(Ankeny & Hazelton, Iowa) – Two Iowans died during accidents in separate parts of the State, Saturday. The Iowa State Patrol reports 48-year-old William Kirkman, of Slater, was struck and killed by a semi in Story County, at around 2:19-a.m., Saturday. Authorities say Kirkman exited his vehicle and entered I-35 near mile marker 101, and was hit by a 2022 Freightliner semi, driven by 61-year-old Barbara Benson, of Wisconsin Rapids, WI. Kirkman died at the scene. The accident remains under investigation.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by Iowa DOT Motor Vehicle Enforcement personnel, Story County Sheriff’s Office, Huxley Police and Ankeny EMS.

And, at around 5:52-p.m. Saturday, in Buchanan County, a motorcycle accident near Hazelton claimed the life of a man, and resulted in injuries to his passenger. The State Patrol says the operator of a 2012 Harley Davidson motorcycle, 50-year-old Bradley Lee Johnson, of Hazelton, was traveling east on C-57, when the cycle went out of control for reasons unknown.

The machine entered the south shoulder and came to rest. Johnson, and his passenger, 46-year-old Sara Jean Johnson, also of Hazelton, were ejected and came to rest in the south ditch. Bradley Johnson died at the scene. Sara Johnson was transported by St. Luke’s Lifeguard helicopter to the University of Iowa Hospital.

The accident remains under investigation. Assisting the Patrol at the scene was: The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Dept. and MercyOne Oelwein Ambulance.

(Clarinda, Iowa) – The Page County Sheriff’s Office, Saturday, released a report on arrests and accident from over the past few weeks:

Arrests:

3/27/2023 Paul Nathaniel Falk (39) of Shenandoah Iowa. Arrested for public intoxication. Arrested at the Page County Courthouse, 112 east Main Street in Clarinda Iowa.
3/27/2023 Donald James Ryan (46) of Shenandoah Iowa. Arrested for violation of probation. Arrested at the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office in Sidney Iowa.
4/4/2023 David Jacob Stimson (62) of Shambaugh Iowa. Arrested for violation of probation. Arrested at 1323 South 16th Street in Clarinda.
4/8/2023 Terry Lee Williams (51) of Clarinda Iowa. Arrested on an active warrant for possession of a controlled substance. Arrested at 2000 north 16th Street.
4/8/2023 Jeremy Jack Scarpello (38) of Clarinda Iowa. Arrested at 409 east Tarkio Street. Arrested on an active warrant out of Cass County Iowa. Jeremy was later transferred to Cass County Iowa.
4/10/2023 Paul Nathaniel Falk (39) of Shenandoah Iowa. Arrested for public intoxication. Arrested at the Page County Courthouse, 112 east Main Street in Clarinda Iowa
4/12/2023 Eric Lee Skalberg (44) of Des Moines Iowa. Arrested on an active Page County Warrant. Arrested at the Page County Sheriff’s Office

Accidents:

3/27/2023 3900 block of Highway #2 in Fremont County. Deputy Logan Robert struck a deer causing minor damage to the patrol vehicle.

4/10/2023 1200 block of Highway #2. Ivan William Reents was traveling west on Highway #2 driving a 2008 Buick. Minnie Rebecca McGargill was traveling west on Highway #2 driving a 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe. Ivan attempted to make a U-turn in the roadway. Ivan turned in front of Minnie. Minnie’s vehicle struck Ivan’s vehicle. Both vehicles sustained minor damage. Ivan was cited for unsafe turn.

4/11/2023 2300 block of Highway #2. David Lloyd Koch was traveling west on Highway #2 driving a 2019 Toyota Camry. Calle Vivian Mace was traveling west on Highway #2 driving a 1997 C15 Pickup. David attempted to pass Calle. Calle was in the process of turning left. Calle’s vehicle struck David’s vehicle. Both vehicles sustained minor damage. David was cited for unsafe passing.

4/11/2023 1400 Block of 190th Street. Tyler Marquis Carnes was traveling east on 190th Street driving a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Tyler Eugene Lorimor was traveling west on 190th Street driving a 2021 John Deere Sprayer. Carnes went over a hill and met Lorimor in the 1400 block of 190th Street. Carnes and Lorimor collided. Both Carnes’ vehicle and Lorimor’s sprayer sustained heavy damage in the accident. Carnes’ vehicle entered that south ditch and caught fire. Carnes was transported to Shenandoah Medical Center. A passenger in Carnes’ vehicle was flown to Omaha with non life threatening injuries.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – In an update our previous post, officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Saturday evening said two children missing from Polk County were found safe Saturday afternoon, in Lucas County. THANK YOU to everyone who shared information and supported law enforcement to help locate these children.

