The Creston Police Department says two residents of the community reported one incident of vandalism and one of theft. A man residing in the 700 block of N. Sycamore Street in Creston, told Police Tuesday morning, that someone had slashed a tire on his vehicle, resulting in a loss of about $250. The incident happened sometime between Sept. 1st and 5th.

And, a Creston man reported Tuesday that sometime between 3:30-and 4:30-p.m. Tuesday, someone took his wife’s purse from her vehicle while it was parked near 410 S. Sumner Street. The loss was estimated at $60.

And, sun glare was said to have been partially to blame for an accident that happened at around 8-a.m. Tuesday, at the intersection of S. Sycamore and W. Howard Streets, in Creston. Authorities say a 2013 Chevy Cruz driven by 53-year old Michelle McLaren-Hicks, of Creston, and a 2011 Chevy Malibu driven by 27-year old Chelsea Leigh Sorensen, of Creston collided, after McLaren-Hicks, who was traveling east on Howard Street and stopped at the intersection, pulled away from the stop sign.

She told officials the rising sun obstructed her view of the pickup. The woman was given a warning for Failure to Yield the right-of-way. Damage from the collision amounted to $6,000. There were no injuries reported.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Another of the three people accused of trying to pass counterfeit cash at Sioux City’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino has pleaded not guilty. The Sioux City Journal reports that 26-year-old Kurt Jones entered the plea Friday to a forgery charge. His trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 28. He lives in Le Mars.

Police say Jones, Jackelen Hartsock and Brittany Derby made several cash transactions at the casino on Aug. 5. Police say the bills were later found to be counterfeit. Hartsock already has pleaded not guilty. Derby hasn’t been arraigned yet.

The City of Adair has issued a bottled water advisory due to a water main break. According to reports, residents are encouraged to use bottled water or boil water before consuming, cooking, or personal hygiene use, including brushing teeth. The advisory will last for the next 24-48 hours or until tests confirm there is no risk to public health.

If you are a heart patient with a pacemaker, the Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning about the mini computer that is inside each device. Unity Point St. Lukes Hospital cardiologist, Doctor Roque Arteaga says the F-D-A warning is due to the possibility that a computer hacker could interfere with how the pacemaker functions:
“Through the radio frequency signal you can in theory hack into the microprocessor or micro chip of the device and change settings, parameters or even access some of the personal information. All this is theoretical,” Arteaga says.

A hacker would have to be within the same room or nearby to be able to interfere with the pacemaker. But as a precaution, the manufacturer has created anti-hacking software that you can download to insure against that possibility. Doctor Arteaga warns that you should be at a heart clinic to have that procedure done, instead of trying to download the software yourself at home:

He says if you are dependent on the pacemaker you should have the software downloaded in the office or at the hospital in case something would go wrong. The doctor says if you are not pacemaker-dependent, you could download the software at home.

There have been no reports of pacemakers being hacked anywhere in the country, and the warning is being issued as a preventative measure. The doctor says there is also a risk from downloading the software. “The manufacturer indicates that even though the software improves the cybersecurity of the device — like any software you are downloading to a computer — it can also make the microprocessor malfunction too. And that is a theoretical possibility too,” according to Arteaga.

He works for St. Luke’s Cardiovascular Associates — which is sending letters explaining the situation to the 140 patients who are included in the pacemaker recall. The alert affects 465-thousand pacemakers nationwide.

(Radio Iowa)