CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — A fire in the Des Moines suburb of Clive has destroyed the home of a firefighter who was at work when the blaze broke out. The fire was reported early Saturday while Lt. Gerrit Foreman was at work at the Windsor Heights Fire Department. Foreman, a firefighter and paramedic, splits his time between Clive and Windsor Heights.

Foreman’s wife and two of their children escaped the fire but the blaze destroyed their home, leaving only the chimney standing. A third child was away when the fire started. Foreman told The Des Moines Register “I’ve spent a majority of my time protecting other people, and I couldn’t protect my family.”

Clive Fire Chief Rick Roe says a GoFundMe account to aid in the family’s recovery has already raised more than $20,000.

FORT DODGE – The Iowa Department of Corrections reports a correctional officer was assaulted by an inmate at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility at approximately 10:15 p.m., Sunday. The officer was responding to a cell where inmates had started a fire. When the officer opened the door to the cell, an inmate began striking the officer with close fists and kicks. When the inmate attempted to attack another officer, oleoresin capsicum spray (pepper spray) was used to subdue the aggressive inmate. Staff immediately used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire in the cell, and no damages or injuries were reported as a result of the fire.

The officer that was assaulted was evaluated and treated by institution medical staff for their injuries. The inmate appeared to have not suffered any injuries.  This incident remains under investigation.

The Creston Police Department reports seven arrests over the past week. A little after 2-a.m. Sunday, 28-year old Ashton Olson, of Creston, was arrested for Public Intoxication. He was released from the Union County Jail on a $300 bond. And, 40-year old Joseph Bartlett, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Sunday afternoon for Driving While Barred. He was released from the Union County Jail on a Promise to Appear in court.

On Saturday, 27-year old Garrett Woodhull, and 50-year old Johnny Agans, both of Creston, was arrested at their residences on charges of Domestic Abuse/Assault – Simple Misdemeanor. Both were released from the Union County Jail on $300 bond, each. Creston Police say 39-year old Brad Lemon, of Creston, was arrested Friday at the Law Enforcement Center, on a Union County Warrant for Violation of Protection Order. He was released from the Union County Jail on a $300 bond.

Last Thursday, 20-year old Bradford Boyer, of Creston, was arrested for 2 counts each of Burglary in the 2nd Degree and Criminal Mischief in the 5th, along with Attempted Burglary 2nd Degree, Criminal Mischief 2nd, and Public Intoxication. He was released from the Union County Jail on a $30,900 bond. And, on Nov. 27th, 27-year old Shanda Kile, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on a Union County Warrant for the charge of Failure to Appear on the original charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance 2nd Offense. She was released from the Union County Jail on original bond until Forfeiture Hearing.

In other news, Creston Police says a resident of the 500 block of N. Maple Street reported Nov. 28th, that sometime around 6:30 am on that day, someone entered her vehicle that was parked at her residence and took cash, (4) Six Packs of Pop, and documents pertaining to the vehicle. Estimated loss of $80. A man residing in the 600 Block of N. Pine also reported on the 28th, that sometime between 2am-10am on that date, someone broke into the garage at his residence, entered a vehicle that was parked in the garage and took a Black/Brown with gold trim Taurus 9mm handgun, a black/grey SCCY CPX2 9mm handgun, 5 knives and a chainsaw. Estimated loss of $1,650.00

PEOSTA, Iowa (AP) — The City Council in the small eastern Iowa city of Peosta has set a special election to choose the community’s mayor. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports the council last week set the election for Jan. 14. The council initially opted to appoint a new mayor but changed course after over 130 residents signed a petition demanding an election.

Former mayor Larry Mescher quit in an email he sent Oct. 13 to council members after a contentious meeting. Two days later he asked the council to rescind his resignation but the members declined. Peosta is a city of about 1,400, located just southwest of Dubuque.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — After 11 years of temporary lanes and closed exit ramps, work is finally nearly complete on an Interstate 29 expansion project through Sioux City. The Sioux City Journal reports the Iowa Department of Transportation hopes to finish work on the project by Christmas. Final construction includes pouring concrete bridge approaches, installing guardrails and painting pavement.

It was 2008 when crews began the $400 million to widen the freeway to three lanes in each direction from Sergeant Bluff through Sioux City and to the South Dakota border. Although major construction will be over, workers still will need to make unexpected repairs to a bridge damaged by fire this fall. State transportation planner Dakin Schultz acknowledged “there are times when it seemed it would never end.”

(Radio Iowa) — The open enrollment period for Medicare is rapidly coming to an end. The final date to sign up or make changes to your plan is Saturday December 7th. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services handles the questions on the open enrollment and spokesperson Julie Brookhart says it is important for users to be sure they are on the Medicare-dot-gov website.”There are other websites out there that folks think it’s the federal website — they might be dot-com — they’re not. The official website is Medicare-dot-gov, and then you would click on the plan finder tool link,” Brookhart explains.

She says you’ve likely seen promotional materials from various plan providers in mailings and T-V ads. “Those probably are legitimate marketing pieces from all of the health plans that contract with Medicare,” she says, “but we tell Medicare beneficiaries that they can’t call you up, they can’t come door-to-door, they can’t solicit really.” Brookhart says you should be aware that there are some scams out there too. “If you get any callers calling you, asking you for your Medicare number or if you sign up for my plan you’ll get a gift — if it all sounds too good to be true — it probably is. Medicare is never going to call you and ask for that type of information,” Brookhart says.

She says you should be a little skeptical. “Just be on guard. If it doesn’t sound right, it probably isn’t, she says. Brookhart says they ask you to call them at 1-800-633-4227 to report any possible Medicare fraud. You can also call that number if you need help with your plan. There are some 625-thousand Iowans who use Medicare.