(Omaha, NE/KETV) – The Iowa Attorney General is warning of scams as recovery efforts begin. The federal government is also offering tips on how to make sure you don’t fall victim. Experts warn homeowners to heed caution through the cleanup.  Dan Reuting, with the Professional Remodeling Organization of Nebraska-Omaha, told KETV the concern is that the people who were hit by the April 26th storms are taken care of, long after the tents are gone and when they need to start rebuilding. The remodeling organization said scammers will target these areas and vulnerable homeowners. “Being affordable and good are not always synonymous,” Reuting said. “Most of them, they’re just looking to cut a corner,” he said, “And when you’re looking for warranty work and to make sure your stuff’s done right. Having a local number to call is always a good thing.”

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has some advice too. “Beware of high-pressure sales. Some of these con artists or bad contractors go door to door. And if a homeowner doesn’t sign right away for the repairs, they say, ‘Well, it’ll probably be three to six months before we can get to you.’ That’s a high-pressure sales tactic. So don’t fall for it.” Bird said her office is ready to hold bad actors accountable. But first, homeowners have to report it.

“If any Iowan is having something happen where someone shows up, says they’re helping, helping to clean up and hands them a bill unexpectedly, call my office right away,” Bird said. “Sometimes these storms also bring out the scammers, the shady contractors and those who are looking to make money off of other people’s tough luck. And so we stand ready to hold those people accountable.”

The Federal Trade Commission warns FEMA and the small business administration will never ask for an application fee for assistance. They add anyone who asks you to pay in full upfront is usually bad news. Bird said to make a careful and critical examination of your contractors, make sure you communicate with your insurance, not them, and get everything in writing. And, if you’ve been swindled, call the Iowa Attorney General’s office at 1-888-777-4590. You can also file a complaint form Iowa here.

Bird says “We will do everything that we can to help to hold them accountable and to help Iowans get their homes and businesses repaired.”

(Radio Iowa) – Research at the Iowa State University Ames Lab is working to turn waste plastic into fuel and other chemicals. Aaron Sadow is leading the research to find a way to keep plastics out of landfills. “So when we just throw out our plastic waste we’re throwing out about one-point-three (1.3) billion barrels of oil every year the equivalent of that amount,” he says. Sadow says plastics have been an issue for 40 years and they may have found a way to successfully solve the problem. “The plastic waste goes through a catalyst and becomes chemicals, recyclable plastics that don’t end up in landfills, or fuels,” he says. “There’s a need for sustainable aviation fuel and plastic waste could provide that.” He says it’s been a scientific mystery to unlock how to reuse some plastics.

“When it’s formulated, it becomes basically non recyclable. And that’s the reason for the science challenge, as well as the practical challenge associated with recycling,” Sadow says. “So what we’re trying to do is break the chemical bonds and make new chemicals, new materials that address this waste problem.” They received nearly 13 million dollars in an Energy Frontier Research Center grant from the U-S Department of Energy to do the research. Sadow says the goal is to also create a monetary incentive for people to recycle plastic. “The process we’ve developed turns into a one step system that could be located at a materials recovery research center, at a landfill that collects waste and makes diesel, and this could be going to our farms to our power plants,” he says.

Sadow says the diesel they create would be comparable in cost to the diesel now in use and will be cleaner burning. “Normal diesel is about 15 P-P-M, parts per million sulfur and we’re under point one,” he says. Sadow says the diesel from recycled plastic can also be blended with biodiesel. He says they are talking with the city of Ames to look at testing out the fuel created from plastic Sadow made his comments during a presentation to the Board of Regents.

(Radio Iowa) – National Walk, Bike, and Roll to School Day is one week from today (Wednesday) on May 8th and organizers in Iowa say this year’s event promises to be the biggest yet. Matt Burkey, the Iowa Safe Routes to School manager for the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, says they’re working to get more schools registered statewide to take part. “Even though it’s just a week away, there’s still time to get your school signed up,” Burkey says. “All you have to do is not drive to school that day, have you and your students walk, bike, roll any way you want to get the school that gets you outside gets you moving.” This is the 13th year Iowa will be taking part in the effort and Burkey says more than 40 schools will be joining in, including Ottumwa.

