The Creston Police Department received numerous reports of Theft and/or Vandalism late last week into the weekend. Friday afternoon, a man reported a cell phone was stolen from a vehicle parked near his residence in the 1100 block of Pratt Street. The loss amounted to $80. The incident is believed to have occurred sometime between 7-p.m. Thursday and 12-a..m. Friday. At around 9-a.m. Saturday, a man residing in the 500 block of N. Oak, in Creston, reported a rear tire on his vehicle was slashed while it was parked near his residence. The incident happened sometime overnight Friday into Saturday morning. The loss was estimated at $100.

A short time later on Saturday, a man living in the 600 block of N. Maple Street in Creston, reported to police that sometime between 10:30-p.m. Friday and 9:30-a.m. Saturday, someone shot the window of his truck using a bb gun. The incident happened while the vehicle was parked in an alley near the home. The damage was estimated at $300. And, at around 9:40-p.m. Saturday, a woman also living in the 600 block of N. Maple Street in Creston, reported that a rock was thrown through a window at her residence. The incident happened at around 8:15-p.m. The damage was estimate at $100.

Sunday evening, a man living in the 800 block of N. Birch Street in Creston, reported that his wallet was stolen from 309 N. Sycamore. The incident, which happened sometime between Nov. 29th and Dec. 3rd, resulted in a loss of about $20. And, just after 6-a.m. today (Monday), a woman residing in the 400 block of N. Oak Street in Creston reported that her solar yard light was broken. The incident happened over Sunday into early Monday morning, and the loss was estimated at $40.

All the Democrats and one of the Republicans running for governor in 2018 will participate in a Tuesday evening forum, to discuss Iowa’s mental health system. Democratic candidate Nate Boulton, a state senator from Des Moines, has been calling for reopening the two state-run Mental Health Institutes former Governor Terry Branstad closed. “When those facilities were shut down, the services were lost. They weren’t replaced with anything. There was nothing new that came in to take care of those residents,” Boulton says. “We all know our state needs to be doing more, not less, for mental health care.”

Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett is challenging Governor Kim Reynolds in the Republican Primary next June. Corbett says a fragmented system was made worse by the decision to close the Mental Health Institutes in southern Iowa. “All that did was compress the system down,” Corbett says. “The state may have saved some money, but the patients didn’t evaporate, they just got pushed down and, in many cases, on local property taxpayers.”

Corbett says some state-run facility needs to provide up to 50 more beds for patients with acute mental illnesses. Corbett will attend Tuesday’s forum. Governor Reynolds won’t, but she’s sending a short video that will be played for the crowd. Democratic candidate Fred Hubbell, a Des Moines businessman, took a tour of hospitals and jails around the state last month. Hubbell says emergency rooms and jails have become the “last resort” treatment option for mentally ill Iowans. Andy McGuire, a medical doctor who’s also seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination, says police have become “mental health providers.”

“They take patients to jail and to emergency rooms, two of the most expensive and worst places for someone in crisis rather than preventing crisis with more up-front counseling,” McGuire says. “…We need to prioritize and focus resources and we need to destigmatize mental health. We need to love more and ignore less.”

McGuire made her comments at a recent Democratic Party fundraiser. John Norris, another candidate who spoke at the same event, accused Governors Branstad and Reynolds of “turning the heartland into the land of the heartless.” Tuesday’s discussion about the mental health system is sponsored by The Des Moines Register and Des Moines University and starts at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Council Bluffs report one person was injured during a rollover accident at around 4:15-a.m. today (Monday). Officers responding to the 7-mile marker of Interstate 80 located a 1998 Ford Escort that had been traveling west bound, when the driver lost control and the vehicle went off the roadway before rolling numerous times. The driver was able to crawl out of the vehicle prior to officers arrival. The unidentified man suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported to Nebraska Medical Center by rescue squad.

The crash is currently being investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Special Operations Traffic Unit (712) 328-4948. Anyone who may have witnessed or have information in reference to the crash is urged to contact the CBPD Traffic Unit.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say one person has died in a Mason City house fire. The blaze started around noon Friday. A neighbor reported that flames had engulfed the rear of the home. The victim’s name hasn’t been released. Officials say the fire started at a multi-plug surge protector.

Montgomery County Sheriff’s officials report a Nebraska man was arrested Sunday night for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. 25-year old Tyreek Dupree Thomas, of Omaha, was arrested at around 6:20-p.m.  and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where his bond was set at $300.