OAKLAND, Iowa (AP) — A southwestern Iowa man has been sentenced to 14 years behind bars on for sexually abusing a child. The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil reports that 54-year-old Christopher Donaldson, of Oakland, pleaded guilty on Aug. 8 to third-degree sexual abuse and several traffic violations. He was sentenced Thursday in Pottawattamie County District Court 10 years for the abuse count and four years for the other counts.

Upon his release, Donaldson must undergo 10 years of supervision and register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Officials with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office today (Friday) said on their social media page that they have been “Notified from a resident that they received a telephone call from someone reportedly with the ‘Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office’ telling them that there was a warrant for their arrest for not showing up for jury duty.” The caller is said to be a “Lieutenant Vansberry.” During the telephone calls some names of actual Court House employees and actual Deputies are being mentioned. The number the scammer is calling from is 712-209-6266, but this number can be spoofed or changed depending on who is calling.

This is a SCAM! No member of the Sheriff’s Office is making these phone calls. This is yet another scam attempt by someone with far too much time on their hands. Why do they do this? Because sometimes people unknowingly fall for these scams.

Scammers will usually bait the unsuspecting recipients of the call into thinking there may actually be a warrant for their arrest. The scammer will then ‘work’ with the person to ‘clear’ up the issue if they pay some sort of fine. The caller will also request that the caller provide a cell number, if they were reached on their home phone, so that the caller can stay in constant contact with the victim. The main reason they want to stay on the line is so that they can walk the person through the process of purchasing a gift card or payment. This also helps the scammer verify that the victim does not speak with anyone else who may warn the victim that this is a scam.

Don’t fall for this SCAM!

Red Oak Police report a two-vehicle accident occurred this morning (Friday) at the intersection of Broadway and Cherry Streets. At 9:06am a 2007 Freightliner Semi driven by 53-year-old Gregory Henderson of Omaha was heading north on Broadway Street and could not stop heading into the intersection with Cherry Street for the red light due to wet road conditions.  The semi struck a 2009 Chevy HHR driven by 76-year-old Gregg Peters of Elliott on the driver rear side and caused the HHR to spin 180 degrees.

No injuries were reported at the scene. Due to the wet conditions Henderson was written a warning for Failure to Obey Traffic Control Device.  The semi sustained $1,000 damage and the HHR $7,500 damage.

The accident blocked the intersection for a short time period while police responded.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Officials say Morningside College in Sioux City plans to eliminate some degree programs.

The Sioux City Journal reports that majors and minors will be phased out in several subject areas, including music, philosophy, physics and theater.

The programs have few students and were chosen for elimination after a task force evaluation of all 135 academic programs. The reductions are projected to save $1 million per year by cutting 12 faculty positions. In addition, a dozen administrative positions will be cut to save an additional $1.5 million. Most of the eliminated posts are open.

Some faculty positions will be retained temporarily to allow existing students to complete their degrees.