Deputies in Union County arrested a Madison County man on an OWI charge Thursday afternoon. 31-year old Joshua John Weeks, of Macksburg, was arrested at around 2-p.m., at the intersection of highway 34 and 169, near Afton.  Weeks was charged with OWI 3rd offense, and driving while revoked.  He as being held in the Union County Jail on $5,000 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Citizens are set to voice their opinions to state lawmakers on whether a weapons ban at the Iowa State Fair should be lifted. The Des Moines Register reports that a special review is scheduled for Friday to discuss the matter. The Iowa Code prevents people from bringing weapons of any kind onto the fairgrounds without permission from the fair’s board of directors.

The chairman of the committee that will consider the matter, state Rep. Dawn Pettengill, says the issue was brought up after a citizen requested that the committee consider it. Committee members will also hear from the State Fair Board. The committee is limited in the action that it can take. It cannot require the State Fair Board to lift the ban, or impose its own restrictions on the agency.

Police in Creston say an Indiana man was arrested early this (Friday) morning, on an OWI charge. 49-year old Mark D. Leckie, of Hobart, IN., was arrested at around 2:30-a.m., at the intersection of Highway 34 and Maple Street in Creston. Leckie was charged with OWI/1st offense. He was brought to the Union County Jail, where his bond was set at $1,000.

(8-a.m. News)

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – An online fundraising campaign has raised enough money to throw a retirement bash for a western Iowa police force’s lone K-9 officer.
The Daily Nonpareil reports the party planned for Aug. 12th at Council Bluffs Community Hall will fete 6-year-old Willy, who joined the Council Bluffs force in 2011. Organizers say on their gofundme web page that Willy’s service is equally deserving of appreciation and recognition as that of any other police officer.

On Friday morning the web page (http://bit.ly/2aW2Zs3) said $720 had been raised – $220 more than the organizers’ $500 goal. The page says the extra money will go to a charity that helps support K-9 officers and their handlers.

K9 Willy

A traffic stop early this (Friday) morning in Fremont County, resulted in the arrest of two Nebraska men on drug charges. Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports a vehicle whose occupants were suspected of being involved in the trafficking of narcotics, was pulled over by the Fremont County K9 Unit. A subsequent investigation resulted in the arrest of 33-year old Jason Stoops, of Nebraska City, NE. and 21-year old Marcus Taylor, of Union, NE.

Marcus Taylor

Jason Stoops

Stoops was charged with Conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance, while Taylor was charged with Delivery of Methamphetamine, Possession of Contraband in a jail facility, and a drug tax stamp violation. Both men were transported to the Fremont County Law Enforcement Center, where Stoops’ bond was set at $100,000, and Taylor’s bond was $110,000.

An investigation into the men’s activities is ongoing.