The  Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports three people have been arrested on drug charges. 29-year old Chanda Lay Koehler, of Omaha, was arrested Monday night on Highway 34 for Theft in the 1st degree and Possession of a Prescription drug. Her bond was set at $11,000. Taken into custody early Tuesday morning, was 29-year old Jeremy Wayne Aumiller, of Harvard, NE., and 26-year old Cory Lee Allsman, of Hastings, NE. Both men were arrested following a traffic stop on Highway 34. Aumiller faces a Possession of Drug Paraphernalia charge. His bond was set at $300. Allsman was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance. His bond was set at $1,000.

And, 45-year old Mark Lee Burk, of Albia, was arrested near Allis Road and Bunge Avenue, on a warrant out of Pottawattamie County, for Driving While Barred. He was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

Two women were critically injured during a head-on collision this (Tuesday) morning, in Council Bluffs. According to Council Bluffs Police, 59-year old Diane Nelson and 27-year old Heather Wilkinson, both of Council Bluffs, were transported to the Nebraska Medical Center following the crash that happened at around 9:25-a.m. on the Avenue G viaduct.

Authorities say a 2004 Acura being driven by Wilkinson crossed the center line and struck a 2008 Kia Van driven by Nelson. Wilkinson was trapped in her vehicle and had to be extricated by the Council Bluffs Fire Dept. No other injuries were reported.

The case was being investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Department Traffic Unit.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests took place over the past week. On Sunday, 26-year old Levi Alroy Kluver, of Gray, was arrested on a felony Domestic Abuse Assault, charge. His arrest followed an investigation into an incident that allegedly occurred at his residence earlier in the day, Sunday. Kluver was later released from the Audubon County Jail after appearing before a magistrate. His preliminary hearing was set for April 14th.

And, Friday night, 30-year old Kathryn Sue Benson, of Denison, was arrested for OWI/1st Offense, following a traffic stop on Highway 71 near Hamlin. Benson was also charged with Driving on the wrong side of the road, and failure to provide proof of vehicle registration. She was later released after posting a cash bond. Her preliminary appearance in court is set for April 14th.

The Iowa legislature has voted to require the state’s 99 county engineers to file annual reports explaining how state gas tax money is being used to repair or replace rural bridges. The move comes a year after the gas tax was raised a dime a gallon. Representative Mary Wolfe, a Democrat from Clinton, says it’s a good way to ensure accountability for the extra tax money.

“That is supposed to be used for fixing deficient bridges and other infrastructure repairs, so this will just, perhaps, give us all an opportunity to make sure that’s what’s happening,” Wolfe says. Representative Josh Byrnes, a Republican from Osage, was among the chief advocates for raising the gas tax to address problems with the state’s crumbling roads and bridges.

“We promised the people of Iowa that we’d be transparent,” Byrnes says. “…That’s exactly what this bill does.” County engineers will submit their reports to the Iowa Department of Transportation. Democratic Senator Matt McCoy of Des Moines says the D-O-T will compile the information and present it to legislators. “We’ll have a better understand of just what the state of our bridges are,” McCoy says.

The Road Information Program currently rates 22 percent of Iowa’s rural bridges as structurally deficient. Only two other states have a higher percentage of deficient bridges. The reports from county engineers about progress on addressing problem bridges would be required in each of the next three years if the governor signs the bill into law.

(Radio Iowa)

A program designed to help Iowans combat investment and insurance fraud is coming to three of the state’s largest metro areas. Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart is touting the Fraud Fighters program (www.iowafraudfighters.gov), noting that his office fields around 1,700 fraud inquiries and complaints each year.

“Last year, we had about $6.4 million reported in fraud complaints,” Gerhart said. There are probably many more people being swindled in Iowa, as Gerhart estimates only one-quarter of all fraud cases are actually reported. Many Iowans fall victim to investment scammers and some have lost their entire life savings, according to Gerhart. “When oil and gas are doing really well, we hear a lot of oil and gasoline (scams). When precious metals and gold are going up in value, we hear a lot of scams around that. During tax season, we hear about tax scams. And during open enrollment for health care, we hear about that kind of thing,” Gerhart said.

The Iowa Insurance Division has hosted 15 of the Iowa Fraud Fighter programs around the state, but the biggest one — in terms of attendance — is scheduled for tonight (Tuesday) in West Des Moines. Registration for tonight’s event closed last Friday. “But, we are doing another event in Bettendorf (on April 18) and we have another event in Sioux City (on May 24),” Gerhart said. “So, we have other opportunities across the state as well.”

All of the Iowa Fraud Fighters programs are free of charge, but do require reservations. Gerhart says the effort is funded partly from fines and settlements collected from scammers.

(Radio Iowa)

(Update! 11:18-a.m.)

A child scheduled to be born at Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs couldn’t wait to see the world, and was instead delivered on an westbound Interstate off-ramp, near Marne, in Cass County. Cass County Chief Deputy Sheriff John Westering told KJAN News the baby made its appearance a little after 7-a.m. today [Tuesday] at Exit 51 off of I-80. The healthy, 8-pound 11-ounce baby girl was born to Chris and Erica Bengel, who named their daughter Brinley Nicole. The couple have lived in Atlantic for most of their lives.

Chris and Erica Bengel. (Photo from the Around Atlantic Facebook page)

Westering says by the time law enforcement arrived on the scene, the baby was already out and being taken care by the mother and father. Emergency responders provided the mother and baby with blankets before they were transported to the hospital in Atlantic.

Westering said Chris was understandably a bit jittery afterward, but both new parents handled the situation well.

While emergency personnel on the way to the scene, the Cass County Communications Center provided updates from the couple with regard to the baby’s progress. Cass County 911 Coordinator Rob Koppert gives a special shout out to the 911 dispatchers at Shelby County 911 in Harlan.

Koppert says the original 911 call was routed to Shelby County instead of Cass County (which frequently happens in that coverage area) and Shelby County dispatchers were able to provide delivery instructions to the family and relay updated information to Cass County 911 for the responders.

An Iowa State Patrol Trooper in the area was first on the scene, followed by an Iowa DOT employee, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies, other emergency personnel, and an ambulance.