SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Christian college in northwest Iowa is starting a new vocational program that will prepare students for work while giving them a foundation in their faith. Dordt College President Erik Hoekstra told the Sioux City Journal the new two-year Pro-Tech program will fill a gap in Christian education offerings in the area.

The new program will enroll as many as 40 students next fall and offer them a combination of Christian education and vocational training. Hoekstra says he believes there’s a need for such a program because of the number of students graduating from Christian high schools who might want a two-year vocational degree but didn’t have a Christian option.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Council Bluffs officials are working to strengthen the levees protecting the western Iowa city before homeowners are forced to pay higher premiums for flood insurance. The Daily Nonpareil reports the city wants to complete the levee projects before the Federal Emergency Management Agency updates its flood maps sometime in the next several years.

Council Bluffs Mayor Matt Walsh says the city is racing to get the levee system upgraded and certified before the flood maps are redrawn. Council Bluffs is working to improve its levees because of the massive 2011 flood where water levels along the Missouri River remained high for months.

All of the city’s levees must be certified by FEMA. If they aren’t, then homeowners will have to pay significantly higher flood insurance premiums.

A man who swerved to miss a deer Saturday night in Montgomery County, was transported to the hospital after he lost control of his pickup and hit a utility pole. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says 26-year old Monroe Casey Watson Peterson, of rural Villisca, was westbound on 220th Street at around 10:50-p.m., when he veered for the deer. Peterson’s 1993 Chevt K-1500 pickup entered the south ditch and hit a power pole. Peterson was transported by Stanton Rescue to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries to his head.

Early this (Sunday) morning, authorities in Montgomery County arrested Peterson at 106 W. Coolbaugh Street in Red Oak. Peterson was charged with OWI/1st offense, and was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1.000 bond.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A jury has found a Minnesota man guilty of sexually abusing a young boy in northwest Iowa’s Woodbury County. The Sioux City Journal reports 23-year-old Joshua Kobold, of Ruthton, Minnesota, was found guilty Thursday of second-degree sexual abuse following a two-day trial in Woodbury County District Court. He is set to be sentenced Nov. 4.

Prosecutors say Kobold forced the boy, who was younger than 12, to perform sex acts at homes in Sergeant Bluff and Salix in 2013 and 2014. The victim’s mother reported the abuse, and Kobold denied the allegations and moved to Minnesota. He was arrested after another young witness came forward to corroborate the abuse.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Storm Lake, Iowa, man has been arrested and charged in the alcohol-related death of a Storm Lake teenager. The Sioux City Journal reports 24-year-old Marcelino Antonio Flores was arrested Thursday and charged with contributing alcohol to a minor resulting in death, a felony.

Storm Lake police and the Buena Vista County Medical Examiner’s Office have been investigating the death last month of 19-year-old Mark Anthony De Lira, of Storm Lake. De Lira was found dead at a home on Sept. 25. Police say De Lira’s death is related to excessive consumption of alcohol.

Flores remained in the Buena Vista County jail on Saturday.

A traffic stop in Red Oak early Saturday morning resulted in the arrest of a woman on a trio of charges. Denise Kay Wilson was taken into custody at around 3:30-a.m. for Driving While Revoked, Unlawful Possession of Prescription Medications, and Failure to have SR-22 insurance. Wilson was booked into the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $1,000 cash bond.

A traffic stop early this (Saturday) morning in Montgomery County resulted in a pursuit and arrest of a man from Taylor County. The Sheriff’s Office says 54-year old Bruce Warren Fitzwater, of Gravity, was taken into custody on charges that include Felony Eluding, Possession of Methamphetamine, and citations for Speeding (110mph in a 55 zone), as well as Failure to Obey a Stop sign. Fitzwater was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $5,000 bond.

His arrest occurred after a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy attempted to stop a 1992 Toyota Camry at around 2:30-a.m. Saturday in the 2700 block of Highway 71. The car was pursued for about eight-miles before Fitzwater lost control in the 3200 block of 155th Street, in Page County. After the Toyota entered a steep ditch, deputies lost sight of the car. Fitzwater bailed out and fled on foot, but was apprehended after the Montgomery County K9 unit tracked him and located Fitzwater hiding in the nearby brush.

