The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest of an Omaha man on a charge of OWI First Offense early Saturday (12/20/2014) morning.  22-year-old Dillon Jacob Fenn of Omaha was arrested in the 400 Block of East Washington Avenue on Saturday morning at 1:40am.  Fenn was booked into the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on $1,000 bond.

The Audubon County Sheriffs Department reports the arrest of a Carroll man early Friday morning. 24 year old Andrew Roland Petersen was charged on an outstanding warrant. Petersen was charged with Operating While Intoxicated; Reckless Driving; Following too Closely; Unsafe Passing; Failure to Maintain Control and Driving on the Wrong Side of a Two Way Highway. The charges stem from the investigation into an accident that occurred on December 1st on Highway 71 south of Audubon. Petersen was transported to the Audubon County Jail and held. He was released following an appearance before the magistrate. A preliminary hearing is set for January 8th at 9-30.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped in November but remains slightly higher than the rate a year ago. Iowa Workforce Development announced Friday that the November unemployment rate was 4.3 percent, down from 4.5 percent in October. The November 2013 rate was 4.2 percent.

The agency says the number of unemployed residents dropped to 73,900 in November. The number of residents with jobs was nearly 1.64 million. Iowa’s unemployment rate remained significantly lower than the national rate of 5.8 percent in November.

Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green is reminding area residents, especially those who are elderly, about the numerous, ongoing telephone scams that continue to circulate. Green says in recent weeks, the scams have been escalating to the point that the Police Dept. is receiving several complaints per week.

Green says two of the most frequent types of calls claim to be from either the IRS (Internal Revenue Service), or, from Publishers Clearing House (PCH). Some of the calls are automated. The Chief wants to stress that neither PCH nor the IRS will call you to tell you about prizes won or taxes owed. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should give provide any personal or financial information to the caller, nor should you send cash or money orders to persons who have called demanding payment for those types of services and others.

The only true way to handle the calls, is to HANG UP. Any new calls should either not be answered if they show up as being from the same number, or if your caller ID show no numbers, then don’t answer, or hang up. The scammers on the other end of the line are experts at trying to gain your confidence or compliance by tempting you to win prizes or threatening you with arrest.

Green says the P-D is aware of the scams, and individual reports to police are not necessary. He says it’s especially important that you sit down with elderly family members or friends and explain to them they may be receiving the scam calls, because those persons are most often targeted for exploitation of their finances and personal information.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court says companies that provide phone service through the Internet must be taxed the same as traditional telephone service providers. The court ruled 6-0 Friday that Voice over Internet Protocol providers operate “telephone lines” even if their service is provided through a broadband network. Therefore, justices say those companies are subject to annual property tax assessments based on the amount of cable and wire they use to provide the service.

The ruling rejected a challenge from Cable One, Inc., an Arizona-based company that provides cable, internet and VoIP service in the Sioux City area. Cable One challenged two years of Iowa Department of Revenue assessments totaling $1.4 million, arguing they didn’t apply because the company doesn’t operate a telephone line.