“The entire school district is on board. Every school in Ottumwa has signed up and is participating,” Burkey says. “In Dubuque, we have four elementary schools participating, and then in a few other schools around the state, it’s only a few families that are doing an event. Maybe they don’t want to get the whole school involved, maybe they just want to try it the first time and see if walking or biking to school is a great option for them.” Burkey says the annual event is dedicated to promoting healthier, more sustainable communities.

“A 30-minute walk is about all the exercise you need in a day, and so you and your student walking to and from school together gets you the daily amount of exercise you need, gets you outside in the sunshine — or the rain,” Burkey says. “We’ve seen other schools have such good turnout that they do it every Wednesday in May. I’ve met students that say, ‘This was so much fun, can I do it again tomorrow?'” Schools and districts across Iowa are taking part in the event on a variety of levels.

“I understand, especially in rural Iowa, not everyone lives within an easy walking or biking distance to their school,” Burkey says, “and rural Iowa school districts are participating by walking or biking part of the way and that’s still fine.” He says the benefits of walking, biking, and rolling to school include reduced traffic congestion and pollution, enhanced community connections, and improved health and well-being for students and families.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A man and a woman were arrested on separate charges Tuesday evening, in Red Oak. According to Red Oak Police, 40-year-old Jill Renee Coddington, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 7:45-p.m. for Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense – Marijuana, and Disorderly Conduct/fighting or violence. Her cash-only bond was set at $1,000. Coddington was being held in the Montgomery County Jail.

And, at around 6:20-p.m., Red Oak Police arrested 21-year-old Samuel Lehr Hummel, of Riverton, was taken into custody in the 600 block of Miller Avenue, for Harassment in the 3rd Degree. His bond at the Montgomery County Jail, was set at $300.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop at Highway 71 and High Street Tuesday evening in Villisca, resulted in the arrest of a man from Missouri. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 39-year-old Jasiel Garzon, of St. Joseph, MO., was arrested for providing false information to law enforcement. Garzon was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – State Auditor Rob Sand says he’s worked with a non-profit group and identified more than two dozen state job classifications that could be rewritten to widen the pool of applicants. Sand, a Democrat, says Opportunity at Work did a similar analysis for Republican Larry Hogan when he was the governor of Maryland. The number of state jobs in Maryland requiring a college degree was cut in half as a result.

“There are all kinds of jobs in the public sector where the job description states that a four-year college degree is required or it states that a four-year college degree is preferred,” Sand says. “That ‘paper ceiling’ stops a lot of really well qualified people from applying for those jobs or getting those jobs.” Sand says 60 percent of Iowa’s working age population has the skills necessary for government jobs through alternative routes, like military service, a community college degree or work experience.

“The bottom line is that there are a lot of jobs in the public sector, in public service in Iowa that are not getting filled on a timely basis,” Sand says. “There’s work to be done and we need more people to feel qualified and welcome to apply for those jobs.” Sand says the non-profit’s report identified 28 job DESCRIPTIONS in state government that could be rewritten to include people who did not have a college degree, but Sand did not have a specific number of actual jobs or employees that would be impacted. Two years ago, Sand eliminated the requirement that auditors in the state auditor’s office have a four year degree, so those who have a two-year degree in accounting are eligible to apply.

“There’s lot of smart, practical, hardworking Iowans who go get those degrees. They look at the situation and they say: ‘Well, I can get a degree in the same field in half the time, for less than half the money,” Sand said. “It’s a wonderful, value oriented mindset that we certainly want to encourage people to have if they are working for the taxpayer’s watchdog.”

Sand held a news conference in his statehouse office to discuss the non-profit’s report about reclassifying other jobs in the state government. Sand indicated the Department of Administrative Services is the agency that would rewrite job classifications for other areas of state government, but Sand has not yet forwarded the non-profit’s analysis to that department.