The Iowa chapter of the American Red Cross is wrapping up a busy 2013. It was a year of deadly tornadoes, fierce wildfires, and destructive floods around the United States. The regional communication officer for the Red Cross, Kara Kelly, says nearly 1,600 Iowans volunteered to help recovery efforts. “We sent a pretty large number of people, 21 volunteers, to the flooding in Colorado in the fall and we sent about 16 people to central and southern Illinois to assist with the tornadoes that happened in October,” Kelly says. However, most of the volunteer efforts take place within Iowa assisting people displaced by house fires.

“Normally what we do is attend to immediate needs, so generally it’s lodging, food, and clothing right away, then we’ll have a Red Cross caseworker meet with the family in the next couple of days and go over what a recovery plan would be,” Kelly says. The Red Cross responded to more than 400 house fires in the state during 2013.

(Radio Iowa)

The Council Bluffs Police Department reports an attempted robbery and subsequent arrest on Friday (12/27/13).

At approximately 1:12pm 33-year old Kelton E Houts of Carter Lake entered the Union Pharmacy at 235 West Broadway in Council Bluffs and demanded that the clerk give him all of the Oxycotin they had and claimed he had a gun but never displayed it.  Houts was given a bottle of the drug and as he attempted to exit the store he was pursued by employees that were able to catch him and hold him on the ground until officers arrived.

Houts was arrested and a BB pistol with CO2 cartridges were found on him and the pills were recovered.  Officers also located Houts’ vehicle a short distance away and it has been secured pending processing.

Houts was first taken to Mercy Hospital for treatment of minor injuries he received during the scuffle with store employees.  He was later taken to the Criminal Investigation Division where he provided detectives with a statement that led officers to believe he is linked to several other Robbery’s in the metro area.  Houts was booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail on one count of 1st Degree Robbery with additional charges pending.