The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday on their social media page, that they are aware of a new scam targeting the area. “Individuals are providing their banking and online information for checks to be deposited in their accounts and then the next day they are to transfer the money to someone else.” Authorities say “We have seen similar scams be advertised as a “get rich quick” scheme. If you feel you have been scammed, please talk to your banking institution and law enforcement immediately.”

The Sheriff’s Office said also, “It is very important to share all the information you have received and provided, even though the scammers may have told you not to or have provided you with a story to use if asked. This is in the best interest of helping you and safeguarding other potential victims. Remember if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t.”

And, officials with the Creston Police Department are reporting a familiar scam. On their social media page, Thursday, the C-PD said “We are receiving reports that people are getting voicemails and text messages stating there are warrants for their arrest. It is the policy of the Creston Police Department to not divulge warrant information in any manner other than in person. If you receive one of these messages, rest assured it is a scam. Please report them to the Iowa Attorney Generals Office at 888-777-4590.”

SABULA, Iowa (AP) — A key bridge connecting eastern Iowa with northwestern Illinois will remain closed even longer than earlier estimates. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports Sabula Mayor Troy Hansen announced Thursday the bridge just outside the town won’t open until September.

Since Iowa Department of Transportation officials ordered the bridge closed for safety reasons in February, the estimate for reopening the span have been pushed back from May to July and now Sept. 3. The bridge provides access to a larger U.S. Highway 52/Illinois 64 bridge over the Mississippi River to Savanna, Illinois.

Motorists commuting from Sabula to Savanna, Illinois, or vice versa, must take a 36-mile detour. State Sen. Tod Bowman says he’ll discuss the matter with transportation officials.

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — A Davenport man has won a $4.38 million lottery jackpot without even paying for a ticket. The Iowa Lottery says Thursday that 52-year-old Chuck Anderson won the jackpot in Saturday’s drawing of the Lotto America game.

The lottery has been promoting Lotto America, which began in November, by offering free plays to random players who bought tickets in other games. Anderson qualified for the free ticket by buying a Powerball ticket at a Kwik Star convenience store in Davenport.

Anderson’s Lotto America ticket matched all six numbers in Saturday’s drawing. He didn’t check the results for a couple days and then had to examine them a couple times before believing he’d won. Anderson opted to take a lump sum amount of $2.6 million.

A new state law establishes felony charges for being caught with contraband in a halfway house. Representative Gary Worthan, a Republican from Storm Lake, says “So in addition to parole revocation, it will be a separate charge with a separate sentence.”

It’s been illegal to bring drugs, alcohol or other contraband into a state prison, but Iowa’s Supreme Court recently ruled community-based correctional facilities were not technically part of the prison system. Worthan says a cell phone is contraband in a halfway house. “You don’t want a smart phone being brought in when maybe there’s a sex offender next door that can use that cell phone to victimize someone,” Worthan says.

The case that prompted this new law involved a man caught in a Burlington halfway house with a partially smoked marijuana cigarette. Curtis Halvorson appealed his felony conviction for bringing contraband into a correctional facility. In 2015 the Iowa Supreme Court tossed out his conviction, ruling halfway houses were not under direct control of the Iowa Department of Corrections.

Only 10 of the 150 members of the legislature voted against this new law. Critics say it’s over-reached because there were already charges available to file against halfway house residents caught with weapons, drugs or other items classified as contraband.

(Radio Iowa)

Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer, today (Thursday), released information concerning an arrest that took place at around 2:10-a.m., Saturday. The Sheriff reports, deputies stopped an SUV near 310^th street and Hackberry Avenue, or about four-miles south of Coin.

During the traffic stop, it was discovered that there was Marijuana in the vehicle.  The driver, 28-year old Jesse Dean Blanchard, of Clearmont, MO., was arrested for Possession of a controlled substance (marijuana) and Operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.

Blanchard was transported to the Page County Jail, where he was held on $2,000 bond.

