(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Montgomery County**, Tuesday (Dec. 5), will hold a regular session in their Red Oak Courthouse Board Room, beginning at 8:30-a.m.  In addition to a Secondary Roads Department update from Engineer Karen Albert, the Board will discuss “Board of Supervisors Regular meetings available on the streaming platform YouTube,” with action as necessary.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors*** meeting takes place at 9-a.m., Tuesday, in their Atlantic, Courthouse Board Room. On their agenda is a presentation by Ryan Berven, with Assured Partners, with regard to health insurance year-to-date claims, ISAC rates for July, and Wellness.

The Cass County Supervisors will also act on passing a Resolution “Setting compensation for elected officials for Fiscal Year 2024 as previously approved by [a] voice vote on March 21, 2023.” During that meeting, Supervisor Steve Green moved and Supervisor Bernard Pettinger seconded, a motion to reduce the compensation board’s recommendation of 10% for elected officials and 13.5% for the sheriff by 40% to 6% for elected officials and 8.1% for the sheriff. The motion passed by a vote of 4-to-1, with Supervisors Wendy Richter opposed.

The Board will hear a regular, weekly report from County Engineer Trent Wolken, and a report from Cass County General Relief/Mental Health Coordinator Debbie Schuler, for the months of October and November.  Following their regular meeting, the Cass Supervisors will conduct a Budget Workshop session with Department Head, to plan for the FY 202402025 Budget. The work session begins at 10:30-a.m., Tuesday, also in the Supervisor’s Board Room.

**Please note, the Montgomery Supervisors meeting is a public meeting; however, it may be conducted via ZOOM

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85039693411

Meeting ID: 850 3969 3411

Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 If you are calling in, Press *9 to raise your hand if you wish to speak.31

***Join Electronically at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2899195216?pwd=R0hSa2FOOTh0NUdra1ZSdVhVWHpMUT09
Meeting ID: 289 919 5216
Passcode: 012064

Call In: 312-626-6799, press *9 to indicate you wish to speak.

(Waukee, Iowa) – Officials with the Waukee Police Department report that at around 4:36-p.m., Saturday (December 2nd), Waukee Police and Fire Department personnel were dispatched to a welfare check at a pond near the 1100 block of Northview Drive, which is on the west side of the city. The team recovered the body of a male juvenile. The Police Department posted on social media, “Our hearts go out to all of those affected by this tragedy, we also extend our heartfelt condolences to the family.”

The youth’s name was not immediately released.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report a man was arrested Friday afternoon for Violation of a No Contact Order. Authorities say 39-year-old Daniel Fasce was arrested at around 1:30-p.m., at the Montgomery County Jail, where he was being held without bond.

OMAHA, Neb. — The Nebraska State Patrol said a western Iowa man was died in a three-vehicle crash early Saturday morning on Interstate 80. The crash happened at around 1-a.m. on westbound I-80 near I Street, in Omaha. The crash involved a semi, a Chevrolet Express van, and Honda Accord. The driver of the Chevrolet, 36-year-old Tanner Mudra, of Council Bluffs, died at the scene, according to the patrol.

The driver of the Honda was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the semi was not hurt.

Troopers said the Honda driver lost control and hit the concrete median. The semi driver then pulled over to help the driver of the Honda. NSP said the Chevrolet driver then hit the Honda, which had come to rest in a lane of travel, and then hit the semi.

NSP said the crash is still under investigation.

(Creston, Iowa) – A collision east of Creston Friday night claimed the lives of two people from Nebraska. The Iowa State Patrol this (Saturday) afternoon, said the accident happened at around 7-p.m. on Highway 34 at Iris Avenue, as a 2008 Ford Explorer was eastbound on Highway 34. A 1996 Peterbilt semi, which was stopped at the posted sign sign on Iris Avenue, proceeded to turn left onto Highway 34. The SUV collided with the grain hopper trailer the semi was pulling.

The driver of the SUV, 17-year-old Izabella M. Martinez, and a front seat passenger in the vehicle, 18-year-old Alex Conner Mauseth, both of Omaha, died at the scene. A third passenger in the Explorer, 14-year-old Xavier Martinez, of Omaha, was injured and transported to the hospital by Creston EMS. Both front seat occupants were wearing their seat belts. The 14-year-old was unrestrained.

The driver of the semi, 63-year-old Kelly Lee Jones, of Creston, was not injured. The deaths in Union County, bring to seven, the number of people who died in crashes, Friday. Four people died in a crash Friday night in Cedar Rapids, and a man from Osceola died Friday afternoon in a crash west of Osceola.

