The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports three people were arrested Tuesday, on separate charges. At around 12:30-a.m., 21-year old Zachery Donaldson, of Glenwood, was arrested on a Possession of Drug Paraphernalia charge. His bond was set at $300. Later that day, 25-year old Shawn Patrick Nosekabel, Jr., of Malvern, was arrested on Main Street in Malvern, on a warrant for Failure to Appear on an OWI charge. His bond was set at $1,500. And, at around 8:30-p.m. Tuesday, 31-year old Toby Lynn Merritt, of  Glenwood, was taken into custody at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, on a charge of Harassment in the 1^st degree. Bond was set at $1,000.

An Atlantic woman apparently is becoming familiar with Cass County Jail facilities. On Monday, Police in Atlantic arrested 33-year old Essex Mullins, on a charge of shoplifting (Theft in the 5th degree). She plead guilty to the charge that same day and was ordered by the court to repay her victim.

Yesterday (Wednesday), Mullins was arrested on charges of Interference with Official Acts, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Disorderly Conduct. She was booked…again…into the Cass County Jail.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad is ordering all flags in the state to be flown at half-staff from 5 p.m. Friday, November 30, to 8 a.m. on Monday, December 3, to honor 33-year old Sgt. Joseph A. Richardson, of Algona, who died while on patrol with the U.S. Army in Paktika province, Afghanistan, on November 16, 2012.

Sgt. Joseph Richardson

Sgt. Richardson’s funeral will be held Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Algona. Maj. Gen. Timothy Orr, adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard, will be in attendance to represent the Branstad/Reynolds administration.

The governor’s directive applies to all U.S. and state flags under the control of the state. H.R. 692, signed in 2007, requires federal government agencies in the state to comply with the governor’s executive order that the U.S. flag be flown at half-staff in the event of the death of a member of the Armed Forces.

Flags will be at half-staff on the state Capitol building and on flag displays in the Capitol complex, and upon all public buildings, grounds, and facilities throughout the state. Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect.

Two men were arrested recently on separate warrants out of Audubon County. The Sheriff’s Department reports 27-year old Shane Austin Hill, of Harlan, was arrested Wednesday evening on an outstanding Audubon County warrant charging him with Failure to Appear (FTA) on a Contempt of Court charge associated with Possession of Methamphetamine. Hill was brought to the Audubon County Jail and held on $1,000 cash bond. Shelby County Sheriff’s officials assisted in conducting the arrest.

And, 35-year old Nathan Allen Hines, of Emmetsburg, was arrested this (Thursday) morning, after he turned himself-in to the Audubon County Jail. Hines was wanted on a warrant charging him with a Revocation of his Probation. Hines was on probation for Possession of Methamphetamine/3rd offense, and Possession of Marijuana/3rd offense, charges. He appeared before the magistrate and remains in jail on $7,500 bond.

SIDNEY, Iowa (AP) – An appeals court says a southwest Iowa city improperly removed one of its council members over allegations that he skipped too many meetings. The Iowa Court of Appeals ruled today (Thursday), that City officials in Sidney did not provide proper notice of the charges against William Clark before removing him. The court says the city overstepped its authority.

Clark was elected in 2009 to a four-year term. The council voted 4-1 to remove him in 2010 after he missed several meetings, even after he was warned about lax attendance. The mayor also claimed Clark had committed misconduct at a local bar during a run-in with another council member’s son.

Clark’s attorney says his client will seek reinstatement to the council, but that could be tricky since someone else now holds the position.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – A new report shows that the nation’s worst drought in decades has worsened for a second straight week, after conditions had improved for more than a month.  The weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday shows that 62.7 percent of the continental U.S. was in some form of drought as of Tuesday. That’s up from 60.1 percent the previous week.

The portion of the lower 48 states in extreme or exceptional drought – the two worst classifications – also rose, to 20.12 percent from last week’s 19.04 percent.   The dry conditions intensified sharply in Oklahoma, where 90.5 percent of the state is in extreme or exceptional drought. That’s up 19 percentage points.

The portion of South Dakota in those two classifications rose more than 8 percentage points, to 63.32 percent.

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (7.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.7MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Two southwest Iowa men were arrested on drug charges over a period of less than six-hours recently. Authorities in Red Oak report a Fremont County man was arrested early this (Thursday) morning, on drug charges.  According to the Police Department, 23-year-old Jonathan Lee Million, of Farragut, was arrested on the following charges: Possession with Intent to Deliver/Methamphetamine;  Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana; Possession of drug paraphernalia, and Operating a motor vehicle While under the Influence/drug related, 2^nd offense.  In addition, Million was charged Driving While Suspended.

Officials say Red Oak Police Officers confiscated more than 2 grams of a substance suspected of being methamphetamine, and nearly 2 grams of suspected marijuana from a vehicle Million was in, during a traffic stop in the 100 block of West Elm Street, at around 2:30-a.m., Thursday.  Million was transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where he was being held on $50,000 cash bond.

And, a four-month long investigation led to the execution of a search warrant at a Red Oak residence just before 9-p.m. Wednesday. Afterward, 37-year old Markus Eugene Johnson, of Red Oak, was arrested on felony drug charges. Red Oak Police were assisted at the scene by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Moore. Following the  search of a home at 301 4th Avenue, Johnson was charged with three counts of delivery of methamphetamine, one count of possession of meth with the intent to deliver, and one count of bringing contraband into a jail facility. Authorities also seized a number of items of drug paraphernalia, scales and packaging equipment.