(West Des Moines, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) have announced Shelby County Unified Law Enforcement was awarded latelast month with the 2024 ISAC Excellence in Action Award. The Excellence in Action Award Program is a competitive awards program that seeks to identify and recognize innovative county government employees, programs and projects. The awards were presented during a ceremony at the ISAC Annual Conference in Des Moines on August 21^st.

Facing challenges with recruiting and retaining law enforcement officers and adjusting to increasing costs, last year the City of Harlan and Shelby County worked together to consolidate the Harlan Police Department under the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office through a 28E Agreement.

Photo submitted

Since implementing the unified law enforcement services contract, the consolidated agency has seen notable improvements including a streamlined workflow resulting in higher quality and more time-efficient investigations; more successful recruitment efforts due to the ability to offer more competitive compensation, flexibility of shifts and hours, and specialized positions; a single command structure that lends itself to greater oversight, the public knowing who will respond when they call for service, quicker response times, and greater community presence including within the school district; and training that is more efficient, specialized, and cost-effective with the unified force.

This model, officials said, can be implemented in counties and cities across the state, and Shelby County has already fielded inquiries from over 15 jurisdictions statewide interested in replicating the innovation and efficiency of the initiative.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a man was arrested early this (Wednesday) morning on felony drug charges. 28-year-old Dylan Elwood Taylor was arrested at around 12:18-a.m. on a warrant for two counts of a Controlled Substance Violation – both are Class-C felonies. Taylor was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $20,000 bond. Deputies were assisted by Red Oak Police in making the arrest.

The Sheriff’s Office reports also:

• 26-year-old Abigail Jean Kates was arrested at around 4:45-a.m. Tuesday, for Violation of a Protection Order (A Simple Misdemeanor). She was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.
• And, 34-year-old Dylan Thomas Griffeth was arrested at around 6:45-p.m. Tuesday, also for Violation of a Protection Order (Simple Misdemeanor).

(Radio Iowa) – The Army Corps of Engineers has completed significant repairs and upgrades to levies, dikes and other structures damaged by flooding along the Missouri River five years ago. Clint Mason, the Corps’ Missouri River program manager, expects barge traffic to increase. “Right now I think we’re seeing a resurgence of navigation after we’ve made the repairs over the last two years,” Mason says.

Officials estimate Midwest flooding in 2019 caused nearly three BILLION dollars in damage. Congress allocated over 340-Million dollars to repair the Missouri River’s navigational channel. Army Corps offices in Kansas City and Omaha typically have total budgets around 10 million dollars. “An influx of $340 million-plus — it was definitely orders of magnitude above what we would get in a normal year,” Mason says, “and even more than what we’ve seen after past floods or other major events when we’ve had damages.”

There are about seven-thousand structures along the lower Missouri River, from Sioux City to St. Louis, that maintain a navigational channel that’s 300 feet wide and nine feet deep. Mason says the influx of funding was particularly helpful in addressing delayed maintenance of structures made of rock and stone. “The rock breaks down with freeze thaw. High flow events will push the rock or move it off of our structures, things like that,” Mason says, “and so over time those rock structures require continual upkeep and maintenance.”

Low water levels in the river due to the recent drought helped speed along the Corps’ repairs. The Missouri River is the longest river in the U-S. It starts in Montana and drains into the Mississippi River at St. Louis.

(Preston, Iowa) – One person died late Tuesday morning after they were struck by a vehicle while in a parking lot of a gas station/convenience store. The Iowa State Patrol says the accident happened in Preston, at around 11:26-a.m., Tuesday. Authorities say a 2012 Hyundai Elantra was attempting to leave the parking lot of the Country Store, when the accident occurred. The names of the driver and victim were not released. The accident remains under investigation.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.

(Nora Springs, Iowa) – A crash early this (Wednesday) morning southwest of Nora Springs, in northern Iowa, claimed the life of a woman whose identity was not immediately known. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 2022 KIA Telluride SUV was traveling on U-S Highway 18 eastbound Avenue of the Saints near mile marker 195, at around 12:34-a.m., when for reasons unknown, the vehicle left the road and entered the median, where it struck a bridge pillar.

The SUV burst into flames. Its driver – who was only occupant of the vehicle – died at the scene. Authorities were calling the driver “Jane Doe,” pending identification and notification of family. The crash victim was transported by Nora Springs Ambulance to MercyOne Hospital in Mason City.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Floyd, Cerro Gordo, and Worth County Sheriff’s Departments.

(Radio Iowa) – State Regulators have hired two companies to conduct a study of the state’s gaming industry that could play a key role in the decision to award a new casino license. Racing and Gaming Administrator, Tina Eick) says the studies are due December 30th, and the two companies will make a presentation to the Commission on their findings at their meeting in January.

The move comes after the Iowa Legislature’s two-year moratorium on new gambling licenses expired. The Linn County Gaming Association has a proposal for a casino on the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids if the I-R-G-C decides to award a new gambling license after reviewing the study and getting other input.