The Sheriff’s Office was assisted during the incident by the Page County Sheriff’s Office, Clarinda Police and Villisca Fire and Rescue.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A powerful University of Iowa administrator who has helped build its sprawling health care enterprise has announced plans to step down. Jean Robillard says he will soon resign his role in which he serves as dean of the medical school and top administrator for the school’s hospital and clinics system.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — One of three men charged in the stabbing and beating death of a 29-year-old man this summer Romane Nunn Sr., has pleaded not guilty. The Quad-City Times reports that 45-year-old Terrell Bloch, of Davenport, waived his right to a formal arraignment Thursday and filed his plea through his attorney. He and two others, 42-year-old William Crawford and 34-year-old Durell Parks Jr., are charged with first-degree murder and willful injury in the Aug. 18 death of Romane Nunn Sr.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Police are looking for suspects in the overnight fatal stabbing of an 18-year-old man in Cedar Rapids. Police say in a written release that officers were called to a southern Cedar Rapids neighborhood just after 2 a.m. Friday and found the man with a stab wound. The teen was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Authorities have not yet released his name.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines authorities have released the name of a woman whose body was found in a parked minivan. Police identified the woman as 49-year-old Angela Eubanks, who lived in Waukee. The body was reported Thursday morning. Police say an autopsy found no evidence of traumatic injury and that toxicology tests are being run. The investigation is continuing.

Red Oak Police Chief Justin Rhamy, early this (Saturday) morning, posted a statement on the Police Department’s social media page, with regard to rumors about clowns harming people. The statement reads “The Red Oak Police Department has been receiving a massive amount of calls in regards to clowns being in and around Red Oak threatening to cause harm to people. There have been social media posts placed on swap pages in regards to a woman and her children being attacked on the square in Red Oak.”

The Chief went on to say that “As of midnight, the Red Oak Police Department HAS NOT responded to or even received any calls to service or incidents involving clowns and them attacking people. False statements have been placed on social media about arrests being made on the square in regards to clown attacks, THESE STATEMENTS ARE FALSE!”

Rhamy said also “We apologize for whoever has taken it upon themselves to post these false allegations on social media creating so much fear within our community. If you were to have any questions or concerns, please feel free to get in contact with our department.”

The Iowa Department of Public Health is reminding you to remember to protect yourself against mosquitoes if you are out taking advantage of the remaining warm fall days. Deputy State Epidemiologist Ann Garvey says one threat in particular is still looming. “Late summer and early fall through October is really the peak time when we see West Nile transmission,” Garvey says. ” I think that a lot of us are pretty cognizant and throw in the sunscreen and throw in the bug repellent in the summer months. But as we get into the fall, sometimes we forget that.”

Doctor Garvey says you should remember the key times of the day when the mosquitoes are active. “Mosquitoes here in Iowa that transmit West Nile Virus are most active from really the dusk ’til dawn hours. And so again — it’s important to wear repellent — especially during those hours,” Garvey says. Garvey says the West Nile carrying mosquitoes like stagnant water to breed in, so it is important to dump out standing water.

There’s been a lot of water in some areas due to flooding, but she says that doesn’t mean the population of West Nile mosquitoes has dramatically increased. “Generally speaking when we have flooding events we tend to see what we call flood water mosquitoes, which aren’t as good at transmitting diseases like West Nile virus,” Garvey explains. “But this time we are having kind of the peak West Nile season overlap with some of out flood events So, while a majority of those mosquitoes in flooding events will be floodwater mosquitoes, there will be some that are the likely types that can transmit West Nile Virus.”

There have already been more than one dozen cases of West Nile confirmed. She says there have been 15 human cases confirmed and they are investigating several more which leads them to believe they will have more cases than last year. There are also cases of West Nile in horses and in mosquitoes caught in monitor traps, so Garvey says they know it is out there. Mosquitoes like the warm fall nights just like you do.

“Mosquitoes do really well in the 80-degree temperatures and above. And they do okay in the 70-degrees. Once we get kind of below the 60’s, it’s pretty cold for them and they often go dormant,” Garvey says. Doctor Garvey says the best repellent contains the chemical known as DEET, and says you should read the label before applying it to children.

West Nile can be fatal in some cases, and the last time that happend in Iowa was in 2010 whent there were two deaths. For more information about West Nile virus, visit the Iowa Department of Public Health’s website.
idph.iowa.gov

(Radio Iowa)