A man dressed in camouflage and acting suspiciously was arrested last week in Page County.

Damon Dustin

Sheriff’ Lyle Palmer reports 40-year old Damon Curtis Dustin, of Braddyville, was charged Friday with Public intoxication, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and disorderly conduct, after deputies investigated a report from Ross Park (east of Braddyville), about a man in the park armed with a crossbow and a machete. They found Dustin, who was in possession of a crossbow and several knives.

Dustin was brought to the Page County Jail and held on $1,000 bond.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Iowa court reporters are expressing relief that a college in the state will offer a training program in the occupation this fall. The Sioux City Journal reports an estimated 60 percent of court reporters in Iowa are expected to retire within the next 10 years. Filling those vacancies was going to be difficult because the AIB College of Business in Des Moines ended a longtime court reporter program after the Iowa Supreme Court supported switching to digital audio reporting.

The courts changed course and decided court reporters were a better option, but with the business college ending its program, people had to travel to Minneapolis or St. Louis to take classes. Reporters say they’re pleased to hear Des Moines Area Community College will offer court reporting this fall.

A chase that began early this (Tuesday) morning following a traffic stop in Pottawattamie County, ended in Mills County with the suspect getting away. The Pott. County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy tried to stop a vehicle for speeding 84 in a 55-mile per hour zone near Macedonia at around 2-a.m., but the vehicle sped-off.

The chase ended with the vehicle crashing into a field off of Highway 34 near Emerson, in Mills County, but not before Mills County authorities deployed stop-sticks, which hit the vehicle but didn’t puncture the tires as intended. After the vehicle crashed, a Red Oak Police k-9 unit and Omaha Police helicopter Able 1 attempted to locate the driver of the vehicle, but were unable to do so.

The vehicle had Kansas license plates, but the VIN came back to a vehicle stolen out of Oklahoma. No other information is currently available.

w/ Ric Hanson

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DES MOINES, Iowa – With the announcement of the first U.S. transmission of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), many are concerned about what it could mean for public health.

Dr. David Swerdlow, who is leading the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) response team for the virus, says there is no alarm for Iowans at this point. While the virus can spread from person to person, Swerdlow says, it isn’t easily transmitted.

“There’s been no sustained transmission like you see with flu, where it goes from person to person to person,” says Swerdlow. “So, at the current time, we are concerned about the virus, we do think that there could be imported cases, but we don’t see this as being a major problem in the U.S. with widespread cases.”

According to the CDC, the first U.S. transmission of the virus occurred when an Illinois resident had contact with a person in Indiana who was infected while traveling in Saudi Arabia. Those two cases of MERS are not linked to a third patient in Florida, who also had traveled to Saudi Arabia.

MERS was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Since then, there have been almost 600 confirmed cases in 15 countries, including 173 deaths. Swerdlow says most patients develop respiratory illness with fever, cough and shortness of breath, and he adds there is no specific treatment.

“If a person gets a respiratory illness like this, they can be treated in an intensive care unit if needed, the standard things that we do for patients with respiratory illness,” he says. “But there’s no specific treatment, like an anti-viral.”

The CDC advises healthcare workers traveling to the Arabian Peninsula to follow guidelines for infection control, and for other travelers to take precautions to protect their health. As with any respiratory illness, Swerdlow says that means frequent hand-washing, covering coughs and sneezes, and avoiding contact with those who are sick.

(Iowa News Service)

(AP) – Conservation officials across the Midwest are urging people headed outdoors to take precautions against tick bites. Insect repellants and covering up are two steps that can help. Officials say long-sleeved shirts, pants and securing pants cuffs are the first defenses.

People should check for ticks after returning indoors and shower quickly to remove unattached ticks. Putting clothes in the dryer on high heat before washing should kill any remaining ticks.

Ticks can spread various diseases, including Lyme disease, Rock Mountain spotted fever and tularemia. Most tick-transmitted diseases require prolonged feeding. To remove a tick, use a tweezers and grasp it as close to the skin as possible. Don’t jerk or twist the tick when removing and clean the bite area.

Iowa’s archaeological past, its cultural history and the importance of its water trails will be the focus of a presentation and float down the West Nishnabotna River on June 7th. The Daily NonPareil reports Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development Inc. and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources will sponsor the event, which begins with a 45-minute classroom presentation at 9-a.m. at the Oakland City Hall Council Chambers Room off highways 6/59 in Oakland.

The American Red Cross is urging everyone in a national campaign to get some swimming lessons this summer, saying drowning is one of the leading causes of unintentional death and injury in the U-S. Kara Kelly with the Great Iowa Chapter of the Red Cross says a study the organization conducted led them to focus on water skills. “Really some shocking information came out on really how much knowledge folks have on water safety,” Kelly explains. “About 50-percent of Americans either can’t swim or don’t have all of the basic swimming skills.”

Kelly says you are putting yourself in danger if you can’t do some of the basics. “Knowing how to float, being comfortable jumping into the water with the water being over your head, treading water for a minute, and then being able to find or swim to an exit,” Kelly says.

If you are in a pool, you should also know how to get out of the water without the use of a ladder. The survey found that nearly half of Americans (46 percent) report that they have had an experience in the water where they were afraid they might drown. Kelly says many parents take their kids to swimming lessons, but don’t know the basics themselves.

Kelly encourages everyone — regardless of their age — to get some swimming lessons. She recommends you swim where trained life guards are on duty. The Iowa Department of Public Health reports 43 people died in Iowa from drowning in 2012.

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Red Oak report a disturbance Monday night lead to the arrest of a local man on drug and other charges. Officers investigating an incident at around 10:30-p.m. Monday arrested 36-year old Timothy Orville Welch, of Red Oak. Welch was charged with Unlawful Possession of Prescription Pills, a Drug Tax Stamp violation, and Public Intoxication. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $5,000 bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

NEVADA, Iowa (AP) — The Story County Sheriff’s Office says it is investigating some equipment failure with its 911 service. Authorities say the office experienced the failure Thursday with some new equipment that handles 911 calls for portions of the county. They say it was quickly remedied, and no 911 calls were missed or dropped.

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — A 6-year-old girl has been critically injured in an all-terrain vehicle crash near Montezuma. The Iowa State Patrol says a man was driving the four-wheel ATV on a gravel road Monday morning when it rolled over into a ditch. The vehicle pinned his daughter. The man’s 3-year-old son was also in the ATV at the time of the crash. It’s unclear if the man or boy were injured.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Two Waterloo men face charges in connection to a brief police chase. The Waterloo Police Department says officers attempted a traffic stop Saturday night that began the short pursuit. Officers chased the driver, 30-year-old Dennis Brown Jr., and a passenger, 28-year-old Antonio Evans. They eventually captured both men.

VENTURA, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say no foul play is suspected in the death of a Mason City man found in Clear Lake. The Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office says it responded around 3 a.m. Saturday to a missing person report near Farmers Beach in rural Ventura. Authorities found the body of 26-year-old David Jon Caspers in Clear Lake. He had previously been fishing with friends.