Officials with the Creston Police Department report 30-year old Christopher Bird, of Creston, was arrested Tuesday afternoon. Bird was taken into custody on a Union County warrant for an original charge of Driving While Suspended or Revoked. He was booked into the Union County Jail and released on a $1,000 bond.

And, a woman residing in the 500 block of W. Spencer Street, in Creston, reported Monday morning, that someone broke into her vehicle parked outside of her residence, and took documents including the registration, and proof of insurance. Two children’s jackets were also taken. Entry to the vehicle was gained by prying the driver’s side door open. The damage and loss was estimated at $300.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Police have arrested a suspect in the armed robbery of a student at a Cedar Rapids high school. Cedar Rapids police said Tuesday the 18-year-old male remained in custody but would not yet release his name or the charges against him. The robbery was reported a little after 3:30 p.m. Monday in a parking lot at Kennedy High School. The 18-year-old student was nearing her vehicle when confronted by the robber. Police say he displayed a handgun and took only her cellphone. She was not injured.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – A nurse has been given four years in prison for fraudulently obtaining painkillers from her patients in eastern Iowa. Katie Boll, from Manchester, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. She’d pleaded guilty to tampering with a consumer product resulting in injury and acquiring the painkiller oxycodone by deception. Federal prosecutors dropped 12 other counts in exchange. She also was ordered to forfeit her nursing license. Authorities said Boll was a nurse for the Good Neighbor Society in Manchester when she schemed to acquire hydrocodone, morphine and other painkillers from at least 14 patients in her care.

(Radio Iowa) — The Internal Revenue Service is now accepting our 2019 federal income tax returns and the Iowa Department of Revenue is taking our state returns, as of Monday. John Fuller, public information officer for the state tax agency, says they aren’t usually swamped with returns at this stage, unless someone is expecting a big refund. “We probably don’t get a lot early in the process,” Fuller says. “It’s probably beneficial for people to file sooner rather than later. With me, I’m always searching for one document or making sure I haven’t misplaced my W-2, but there’s a lot of early filers in Iowa, too.”

Iowans were very vocal in their complaints in recent years as refund checks were taking longer than usual to process due to increased security measures. “Our goal this year is to process returns in 30 days,” Fuller says, “and if we hit the 45-day mark, we’ll kick in some overtime on that.” The state revenue department has redesigned its website to better serve taxpayers. It’s at tax-dot-iowa-dot-gov (tax.iowa.gov).

Fuller says the site is a good starting point to find tax guidance, new tax forms, and answers to all kinds of tax questions. There’s information on how to file, tips to avoid common mistakes, and details on how to check the status of a refund. In addition, there’s a toll-free hotline: 800-367-3388. “We’ve enhanced our technology on our phone system which has been a frustrating experience when people have to wait too long,” Fuller says. “There’s a little more automation. We’ve also extended the time period when they can call. There’ll be people here answering the phones until 6 o’clock Monday through Thursday.”

Friday hours are from 8 A-M to 4:30 P-M. Fuller says they’ve also extended the front desk hours to help walk-in customers. Iowa taxpayers are required to provide their federal return with their Iowa return and Iowa returns are due April 30th.