KEARNEY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities are investigating a report that a missing Iowa college student might have been seen in northwest Missouri. Police in Kearney, Missouri, (about 40 miles northeast of Kansas City) say an employee at a truck stop reported Sunday that she saw a young girl resembling Mollie Tibbetts. The department said in a statement that it spoke to witnesses and reviewed video footage before forwarding a report to a task force investigating Tibbetts’ disappearance.

KMBC-TV reports Kearney police Sgt. Joe Kantola said only one person reported seeing the woman who resembled Mollie. And he noted he didn’t say in the statement that she had been seen on video from the truck stop. Tibbetts, a 20-year-old University of Iowa student, hasn’t been seen since July 18. Authorities in Iowa have scheduled a press conference for 9:30-a.m. Friday to update the status of their investigation into her disappearance.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A man has pleaded not guilty to making unauthorized purchases of meat and cheese while working as the head chef for a Sioux City bar and grill. The Sioux City Journal reports that 52-year-old Carlos Barrera entered a written plea to a theft charge Wednesday in Woodbury County District Court.

Court documents say Barrera made an estimated 53 unauthorized purchases from Staber Meats between May 9, 2017, and Nov. 9, 2017. The documents say Barrera ordered the items, picked them up in his vehicle and then signed invoices allowing Staber Meats to automatically withdraw payment from the Ickey Nickel’s bank account. The documents say Barrera never took the food to the bar.

The Creston Police Department reports two arrests occurred, Wednesday. At around 10:30-p.m., 54-year old Kelly Adamson, of Creston, was arrested on a charge of OWI/1st offense. Adamson was later released on a $1,000 bond. And, at around 2:15-p.m. Wednesday, 23-year old Dakota Brown, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on a Union County warrant for Failure to Appear (in court) on an original charge of Theft in the 1st Degree. Brown was being held in the jail on a $10,000 cash only bond.

Authorities said also, there two citizens reported incidents of theft. A resident of the 600 block of N. Maple Street in Creston, told police that sometime between Tuesday and 4:45-p.m. Wednesday, someone took about one-half tank of gas from his SUV, while it was parked outside the residence. The loss was estimated at $20. And, a person living in the 500 block of W. Irving Street reported the passenger side window of his 2009 Ford truck was broken while it was parked near the residence. The incident happened sometime between 10:30-p.m. Tuesday and 10:30-p.m. Wednesday. The damage was estimated at $200.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s governor has signed a letter asking President Donald Trump for a presidential disaster declaration for 30 Iowa counties – including Adair and Dallas, locally – that sustained significant damage from severe storms and flooding from June 6 through July 2.
Gov. Kim Reynolds requested funding under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Public Assistance Program. Funding from that program is used to rebuild damaged infrastructure, including roads, bridges, culverts and other public facilities, or to cover costs of emergency work during and debris removal after severe weather. A preliminary assessment of the 30 counties estimates more than $16 million worth of damage that could be eligible under the program.
Reynolds also requested other federal help, including funding under FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program for Buchanan, Dickinson, Polk and Winnebago counties.

GRINNELL, Iowa (AP) — State investigators are investigating the death of a man in the custody of Grinnell police. Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation special agent Mike Motsinger told The Des Moines Register that 54-year-old Ronald Shook died Monday after being in Grinnell police custody for less than a day. Motsinger says an autopsy Tuesday revealed no external signs of trauma. More results are expected within six weeks. Why Shook was taken into custody near railroad tracks that run through Grinnell, is unclear.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 23-year old Cassidy Mullen Sutton, of Red Oak, was arrested following a traffic stop at around 9:40-p.m., Wednesday. Sutton was taken into custody for Failure to have SR-22 insurance and Driving While Suspended. She was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $1,000 cash bond.

(Radio Iowa) — New Medicare cards are going out to all Iowans in the program and that’s opened the opportunity for scammers to try and take advantage of the change. A spokesperson for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Julie Brookhart, says the new cards will no longer have your Social Security number on them. She says the cards are being mailed out and you should not listen if someone tells you something different.

