The Grant Sky Eagles 4-H Club from Guthrie County recently donated 36 receiving blankets and matching burp cloths to the OB Department at Cass County Memorial Hospital. The blankets and cloths were all sewn by members of the club as part of a community service project.

In the photo are club members Reagan Carney, Jaden Carney, Wyatt Rudy, Justin Davis, Bryce Rochholz, club leader Cindy Lundy, and CCMH OB nurses Britni Olson and Kate Nachtman.

A Korean-War era hand grenade that was thought to be a dud, turned out to be real and was safely disposed of in Fremont County, Tuesday. The Sheriff’s Office says a real estate agent found the grenade while cleaning out a property, and had put the device into storage, thinking it was a dummy. When a family member of the agent looked at the grenade and believed it to be real, law enforcement was contacted.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office called the Iowa State Fire Marshall, who confirmed the device was in-fact real. A charge was used to destroy the grenade. Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reminds you, that if you should come upon an item that is potentially dangerous, contact your local law enforcement agency, and have them inspect it.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety announced today (Wednesday), that a laboratory criminalist is no longer employed with the Department, in connection with public comments made on a social media site. The Department of Public Safety has a social media policy, along with a general Code of Conduct policy, regarding statements made in a public forum.

DPS Commissioner Roxann Ryan said “The Iowa Department of Public Safety has a strong commitment to integrity, impartiality and professionalism in every aspect of our work.   We have adopted these policies in order to ensure that the public has trust in all that we do, and our policies reflect the high standards that we maintain.”

Criminalist Amy Pollpeter was employed with the Department of Public Safety from June 5, 2006, to July 26, 2016.  She was placed on paid administrative leave from July 12, 2016, to July 26, 2016.  DPS officials do not discuss the details of confidential personnel matters.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Court of Appeals has reversed a portion of the fraud convictions of a former lottery official accused of fixing a Hot Lotto game in Iowa in 2010.  The court on Tuesday upheld a fraud charge against Eddie Tipton related to tampering with lottery computers, but threw out the charge related to attempting to cash the lottery ticket.

Tipton contends that evidence at his July 2015 trial was insufficient to support allegations that he tampered with computers to enable him to buy a winning ticket. A jury convicted him on both counts and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The court’s ruling sends the case back to district court for dismissal of one count and resentencing likely to five years in prison.