Original post:

(Onawa, Iowa) – Monona County Emergency Coordinator Patrick Prorok, Friday night, issued a statement concerning a wild fire near E-60 and Oak, in the Moorhead area. Prorok said the fire has been contained as of 9-p.m., Friday, thanks to the continued help of various volunteer fire departments in Monona and Harrison Counties. There was also continued support from some local farmers, who used their tractors and disc implements to try and keep the fire from spreading by plowing a fire line.

Prorok said additional resources were brought in by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources from across the State. Firefighting resources of Conservation personnel from at least 5 different counties were also brought in for the event, along with help from the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.

“Hill and wildfire firefighting require special equipment,” he said, as well as “Special training, and special tactics, and this was brought to (Monona) County with these outside resources.” Credit also went out to the Monona County Sheriff’s Office and Dispatch, Monona County Roads Dept., and the Monona and Harrison County EMA managers.

Patrick Prorok
Emergency Management Coordinator

Patrick Prorok said “At this time, the burned timber and grassland will be monitored by firefighting personnel over the next several days. Roads in this area will continue to be closed as Monona County Roads goes back into the area to move downed trees, repair burnt barricades, and replace most of the road signs in the area that have been burnt of damaged.”

Prorok extends a special “Thank you” to all the communities for their support, with donations of drinking water and sports drinks for all the firefighters.”

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop in the 400 block of N. 4th Street in Red Oak this (Saturday) morning, resulted in an arrest. Red Oak Police report 33-year-old Kristin Kay Harrold, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 12:30-a.m., for OWI/1st offense, and Child Endangerment. She was transported to the Montgomery County Jail, and held on a $2,000 bond.

(Update 5:19-p.m. 4/15/23) – (Des Moines, Iowa) – In an update our previous post, officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Saturday evening said two children missing from Polk County were found safe Saturday afternoon, in Lucas County. THANK YOU to everyone who shared information and supported law enforcement to help locate these children.

This endangered person advisory is being issued on behalf of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. An endangered person advisory is being issued to locate 8-year-old Zafira Serrano and her 4-year-old brother, Paul “PJ” Serrano. Zafira and PJ were last seen at approximately 5:30 p.m. at Skateland (5621 Meredith Drive, Des Moines), participating in a supervised visit. Zafira and PJ were taken from Skateland by someone known to them. They are believed to be together. Based on information discovered during the investigation, law enforcement considers Zafira and PJ to be endangered.

Zafira is 49 inches tall and weighs 52 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes. The right side of her hair is cut close to the scalp.

PJ is 38 inches tall and weighs 33 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Zafira or PJ Serrano is asked to call their local law enforcement or the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 515-286-3333.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Ulysses S. Grant was a victorious General whose strategy and tenacity won the Civil War. He will be portrayed on Sunday, April 16th, by Peter Brady, at the American Legion Memorial Building, in Atlantic. Brady’s performance begins at 2-p.m.

The performance includes period music, photographs and cartoons and has been described as. “a riveting performance that captures the essence of Ulysses S. Grant.”

General Grant became President and served two terms. He was the youngest man at age 46 to become President. As a reflection of the times, he and his family were known for their ostentatious life style. He traveled the world as a celebrity after his presidential terms. Grant faced financial problems at various times in his life. His final efforts were devoted to the support of his wife and family.

Review his life in this informative, humorous program sponsored by Atlantic Rock Island Society Enterprise (ARISE). Ownership of the Rock Island Depot and American Legion Memorial Building carries out their motto: Preserve the Past. Enrich the Future. There is no fee to attend but donations are welcome. The Building is handicapped accessible. Everyone is welcome.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn says it appears there were multiple breakdowns that led to the apparent theft of top secret Pentagon documents that were leaked on the internet. A 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman was arrested Thursday and he faces charges after dozens of highly classified military documents were posted online.

“The Air Force has something to answer to why an individual who was a guardsman had access to this level of classified information,” Nunn says, “and then how they got it out of the facility and put it online.” Nunn, who’s currently a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, got a top security clearance at the age of 24 when he was serving in the U.S. Air Force. He also commanded the Iowa Air National Guard’s intelligence squadron. Nunn says this is a very serious case as the leaked documents revealed sensitive military information, including key intelligence about the war in Ukraine.

