Red Oak Police report two people were arrested and a juvenile was cited into court early this (Tuesday) morning. Officers responded to the 200 block of E. Oak Street in Red Oak at around 11:35-p.m. Monday, for a noise complaint. After further investigation, a 17-year old was cited into juvenile court, for possession of a controlled substance/marijuana, and later released to a parent. 18-year old Devinne Janice Moore, of Red Oak, was cited at around 12:15-a.m., for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and released at the scene. And, 42-year old Tara Lynn Sullivan, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at around 12:15 also, on an out-of-state warrant for being a Fugitive from Justice. Sullivan was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail.

Monday evening, Red Oak Police were called to the area of N. 4th Street and E. Maple Street, for a possible domestic dispute. Following an investigation, 27-year old Shelby Mae Schmitz-Cantrell, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 9:35-p.m., for Domestic Abuse Assault. She was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail. Red Oak Police were assisted at the scene by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies.

It’s Primary Day in Iowa. The polls open at seven o’clock. Iowa’s new voter verification law is still in what Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate calls the “soft roll out” phase, but Pate says voters at nearly two-thousand precincts around the state will be asked to show a form of state-sanctioned identification. “A driver’s license or a voter ID card with their PIN number on it or a non-operator’s license that they get from a driver’s (license) station or a military ID,” Pate says. “Any of those would work, including a passport.”

Voters who do NOT bring any of those approved forms of I-D with them will be able to sign a document, declaring they are who they say they are and their ballots will be counted. Starting in January of 2019, though, Iowa voters who do not have an I-D at their polling place will cast a “provisional” ballot and will be required to follow up with a visit to their county auditor’s office to show an I-D so their ballot may be counted.

Ninety-two of Iowa’s 99 counties will be able to scan the digital strip on a driver’s license or voter I-D to check in voters today (Tuesday). However in Polk, Linn and five other counties, poll workers will have to manually find a number on the I-D and check the voter registration rolls to see if it’s an eligible voter. “They have not updated their technology,” Pate says.

Pate isn’t expecting voters to have to wait long to cast their ballots today (Tuesday).  “It’s a lot faster than the old school where you used to have the lists in front of you and you’d have to go through pages and pages and look for your name on it and make sure it’s the right John Smith or Paul Pate,” Pate says. “So if there’s a line, I would say it’s just because of higher voter turn-out and I would say if I were an auditor, I would anticipate higher volume in your predominantly Democratic precincts.”

That’s because Democrats have a statewide race for governor in their Primary. There’s already been a record-setting number of requests for absentee ballots from those who voted early. Those absentee ballots had to be postmarked by yesterday (Monday) to be counted today (Tuesday). Pate says county auditors start counting absentee ballots at any time today.  “And when the poll workers do it, it’s just like the other polls. There’s a Democrat and a Republican poll worker, working together,” Pate says. “That way it’s a checked process.”

The first votes to be reported this evening AFTER the polls close are likely the tally of those absentee or “early” votes from each precinct. There are THREE party primaries today (Tuesday) — one for Democrats, one for Republicans and one for Libertarians. Libertarians reached “official party status” in 2016 when their presidential candidate got at least two percent of the vote in Iowa. There are a dozen Libertarians running for office and two Libertarians are running for governor. Pate says, for Libertarians, today’s (Tuesday’s) Primary is “the starting block” for the party.

“There’s an unknown quantity in the sense that we haven’t had a third party in a some time. They have a message they’re trying to offer voters as a reason to vote for them,” Pate says. “The real test will come in the fall.”

To retain “official party status” — the nominee Libertarians pick to run for governor on the November ballot must get at least two percent of the vote. As of June 1st, 10-thousand Iowans had registered as Libertarian voters.

(Radio Iowa)

A man and a woman were taken into custody Monday afternoon on motor vehicle theft and other charges. Deputies in Fremont County arrested 46-year old Brian Vanderpool, of Thurman, and 18-year old Faith Clemmons, of Emerson. The pair was taken into custody just before 2-p.m., in the 1100 block of Bluff Road, near Emerson.

Vanderpool

Clemmons

Deputies were investigating a report of a stolen vehicle taken out of Mills County, and located both subjects with the vehicle. Brian Vanderpool, who out on bond from a Fremont County arrest on April 29th, was placed under arrest for Possession of a Stolen Motor Vehicle, a Class D Felony. Vanderpool was being held on $5,000 cash bond.

Faith Clemmons, who was out on bond from a Mills County arrest in April of 2018, was placed under arrest for Possession of a Stolen Motor Vehicle a Class D Felony, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, (Meth), a Simple Misdemeanor. Clemmons was being held on $5,300 cash bond.  Other charges are pending.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office with the arrest.

A crash between a pickup truck and a semi Monday afternoon, in northern Iowa’s Webster County, left one person dead, another injured. The Iowa State Patrol says a 1995 Chevy truck driven by 55-year old Mark Walter Mueggenberg, of Fort Dodge, was traveling east on County Road D-20 at around 2:55-p.m., at the same time a Peterbilt semi, driven by 67-year old Larry Edward Law, of Duncombe, was traveling west.

