The Atlantic Police Department is being used in a phone scam. Police Chief Steve Green reports a resident of Audubon County received a phone call from a number that came up on their caller I-D as 712-243-3512….the administrative number for the Atlantic P-D. The person receiving the call was told that they were going to be arrested within 30-minutes if they did not pay $100 by means of electronic payment.

Audubon County Sheriff Todd Johnson, Cass County Sheriff Darby McLaren and Chief Green want to let you know that caller ID’s can be “spoofed” through computer manipulation, and that the Atlantic Police Department does NOT CALL and collect money by telephone, e-mail or social media.

The Chief reminds you also, that you should not send money or divulge any personal or financial information to anyone you do not personally know.

Crawford County’s K-9 “Bayou” and his partner have conducted an investigation that resulted in the duo’s 50th drug-related arrest this year. Sheriff’s officials say a little after 11-p.m. Sunday, a traffic stop was conducted in Denison.  During the stop, illegal drug activity was suspected and K9 Bayou was requested for a K9 Sniff. The sniff resulted in a positive alert for the odor of narcotics. A search was conducted and marijuana was located and seized from the vehicle. 25-year old Cheri Justine Baker, of Defiance, was arrested and charged with Possession of Marijuana. Her bond was set at $1,000.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – Some posts to an anonymous social media app have prompted the University of Northern Iowa’s acting president to send a campus-wide email to explain the comments weren’t representative of the university. The Des Moines Register reports acting UNI President Michael Licari sent the email Friday after someone posted racist comments at the app Yik Yak. Among the comments were, “I chose uni because I didn’t see a single black person on my visit day.”

Licari urged those posting the comments to “understand the impact of your actions and stop.” Licari added that the comments hurt the UNI community but “your thoughtless attempts to undermine the very fabric of our community when you speak hate under the cloak of anonymity will fail.”

Faculty, administrators and students are discussing other responses.

Two people were arrested over the weekend in Audubon County, and two accidents took place, one of which resulted in injuries. Authorities say 18-year old Dayton Duane Hansen, of Kimballton, was arrested Sunday afternoon for Criminal Mischief in the 4th degree. The charge was the result of an investigation into an incident that took place at Hansen’s residence earlier that day. Hansen was brought to the Audubon County Jail and later released. He’s scheduled to appear in court Oct. 27th.

And, 51-year old Todd Ray Selland, of Exira, was arrested Sunday night on charges of Public Intoxication, Disorderly Conduct and Interference with Official Acts. The charges stem from an investigation into an incident that happened in the 100 block of east South Street, in Exira. Selland  appeared before a magistrate, pled guilty, was fined and the released from custody.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports also, 57-year old Randy Brian Hansen, of Exira, was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic Saturday afternoon, following an accident on 320th Street, near Goldfinch Avenue. Authorities say 23-year old Brett Austin Hansen, of Council Bluffs, was traveling west on 320th at around 2-p.m. Saturday, and turning onto Goldfinch Avenue, when a 1997 Ford F-150 pickup driven by Randy B. Hansen, who was also traveling westbound, ran into the rear of Brett Hansen’s semi-trailer. Damage from the accident amounted to $14,000. The accident remains under investigation, and charges are pending.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office is also investigating a hit and run accident that happened Friday night in Kimballton. Officials say a legally parked 1996 Saturn, owned by Dorothy Ann Sorensen, of Valparaiso, NE., was struck by a white pickup truck as the truck was northbound on west 1st Street. The pickup entered a yard and sideswiped Sorensen’s car and hit a tree before leaving the scene. Anyone with information about the accident is asked to call the Audubon County Sheriff’s Office at 712-563-2631 or Audubon County Crimestoppers at 712-563-2234.

Officials with the Shelby County Emergency Agency have begun their twice-weekly Fire Danger notices. From today (Monday) through this Thursday (Oct. 23rd, the Fire Danger rating is LOW, meaning the danger from runaway fire is minimal at this time. Rain is in the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday.

When the rating is in the LOW or green category on the sign, you are asked to call in and report your burning projects to dispatch at 755-2124 and notify your local fire chief. The next update will be on Thursday, October 23rd.

Iowa is one of just is one of just 14 states that allow “straight ticket” voting — letting Iowans check a single box on the ballot to cast a vote for every candidate from one party. Drake University political science professor Arthur Sanders suggests the option fits with voting trends. “As our political system has become more polarized, we find less split ticket voting,” Sanders says. “People are much more likely now to be consistently Republican or consistently Democratic.”