“If indeed we have an individual who is 21 who has gone out there that is basically boasting about his access to classified information and leaking it in a way that not only harms national security, but puts frontline collection methods in jeopardy, we are in a very dangerous position,” Nunn says. The arrested airman was trained as a cyber transport systems analyst and he began sharing top secret intelligence about the war in Ukraine on an app called Discord that lets users text, chat and share videos.

A teenager in the private group posted some of the documents in a public forum. Nunn says as a military intelligence and counter intelligence officer, he investigated allegations that classified documents were mishandled. “When I went in 20 years, it was immediate that we could serve a lifetime in prison if we violated this top secret standard,” Nunn says. “…In this case, I think this was an individual who did it knowingly, who was briefed on what the dangers were, but chose to go ahead and violate it anyway.”

Nunn says he’s concerned the penalties for this kind of espionage have been reduced in recent cases. A former military analyst who gave top secret information about the war in Afghanistan to operators of the WikiLeaks website served seven years in prison. Nunn says this latest breach could give a tactical advantage to U.S. adversaries.

“The type of information that we are talking about now is not something that should be fodder for somebody’s Facebook page or the potential to leak to a friendly reporter because they want to get a story,” Nunn says, “particularly when there’s a direct national security threat nexis involved in that.”

Nunn made his comments during taping of “Iowa Press” which airs tonight (Friday) on Iowa P-B-S. Nunn, a Republican from Bondurant, was elected last November to serve Iowa’s third congressional district in the U.S. House.

(Radio Iowa) – Some Monona County residents in northwest Iowa have been warned they may have to evacuate as a large grass fire continues to burn there. County Emergency Management director, Patrick Prorok says the fire expanded after a small building caught fire Thursday afternoon in the southern part of the county.

“Since that time fire has spread to the north, it has gotten into Preparation Canyon and also Loess Hills Forest. Since that time 32-hundred acres has been burned up in Monona County, also reaching into parts of Harrison County,” he says. Twenty fire departments from two counties are trying to stop its spread. Monona County Sheriff, Kevin Ewing, says they let residents north of the fire know about the potential danger.

“I think most local area residents already know the situation I know a lot of people loaded up some valuables last night and are prepared to vacate the area if need be,” Ewing says. No mandatory evacuations have been ordered yet. Roadblocks have been set up to keep people away from the area.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – April is recognized as financial literacy month to remind us of the importance of money management.  Learning how to plan, earn, and save for retirement are vital components in any financial literacy program, but you must also know how to shield your savings from scammers. New data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shows consumers lost nearly $8.8 billion in 2022 to fraud which is up 30% from 2021.  The top frauds were imposter scams, online shopping, prizes/sweepstakes/lotteries, investments, and job opportunities.  Victims lost $3.8 billion to investment scams alone, up from $1.8 billion in 2021.

In Iowa, romance scams are being reported at an alarming rate.  Scammers are preying on Iowans by way of online games with a private chat option, dating websites, random text messages, emails, or phone calls, social media via a direct message or as a friend request, and even spoofed social media accounts of friends and family where your “friend” claims to win a prize that is now available to you.  According to the FTC in 2021, one of every four victims was approached on social media.

After contact is made by a scammer, they will ask the victim to move off the original platform to continue the discussion usually via text message, attempt to gain your trust with sweet talk, and then ask for money.  The request may involve cryptocurrency or other investments, or money to pay for medical expenses or a plane ticket.  If you find yourself in this situation, stop!  Call a trusted friend or family member before sending money to someone you don’t know.  Verify the person offering you an investment by double-checking all investment and insurance professionals before doing business, or call the Iowa Insurance Division.

Here are some tips to help protect yourself:

• Knowing basic financial literacy concepts may prevent victimization by a scammer. According to the FINRA Foundation, consumers with strong financial literacy skills were less likely to be scammed.  The IID’s Save4Later and SmartHER Money websites are a great place to start the financial literacy journey.
• Use good online habits such as checking your privacy settings on all social media accounts to make sure you are only sharing what you want to share, being careful what you click on, using unique passwords, opting out of targeted ads, and not responding to unsolicited offers.  If you get a message from a friend on social media regarding an opportunity, call them before engaging further.
• Never provide your personal information such as bank account numbers, social security, or Medicare numbers to someone you don’t know or meet on social media.
• Ensure websites are legitimate and secure. Beware of misspelled words or grammatical errors.
• Be cautious of profiles with few friends and little content, and don’t accept a friend request from someone you don’t know.
• Never click on pop-up messages or unsolicited private messages.

Fraud threatens the financial security of all Iowans. Become an Iowa Fraud Fighter  and learn how to help protect yourself and your loved ones from scams.