A study by the University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center finds most Iowans are taking the proper steps to protect babies in cars, while teenagers lag behind when it comes to seat belt use. Cara Hamann led the study which showed adults are following Iowa’s child safety seat law. “We are at 99 percent, so almost everyone is doing a good job on that,” Hamann says. “An in the two to five year olds…we’ve seen improvement in the amount of people using booster seats or child safety seats for those two to five year olds.”

She says the high use of car seats is likely a result of educational efforts to inform parents of the proper way to transport kids. “I would hope a lot of this could be attributed to hospitals and police departments doing those checks. And I know hospitals make sure people don’t leave hospitals (with a newborn) without the proper equipment. So, those efforts really make a difference,” according toe Hamann.

The use of the safety equipment in cars goes down as the kids get older. She says teenagers from 14 to 17 years old have the worst use of a seatbelt at 84 percent, which she says is quite a bit lower than some of the younger age groups. Hamann says many of those teens don’t have an adult with them in the car and that could be why their seatbelt use is lower. “I definitely think that could be part of it,” Hamann says. “We’ve found that the more passengers with teens….sometimes you find lower seatbelt use when there’s a group of teenagers,” Hamann says.

The U-I survey also found that people who live in Iowa’s smaller towns are less likely to use seatbelts. “We have four different categories ranging as a thousand and then as high as over 50-thousand. And we really find a trend where the smaller the community, the lower the restraint use is. Both for the children and the drivers — so even the adult seatbelt use is lower in those smaller communities,” Hamann explains.

Hamann says the lower use of seatbelts in rural communities could be because there are fewer education programs there. There could also be a feeling that there’s not as much traffic in smaller towns and less of a worry about accidents. “That could be part of it, maybe also enforcement. Maybe in urban areas there’s more visibility of law enforcement and so maybe people feel more compelled to use restraint in those areas,” Hamann says. “We are not 100 percent sure what is going on there.”

The survey found 88 percent of the people in communities with one-thousand to 25-hundred residents used the proper seatbelt of child seat in cars. That move to 93 percent in communities with 50-thousand people or more. The surveys have been conducted since 1988 and Hamann says there are some areas for improvement, but overall Iowans do a good job. “The positive thing is that we still see — even if it is small increases — some king of improvement each year. So, we are moving in the right direction,” Hamann says.

The surveys are funded by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB) within the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

(Radio Iowa)

The Harlan Fire Department responded Tuesday afternoon,  to a motor home fire.  The fire took place at the Shelby County Fairgrounds in Harlan.  Upon arrival, firefighters found a motor home in a camping spot, on fire.  One person sleeping in the motor home was able to escape without injury, and the fire department was able to quickly extinguish the blaze with only minor damage resulting to the left rear corner of the home.

Officials say the fire was caused by faulty electrical wiring in the taillight section of the vehicle.  The Harlan Fire Department was on the scene for about 25 minutes.

(Thanks to our sister station KNOD in Harlan!)

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a man wanted for Criminal Mischief in the 2nd degree/for destruction or damage of property, turned himself-in, Tuesday morning. 25-year old Nathan Christopher Roberson, of Macedonia, was then placed under arrest and turned over to corrections staff at the Pott. County Jail.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports 39-year old Jeremy Gordon King, of Creston, was arrested Tuesday afternoon at the Union County Jail, on two Union County Warrants.  The warrants are for: Trafficking in stolen weapons 1^st offense, and assault causing bodily injury.  King was being held in the Union County Jail, with bond undetermined until he is seen by a Judge.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office says three people were hurt in separate, recent accidents. Monday night, 19-year old Marcus Parker, of Malvern, suffered minor injuries during an accident at the intersection of Jabber Road and Keys Avenue. Parker was driving a 1997 Jeep southbound on Jabber Road at around 8:35-p.m., when he ran a posted stop sign and failed to negotiate a turn in the road because of excessive speed. The SUV went out of control and entered the north ditch before rolling onto its top. Parker was transported to Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs by private vehicle.

Last Thursday morning, 18-year old Meghan Ronk, of Malvern, was transported to Mercy Hospital by Malvern Rescue, after she lost control of a 1996 Chevy on a gravel road. The vehicle entered a ditch off of Lambert Avenue, east of 377th Street, went through a barbed-wire fence and rolled once before partially coming to rest in a harvested corn field.

Later that same morning, 26-year old Sara Kittle, of Glenwood, was transported by Glenwood Rescue to Creighton Medical Center in Omaha, after the 2001 Chevy she was driving crashed into a metal light pole, causing the pole to break-off and fall onto a power line. The incident resulted in a power outage to part of Glenwood. The accident happened as Kittle was turning from 221st Street south of Glenwood, on to ramp to eastbound Highway 34.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office said today (Wednesday), an Adams County woman was arrested last week on theft and drug charges. 28-year old Misty Ann Cross, of Corning, was arrested Friday afternoon for Theft in the 2nd and 3rd Degrees, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Possession of Prescription Drugs. Cross was held in the Mills County Jail on $9,000 bond. At the same location and time, 26-year old Tyler Jason Chambers, of Glenwood, was arrested Friday, for Fraudulent use of Registration, and Driving While Barred.  Chambers’ bond was set at $2,300.

Last Thursday, Mills County Deputies arrested 26-year old Ashley Nicole Defevere, of Council Bluffs, on a Warrant for Failure to Appear (FTA) in court. Defevere was taken into custody at the Pottawattamie County Jail, and held on $1,000 bond. That same day, 29-year old Jared Pomerenke, of Glenwood, was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office on a warrant for Failure to Appear. His bond was set at $5,000.

And, on Nov. 8th, 37-year old Aaron Michael Greene, of Rock Port, MO., was arrested in Atchison County, MO., on a Mills County warrant for Probation Violation. Greene was being held in the Mills County Jail on $4,000 bond.