(Lewis, Iowa) – Numerous rescue crews responded to the scene of a collision involving two-vehicles this (Sunday) evening, near the Cass-Pottawattamie County line. Lewis First Responders, Griswold Rescue and Cass EMS were dispatched to the scene at 490th Street and Highway 6, at around 5:10-p.m.

Four people were reportedly injured, with a female unconscious. One of the victims was being transported by ambulance to a hospital in Council Bluffs. Two patients, an adult and a juvenile were transported by ambulance to Cass Health, in Atlantic. One of the victims was flown by helicopter to the UNMC in Omaha.

Additional information is currently not available.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department today (Sunday) report five recent arrests.

1-26-24 8:43am: Keifird Kewaun Griffith, 24, of California, was arrested at the Creston/Union County LEC. Griffith was charged with a Union County Bench Warrant for FTA Possession of a Controlled Substance-Marijuana 1^st Offense. Griffith later released on a $1,000 cash-only bond.

1-26-24 8:03pm: Lonny Richard Watters, 46, of Creston, was arrested at the intersection of Montgomery and Vine. Watters was charged with Driving while barred. He was later released on bond.

1-27-24 12:30pm: Charles Ray Balius, 53, of Creston, was arrested in the 200 Block S Walnut. Balius was charged on 2 Union County Warrants for Interference with Official Acts and 2^nd Driving while Revoked. He was later released on bond.

1-27-24 1:35pm: Megan Marie Brown, 42, of Creston, was arrested at the intersection of Division and Summit. Brown was charged with Driving while Barred. Brown was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on bond.

1-28-24 1:53am: Crystal Leigh Estell, 37, of Murray, was arrested at a Creston bar & grill. Estell was charged with Public Intoxication. She was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — Authorities on Friday found a loaded handgun in a woman’s carry-on luggage at the Des Moines International Airport. It’s the second firearm detected this year at a Des Moines airport security checkpoint, according to a news release from the Transportation Security Administration.

The woman told authorities that she forgot it was in the luggage. The Des Moines Police Department says she was cited and then released. In addition to any action taken by law enforcement, TSA fines passengers who bring a firearm to a TSA checkpoint with a civil penalty up to approximately $15,000, revokes TSA PreCheck eligibility for at least five years and may conduct enhanced screening to ensure there are no other threats present.

“Passengers are allowed to travel with their firearms and ammunition as long as they follow the proper procedures,” Iowa TSA Federal Security Director John Bright said in the release. “Responsible firearm owners always know where their guns are, and they should never bring them to the security checkpoint in carry-on luggage.”

Check the TSA’s website for information about traveling with firearms.

Seven firearms were detected at Des Moines airport security checkpoints in total last year.

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — Transgender Iowans may be considered disabled if an Iowa lawmaker’s efforts to remove civil rights protections for gender identity succeed. House file 2082 would amend the Iowa Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, ancestry, or disability. If passed, the bill would strike gender identity protections from that list.

The bill author, Rep. Jeff Shipley, said he doesn’t want to end civil rights protections for transgender people, just change how they are protected. Instead of explicitly listing gender identity protections, he wants to expand the definition of disability discrimination.

Shipley said he wants gender dysphoria, which is the discomfort someone may feel toward their assigned sex at birth, to be considered a disability. By expanding the definition, he says transgender people will still be protected by the Civil Rights Act.
However, some LGBTQ+ activists are worried that striking gender identity from the list of protections puts transgender Iowans at risk of discrimination, even if the disability definition is expanded.

A subcommittee will host a hearing for the bill at noon Wednesday, Jan. 31, in room 102 of the statehouse.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — A former nurse from Sioux City who stole drugs such as fentanyl and morphine from her hospital will serve nine months in federal prison. According to a release from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, Morgan Miralles, 32, was sentenced Friday in Sioux City. After her prison term, she will also be under supervised release for three additional years. There is no parole in the federal system.

Miralles originally pleaded guilty in August 2023 to one count of acquiring a controlled substance by means of misrepresentation, fraud, deception and subterfuge, and one count of false statements relating to health care matters.

Evidence from the case indicates that she was stealing drugs intended for patient use – fentanyl, morphine, hydromorphine and hydrocodone – and kept them for her own personal use. She was stealing these drugs as early as April 2020 and through August 2022. In order to cover her tracks, Miralles falsified documents “on an almost weekly basis” by omitting certain information from logs. She also admitted to stealing Benadryl after not receiving a promotion as a way to get revenge.

Miralles will surrender to the Bureau of Prisons at an undetermined date.