The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest on Saturday, of 38-year old James William Bates, from Shenandoah. Bates was taken into custody for OWI/1st offense. His bond was set at $1,000.

The Sheriff’s Office said also, no serious injuries were reported following a rollover accident late Friday night. Authorities say Brady Smith, of Emerson,was driving a 2006 Ford truck eastbound on Marh Avenue, towards the intersection with 390th Street, when he swerved to miss a deer on the road. Smith told authorities when he took evasive action and applied the anti-lock brakes, they failed, causing the vehicle to fishtail and go out of control. The truck entered the south ditch and rolled over before coming to rest on its top.

Smith was able to free himself from the vehicle and walk to a neighbors house. He denied any injuries, except for suffering from some shoulder pain. No citations were issued.

An investigation into an incident that allegedly took place in the 300 block of N. Kilworth Street in Exira, Friday, resulted in an arrest late that same night. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports 24-year old Devin Allen Foote, of Griswold, was taken into custody at around 11:30-p.m. and charged with Domestic Abuse Assault. Foote was later released after appearing in front of a magistrate. His preliminary hearing was set for Dec. 31st.

And, 51-year old Karin Kathleen Helt, of Exira, was arrested at around 1-a.m. Sunday, for OWI/1st offense. The charge stems from an incident that took place north of Exira. Helt was brought to the Audubon County Jail and later released after appearing in front of a magistrate. Her preliminary hearing was also set for Dec. 31st.

Why do Earthquakes happen? How do engineers design buildings to withstand earthquakes? Youth who attend this hands-on daycamp will explore this and many other items related to engineering & earthquakes. The “Shake it with STEM” Day camp will be the Nishna Valley YMCA in Atlantic on December 30 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

The event is free with lunch, snacks and resources provided, but youth must register by December 18th. Registration forms are available at the YMCA, Cass County Extension Office or online at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/.

The Nishna Valley YMCA and Cass County Extension staff and volunteers have teamed up for this day of hands-on learning to celebrate Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. The “Shake it with STEM” event promises lots of fun, hands-on science, opportunities to design and build, and meet new friends.

Pre-registration is required by December 18th. There is no charge for the event, and lunch will be provided. Questions? Please contact the Cass County Extension at 712-243-1132.

This (Monday) morning’s wet snow created slippery driving conditions for many motorists, and resulted in numerous accidents. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says one of the crashes occurred at around 7:10-a.m. on Highway 34.  Officials report a van driven by 60-year old Patricia Roberts, of Afton, was traveling westbound in the north lane, when her vehicle slid on the ice/snow covered road in front of a Honda Civic driven by 48-year old Keith Hardy, of Villisca, that was in the south lane, also traveling west bound.

The Honda hit the drivers side middle section of the van, causing the van to slide up against a concrete bridge railing. The car continued west before stopping. Neither driver was injured, and no citations were issued, due to the weather/road conditions. Damage from the crash amounted to $11,100.

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports one arrest over the past week. An Iowa State Patrol Trooper stopped a vehicle for speeding last Friday morning on Interstate 80 in Adair County, and determined the driver, 36-year old Jasin Carnel Cooks, of Omaha, was allegedly intoxicated. The Trooper noted Cooks had an open container of alcohol in the vehicle, a strong odor of alcohol emitting from him, slurred speech and bloodshot eyes.

The man failed a Field Sobriety Test and was brought to the Adair County Jail in Greenfield, where he tested .176 on the breath test. Cook was charged with OWI/1st offense and released later that day on $1,000 bond.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), as part of a cooperative project with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has released its first report of the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Survey (PRAMS). Iowa joined the PRAMS project in 2011 and began collecting data in February of 2013. Since that time, more than 5,000 Iowa mothers have been asked to provide information on their experiences and behaviors before, during and after pregnancy.

The first annual PRAMS Data Book is based on births to Iowa women in calendar year 2013. IDPH PRAMS Coordinator Sarah Mauch said “The purpose of PRAMS is to find out why some babies are born healthy and others are not.” Findings can then be used to guide program and policy development to better serve Iowa women who are at-risk for poor outcomes.

The overall response rate for Iowa PRAMS was 72 percent in 2013, well above the 60 percent minimum for PRAMS data to be considered valid. In 2013, there were 39,013 live births in Iowa. According to the PRAMS Data Book:

20,667 mothers reported their pregnancy was planned.
29,074 mothers reported ever breastfeeding their babies.
30,833 mothers said they primarily put their baby to sleep on his or her back – the safest position for infant sleep.
2,252 mothers reported some form of intimate partner violence.

Because this is the first publication of PRAMS data, there is only one year of data and trends won’t be identified until coming years of data are analyzed. To see the entire inaugural PRAMS Data Book, visit http://bit.ly/1lRVcvB. To learn more about PRAMS, visit http://idph.iowa.gov/prams.

DENISON, Iowa (AP) – A woman has died as the result of a house fire in Denison.
Sioux City television station KTIV reports that the fire occurred early Saturday morning along First Avenue North in Denison. Authorities say 56-year-old Craig Streck and 37-year-old Wendy Waldemar were in the home at the time of the fire and were transported to Crawford County Memorial Hospital. Waldemar died from injuries she sustained in the fire. Streck suffered minor injuries.

Firefighters from from Denison, Vail and Manilla were on the scene at around 6:30-a.m., Saturday. Mutual aid was soon requested and provided by crews from Westside, Schleswig, Dow City, and Kiron. The fire was brought under control in approximately 15 minutes and units remained on scene until 2:30 pm.

Investigators are trying to determine what caused the fire. It remains under investigation by the Denison Police Department, Denison Fire department and Iowa State Fire Marshal’s Office.