Iowans will send tens of thousands of holiday packages over the next few weeks and the U-S Postal Service wants those shipping an item to take safety precautions. Postal Inspector Dave Margritz, in the Omaha-Council Bluffs office, says the number-one rule is do not send cash. Write a check or use a money order instead. “Technically, they can still attempt to forge that and use it,” he says, “but then we have investigative leads that we can track, whereas cash is pretty much gone if it’s stolen.”

Margritz says the free tracking option also provides peace of mind. “You can track packages in real time,” he says, “You can set up alerts, say I want to be texted or emailed whenever there’s a changes in delivery status, or you can specify only when it’s delivered.” Margritz says there are options for senders to ensure a safer delivery. One way is to hold a package for pickup.

“It’s held, so they have to go get it. You can also require a signature, so they have to sign for it and it won’t just be left on the porch, so you know that someone got it,” Margritz says. “That eliminates any controversy.” Margritz says getting a tracking number helps the sender and receiver know when a delivery is likely. He also suggests insuring packages with high-priced items inside.

“It doesn’t cost very much,” Margritz says. “People are used to insuring their house, their car, their life. If you’re getting something for hundreds of dollars or even thousands of dollars, spend a little bit extra and have it insured, because that would definitely pay off, if something did happen to it.”

The U-S Postal Service estimates it will deliver 590-million packages between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.

(Radio Iowa)

Sixty-seven full-time job vacancies at the Iowa Department of Transportation will not be filled in the coming year, but D-O-T officials are asking the governor and legislators to set aside six-point-two MILLION dollars to cover pay increases as well as higher insurance costs for employees who are still on the payroll. Mark Lowe will become interim director of the Iowa D-O-T tomorrow (Tuesday).

“We’re smaller than we’ve ever been,” Lowe says. “We are a third smaller than we were in 1997. We are almost 30 percent smaller than we were in 2009 and and 20 percent smaller than we were in 2010 and so we’ve really made that trajectory to smaller government aggressively.”

But Lowe says the agency cannot easily cover the cost of negotiated pay and benefit hikes, so that’s why the D-O-T’s proposed budget includes additional money for those items. Last spring, Republican legislators balked at a similar request from D-O-T, since all other state agencies are forced to absorb those costs. Lowe says the D-O-T needs the “adjustment” of more money so it can offer the level of services Iowans expect, things like clearing snow from roads and issuing driver’s licenses.

“We have very, very public-facing and impactful services that have to happen every day,” Lowe says. “…There comes a point at which you can’t get smaller without breaking those things and I think that’s one of the things that happened last year. As you start to put that in that crucible, it finally breaks. You finally can’t keep up with an exponential rate of reduction.”

Lowe says after shedding a significant number of full-time employees over the past 20 years, the D-O-T needs to “level off” in terms of its workforce and focus on maintaining its services. There are 26-hundred-32 full-time employees working in the D-O-T today.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The head of Iowa’s agriculture department is once again asking state leaders for financial help to better prepare for potential animal diseases like bird flu. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey says his request (on Monday) for $500,000 would be used to train livestock farmers to increase bio-security efforts when responding to outbreaks involving foreign diseases like bird flu, which hit the state in 2015. The disease killed 48 million birds nationwide, including 24 million Iowa laying hens.

The request, made during an annual budget hearing with Gov. Terry Branstad, mirrors Northey’s request one year ago to combat the same issue. Branstad didn’t include it his budget recommendations last January, citing limitations to the state budget. A Branstad spokesman says the governor will evaluate the latest request.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, Monday (Today), released numerous reports on arrests and incidents that have taken place since early last week. Officials say among them, was the arrest on Thanksgiving Day, of 18-year old Tyler Shawn Alwan, of Council Bluffs. Alwan was charged with two counts of Possession with the Intent to Deliver, Marijuana and Cocaine. A Pott. County Sheriff’s Deputy stopped Alwan’s vehicle at around 1:35-a.m. for equipment violations, and upon further investigation, located a substantial amount of narcotics in the vehicle, including a little more than one-half pound of marijuana and 2.4 grams of Cocaine, along with various pieces of drug paraphernalia.

A Council Bluffs woman was arrested Saturday afternoon on drug and alcohol charges, after a Deputy conducted a traffic stop on an SUV for speeding and passing in a no passing zone. 31-year old Sara Ann Wilson was subsequently arrested for OWI/1st offense, Possession of a Controlled Substance (nearly 20.5 grams of marijuana) and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Sheriff’s officials said also, 46-year old Brenda Lee Hone, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Thursday, for Domestic Assault with Injury, after she allegedly assaulted her 54-year old boyfriend at a residence, then drove off. The victim suffered minor injuries. Hone’s vehicle  was located and a traffic stop conducted. Deputies noticed she had suffered minor injuries during the altercation, but did not require medical attention. She was brought to the Pott. County Jail, where Hone allegedly began to resist Corrections Officers.  The woman was placed in a holding cell until she calmed down.

