Police in Creston say a woman from Kent was arrested Wednesday evening at the Union County Law Enforcement Center. 38-year old Crystal Huddleson was taken into custody on a Union County warrant for Violation of Probation, on an original “Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drug” charge. Huddleson was being held without bond, in the Ringgold County Jail.

A bell-ringing ceremony on the state capitol grounds this morning (Thursday) is an annual ritual with decades of history behind it. The Peace Bell that was a gift to Iowa from our sister state in Japan will be rung to bid farewell to the old year and to ring in 2016. Iowa State Capitol tour guide Steve Person says the huge metal bell is a symbol of Iowa’s longstanding relationship with our neighbors in the East.

“After typhoons in 1959 severely damaged crops, homes and farmlands of the Yamanashi Prefecture in Japan, citizens of Iowa generously sent breeding hogs and feed corn to aid that district,” Person says. “This action began a friendship culminating in a sister state relationship, the first of its kind between the United States and Japan.” The donations from Iowa helped that region of Japan to survive the aftermath of the natural disaster and a few years later, they offered thanks.

“As a sign of their appreciation in 1962, the citizens of Yamanashi presented this 2,000 temple bell of peace and friendship as well as the structure that houses it,” Person says. The bell is located just south of the Capitol and west of the Judicial Building in Des Moines. While the ceremony is at 9 A-M Iowa time, that’s midnight in Japan, where bells will also be tolling at the same moment to welcome the new year.

(Radio Iowa)

At least 32 people died in structure fires in Iowa this year. Ron Humphrey, with the State Fire Marshal’s office, says many of those lives may’ve been saved if some the homes would’ve had a working smoke detector. “I would say probably about 30-percent of the fires we had this year had either no smoke detectors present or the smoke detector wasn’t working for some reason,” Humphrey said.

The number of fire fatalities in Iowa dropped from last year’s tally of 42, but was up from the 26 fire-related deaths in 2013. One of the biggest fire tragedies of 2015 occurred early in the year in Fort Dodge. The blaze on February 22 claimed the lives of a 25-year-old woman, her 6-month old son, and a 5-year-old boy. The home did have a working smoke detector, but the victims were trapped in the second floor bedroom of the home. The exact cause of the fire was never determined.

“It was officially listed as undetermined. We had it narrowed down to three or four possibilities, but we just couldn’t lock it down,” Humphrey said. “It was not intentional…it was some kind of accidental cause, but since we couldn’t narrow it down to one, we listed it as undetermined.” Many of the fatal fires this year happened when the victims were sleeping. Humphrey says that’s why it’s important to develop and practice plans to escape a fire in your home.

“Have your evacuation plans and know how to get out of your house,” Humphrey said. “That’s what we see a lot in the fire deaths of people — they either get trapped or they’re sleeping…and if they don’t have smoke detectors, by the time they’re woken by the fire or the smoke, it’s too late and they can’t find their way out of the structure.”

(Radio Iowa)