(Onawa, Iowa) – Monona County Emergency Coordinator Patrick Prorok, Friday night, issued a statement concerning a wild fire near E-60 and Oak, in the Moorhead area. Prorok said the fire has been contained as of 9-p.m., Friday, thanks to the continued help of various volunteer fire departments in Monona and Harrison Counties. There was also continued support from some local farmers, who used their tractors and disc implements to try and keep the fire from spreading by plowing a fire line.

Prorok said additional resources were brought in by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources from across the State. Firefighting resources of Conservation personnel from at least 5 different counties were also brought in for the event, along with help from the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.

“Hill and wildfire firefighting require special equipment,” he said, as well as “Special training, and special tactics, and this was brought to (Monona) County with these outside resources.” Credit also went out to the Monona County Sheriff’s Office and Dispatch, Monona County Roads Dept., and the Monona and Harrison County EMA managers.

Patrick Prorok
Emergency Management Coordinator

Patrick Prorok said “At this time, the burned timber and grassland will be monitored by firefighting personnel over the next several days. Roads in this area will continue to be closed as Monona County Roads goes back into the area to move downed trees, repair burnt barricades, and replace most of the road signs in the area that have been burnt of damaged.”

Prorok extends a special “Thank you” to all the communities for their support, with donations of drinking water and sports drinks for all the firefighters.”

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop in the 400 block of N. 4th Street in Red Oak this (Saturday) morning, resulted in an arrest. Red Oak Police report 33-year-old Kristin Kay Harrold, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 12:30-a.m., for OWI/1st offense, and Child Endangerment. She was transported to the Montgomery County Jail, and held on a $2,000 bond.

(Update 5:19-p.m. 4/15/23) – (Des Moines, Iowa) – In an update our previous post, officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Saturday evening said two children missing from Polk County were found safe Saturday afternoon, in Lucas County. THANK YOU to everyone who shared information and supported law enforcement to help locate these children.

This endangered person advisory is being issued on behalf of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. An endangered person advisory is being issued to locate 8-year-old Zafira Serrano and her 4-year-old brother, Paul “PJ” Serrano. Zafira and PJ were last seen at approximately 5:30 p.m. at Skateland (5621 Meredith Drive, Des Moines), participating in a supervised visit. Zafira and PJ were taken from Skateland by someone known to them. They are believed to be together. Based on information discovered during the investigation, law enforcement considers Zafira and PJ to be endangered.

Zafira is 49 inches tall and weighs 52 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes. The right side of her hair is cut close to the scalp.

PJ is 38 inches tall and weighs 33 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Zafira or PJ Serrano is asked to call their local law enforcement or the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 515-286-3333.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Ulysses S. Grant was a victorious General whose strategy and tenacity won the Civil War. He will be portrayed on Sunday, April 16th, by Peter Brady, at the American Legion Memorial Building, in Atlantic. Brady’s performance begins at 2-p.m.

The performance includes period music, photographs and cartoons and has been described as. “a riveting performance that captures the essence of Ulysses S. Grant.”

General Grant became President and served two terms. He was the youngest man at age 46 to become President. As a reflection of the times, he and his family were known for their ostentatious life style. He traveled the world as a celebrity after his presidential terms. Grant faced financial problems at various times in his life. His final efforts were devoted to the support of his wife and family.

Review his life in this informative, humorous program sponsored by Atlantic Rock Island Society Enterprise (ARISE). Ownership of the Rock Island Depot and American Legion Memorial Building carries out their motto: Preserve the Past. Enrich the Future. There is no fee to attend but donations are welcome. The Building is handicapped accessible. Everyone is welcome.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn says it appears there were multiple breakdowns that led to the apparent theft of top secret Pentagon documents that were leaked on the internet. A 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman was arrested Thursday and he faces charges after dozens of highly classified military documents were posted online.

“The Air Force has something to answer to why an individual who was a guardsman had access to this level of classified information,” Nunn says, “and then how they got it out of the facility and put it online.” Nunn, who’s currently a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, got a top security clearance at the age of 24 when he was serving in the U.S. Air Force. He also commanded the Iowa Air National Guard’s intelligence squadron. Nunn says this is a very serious case as the leaked documents revealed sensitive military information, including key intelligence about the war in Ukraine.