And, a Council Bluffs man already in the Pott. County Jail on separate charges, was served with a warrant last Wednesday. 41-year old Shane Leland Millett was served with a warrant for two counts of Sexual Abuse in the 2nd Degree, Indecent Contact with a Child, and Lascivious Acts with a Child. He remained held in the Pottawattamie County Jail.

A total of five juveniles from Oakland were cited into Juvenile court last week, following an investigation into an accident that took place Nov. 21st. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office says the teens, all of whom are male, included two 13-year old’s and three 16-year old’s. They were cited in connection with acts of vandalism and trespassing that took place in early October at the Oakland Golf and Country Club.

Three juveniles were charged with Criminal Mischief in the 4th degree and Theft in the 5th degree, along with Trespassing after business hours at the course. Two other teens were charged with Trespass. Officials say $500 damage was done to hole #3 on the property. The hole was damaged by the responsible parties taking flags from the course and poking 50 holes in the turf on two separate occasions.

The information came forward from the teens after Deputies were dispatched to 316 S. Gates Street for a property damage accident, and flags from the Oakland Golf and Country Club were located in the vehicle. The names of the teens were not released because of their age.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office says a traffic stop late last Wednesday night north of College Springs, resulted in the arrest a woman on an OWI charge.  25-year old Taylor Paige Mulkins, of rural Clarinda, was arrested for OWI 1^st Offense.  Mulkins was booked into the Page County Jail and was held on $1000 bond pending further court proceedings.

Sheriff Lyle Palmer said also, on November 27th, an rural Essex man reported that an unknown person or persons removed two log chains, a clevis, and some assorted hand tools from a tool box from a building at his residence.  The burglary occurred sometime between November 18th and November 26th. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call the Page County Sheriff’s Office @ 712-542-5193 or their local Law Enforcement agency.

Sheriff’s Deputies in Cass County, Sunday, arrested 49-year old Timothy Glen Post, of Cumberland, on a Class-D felony charge of Lascivious Acts with a Child. Post faces additional charges of Indecent Conduct with a Child, Indecent Exposure, and Dissemination of Obscene Material (Serious). He was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains held on $9,000 cash bond.

On November 22nd, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 32-year old Ehren Michael Mardesen, of Anita, on charges of Possession of Marijuana 1^st Offense, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Disorderly Conduct. And, 24-year old Kevin Allen Fee, of Chariton, was arrested that same day for Possession of Marijuana 3^rd Offense, and Disorderly Conduct. Both men were taken to the Cass County Jail and were released the following day on their own recognizances.

On November 17, 2016, the Cass County Sheriff’s office arrested 44-year old Kimberly Denise Zeibig, of Griswold, and 36-year old Jason David White, of Council Bluffs, on charges of Interference with Official Acts. Both were taken to the Cass County Jail and were released the following day on their own recognizances.

On November 25th, Deputies in Cass County arrested 56-year old Robert Joseph Szewczyk, of Princeton, WI, for Theft in the 5^th Degree. Szewczyk was taken to the Cass County Jail where he pled guilty and was released later that day.

And, the Sheriff’s office says on November 17th, 39-year old Jack Osborne, Jr, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on a Pottawattamie County warrant. Osborne was transferred to Pottawattamie County the following day.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Gov. Terry Branstad has named an interim director to oversee Iowa’s transportation department after its last leader resigned. The governor’s office says Mark Lowe will formally take over the Iowa Department of Transportation on Tuesday. Lowe gave an agency budget presentation on Monday following an announcement of his new post.

Lowe replaces Paul Trombino, who resigned earlier this month. Trombino, whose last day on the job is Monday, says he stepped down so he could consider taking a private sector job. Lowe has led Iowa DOT’s motor vehicle division since 2009, and he previously served as the department’s general counsel. There is no timeline for naming a new Iowa DOT director, though officials are now accepting applications.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Medical marijuana supporters are hopeful the Iowa Legislature could expand the state’s limited cannabis oil law. The Des Moines Register  reports that Republican Rep. Clel Baudler plans to propose a bill that would allow the production and distribution of medical cannabis oil in Iowa.

The Legislature passed a law in 2014 that allows Iowa residents to possess cannabis oil for the treatment of epilepsy. That law is set to expire in July. A separate law currently makes it illegal to manufacture or distribute that oil in the state, while federal law prohibits its transportation across state lines.

Threase Harms, who lobbies on behalf of the Epilepsy Foundation and the upper Midwest chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, says the organizations will continue to try and educate lawmakers about the issue to build broader support.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The University of Iowa says a $45 million donation will fund a center to research diseases that affect the brain and nervous system. The Iowa Neuroscience Institute will investigate causes, preventions, treatments and cures. It will be led by Ted Abel, a University of Pennsylvania professor who will join Iowa’s faculty in January.

The gift comes from the university’s largest donor, the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, which has now given $195 million. It was founded after the 1981 death of Carver, a Muscatine businessman and philanthropist.

The center will bring together top researchers from across the university, including biologists, computer scientists and engineers. The donation will support laboratories, research projects and faculty salaries. Medical school dean Jean Robillard says the gift will foster “a new era of scientific innovation.”