ANKENY, Iowa – July 1, 2019 – There’s a cool new specialty license plate available to Iowans today (Monday). The latest addition to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s options is the “blackout” plate — an all-black plate with white lettering authorized last legislative session.

You can order the new plate starting today. It’s offered as both a standard alpha-numeric plate and a personalized plate, and you can order both online, or by completing this form and mailing it to the Iowa DOT’s Vehicle & Motor Carrier Services Bureau. Iowa Prison Industries will make the plates and ship them to your county treasurer’s office, who will let you know when they are ready to pick up. Please remember to bring the plates you are replacing into your county treasurer’s office to turn them in when you pick up your new plates.

The new plate will cost $35 for a standard alpha-numeric plate and an additional $25 (for a total of $60) for a personalized plate. Funds collected for the blackout plate will go to the Road Use Tax Fund, which funds state, county, and city road and bridge projects throughout Iowa.

License plates are an important tool used by law enforcement and others to help identify a vehicle. This identification has many practical purposes and can be life-saving in the case of criminal activity or a situation like an Amber Alert. As a reminder, you should never use a license plate frame that obscures or blocks the numbers and letters on the plate.  It can hinder this identification and violates state law.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a 16-month girl died after being left inside a hot vehicle in northwest Iowa’s Sioux City. The Sioux City Police Department says officers dispatched around 4 p.m. Sunday found the toddler unconscious. The National Weather Service says the temperature was 98 degrees at the time. She was pronounced dead later at a hospital.
It’s unclear how long the girl was left alone in the vehicle. Her name and other details about what happened haven’t been released.

The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports 33-year old Jacob Burnett Crawford, of Greenfield, was arrested late Friday morning on four charges. Crawford was arrested for Domestic Assault with Bodily Injury/1st offense, after he allegedly punched and grabbed his wife while she was driving on a public roadway, resulting in injuries. He was charged with Child Endangerment because a three-year old child was in the vehicle at the time of the incident. And, Crawford was charged with Possession of Marijuana/2nd offense, and Drug Paraphernalia, after he admitted to possessing a green leafy substance inside of a residence in Greenfield, along with several glass smoking devices which contained a green leafy substance – marijuana, and other devices. His cash or surety bond was set at $4,000.

And, a woman from Oklahoma was arrested, then cited and released, for Theft in the 5th Degree. 27-year old Bethany Ann Moe, of Bartlesville, OK., was arrested at the Casey’s Store in Adair. Her arrested stemmed from an incident whereby an Adair Police Officer heard a firework shoot-off across the street. He identified the person shooting the firework as 36-year old Adam Thompson. Thompson was found to have had warrants. While the officer was speaking with him, Bethany Moe was leaving the Casey’s Store. A check of the vehicles’ license plates came back as stolen, but the car itself was not stolen. Moe claimed possession of the plates, and was cited for possession of stolen property. She was released from the scene.

An investigation into a reported burglary in Stuart last week resulted in the arrest of a Madison County man. The Adair County Sheriff’s Office says 36-year old Warren Logan Davis, of Earlham, was taken into custody at around 10:10-p.m. June 27th. He was charged with Burglary in the 3rd degree and Possession of burglary tools, with a cash or surety bond set at $7,000 . His arrest followed a call from a man, who said he arrived at a house he owns in rural Stuart to find three men outside the residence, and a grandfather clock that belongs to him laying outside the home. The owner was able to get a license plate number off a pickup that he saw take off from his property, with three males inside.

Authorities determined the plates were registered to a green, 1996 Ford pickup truck. The victim said he saw the same vehicle drive by his house a few days before the incident. Before the men took off that same day, they asked the victim if the house could be restored. He told the men his house was not for rent, and asked them to return his property before they left. An Iowa State Patrol Trooper located the suspect vehicle and was able to get it stopped east of Greenfield, at Highway 92 and Trenton Avenue. The driver, who was identified as Warren Davis, said he had been fishing around the same area of the incident, and claimed he was alone. He was said the land owner where he had been fishing ran him off because he did not have permission to be there.

In the back of the pickup, the Trooper observed a sawzall, drill and grinder with a cutoff wheel, along with pry bars and various other tools commonly used during a burglary. The crime victim indicated to authorities that there were pry marks on one of his sheds. Based on the suspect and vehicle description given by the victim, and there was property laying outside the house next to Davis’ vehicle, Davis was taken into custody.

Four people were arrested recently, in Creston. Authorities say 23-year old Taran Austin, of Creston, was arrested a little before 2-a.m. Friday, for Public Intoxication. He was later released on a $300 bond. 34-year old John Foster, of Creston, was arrested at around 2:10-a.m. Friday, for Domestic Abuse Assault/3rd or subsequent offense. He was later released on a $5,000 bond.

At around 11:30-p.m. Saturday, Creston Police arrested 58-year old David Bruce, of Creston, for OWI/1st offense. He was released on $1,000 bond. And, at around 9:15-a.m. Sunday, 39-year old Sheri Watters, of Creston, was arrested for Criminal Mischief in the 5th degree. Watters was cited and released from the scene, on a Promise to Appear.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new report says a June survey of business supply managers suggests economic growth will continue over the next three to six months in nine Midwest and Plains states. The report issued today (Monday), says the Mid-America Business Conditions Index rose to 55.4 last month from 54.3 in May. The April figure was 55.9.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says “weak farm income, produced partially by tariffs and flooding, pulled regional growth below that of the nation.”
The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth. A score below that suggests decline.

The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.