Iowa Workforce Development is warning people who are out of work to watch for unemployment scams. Workforce Development spokesperson, Kerry Koonce, says you may find websites that offer to help you file for jobless benefits. These sites guarantee acceptance for a minimal fee, and she says unfortunately people are trying to sign up at these sites, but they haven’t really signed up for unemployment. “On the worst side, they are giving up a Social Security number or they are giving up credit card information to try pay for immediate acceptance and guaranteed approval, and so they are also getting into risk of identity theft and those kinds of things as well,” Koonce says. A request to pay to file for jobless benefits should raise a red flag.

“There shouldn’t be any services that you pay for related for unemployment, when you file on-line through our system you are going to get an e-mail back saying your claim has been accepted and we are in the process of processing it,” Koonce says. If you are filing a new claim, Koonce says there is a 10-day period where an employer can protest the claim. If there is a protest, then you get a fact-finding hearing, and if there is not a protest and you have earned benefits, then the unemployment would begin. Since there is no payment involved, the state will not ask you for financial information. “The only time we would ask for any type of financial-related information would be if you choose to have your payments direct deposited into your checking account, and there is a form you fill out for that,” according to Koonce. “But you would never be asked for credit card information to pay for filing up front.” Koonce says it is understandable how someone might mistakenly try to use a bogus site.

Koonce says anyone can go and search for unemployment and have one of the bogus sites come up. She says the only site you should use to file an unemployment claim is www.iowaworkforce.org. You can file a claim at the I-W-D site 24 hours a day.

(Dar Danielson/Radio Iowa)

A fire at a home in Red Oak has claimed the lives of four animals. Red Oak Battalion Fire Chief Randy Askey said firefighters were called to the scene of the blaze at around 12:30-pm on Tuesday, at 207 4th Avenue. Askey said the intense heat and unstable conditions in the home prevented firefighters from gaining entry to the structure to extinguish the flames, which were eventually knocked down from outside the home, before the interior fire was brought under control about an hour after they first arrived on the scene. Askey said the owner of the home was away when the fire broke out, and no fire crews were harmed fighting the fire, but four family pets died. The house sustained extensive damage. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports a a Corning woman was arrested this (Wednesday) morning on a trio of charges. 33-year old Tamara McCoy was taken into custody at around 10:30-a.m., after authorities executed a search warrant at her home. McCoy was charged with being a Felon in Possession of a firearm. She also faces charges which include Possession of Marijuana, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. McCoy was being held in the Adams County Jail pending a court appearance.

Officials with the Cass County Salvation Army’s Bell ringing campaign report Red Kettle donations this year were nearly double those received last year. Bell ringing campaign Co-Chair Teresa Kanning says donations this year amounted to $11,176. Last year’s campaign brought in $5,827.

The campaign began in mid-November, and wrapped-up the day before Christmas. All proceeds from the donations stay in Cass County, for various Salvation Army-related programs.

A traffic stop on Interstate 80 in Cass County Tuesday afternoon resulted in the recovery of marijuana, a weapon, and the arrest of a man from Colorado. Sgt. Marty McCreedy with Iowa State Patrol in Council Bluffs told KJAN News Trooper Wayne Brosam stopped a 1992 Lincoln Towncar for speeding on I-80 eastbound near the Anita exit, just before 4-p.m., Tuesday.

MCreedy says the Trooper saw indicators of illegal activity and searched the vehicle after receiving permission from the driver. During the search, Brosam discovered nearly 3 pounds of marijuana and a 45-caliber revolver. The driver of the car, 32-year old Keogh Rash, of Edgewater, CO, was taken into custody on charges of Possession with the Intent to Deliver, Prohibited Acts, and Failure to Affix a Drug Tax Stamp.

Rash was brought to the Cass County Jail and later released on $5,000 bond.

Matthew Bernard Steffens (photo from IA Sex Offender Registry)

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says a Wiota man, 31-year old Matthew Bernard Steffens, was arrested Tuesday afternoon on a Cass County warrant for Failure to Register as Sex offender/2nd or subsequent offense and a Residency Restriction/2nd or subsequent offense. The offenses are Class-D felonies, punishable by a prison term of up to five years and a fine from $750-$7,500. Steffens was brought to the Cass County Jail and later posted a $5,000 bond.

Steffens was convicted in Sept. 2003, of 3rd degree sexual abuse, in connection with an incident involving a 13-year old girl in Shelby County. He was sentenced to 10-years in jail. The man was 23-years old at the time, and lived in Atlantic.

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (8.3MB)

Subscribe: RSS

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS

No injuries were reported following a single-vehicle accident over the weekend, in Audubon County. Sheriff’s officials say 51-year old Scott Evan Schlater, of Exira, was traveling east on 300th Street at around 3:45-p.m. Saturday, when he looked down for an item, and lost control of the 2008 Chevy he was driving. The vehicle hit a field drive and went airborne before hitting a ditch and landing on the driver’s side. Damage from the crash was estimated at $20,000. Schlater was cited for Failure to Maintain Control.