to court documents, Avery is believed to be with her non-custodial mother, Esther Bender, who did not adhere to the custody agreement or show-up for her hearings. An Amber Alert was not issued when she disappeared because there is no vehicle description. Ames Police, however, say they are extremely concerned for Avery’s safety. Sgt. Amber Christian with the Ames Police Department said no one has heard from or seen Avery or Esther Bender. Authorities don’t know where they could be, but it is believed that they have left the state. Police have exhausted all leads.

If you have any information about Avery’s disappearance, contact the Ames Police Department at 515-239-5135 or the Story County Sheriff’s Department at 515-382-6566. You can also contact the Missing Person Information Clearinghouse Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at 515-725-6036.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Montgomery County Engineer Karen Albert, Tuesday morning, updated the County Board of Supervisors on Secondary Roads Department maintenance and activities, along with an employment opportunity.

She said also provided an update on the 250^th Street bridge project.

Albert mentioned also, that she and two others in the department are attending an Engineer’s Conference in Des Moines the latter half of this week (Wed.-Friday).

ADEL, Iowa — A man from Dallas County faces multiple felony charges after police say he injured two people by crashing his vehicle into a house Monday night. According to court documents, 46-year-old Daniel Lee Grogan, of Adel,  was allegedly under the influence of marijuana and Lorazepam, an anxiety medication, when he drove his 2012 Dodge Journey through a home in the 300 block of South 10th Street. Two people inside the home were injured when the crash happened around 11:20 p.m. Monday night.

Grogan has been charged with the following:

• Two counts of serious injury by vehicle (Class D Felony)
• Two counts of knowingly leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious injury (Class D Felony)
• One count of operating while under the influence — first offense (Serious Misdemeanor)

Police say Grogan left the scene of the crash on foot and was found by police a few blocks away. He failed multiple field sobriety tests, according to a criminal complaint. His preliminary hearing was set for Dec. 22nd.

(Radio Iowa) – The Ankeny-based Casey’s convenience store chain reports a strong second quarter. Company President and C-E-O Darrin Rebellez spoke about the results during a conference call Tuesday.  He says inside sales remain strong driving inside gross profit dollars up 10 percent to 553 million dollars. The company generated 159 million dollars in net income, an increase of 15 percent.

Rebellez says inside sales were up six-point-two percent for the quarter driven by strong performance in the prepared food and dispensed beverages. The gallons of fuel sold were flat, but the company’s gross profit on fuel increased by nearly 309 million dollars as they made more than 42 cents on each gallon sold.

The company built or acquired 59 stores in the quarter and recently closed the deal on 22 stores in Texas, which is now the 17th state where they operate.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau report a Spring Hill (IA) man, David Mark Ellis, recently pled guilty in Polk County District Court, to two counts of Identity Theft (Aggravated Misdemeanors) and one count of Insurance Fraud (Class D Felony).

The charges stem from a 2021 investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division that found Ellis, the owner of Always Affordable Bail Bonds in Des Moines, had misrepresented the facts surrounding a loss on an insurance claim so that he would receive funds to which he was not entitled.  Additionally, Ellis utilized another individual’s EBT card to obtain benefits which he was not entitled to receive.

Following his guilty pleas, Ellis received suspended prison sentences to be served consecutively up to 9 years.  Ellis also received 2 years of probation, and a fine of $2,735.00.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Wapello County Sheriff’s Office, Ankeny Police Department, and the Warren County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau with the case.  The case was prosecuted by the Polk County Attorney’s Office.

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

(Elliott, Iowa) – A traffic stop a little before 5-p.m. Tuesday, in Elliott, resulted in an arrest. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 39-year-old Cory R. Smith, of Elliott, was arrested for Driving while barred. Smith was transported to the Montgomery County Jail in Red Oak, and held on a $2,000 bond.