“If indeed we have an individual who is 21 who has gone out there that is basically boasting about his access to classified information and leaking it in a way that not only harms national security, but puts frontline collection methods in jeopardy, we are in a very dangerous position,” Nunn says. The arrested airman was trained as a cyber transport systems analyst and he began sharing top secret intelligence about the war in Ukraine on an app called Discord that lets users text, chat and share videos.

A teenager in the private group posted some of the documents in a public forum. Nunn says as a military intelligence and counter intelligence officer, he investigated allegations that classified documents were mishandled. “When I went in 20 years, it was immediate that we could serve a lifetime in prison if we violated this top secret standard,” Nunn says. “…In this case, I think this was an individual who did it knowingly, who was briefed on what the dangers were, but chose to go ahead and violate it anyway.”

Nunn says he’s concerned the penalties for this kind of espionage have been reduced in recent cases. A former military analyst who gave top secret information about the war in Afghanistan to operators of the WikiLeaks website served seven years in prison. Nunn says this latest breach could give a tactical advantage to U.S. adversaries.

“The type of information that we are talking about now is not something that should be fodder for somebody’s Facebook page or the potential to leak to a friendly reporter because they want to get a story,” Nunn says, “particularly when there’s a direct national security threat nexis involved in that.”

Nunn made his comments during taping of “Iowa Press” which airs tonight (Friday) on Iowa P-B-S. Nunn, a Republican from Bondurant, was elected last November to serve Iowa’s third congressional district in the U.S. House.

(Radio Iowa) – Some Monona County residents in northwest Iowa have been warned they may have to evacuate as a large grass fire continues to burn there. County Emergency Management director, Patrick Prorok says the fire expanded after a small building caught fire Thursday afternoon in the southern part of the county.

“Since that time fire has spread to the north, it has gotten into Preparation Canyon and also Loess Hills Forest. Since that time 32-hundred acres has been burned up in Monona County, also reaching into parts of Harrison County,” he says. Twenty fire departments from two counties are trying to stop its spread. Monona County Sheriff, Kevin Ewing, says they let residents north of the fire know about the potential danger.

“I think most local area residents already know the situation I know a lot of people loaded up some valuables last night and are prepared to vacate the area if need be,” Ewing says. No mandatory evacuations have been ordered yet. Roadblocks have been set up to keep people away from the area.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – April is recognized as financial literacy month to remind us of the importance of money management.  Learning how to plan, earn, and save for retirement are vital components in any financial literacy program, but you must also know how to shield your savings from scammers. New data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shows consumers lost nearly $8.8 billion in 2022 to fraud which is up 30% from 2021.  The top frauds were imposter scams, online shopping, prizes/sweepstakes/lotteries, investments, and job opportunities.  Victims lost $3.8 billion to investment scams alone, up from $1.8 billion in 2021.

In Iowa, romance scams are being reported at an alarming rate.  Scammers are preying on Iowans by way of online games with a private chat option, dating websites, random text messages, emails, or phone calls, social media via a direct message or as a friend request, and even spoofed social media accounts of friends and family where your “friend” claims to win a prize that is now available to you.  According to the FTC in 2021, one of every four victims was approached on social media.

After contact is made by a scammer, they will ask the victim to move off the original platform to continue the discussion usually via text message, attempt to gain your trust with sweet talk, and then ask for money.  The request may involve cryptocurrency or other investments, or money to pay for medical expenses or a plane ticket.  If you find yourself in this situation, stop!  Call a trusted friend or family member before sending money to someone you don’t know.  Verify the person offering you an investment by double-checking all investment and insurance professionals before doing business, or call the Iowa Insurance Division.

Here are some tips to help protect yourself:

• Knowing basic financial literacy concepts may prevent victimization by a scammer. According to the FINRA Foundation, consumers with strong financial literacy skills were less likely to be scammed.  The IID’s Save4Later and SmartHER Money websites are a great place to start the financial literacy journey.
• Use good online habits such as checking your privacy settings on all social media accounts to make sure you are only sharing what you want to share, being careful what you click on, using unique passwords, opting out of targeted ads, and not responding to unsolicited offers.  If you get a message from a friend on social media regarding an opportunity, call them before engaging further.
• Never provide your personal information such as bank account numbers, social security, or Medicare numbers to someone you don’t know or meet on social media.
• Ensure websites are legitimate and secure. Beware of misspelled words or grammatical errors.
• Be cautious of profiles with few friends and little content, and don’t accept a friend request from someone you don’t know.
• Never click on pop-up messages or unsolicited private messages.

