The Iowa Department of Transportation is conducting a study of Interstate 80 and would like your input. The study will be developed and released through a series of technical reports that identify the existing conditions of I-80, the way the system is performing, short- and long-term issues, and strategies to improve the route. Each report will be accessible online as it becomes available on the Iowa DOT’s I-80 Planning Study website:  www.iowadot.gov/interstatestudy/.

This message is to inform the public that two technical reports were recently updated on the I-80 website, these include:

• Guiding Principles.
• Evaluation of Overhead Structures.

The Iowa DOT is asking interested parties to take a few minutes to review these technical reports and other materials on the I-80 Planning Study website. To comment on these technical reports, go to:  http://bit.ly/I80Comment.

A suspect in the attempted robbery of a bank in Creston was apprehended Thursday afternoon, without incident. Creston Police were called to the Iowa State Savings Bank branch at 504 W. Taylor Street, at around 1:25-p.m., Thursday, after a man came through the drive-thru and allegedly told a teller ““This is a robbery.” The suspect also displayed a weapon. A description of the vehicle and suspect was given to area law enforcement.

Ricky Schnackel

At 2:46-p.m., law enforcement observed the suspect vehicle at the intersection of REA Road and Jaguar Avenue. The suspect. 58-year old  Ricky Ryan Schnackel, of Lorimor, was arrested for 1st Degree Robbery, and was being held in the Union County Jail on $25,000 bond.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A 71-year-old Nebraska man was rescued Thursday night, a day after falling from a Missouri River bridge connecting Nebraska and Iowa. Dennis Konvalin told authorities he dropped his camera while taking pictures Wednesday from the Mormon Bridge, which carries Interstate 680 traffic over the river on the north end of Omaha.

He reported that he fell into the river when he tried to recover his camera. Konvalin managed to reach a sandbar near the Iowa side but could go no further because he’d injured his back. Authorities say some anglers heard Konvalin’s cries for help at around 8-p.m. Thursday, and called police. Deputies with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa State Patrol Troopers, Council Bluffs Fire Department, and Omaha Police Helicopter “Able 1,” responded to the scene.

After his rescue Konvalin was taken to Creighton Hospital in Omaha, for evaluation and treatment.

Red Oak Police arrested two men on separate drug- and theft-related charges, Thursday. 38-year old Michael Todd Brace, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 9:40-p.m. for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He received a citation, and was subsequently released from custody. And, at around the same time, 19-year old Keegan W. Williams, of Creston, was arrested in Red Oak on a Union County warrant for Theft in the 4th Degree. Williams was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $1,000 bond.