A call about a physical disturbance early this (Monday) morning in Red Oak, resulted in an arrest. Red Oak Police say 39-year old Dustin Dean French, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 12:30-a.m. for Domestic Assault with injury, a serious misdemeanor. French was transported to the Montgomery County Jail where he was being held without bond until making an appearance before the magistrate.

The Iowa Law Enforcement Academy’s director says her agency trained a record number of officers this past year. Judy Bradshaw says it’s primarily because there are a growing number of job openings in Iowa police and sheriffs departments. There’s “a wave of retirements” as well as officers making an early exit from the profession, according to Bradshaw. “As we look at the trends in law enforcement, I think that a lot of this generation are getting into law enforcement and at the seven-to-eight-to-10-year time period, we’re finding that they’re leaving the profession,” Bradshaw says.

Bradshaw has worked in law enforcement for nearly four decades. She started in 1980 as a Des Moines Police Department Cadet and retired in mid-2014 as the department’s chief. In mid-2015, Bradshaw became director of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy. She says there are still enough candidates taking the training required to fill officer slots in Iowa.

“There are still a number of folks who are interested in this as a profession,” Bradshaw says, “and that’s why part of our training is to address the resilience and how do I not just survive within my career, but how do I thrive in my law enforcement career and that’s where the Blue Courage, we think, is valuable.”

Blue Courage is the name of the academy’s new, 40-hour-long course. It’s available to new recruits as well as law enforcement veterans. “First of all, talking about what the job will do to you, potentially, and we don’t do that in our training normally with the brand new hires,” Bradshaw says. “(We) sort of map out the things that will happen over time — the burn-out and how do you recognize burnout and what are the signs of that kind of anguish.”

Bradshaw says the class helps officers better recognize when they need to ask for help. During the last state fiscal year, more than nine-thousand sworn officers took classes at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy. About 300 recruits graduated from the academy during that 12-month period. Recent, local graduates of the Academy include Brock Thompson and Cameron Ward, who are Officers with the Atlantic Police Department.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:45 a.m. CST

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa county plans to explore options for keeping food waste out of the landfill, a category that amounts for about 20 percent of residential trash. Waste Commission Director Kathy Morris says Scott County will consider collecting food waste for composting, rather than sending it to the landfill. The Quad-City Times reports that Morris plans to recommend in March that they outsource a study into food waste collection, composting options and community impact.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — There appears to be consensus among Democrats and Republicans in the Iowa Legislature that there are problem with the state’s privatized Medicaid program, but there is less agreement over what, if anything, legislators should do about it when they return to the Capitol. There are a range of opinions on whether lawmakers should enact legislation to respond to ongoing issues, or if change should come administratively through a state agency.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An elusive goat is in custody, but only after a lengthy police chase through the streets of Des Moines. A resident called police Saturday night after seeing a goat on the loose. The Des Moines Register reports that it had a leg cut requiring a veterinarian’s attention. It took officers 20 minutes to finally capture the goat. It will be put up for adoption unless an owner comes forward.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — One person is dead and another seriously injured after the stolen SUV they were in crashed during a police pursuit in central Nebraska. WOWT-TV reports that 25-year-old Autumn Stadley of Omaha died at the scene of the crash Friday night, and 26-year-old Luis Elias was airlifted to a hospital. Authorities say a deputy began pursuit of a Dodge Durango when the SUV failed to stop after a traffic violation.

Ringgold County Sheriff Mike Sobotka reports the arrest of 38-year old Chad Michael Mastin, of Mt. Ayr. Mastin was arrested at around 1:10-p.m. Sunday on a Ringgold County warrant for Theft in the 2nd degree; Child Endangerment; and, Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense.

He was taken into custody without incident and was being held Sunday in the Ringgold County Jail without bond, while awaiting to see the magistrate. Anyone with information of this or other crimes in Ringgold County should call the Sheriff’s Office at 641-464-3921.

No injuries were reported after a pickup struck an Iowa DOT snowplow early this (Sunday) morning on Interstate 29 in Council Bluffs. According to Bluffs Police, the accident happened at around 2:40-a.m. on I-29 southbound near mile-marker 53.

Their investigation determined the snow plow driver had pulled to the right side shoulder and off the road before exiting the truck to remove debris from the roadway. As the driver was removing the debris he was forced to run out of the way of a silver 2011 Dodge Ram truck driven by 24 year old Steven Clark of Belton, MO.

Clark drove into the rear end of the parked snow plow which still had its flashing yellow hazard lights on. Clark was arrested for Driving While Revoked and Resisting Arrest. Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash and additional charges are pending.

The Council Bluffs Police Department would like to remind drivers to slow down and give road crews plenty of room to work.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa county plans to explore options for keeping food waste out of the landfill, a category that amounts for about 20 percent of residential trash. Waste Commission Director Kathy Morris says Scott County will consider collecting food waste for composting, rather than sending it to the landfill.

Morris told the Quad-City Times that she plans to recommend in March that they outsource a study into food waste collection, composting options and community impact. She anticipates the study to cost between $20,000 to $40,000. It could be complete by the fall.

The study would also assess whether the Davenport Compost Facility has the capacity to accept the county’s food waste. Iowa’s 1987 Ground Water Protection Act prompted efforts to divert items away from landfills.