Fraud threatens the financial security of all Iowans. Become an Iowa Fraud Fighter  and learn how to help protect yourself and your loved ones from scams.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has approved a bill that sets up a distribution formula for the taxes the State of Iowa is collecting from casinos that offer sports wagering in Iowa. Sports betting has been legal in Iowa since August of 2019, but unlike the rest of state gambling revenue, the taxes from sports betting has NOT been deposited in a state infrastructure fund. About 19-and-a-half million dollars in taxes paid so from sports betting apps and sports book areas in Iowa casinos is essentially sitting in an escrow account today. The bill uses seven million dollars in that account to cover a backlog of applications for the Endow Iowa Tax Credit for donations to community foundations. Representative Jacob Bossman of Sioux City says the bill also sets up a yearly spending plan for sports wagering taxes.

“It will direct $1.75 million to gambling addiction treatment, $1 million to supplement the Endow Iowa Tax Credit program so we don’t have that backlog again,” Bossman says, “and then the remaining money will be distributed to all 99 counties.”  Community foundations and non-profit corporations around the state will be eligible for that block of taxes from sports wagering.
[RIkaysportsbooktaxes3] :10 :throughout the state.” “This bill distributes the sports wagering taxes to all 99 counties which is appropriate because sports wagering through apps is taking place throughout the state,” Bossman says.

Representative Timi Brown-Powers of Waterloo says the plan will put a little extra money for non-profits in areas of the state that have casinos. “But most importantly this does distribute this money to 99 counties,” Brown-Powers says. “And that’s where it should be distributed to.”

The bill passed the House unanimously on Thursday night. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court says an open records lawsuit against the governor can proceed. The Iowa Freedom of Information Council (FOI) and two others sued after open records requests from the governor’s office about the COVID pandemic were delayed five to 18 months. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled the case can proceed based on the timeliness of when the records were produced. F-O-I Council executive director, Randy Evans, says he was gratified it was a unanimous decision. “Which tells me that there was not a lot of question about what the outcome of the appeals should be,” he says.

Evans says there was an excellent discussion in the opinion about the need for a timely response, and what really constitutes a denial of a request for a public record. “It can be something that is stated, in plain language ‘I’m not going to turn this over.’ Or denial can be occurring by the failure to notify the requester of the denial or that their request is going to be turned down,” Evans says.

Evans says they will now get a chance to argue the merits of the case as it goes back to the district court. “I’m hopeful that when this is all done in the coming months, that there will be a clear statement coming out of the Iowa courts that government officials, state and local government officials in Iowa, must comply with the requirements of the public records law, and they must do so in a timely manner,” Evans says.

Governor Kim Reynolds released a statement following the ruling that said during the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic her office shifted its entire focus to help Iowans navigate that difficult period. The statement says there was an unprecedented number of open records requests at the time and many of those went unfulfilled for a period. It says, “While we disagree that this lawsuit should continue, my office has eliminated the backlog of open records requests and is committed to upholding our responsibility to respond to any new requests in a timely manner.”

Evans says the need for information during the pandemic didn’t subside, it increased. “You know, I don’t think anyone would dispute that the governor and her staff had an incredible amount of responsibility during the height of the COVID pandemic, when these requests were being made,” he says. “But, you know, that’s a time when the public interest in decisions that government is making or not making is at its highest when you’re in the midst of the worst health crisis in a century.”

The Iowa Capital Dispatch website and the Bleeding Heartland blog joined the F-O-I in the lawsuit.

(Radio Iowa) – Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson is visiting Iowa for the first time since announcing he’s running for president. He’s making several appearances in central Iowa, pitching himself as an alternative to former President Donald Trump. “Trump is not the right one to lead our party or our country in the future and the reasons are very clear to me,” Hutchinson says. “When you’re talking about his engagement in the last election and believing that he won. He’s wrong.”

Trump continues to lead in national and state polls, but likely Iowa Caucus goers have expressed interest in hearing from other potential 2024 candidates.