On a curve in the road, the Chevy crossed the center line just to the west of Xavier Avenue, and struck the semi. The Chevy then came to rest in the south ditch, and became engulfed in flames. Mueggenberg died at the scene. The semi came to rest on its side in the north ditch. Law was treated for minor injuries at the scene.

The accident remains under investigation.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:45 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Democrats will have plenty of options as they choose an opponent to Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, but it’s unclear whether the top vote-getter in the primary will actually be on the November ballot. That’s because Iowa law requires a primary candidate to secure 35 percent of the vote to win. If none of the candidates reaches that threshold Tuesday, the Democratic nomination will be decided at a state convention later in June.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s primary election will largely feature Democrats as candidates vie to face Republicans who hold most statewide and congressional offices. Five Democrats are competing for their party’s nomination to oppose Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, and big fields of Democrats also are running for U.S. House seats, reflecting that three of the four districts are held by Republicans.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a 40-year-old man who was shot to death in a neighborhood west of downtown Des Moines. Police said in a news release Monday that the victim was Jerry Goff, who lived in Des Moines. Police say Goff died at a hospital after being taken there by private vehicle Sunday morning. No arrests have been reported.

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — The story of an Iowa sheriff who asked one of his deputies to ticket him after illegally riding his all-terrain vehicle on a highway was different than initially portrayed .

Webster County Sheriff James Stubbs acknowledged Monday it took him 10 days to ask the deputy to cite him for the May 20 incident after he was initially let go for illegally riding his ATV on the shoulder of Highway 169. He says the deputy used his discretion to not write a citation and that no video of the stop exists.

Stubbs says he thought about the incident days later and decided it “wasn’t right” for him to dodge a ticket. He says he had the deputy issue the citation at his home May 30.  Stubbs pleaded guilty last week before a judge who commended his honesty. He says the case is “garnishing more news than it probably needs to.”

Officials with SIRWA, Monday, issued an update on the status of repairs to the filtration system at the 12-Mile Treatment Plant. The problems at the plant began late last week and resulted in a Boil Order, then a Drinking Water Warning.

Hy-Vee social media photo

To help with the drinking water situation, Hy-Vee, Inc. announced today(Monday), that it is donating nearly 20,000 gallons of bottled water to southern Iowa communities impacted by an ongoing boil advisory and drinking water warning. The bottled water was being made available during certain hours at the Creston, Bedford and Mt. Ayr Hy-Vee Stores. Residents in the Southern Iowa Rural Water Association area are able to pick up either two 24-packs of bottled water or two gallon jugs or a combination of one 24-pack and one gallon jug for free, while supplies last. Local volunteers assisted in distributing the water in the Hy-Vee store parking lots.

With regard to the treatment plant. The bottom line is, that they need two new filtration trane membranes at the plant, but there are hurdles to overcome before they arrive and can be installed. One of the trane membranes is in Canada, and is one-quarter of the treatment plant capacity. It takes two-days to get EPA approval to import the membranes into the U-S, and then the truck will arrive Thursday night or Friday morning. The second set of membranes is scheduled to arrive in Canada tomorrow, Tuesday, June 6th. Following the same procedures as above, the second set of membranes should arrive in Iowa approximately 24 hours behind the first set of membranes.

Officials say they need both sets of membranes before the needed water for the City of Creston and SIRWA customers can be produced. It’s hoped both of the new membranes tranes online and producing water sometime on Saturday or early Sunday Morning. Both the City of Creston Water Works (CCWW) and SIRWA will then begin the flushing process to change out the water In the distribution systems.

Each membrane trane is capable of 2,000 GPM or 4,000 GPM combined maximum. Officials they they hope to start the flushing process late Saturday or early Sunday. The three Creston water towers will then need to be drained and refilled with the newly treated water. Creston will then flush their water distribution system while the new water is filling SIRWA’s large distribution mains.

Fluoride is being used to track the treated water through the distribution mains. Once the newly treated water is dispersed, coliform bacteria samples will be taken to make sure the water is potable or drinkable. Once the tests are passed, then the process can begin to release the specified customers from the “Drinking Water Advisory.”

As cities get removed from the “Drinking Water Advisory” SIRWA and CCWW asks that the customers be considerate and only use necessary water so that all extra water can be used to flush and get water to the remaining cities who may still be under the “Drinking Water Advisory”.  There should be no lawn watering, car washing or unnecessary water usage be preformed until all customers have been removed from the “Drinking Water Advisory”.

Officials say they are currently checking into the availability of a third and fourth set of membrane tranes. The membranes are made in Hungary and shipped to the distribution center in Canada where they are then shipped to the USA under normal circumstances.

If you are a City of Creston Water Works (CCWW) customer, please contact them to be added to their list for future notifications at 641-782-5817 or e-mail at officeww@iowatelecom.net. If you are a SIRWA customer, you may contact the office at 641-782-5744 or send an email to info@siwa.org.