According to the Iowa Secretary of State’s office, for example, 43 percent of the ballots cast in Linn County two years ago were “straight ticket” voters. Data isn’t available for all 99 counties, but for the 81 counties that did, about one-quarter of the ballots in the 2014 General Election came from “straight ticket” voters. Sanders says incumbency is a major factor that leads to “split ticket” voting. For example, in 1990 Republican Governor Terry Branstad beat his Democratic opponent by 22 points, while Democratic Senator Tom Harkin won reelection that same year by nine points. Since there’s an open Senate race in Iowa in 2014, Sanders says a decisive Branstad win could help the Republican candidate, Joni Ernst.

“Coattails? The best political science evidence we have is that coattails can matter under certain kinds of elections under certain kinds of circumstances,” Sanders says, with a laugh.

Democrats like Bruce Braley are counting on the Democratic Party’s effort to get Iowans who are less inclined to vote in non-presidential elections to cast a ballot this year. Democrats have 35 “field offices” around the state for their outreach to prospective voters. Republicans have 13, aided by the outside group “Americans for Prosperity” which has five other offices around the state from which it is deploying vote-seekers.

(Radio Iowa)

A Glenwood car dealership has been hit twice by theft. According to Glenwood Police, Best Finish Auto reported the theft of two vehicles after keys to the vehicles were stolen from the dealership at 209 Sharp Street, in Glenwood. Neither of the vehicles were equipped with license plates. The missing vehicles include a maroon 2007 Chevrolet Silverado K1500 pickup and a red 1998 Dodge Dakota pickup. Anyone with information about the theft or location of the trucks is asked to contact the Glenwood Police Department at 712-527-9920.

In other news, the Glenwood P-D reports 47-year old Lisa Bolan, of Glenwood was arrested Friday on a Mills County warrant for Probation Violation. Her bond was set at $5000 cash or surety. And, authorities are investigating a hit and run accident that occurred Sunday evening at the Casey’s store in Glenwood.

Officials say a 2000 Oldsmobile Alero parked in front of the store was struck by a small red, older model pickup truck. The driver of the other vehicle, a red-headed female in her mid-50’s with a medical boot on her left foot,  left the scene without exchanging insurance information. Damage to the car was estimated at $500. The accident victim was unable to get the offending vehicles’ license plate number.

The Creston Police Department reports three arrests over the weekend. On Sunday, 32-year old Stephanie Marie Halterman, of Des Moines, was arrested just after 11-a.m. in the 800 block of Wyoming Avenue, on a charge of Disorderly Conduct. Halterman was being held in the Ringgold County Jail on $300 bond.

Early Saturday morning, Creston Police arrested 28-year old Daman Matthew Wells, of Creston, and 26-year old Andrew Scott Robb, of Kellerton. Both men were arrested on OWI/1st offense charges and later released on $1,000 bond, each.

Authorities said also, a Creston woman reported someone had entered her home in the 400 block of south Vine Street, and took a Toshiba laptop computer. The incident happened someone between 2:45-p.m. Oct. 8th and 7:25-a.m. on Oct. 13th.  The loss was estimated at $200.

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Iowa pheasant hunters should see more of what they came for, as they step into the field this fall. More pheasants. The Iowa DNR says a strong rebound in August roadside counts of Iowa’s most popular game bird has buoyed expectations, heading toward the October 25 opener.DNR pheasant biologist Todd Bogenschutz says “We have the best pheasant numbers since 2008. People are telling me that more birds are flushing; that they are hearing more crowing and cackling out there.”

Counts this summer averaged 17.4 pheasants per 30 mile survey route, up 151 percent from last year’s 6.9…an all-time low. Of the nine regions monitored, eight had increases ranging from 102-290 percent. Only northeast Iowa showed no change.

Bogenschutz says drought conditions across the past two summers probably kept pheasants in the fields on August mornings, rather than pushing up to road edges, to escape heavy dew. That may have kept many from being tallied on the 200 gravel road routes surveyed. Hunters harvested 10,000 more pheasants in 2013, despite the record low counts.

Bogenschutz predicts “The best habitat will hold birds; good winter cover, good nesting cover, too. Hunters should be happy hunting those areas, over just decent nesting cover.”  He suggests hunters conduct their hunts around the best habitat, and urges hunters to “Talk to the farmers where you will be hunting. Ask what they have seen while harvesting the crops.”

With a better bird outlook, the numbers of hunters should climb, too. Last year, only 41,000 pheasant hunters were in the fields. Early in the season, standing crops are going to be a factor. Bogenschutz says “Harvest is running a little behind. The season is starting a couple days earlier, too. That could be a challenge for hunters, until the corn is out. Our counts were up; hens with broods were way up. There will be a lot of young roosters, who aren’t wise to the ways of the wild, yet.”

Hunting hours for Iowa’s pheasant seasons are 8 a.m. until 4:30 each day. The daily limit is three rooster pheasants. The season closes on January 10th.