“Bottom line is, Medicare is not calling anyone about the cards, you are just going to get the card in the mail. So, any call you would get is a scam,” Brookhart says. Brookhart says scammers will try all sorts of things to get your money or personal information.”We’ve had people say you have to pay for the new card to get the card,” Brookhart says, “we’ve had people say ‘give me your old number’ to get the new card. Or if you don’t give me your information we are going to cancel your health benefits — and those are all scams.”

Brookhart says the new cards are free and all you have to do is bring it in from the mailbox. “There have been some agents and brokers calling people — most agents and brokers are very upstanding — we’ve had a few bad actors saying ‘If you set up an appointment with me I can get you the card quicker.’ That is not true, because it is the Medicare agency that is mailing out the new card,” according to Brookhart.

The are more than 600-thousand Iowans who are on Medicare. Brookhart says everyone in Iowa should be getting their card by they middle of this month.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds has promoted a female district judge to the Supreme Court in Iowa, the only state where all of its current justices are men. Susan Christensen will be the first woman on Iowa’s high court in roughly eight years. The appointment doesn’t require confirmation by lawmakers. During brief remarks from her formal office at the state Capitol, Reynolds praised Christensen’s background, including as a district judge in southwest Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s governor has signed a letter asking President Donald Trump for a presidential disaster declaration for 30 Iowa counties that sustained significant damage from severe storms and flooding from June 6 through July 2. Gov. Kim Reynolds requested funding under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Public Assistance Program. Funding from that program is used to rebuild damaged infrastructure, including roads, bridges, culverts and other public facilities.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a Coralville attorney has pleaded guilty in a fraud case that saw him file false tax returns and steal money from clients. Soo Hyun Jung, also known as Jay Jung, pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of mail fraud and one count of false claims. Jung faces up to 45 years in prison when he’s sentenced in December.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A new audit says the former director of an Iowa housing agency spent more than $800 renting hotel rooms near his home in central Iowa. The audit released by the Iowa Finance Authority concludes that most of former director Dave Jamison’s credit card expenses were work-related and properly documented. But the report by an outside auditing firm said that Jamison should not have been reimbursed for six lodging charges in the Des Moines areas that totaled more than $800.

The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, approved entering into a contract with SWIPCO to pay for a portion of the costs necessary for a Downtown Revitalization CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) application, as it pertains to downtown store front (Facade) improvements. The vote to approve was 5-to 1, with Councilman Dick Casady opposed, and Councilperson Kathy Somers absent. The City will now commit $45,000 for the various studies required to develop the application, including: Slum and blight; Historic District and the project architect fee.

Prior to the vote, Casady asked SWIPCO Lead Planner Alexis Fleener, Lead Planner with SWIPCO, if she feels the City should giveaway taxpayer’s money for the project, and why? She said “If you kind think of Chestnut Street as the experience people have in Atlantic…Chestnut Street is a big draw in Atlantic…you can say that in a way, the appearance of buildings and the experience that people have and the draw that people have to Chestnut Street, is a public good.”

She added that it’s been seen to be a good investment as a way to revitalize the area and help other buildings keep up with the pace. Fleener cited Ottumwa as an example, saying they’ve done multiple phases of the project and now they’re moving towards streetscapes and upper story investments with residential properties, etc. “So it’s really been an economic booster.”

Fleener said to date, 17 downtown property downtown building owners are very interested in participating in the facade program, while another eight are somewhat interested. In order to receive a CDBG award managed by the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), and the State requires 25-percent Sponsor (City) funding ($250,000), as well as 25-percent Property Owner Funding ($250,000), or a total of $500,000. The State would provide matching funds of $500,00, if the CDBG application is approved.

Fleener said with the current level of interest in the program by business owners, it’s certain that the project will have to be done in two phases, with some of the properties improved at the onset, and others as time moves on. She said it takes a year to complete the studies required, and then another one-to two-years before any work can actually begin, assuming the grant is approved.

Working in phases would also give the city some “Breathing room,” for financing, with cash available again in 2023, according to City Administrator John Lund, who said also he’s already adjusted the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) Progress Fund budget for FY 2019 to reserve the $45,000 needed for the study. And, he’s addressed the City’s grant match of $250,000, by proposing the City use the remaining $140,892 in the Economic Development Revolving fund in FY 2020, and then transfer $77,055 from the LOST progress fund in both FY 2019 and FY 2020 to cover the expenditures related to the project.