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.”

(Radio Iowa) – Creighton University economics professor Ernie Goss says it appears the region’s manufacturing sector is entering recession territory.

Goss surveys manufacturing supply managers in Iowa and eight other states monthly.

Goss uses those responses and other data to come up with a Mid-America Business Index. He says the REGION’S index is the lowest its been since June, 2020 — at the beginning of the pandemic. He says in Iowa, business conditions weakened from October to November, although Iowa’s manufacturing sector grew by 26-hundred jobs over the past 12 months.

Goss made his comments during a video briefing earlier today (Friday).

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson is pushing a couple of measures she says would address issues at the southern border. The Republican from Marion says the Biden Administration has created the border crisis.

She says the Biden Administration is ignoring the problem.

Hinson says one piece of legislation called the “PRINTS Act” would keep men from using kids to make it appear they are part of a family so they be quickly released if taken into custody.

She says the kids are recycled and used over and over again by men trying to cross the border. The other bill is the Southern Border Transparency Act.

Hinson says it will force the Biden administration to be fully transparent with the American people about their catch-and-release policy.

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Bondurant man was sentenced today (Friday), to 15 months in federal prison for failure to pay over employee trust fund taxes and failure to file a federal tax return.

According to court documents, from 2015 to 2020, 50-year-old Thomas James Morford, who operated a local concrete business, failed to pay $355,049 in employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This included the failure to pay taxes that he had collected from employees through withholding, as well as matching employer contributions to Social Security and Medicare. Morford also failed to file federal tax returns for 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Morford will be required to serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Morford was also ordered to pay $355,049.68 in restitution to the IRS.

“Withholding employment taxes from employee wages and willfully failing to remit them to the IRS is a serious offense,” said IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Special Agent in Charge Thomas F. Murdock. “Not only does this harm employees, but it also robs the Treasury of funds and that has the potential to harm all those who rely on support from government programs.”

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.

STANTON, Iowa – Montgomery County Emergency Management, today (Friday), reported a fertilizer spreader in the Tarkio River at 10:30 a.m. today, following a bridge collapse on a private drive. 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, 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 are currently ongoing. The DNR will continue to monitor cleanup efforts and consider appropriate enforcement action.

(Calhoun County, Iowa) – A northwest Iowa man missing for more than a month was found dead today (Friday), in Jolley (Iowa). The Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office reports 54-year-old Mark Riesberg, of Rockwell City, was found in a Chrysler PT Cruiser with an apparent self-inflicted single gunshot wound. Foul play is not suspected, but an investigation is ongoing. His body was sent to the State Medical Examiner for autopsy. The Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Calhoun County EMS and the United Cajun Navy group during the initial response.

Mark Riesberg

His employer in Lytton had reported him missing on November 1st.  The Calhoun County sheriff had said previously that Riesberg’s last known contact with anyone could be traced back to Oct. 28th. His sister, Mary Brown, said Reisberg’s phone and wallet were found in his home, but his tan PT Cruiser was gone.

The search for Riesberg comes to an end with the discovery of his body. Search efforts continue, however, for 53-year-old David Schultz, of Wall Lake, who disappeared  in neighboring Sac County. Schultz was reportedly last heard from Tuesday morning, November 21st. His wife Sarah said her husband’s truck was found northeast of Sac City, parked on northbound U.S. Highway 71, about five miles north of the old U.S. Highway 20 intersection. The truck was reportedly turned off but wasn’t pulled over and the trailer was still loaded with young pigs.

The United Cajun Navy, a Louisiana-based nonprofit organization that performs search and rescue operations, as of Thursday, had reportedly covered close to 50-thousand acres of land in the effort to find him. The group resumed operations Friday morning.

David Schultz

Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra says any federal regulation that would impact over half of American farmland should be approved by congress. The U-S House has voted to insert Feenstra’s proposal in a budget bill for the Department of the Interior. Feenstra says American farmland belongs to American farmers, not un-elected bureaucrats.

A U-S Supreme Court ruling this past May limited the authority of the E-P-A to regulate wetlands, ruling the agency may only regulate wetlands that have a continuous surface connection to other bodies of water, like streams, rivers or lakes.

(Radio Iowa) – The four Iowans serving in the U.S. House of Representatives voted to expel George Santos, the now-former New York congressman accused of using campaign funds on personal expenses and making tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges on donors’ credit cards.

Three members of Iowa’s U.S. House delegation released written statements after today’s vote. First District Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks said a recent House Ethics Committee report documented “considerable evidence” that Santos had “engaged in criminal activity.”

Second District Congresswoman Ashley Hinson said Santos is “unfit to serve” in congress and he “should deal with his legal challenges as a private citizen.” Third District Congressman Zach Nunn said Santos has “repeatedly proven he’s a con man” and Nunn is planning to sponsor legislation that would deny government pensions to expelled members of congress.

Fourth District Congressman Randy Feenstra announced on November 17 on the social media platform X that he would vote to expel Santos, who Feenstra said “has proven his ethics do not align with what is expected” from elected leaders.

All four members of Iowa’s congressional delegation are Republicans, as is Santos.