Officials with the Creston Police Department report two arrests took place, Sunday. Late Sunday morning, 41-year old Joel Gross, of Creston, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault and Going Armed with Intent. His bond at the Union County Jail was set at $7,000. And, at around 3:15-a.m. Sunday, 24-year old Cody Parmenter, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Suspended, and on an Adams County warrant for Failure to Appear in court. He was later released from custody on a $500 bond.

Creston Police said also, a resident of the 1200 block of Lake Avenue reported Saturday, that sometime around 8-p.m. that evening, someone broke into her home and vandalized the property, by spray painting things on interior walls of the residence, and they stole cash and silver. The loss was estimated at $2,700. On April 21st, a resident of Kent reported to Creston Police, that his storage unit at 634 New York Avenue, in Creston, was broken into and several items were stolen.

The missing items include a Summit Racing V8 grill and cover, Much Boots, Stihl leaf blower, a Stihl weed eater, and a Homelite chainsaw. The loss was estimated at $1,756.

April has been distracted driving awareness month and a state trooper says it continues to be a problem across the country and in Iowa. Sergeant Nathan Ludwig with the Iowa State Patrol says they see motorists texting driving every day on Iowa’s roadways despite a change in law that makes it illegal. “It just seems like everybody is doing it because people just can’t seem to get that phone out of their hand,” Ludwig says.

The law changed last July 1st so law enforcement officers don’t have to pull over violators for something else to charge them with texting and driving. “Just since last July 1st, just the Iowa State Patrol we’ve written 915 citations so far and those are just the ones we’ve actually seen and gotten stopped,” Ludwig says.

Ludwig says texting while driving can be a tough law to enforce. “It is hard to get up right beside someone and actually see their fingers texting on the phone,” Ludwig says. “for us, it’s unless they actually put their phone up to their ear and they’re dialing a number or talking, then it’s pretty obvious that they’re texting or doing something else on their phone.”

Sergeant Ludwig believes auto manufacturers contribute to the distracted driving problem with the other things in cars. “People don’t look down the road when they’re driving. They’re relying on sensor on their vehicle, they rely on their G-P-S, and they don’t look at road signs. We’re distracted from kids in the car, movies in the car, and I see people putting on makeup or eating breakfast or doing something in their car all the time,” Ludwig says.

He says the Patrol’s biggest advice to people is to get stuff done ahead of time and then get in your car and just drive. A common misconception is that it’s legal to text when stopped at a stop sign or stoplight. Ludwig says you can only legally text while behind the wheel when your car is off the traveled portion of the roadway and at a complete stop.

(Radio Iowa)

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) — An Ottumwa woman accused of stealing from dependent adults has pleaded not guilty. Court records say 42-year-old Malia Ollom entered the pleas last week to 22 counts that included allegations of forgery, theft and dependent adult abuse. Her next court hearing is scheduled for Friday.

Authorities say Ollom worked for Crest Services and was responsible for managing the finances of adults under her supervision. Police were contacted Jan. 11 about irregularities that occurred in the clients’ accounts between May last year and January. Authorities say that among the incidents, Ollom fraudulently obtained and used a credit card using information from one of her clients and stole more than $5,700 from another by forging the victim’s name on checks.

(UPDATE 11:55-a.m.) The SUV was recovered in the 1000 block of East Coolbaugh Street, in Red Oak. No arrest has been made as of last report.

Red Oak Police Chief Justin Rhamy says his officers were called this (Monday) morning to the 1100 block of East Reed Street at around 5-a.m., for a report of a stolen vehicle, The 2015, black, Nissan Rogue Sport SUV was taken from the area sometime after 2:30-a.m. today. The vehicle has Nebraska license plate UST 046, and it has a small dent in the right rear fender. The SUV was unlocked, with the keys inside. The SUV was recovered in the 1000 block of East Coolbaugh Street, in Red Oak. No arrest has been made as of last report.

Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees said the Atlantic Yard Waste site near the Schildberg Recreation Area will remain closed today (Monday), due to the strong winds. McNees said “I cannot allow more fuel to be added, causing more fires and the potential spread to the River end Schildberg Recreation Area.” The Chief says it will re-open as soon as possible, once the danger has passed.

The yard waste site was closed Sunday afternoon.

Firefighters were recalled to the Super 8 Hotel north of Walnut at around 5-a.m., today, for a rekindle of the fire that originally occurred Sunday morning. Walnut Fire Chief Justin Tooley told KJAN News the fire rekindled inside a wall of the north building, most likely due to the shifting winds. Walnut firefighters had the flames doused in less than an hour, and were back in station a little after 6-a.m.  Unlike Sunday, no evacuation of the hotel was needed, because the building had been blocked off and no one was staying there. No injuries were reported from today’s (Monday’s) firefighting efforts.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Officials say a woman died after a police officer helped pull her from a burning garage in Cedar Rapids. Firefighters and police were sent to the residence around 7:35 Sunday morning after neighbors reported hearing a loud boom and saw flames in the detached garage. The officer helped pull her from the garage, and medics tended to her. Police say she was pronounced dead later at a hospital. The woman’s name hasn’t been released. Authorities say the fire and the woman’s death are considered suspicious and are being investigated.

Iowans are being warned about the risks of counterfeit prescription drugs. U.S. Attorney Peter Deegan says users are exposing themselves to fentanyl and carfentanil when they think they’re taking oxycodone. He says the lookalike pills can be deadly. “These are not real oxycodone pills, although you can’t tell from looking at them,” Deegan said. “In fact, these pills contain synthetic opioids that are many times more lethal than oxycodone or even street heroin.”

According to Deegan, drug dealers are increasingly making pills with synthetic opioids. “We’ve had far too many cases where someone has taken a drug, literally the first time, and has died because of it,” Deegan said. “And a lot of it comes down to the fact that you simply don’t know what is in that drug.”

According to 2017 data from the federal government, the majority of people misusing prescription drugs did it to relieve pain, NOT to get high.

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)

Iowa’s Republican governor and Republican legislators announced a tax agreement on Friday evening, but the legislation to implement the plan was still being written this past weekend. Senator Randy Feenstra, a Republican from Hull, says for tax year 2019, the cuts will be solely on individual income taxes. “At the very minimum, each individual will see a seven percent reduction,” Feenstra says. “On average, it will be around 10 percent.” Corporate tax cuts will take effect a couple of years from now. “It hasn’t been since 1951 that we lowered corporate income tax,” Feenstra says. “We actually increased it in 1987 from 10 to 12 (percent), so this is a very significant step for Iowa to start lowering both individual and corporate taxes.”

Republicans promise to get rid of a STATE deduction for federal taxes that makes Iowa’s income tax rates look higher than they are, when compared to other states, but Feentra says it won’t happen immediately — and it won’t happen unless state tax revenue grows by at least three-and-a-half or four percent annually. “When you get rid of federal deductability, people do get hurt if you don’t have rates low enough,” Feenstra says, “so what the plan is is to lower the rates significantly and then remove federal deductability.”

Governor Kim Reynolds unveiled a framework for tax cuts in February, but it took a couple of months for Republicans in the House and Senate weeks to hammer out a deal all in the G-O-P could live with. “It will be fully implemented based on how our economy grows and when the targets are met,” Feenstra says. “We wanted to created some responsibility in lowering taxes and make sure that we could fund all the things the government needs to fund like education, public health and so forth, so I’m really thrilled about how this came together and how all sides worked together on the goals that needed to be met.”

Feenstra is chairman of the Senate Ways and Means tax-writing Committee. The leader of the Iowa Democratic Party says Republicans are giving tax cuts to the wealthy and special interests in the midst of a state budget crisis. Troy Price, the Iowa Democratic Party’s chairman, says Governor Reynolds and her fellow Republicans are engaged in a “budget-busting free-for-all” for corporate donors.

(Radio Iowa)