Briquettes from a charcoal grill getting onto a wooden deck are to blame for a fire early this (Saturday) morning, north of Atlantic. Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees told KJAN News a neighbor of Jake Smith, who resides at 54393 Buck Creek Road, was up at around 4-a.m. and noticed smoke before calling 9-1-1.

Photo courtesy Cass County EMA Coordinator Mike Kennon

McNees said when they arrived on scene, the deck and side of an attached portion of a home was on fire. Crews were able to get a quick knockdown of the flames. Still, about half the deck was lost, and the home sustained some smoke damage.The Chief said Smith had been barbecuing on the deck and threw water on the flames at around 12:30-a.m., but it appears some charcoal might have slipped through the bottom of the grill or blown out, onto the deck, according to McNees.

Firefighters remained on the scene until about 5:30. No injuries were reported.

Police in Red Oak arrested a man on an assault charge early this (Saturday) morning. 28-year old Demarcus Jermar King, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 12:30-a.m. in the 300 block of E. Corning Street, in reference to an incident of assault that allegedly took place Friday. King was also charged with Driving While Suspended. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $300 bond.

Red Oak Police said also, 21-year old Jacob William Avery, of Imogene, was arrested Friday night in the 200 block of S. 2nd Street, in Red Oak. Avery was charged with Public Intoxication. His bond was also set at $300.

Authorities in Montgomery County say a teenage driver was cited for violating a restricted license, following a rollover accident Friday afternoon. 15-year old Nicholas Sebastian Turnbull, of Red Oak, was also cited for operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent.

Turnbull was driving a 2005 Dodge Stratus registered to Camielle Silence, of Shenandoah. He was traveling eastbound in the 2000 block of 170th Street at around 3:50-p.m., when he lost control of the car. The vehicle slid into the south ditch and rolled onto its top. No injuries were reported.

Police say a drunk driver is to blame for a deadly crash in central Iowa Friday morning. A Boone man is facing charges that include vehicular homicide and third-offense O-W-I following the crash on Interstate 35. Police say 45-year-old William Phipps was driving a pickup that slammed into the back of a car in the southbound lanes of I-35 near Ankeny at 6:20 a.m.

A passenger in the car, 30-year-old Alexander Koc,h of Ankeny, died at the scene while the driver of the car was injured. Police say Phipps ran from the scene but was captured by officers about a half mile away. Because of his record, Phipps was barred from driving.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — The Cedar Falls Fraternal Order of Eagles is offering $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for vandalizing the Blackhawk County Freedom Rock Memorial. The 175-member, non-profit group says Friday that it would donate the money for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case. The rock, located at Veterans Park in Cedar Falls, was spray painted during Memorial Day weekend.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Marriott hotel in Bettendorf will get another chance to defend itself against a lawsuit filed by a hotel guest who was awarded $1.2 million by a jury after she slipped on an icy sidewalk in January 2010 and broke her ankle. The lawsuit was filed by Brenda Alcala, a software consultant from Texas who was on a business trip to Bettendorf.

JACKSON, Neb. (AP) — A 10-year-old boy is the third to die after a single-vehicle crash in Nebraska. Jose Lara, of Council Bluffs, died Thursday afternoon. The driver, Christopher Cox, says he swerved to avoid hitting a deer when the car ended up in a creek near Jackson, Nebraska. He’s charged with two counts of motor vehicle homicide and driving without a license. Two passengers, Connie Fauzae and Espionza Lara, died at the scene.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A former Iowa State Patrol sergeant has been charged with repeatedly stealing prescription pills that were being stored as evidence. Michael Haugen is charged with falsifying a public document and third-degree theft. Investigators say he stole 150 pills from a patrol evidence room, affecting up to six criminal cases.

A man from northwest Iowa died at a hospital in Des Moines Friday, following an accident that same day, in Guthrie County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 69-year old Robert Core, of Lake City, died at after being flown by LifeNet helicopter to Methodist Hospital in Des Moines. The man, who was not wearing a seat belt, had been alert and conscious, when rescuers arrived on the scene.

The accident happened at around 3:17-p.m., as Core was traveling north on Frontier Road, which was closed for resurfacing. His 2003 Buick LeSabre struck a pile of gravel on the road located in the northbound lane, just south of Highway 44, causing the car to go out of control and into the southbound ditch, where it came to rest facing northwest.

(Updated 12:45-a.m.)