SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) —  A man from northwest Iowa was arrested Saturday afternoon, after eluding law enforcement in a stolen vehicle that belonged to a Sioux City police officer.  KCAU-TV in Sioux City reports, that according to the complaint documents, 34-year-old Elwood Freemont, of Sioux City, was listed as being involved in a police pursuit while driving a stolen vehicle.  The documents state that Freemont eluded law enforcement in South Sioux City and was then seen by the Sioux City Police Department driving the wrong way down 6th Street at 70 mph in a 35 mph zone.

Freemont crashed the stolen vehicle and continued to elude officers on foot before being apprehended, according to the documents. The victim was informed of stolen items that were valued at approximately $357.49 after the fact. He was charged with first-degree theft, fourth-degree theft, and eluding at speeds 25 mph over the speed limit.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A regular meeting of the Atlantic City Council takes place Wednesday (Nov. 20th) at City Hall, beginning at 5:30-p.m. Among the discussion/action items on their agenda, is the First Reading of an Ordinance “Amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Atlantic” by “Amending Provisions Pertaining to All-Terrain Vehicles and Snowmobiles.”

In his meeting notes, City Administrator John Lund reports Iowa Senate File 2130 was developed in response to a 2020 survey, asking ATV and UTV riders what they would like to see changed in Iowa law, to better support riders of those vehicles. The survey results determined riders wanted to ride on more County and State roadways in all 99 counties, under a uniform State law. Cities were then left to create their own rules, but were not allowed to charge permitting fees.

Lund says the City of Atlantic’s Community Protection Committee met last August to review the options for adopting an ordinance regarding the use of ATV’s and UTV’s on city streets, and has reviewed and recommended to the Council an amended ordinance, which includes:

• A 1-year sunset for the ordinance, which will end after that year, if there are no issues.
• A cut-off of 18-years (similar to what the City of Ankeny has).
• ATV’s and UTV’s must have a working horn, headlamps and tail lamps, but will not require turn signals.
• A subsection will be added to the ordinance, which disallows towing by ATV’s and UTV’s.
• The ordinance exempts Park employees from being forbidden to operate the machines on City property.
• It includes a section of the existing snowmobile ordinance and clarifies when police officers can issue citations addressing any related violations.
• And, at the request of Atlantic Police Chief Devin Hogue, the amended ordinance states that ATV’s only be allowed for the purpose of snow removal during the snow season.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council is expected to approve a pay application to Hydro-Klean, LLC for the 2024 Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project, and act to approve a related resolution accepting the work for the project and Ultra Violet CIPP (Cured In Place Pipe) Lining Project.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports a man was arrested last week, on drug charges. Authorities say 28-year-old Carlos Ivan Cortez, of Creston, was arrested at around 2-p.m. Wednesday at a residence in the 600 block of N. Pine Street, in Creston.

Cortez was charged with Possession of a controlled substance, 2nd Offense Marijuana and Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drug. He was taken to the Union County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond.

(Afton, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Union County say the driver of a pickup escaped injury, Friday evening, after their vehicle struck two Black Angus cows near Afton. Authorities say a 2005 Dodge RAM 1500 pickup driven by 40-year-old Willhun Christopher Lee, of Afton, was traveling south on Creamery Road at around 6:05-p.m., when it struck the cows that were standing in the middle of the road, outside of their fenced-in area.

The pickup was disabled by the collision, sustaining an estimated $15,000, according to the Sheriff’s Department. The cattle, owned by Randal Pettit, of Afton, were valued at $5,000.

(Radio Iowa) – The search for lead water pipes in the state is near the end and some communities are already notifying residents of what they’ve found. Sioux City Utilities Director Brad Peutz (Pitts) says it’s part of a federal program to get rid of lead pipes. “All lead service lines, all galvanized lines requiring replacement, and those lines that are unknown to either be replaced or verified within ten years,” he says. Peutz says residents who have a line that needs attention will soon get a letter.

“Sioux City has roughly 26-thousand service connections. Of those 26-thousand service connections, the city has identified roughly 73-hundred service connections that could potentially need replaced by that November of 2037 date, the focus at this time is outreach,” he says.

The Iowa D-N-R is overseeing the federal program here. A spokesperson for the D-N-R says they are still compiling all the survey results and doesn’t yet have an exact statewide count on how many pipes need to be replaced.