The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of a Crescent man, Dec. 22nd. 47-year old John Christopher Miller was arrested following a traffic stop and charged with OWI/2nd offense. A traffic stop in Neola on Dec. 23rd resulted in the arrest of 18-year old Seth Darrien Bradford, of Honey Creek, for OWI/1st offense.

A traffic stop in Underwood Dec. 23rd resulted in the arrest on a warrant, of 22-year old Austin Michael Goodman, of Neola. Goodman was wanted on a warrant out of Council Bluffs, for Domestic Assault. He was taken into custody and brought to the Pott. County Jail.  A traffic stop on River Road early Monday morning resulted in the arrest of 31-year old Frank B. Cates, of Council Bluffs, for Driving While Barred. And, a Deputy responding to a disturbance on Rosebud Lane in Council Bluffs at around 8:45-a.m., Monday, arrested 35-year old Nicole Renae Watson, of Underwood. The woman was wanted on Felony warrants for Forgery or Counterfeiting, Burglary – breaking and entering, Unlawful Possession of a Prescription Drug, and a Serious Misdemeanor charge of Theft in the 5th Degree (pick pocketing).

A Cass County man was arrested on warrants in Adair County, Dec. 19th. Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports 38-year old Shawn Glen Wolverton, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Felony warrant out of Polk County for Possession of a Controlled Substance, 3rd or subsequent offense, for Prohibited Acts: Delivery, Conspiracy or Possession of Meth, with Intent/less than 5 grams; He was also wanted on Felony warrants out of Adair and Clarke Counties, for Violation of Probation. He was released on the Adair County warrant on his own recognizance, and turned over to Polk County authorities.

And, 28-year old Tristan Raju Carter, of Stuart, was arrested Dec. 21st in Stuart and immediately transferred to authorities in Guthrie County. On Dec. 17th, 26-year old Jeffrey Scott Schaefer, of Orient, was arrested for Driving Under Suspension. Schaefer was cited for the offense and released at the scene.

BLUE GRASS, Iowa (AP) — Police say all four people killed by an early Christmas morning house fire in eastern Iowa belonged to one family. The blaze erupted a little after 12:30 a.m. Monday in Blue Grass. Police say one of the four people inside the home managed to escape but died later at a hospital. The three others perished inside the ranch-style house.

Blue Grass police Sgt. Garrett Jahns said Tuesday that he couldn’t release any of the victims’ names or ages yet but that the four were related. State Fire Marshal Division spokesman Ron Humphrey says the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Blue Grass is a community of about 1,500 residents 150 miles east of Des Moines.

Programs offered by the University of Iowa to draw more young people into so-called STEM fields appear to be working. During 2017, more than 37-thousand students took part in at least one of the U-I Healthcare programs tied to science, technology, engineering and math. That’s a 64-percent increase from a year ago. Emily Strattan, the U-I’s STEM education coordinator, says 77-percent more young women took part, thanks to a program aimed at middle school-aged girls. “Women tend to be underrepresented in STEM,” Strattan says. “They’re about 29 percent in the STEM workforce, so that has been a big target of ours, to engage young females in STEM.”

Over the next 12 months, she says the programs will reach out to draw the interest of even more students. Strattan says, “We’re trying to target students of diverse ethnic backgrounds, targeting students from rural areas who maybe don’t have the access or funding to be able to attend a STEM program here on campus.”

The program called “Girls Go STEM” focuses on girls in 6th through 8th grades.

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Rob Dillard, Iowa Public Radio)