(Stanton, Iowa) – In an update to a report posted by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Friday evening, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said a man from Villisca was flown to a trauma center following a bridge collapse on a private drive Friday morning, northwest of Stanton. 53-year-old Clint A. Means suffered serious injuries after the dry floater fertilizer spreader he was driving fell through a bridge an into the Tarkio River. He was last reported to be in serious, but stable condition.

According to the report, Means was operating a John Deere F4365 dry floater when the machine fell through the bridge, trapping him inside. The floater ended up on its side in the river facing west. Means was extricated from the operator’s station of the equipment.

The machine, owned by New Cooperative, sustained an $75,000 damage. Damage to the bridge, owned by Darren R. Barkman, of Stanton, was  estimated at $150,000.

The DNR earlier stated the collapse caused a fertilizer spreader to enter the waterway, resulting in an unknown amount of mono ammonium phosphate (MAP), sulfur, and potash being spilled into the Tarkio River approximately one mile north of Stanton. The collapse also ruptured a fuel tank, spilling roughly 100 gallons of diesel into the creek.

Bridge collapse near Stanton (DNR photo)

Field office staff from the Department of Natural Resources were on-site, Friday, collecting both upstream and downstream samples from the Tarkio River. Booms were placed downstream of the incident and samples will be submitted to the State Hygienic Lab for analysis. No dead fish were observed.

Cleanup efforts were underway. The DNR says it will continue to monitor cleanup efforts and consider appropriate enforcement action.

Council Bluffs, Iowa [KETV] — A series of unfortunate events led to a family from eastern Iowa trespassing into a Council Bluffs man’s home last weekend. KETV in Omaha reports the family believed they’d rented the home on Vrbo, the popular vacation rental site, but the homeowner said he never listed his home. Now both parties want Vrbo to take more precautions to avoid scams like this.

Scott Porter has lived in his Council Bluffs home for three years. He believes a scammer used photos of his home from a previous sale listing to create a fake vacation rental listing on Vrbo. Purely out of coincidence were the renters able to enter his house. Melanee Lee and her family were visiting Council Bluffs the weekend of Nov. 24. She found Porter’s home listed on Vrbo and booked it.

When the day came, her family didn’t get any check in details but went to the house in search of a lockbox with a key to get in. Lee’s mother found an unlocked side door. Lee said she didn’t think this was strange since some hosts didn’t use the front door for guests. The family went in and began dividing up rooms.

Porter’s friend of the home’s owner noticed an unusual number of vehicles in the driveway while Porter was away. When the friend spoke with Lee, she called Porter, and after speaking with him, realized they had been scammed. The Better Business Bureau said they’ve seen a handful of vacation rental scams locally and thousands across the nation. They said also, it’s important to report scams to the BBB, so others don’t fall victim.

In a statement to KETV, Vrbo said it appears the home was mistakenly listed its site, and has since been removed from their platform. The account that listed the home was also been suspended. Vrbo said the family that booked the home was refunded, and alternative lodging was paid for.

(Osceola, Iowa) – A crash Friday afternoon (Dec. 1st) in southern Iowa’s Clarke County left one-person dead and another critically injured. The Iowa State Patrol reports the crash happened at around 1:35-p.m. on Highway 34, west of Osceola. Authorities say a 2022 Chevy pickup driven by 91-year-old Jack C. England, of Osceola, was traveling east on the highway, west of 160th Avenue, when for reasons unknown, the vehicle crossed the center line of the road.

The pickup collided head-on with a westbound 2015 Lexus SUV, driven by 33-year-old Tiffany L. Oswald, of Murray. Jack England died at the scene. Oswald was transported from the scene by Methodist LifeFlight helicopter, to Methodist Hospital in Des Moines.

The Patrol was assisted by the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office and Osceola Police. According to the latest data from the Iowa Department of Transportation, 339 people have died so far this year on Iowa roads. That’s 24 more than at the same point in 2022. Over the last five years, an average of 338 people have been killed in statewide crashes annually.

Ida County, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Department Public Safety reported late Friday night (12/1/23), said a woman from northwest Iowa was arrested on a Felony charge Thursday, following an investigation into the death of her three-year-old child.

According to the report, on May 4, 2023, at approximately 7:55-p.m., EMT’s from the Battle Creek (Iowa) Community Ambulance Service responded to a residence in Battle Creek, following a call about an unresponsive child.  Authorities say Jordan Reed was found to be not breathing. He was transported to Horn Memorial Hospital in Ida Grove and then to Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, where he was pronounced dead the next day (May 5, 2023).

Billie Mosier

As a result of an investigation conducted by the Ida County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), and Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner, Jordan’s mother, 33-year-old Billie Mosier, of Ida Grove, was charged with one count of child endangerment resulting in death, a Class-B felony.

Mosier turned herself in to the Ida County Sheriff’s Office Thursday, and was released after posting bond.

Note: “A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.”