The Creston Police Department reports a man from Adair County was arrested early this (Wednesday) morning, on a drug-related charge. 24-year old Zachary Utterback, of Greenfield, was arrested in the 400 block of Cherry Street in Creston, at around 12:45-a.m. He was charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and brought to the Union County Jail, where bond was set at $300.

Creston Police arrested 23-year old Troy Clausen, of Greenfield, at around 2-a.m. today (Wednesday), for OWI/1st offense. Clausen was being held in the Union County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

Monday night, Creston Police arrested 47-year old Johnny Agans, of Creston, for Public Intoxication, and 38-year old Lela Churchwell, of Creston, for Simple Assault. Churchwell and Agans were later released from custody on a promise to appear in court.

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A woman is hospitalized after being shot by a Des Moines police officer. Police Sgt. Paul Parizek says the woman was wounded during an incident shortly after 2 a.m. Wednesday. Few details were released initially about what happened.

No officers were hurt during the confrontation. The incident will be investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

MELCHER-DALLAS, Iowa (AP) – A major fire has damaged several buildings in a central Iowa downtown area. The Des Moines Register reports the fire started late Tuesday in Melcher-Dallas and continued to burn into the early morning hours today (Wednesday).

Melcher-Dallas Police Chief Steve Johns says he doesn’t think fireworks caused the fire, but the cause of the blaze hasn’t been determined yet. No injuries were reported, but the building housing That’s My Bag and More is a total loss. The fire also caused extensive damage at a building housing a bar and grill and some apartments.

Melcher-Dallas is a town of about 1,300 people 40 miles southeast of Des Moines. A crowd of about 100 people stood in the town square watching the fire Tuesday night.

No injuries were reported, but there was $2,300 worth of damage done to vehicles during a collision late Tuesday night, in Red Oak. Authorities say 17-year old Pablo Ramosramos, of Red Oak, was backing a 1999 Chevy Blazer out of a driveway at 1705 Eastern Avenue at around 10:30-p.m., when the left rear bumper of his SUV struck the driver’s side door of a legally parked 2011 Dodge Nitro. The car was registered to Mariah Lombard.

Ramosramos was issued a citation for operating a motor vehicle with an expired license.

A traffic stop at around 3:05-a.m. today (Wednesday) in Adams County, resulted in an arrest. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office says 41-year old Shayne Magnuson, of Carbon, was taken into custody after deputies stopped a 4-wheeler in the 2500 block of Elm Avenue. Magnuson was taken into custody for Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drugs. He was also cited for No Valid Driver’s License, and an ATV Highway violation. His bond at the Adams County Jail, was set at $1,000.

One person was transported by Mercy Air One helicopter to the hospital following a rollover accident late Tuesday night, in Page County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2015 Chevy Camaro driven by 20-year old Austin Michael Larson, of Shenandoah, was traveling west on Highway 2 at around 10:35-p.m., when the car overtook a vehicle on the right, outside the lane of travel.

The Camaro went out of control and skidded sideways before it entered the ditch, where it rolled several times, and hit a utility pole. The car came to rest on its top in a bean field. Larson was not wearing a seat belt. He was flown to the University of Nebraska Medical Center. There was no immediate word on his condition.

Shenandoah Police and the Page County Sheriff’s Office assisted at the scene.

State lawmakers this year deeply cut the funding to the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. Aaron Lehman, president of the Iowa Farmers Union and chair of the Leopold Center’s board of directors, says he’ll work tirelessly to get lawmakers to reverse those funding cuts in next year’s legislative session.”It’ll be a huge priority of ours to restore funding,” Lehman says. “Farmers need these innovations more than ever. We’re dealing with a situation where farm income is dropping for the fourth year in a row and we’re dealing with a consolidated marketplace where farmers buy and sell their products.”

Lehman says Iowa’s ag producers are also facing heightened pressures to be more environmentally responsible. “We’re asking farmers to do more than ever to deal with our water quality problems,” Lehman says. “This is the time when we need to boast innovations the most. It will be a huge priority for the Leopold Center to have restored funding.”

Over the years, Lehman says the facility has helped many projects that have improved the environmental footprint of farming. “Around the country, people have looked to the Leopold Center to see how to do farmer-driven research in the right way, in a practical way and in ways that impact the practices that we put in the field,” Lehman says. “It really is a high priority for us to keep that work going.”

The Leopold Center remains basically in name only with just one-quarter of its funding remaining. The other three-quarters was transferred to the Iowa State University Nutrient Center.

(Radio Iowa)

Governor Kim Reynolds says she’ll wait until later this fall to decide if she needs to call legislators back to Des Moines to deal with the state budget. A Legislative Services Agency report released Monday indicates state tax collections during the past 12 months were below expectations by more than $104 million. Reynolds says there’s a lot of number crunching going on and she’ll wait until the end of September before making any decisions about a special session.

“You know, there are different numbers, so we’re continuing to work on that. We’re watching it every day and we won’t know for sure until September 30. We’re hopeful that we can get it below $50 million, then I can just transfer from the Economic Emergency Cash Reserve, but if not, we would be required to call a special session,” Reynolds said.

The governor has the authority to transfer up to $50 million from the state’s Economic Emergency Fund to cover a deficit. By the end of September, when all the calculations are completed – if the deficit is larger than $50 million, the governor will be forced to call a special session. Reynolds said she won’t think about making a call for a special session until September 30th.

Governor Kim Reynolds and House Speaker Linda Upmeyer talk with people prior to the start of Clear Lake’s Fourth of July parade

Reynolds said she’ll do everything possible NOT to call legislators back to Des Moines to deal with a budget issue. “I’d prefer not to, I mean, we hope we’ll be able to keep it under $50 million. But if we have to, we have to. What we’re focused on is turning this economy around and getting it growing again,” Reynolds said.

According to Reynolds, the Revenue Estimating Conference has had a tough job in the last couple of years projecting what will happen with the state’s finances. “They’re continually looking at (the financial situation) with the Department of Revenue. Every time they feel like they find it, there’s some other anomaly that pops out, so every day are continuing to look at how we can better forecast that, but it’s 18 months out. With this economy the way it’s been…and it’s just not because of agriculture. It’s the purchasing habits of Iowans, they’re going online. So it’s a combination of things,” Reynolds said.

The bottom line, Reynolds added, is when the agricultural community stumbles financially, it has a great impact on the Iowa economy. “It’s not the only factor, but it certainly plays a role in what we’re seeing,” Reynolds said. “When farmers aren’t making money, they don’t purchase the way they typically do. Even Casey’s (General Store) is feeling the repercussions of a stumbling ag economy.”

Reynolds made her comments before participating in the Fourth of July parade in Clear Lake on Tuesday.

(Radio Iowa)

Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports an investigation into the illegal sale of methamphetamine, resulted in the arrest late Tuesday night, of a woman from Shenandoah. 35-year old Barbra Lea Johnson was arrested by Fremont County Deputies and the Fremont County K9 Unit.  Johnson was brought to the Fremont County Law Enforcement Center and held on a $50,000 cash only, bond.

Barbra L Johnson