OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) — An Ottumwa woman accused of stealing from dependent adults has pleaded not guilty. Court records say 42-year-old Malia Ollom entered the pleas last week to 22 counts that included allegations of forgery, theft and dependent adult abuse. Her next court hearing is scheduled for Friday.

Authorities say Ollom worked for Crest Services and was responsible for managing the finances of adults under her supervision. Police were contacted Jan. 11 about irregularities that occurred in the clients’ accounts between May last year and January. Authorities say that among the incidents, Ollom fraudulently obtained and used a credit card using information from one of her clients and stole more than $5,700 from another by forging the victim’s name on checks.

(UPDATE 11:55-a.m.) The SUV was recovered in the 1000 block of East Coolbaugh Street, in Red Oak. No arrest has been made as of last report.

Red Oak Police Chief Justin Rhamy says his officers were called this (Monday) morning to the 1100 block of East Reed Street at around 5-a.m., for a report of a stolen vehicle, The 2015, black, Nissan Rogue Sport SUV was taken from the area sometime after 2:30-a.m. today. The vehicle has Nebraska license plate UST 046, and it has a small dent in the right rear fender. The SUV was unlocked, with the keys inside. The SUV was recovered in the 1000 block of East Coolbaugh Street, in Red Oak. No arrest has been made as of last report.

Firefighters were recalled to the Super 8 Hotel north of Walnut at around 5-a.m., today, for a rekindle of the fire that originally occurred Sunday morning. Walnut Fire Chief Justin Tooley told KJAN News the fire rekindled inside a wall of the north building, most likely due to the shifting winds. Walnut firefighters had the flames doused in less than an hour, and were back in station a little after 6-a.m.  Unlike Sunday, no evacuation of the hotel was needed, because the building had been blocked off and no one was staying there. No injuries were reported from today’s (Monday’s) firefighting efforts.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Officials say a woman died after a police officer helped pull her from a burning garage in Cedar Rapids. Firefighters and police were sent to the residence around 7:35 Sunday morning after neighbors reported hearing a loud boom and saw flames in the detached garage. The officer helped pull her from the garage, and medics tended to her. Police say she was pronounced dead later at a hospital. The woman’s name hasn’t been released. Authorities say the fire and the woman’s death are considered suspicious and are being investigated.

Iowans are being warned about the risks of counterfeit prescription drugs. U.S. Attorney Peter Deegan says users are exposing themselves to fentanyl and carfentanil when they think they’re taking oxycodone. He says the lookalike pills can be deadly. “These are not real oxycodone pills, although you can’t tell from looking at them,” Deegan said. “In fact, these pills contain synthetic opioids that are many times more lethal than oxycodone or even street heroin.”

According to Deegan, drug dealers are increasingly making pills with synthetic opioids. “We’ve had far too many cases where someone has taken a drug, literally the first time, and has died because of it,” Deegan said. “And a lot of it comes down to the fact that you simply don’t know what is in that drug.”

According to 2017 data from the federal government, the majority of people misusing prescription drugs did it to relieve pain, NOT to get high.

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)

Iowa’s Republican governor and Republican legislators announced a tax agreement on Friday evening, but the legislation to implement the plan was still being written this past weekend. Senator Randy Feenstra, a Republican from Hull, says for tax year 2019, the cuts will be solely on individual income taxes. “At the very minimum, each individual will see a seven percent reduction,” Feenstra says. “On average, it will be around 10 percent.” Corporate tax cuts will take effect a couple of years from now. “It hasn’t been since 1951 that we lowered corporate income tax,” Feenstra says. “We actually increased it in 1987 from 10 to 12 (percent), so this is a very significant step for Iowa to start lowering both individual and corporate taxes.”

Republicans promise to get rid of a STATE deduction for federal taxes that makes Iowa’s income tax rates look higher than they are, when compared to other states, but Feentra says it won’t happen immediately — and it won’t happen unless state tax revenue grows by at least three-and-a-half or four percent annually. “When you get rid of federal deductability, people do get hurt if you don’t have rates low enough,” Feenstra says, “so what the plan is is to lower the rates significantly and then remove federal deductability.”

Governor Kim Reynolds unveiled a framework for tax cuts in February, but it took a couple of months for Republicans in the House and Senate weeks to hammer out a deal all in the G-O-P could live with. “It will be fully implemented based on how our economy grows and when the targets are met,” Feenstra says. “We wanted to created some responsibility in lowering taxes and make sure that we could fund all the things the government needs to fund like education, public health and so forth, so I’m really thrilled about how this came together and how all sides worked together on the goals that needed to be met.”

Feenstra is chairman of the Senate Ways and Means tax-writing Committee. The leader of the Iowa Democratic Party says Republicans are giving tax cuts to the wealthy and special interests in the midst of a state budget crisis. Troy Price, the Iowa Democratic Party’s chairman, says Governor Reynolds and her fellow Republicans are engaged in a “budget-busting free-for-all” for corporate donors.

(Radio Iowa)