Blake Collingsworth speaks to the Atlantic Kiwanis Club on May 10, 2018 about the Josh the Otter Program

The Atlantic Kiwanis Club welcomed in some special guests at their meeting on May 10th including Blake Collingsworth who heads up the Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation and Josh the Otter Program. The Atlantic Kiwanis Club has been implementing the Josh the Otter water safety program in the Atlantic school district for about 8 years now and they were presenting their latest program to Kindergarten students at Washington Elementary on Thursday.

The program was started by Blake and Kathy Collingsworth after their son Josh died in a tragic drowning accident in the family pool when he was 2 and a half years old. In speaking with the Atlantic Kiwanis Club Blake Collingsworth stated that he wants the program to help kids understand at a young age that they need to be with an adult when they are around water.  After Josh’s death the family created the Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation and then wrote the Josh The Baby Otter book to help deliver their message.

Blake shared that the number one cause of unintended death of children 4 and under is drowning, something he was upset he didn’t know sooner. He also said drowning is the #2 cause of unintended death of children 14 and under. He hopes that the Josh the Otter program can change the statistics and save lives.

Collingsworth also works with the National Drowning Prevention Association and said statistics show that drowning deaths have decreased by 17% since 2010 and he believes his son Josh and this program is a part of that progress. The Josh the Otter Program has been implemented all around the United States, into Australia, and continues to grow. They have distributed over 250,000 books through service organization efforts.

Kindergarten students in Atlantic, Massena, and Anita receive a copy of the Josh the Otter book when they attend the program. Atlantic Kiwanis Member and project leader Steve Green said they hope to spread the program to the Griswold schools by next year as well. Collingsworth thanked the Atlantic Kiwanis Group for bringing his message to the area.

Find out more about the Foundation and program at www.joshtheotter.org

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A lawyer for the Iowa Public Information Board says agencies can keep secret the personal email addresses used by their board members for official business. In a draft opinion, board legal counsel Travis Starr says private email addresses used by government officials can be exempt from disclosure under the Iowa Open Records Act. He says the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board likely acted lawfully in redacting the email addresses of board members in records released to Bleeding Heartland, a blog that covers Iowa politics.

The board will consider whether to adopt Starr’s opinion next week. Bleeding Heartland editor Laura Belin says anyone who agrees to serve on a board should be accessible to the public. She says agency staffers shouldn’t be allowed to prevent citizens from contacting board members to ask questions or report misconduct, and it’s “disturbing” the information board could give its blessing to that practice.

(DES MOINES) – Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered all flags on the Capitol Complex to be lowered to half-staff from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, May 11, 2018, in observance of the Iowa Peace Officer Memorial Ceremony. Flags at the Iowa Peace Officer Memorial, located at the Oran Pape State Office Building, will be flown at half-staff the week of May 13-19, 2018, in honor of National Police Week. The governor’s directive applies to all U.S. and state flags on the State Capitol Building and on flag displays on the Capitol Complex. Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect.

The Iowa Peace Officer Memorial Ceremony is open to the public. All are invited to pay their respects to Iowa police officers killed in the line of duty.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Investigators have determined that someone intentionally started a fire at a Cedar Rapids apartment building, injuring eight residents. A city news release says the fire reported around 3:45 a.m. Thursday originated in a hallway of the three-story, six-unit building. No arrests have been reported. The Cedar Rapids Fire Department says arriving firefighters found some people hanging from windows and others injured during their escapes. The department says ladders were quickly employed to help residents to safety as firefighters attacked the blaze, which was extinguished by 4:50 a.m.

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — With best friends like these, who needs enemies? An Iowa man says his dog inadvertently shot him while they were roughhousing Wednesday. Fifty-one-year-old Richard Remme, of Fort Dodge, told police he was playing with his dog, Balew, on the couch and tossed the dog off his lap. He says when the pit bull-Labrador mix bounded back up, he must have disabled the safety on the gun in his belly band and stepped on the trigger. The gun fired, striking one of Remme’s legs. He was treated at a hospital and released later that day.

Remme told The Messenger newspaper that Balew is a “big wuss” and laid down beside him and cried because he thought he had done something wrong. Police Chief Roger Porter called the shooting a freakish occurrence.