Three people were arrested on separate charges Thursday, in Pottawattamie County. The Sheriff’s Office on Friday (Today), said 38-year-old Marlen Martinez-Solares, of Omaha, was arrested at around 8-p.m. Thursday, following a traffic stop at Highway 6 and Hackberry Road. She was taken into custody for OWI/1st offense, with bond set at $1,000. In addition, Martinez-Solares was cited for Failure to Maintain Control of a Motor Vehicle, Littering upon a Highway, and Open Container – Driver.

Thursday afternoon, 47-year-old Jerry Lee Dawson was arrested at the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office, after he turned himself-in on a warrant for Violation of Probation. After the warrant was confirmed, Dawson was transported to the Pott. County Jail and turned over to Corrections staff.

And, at around 9:25-a.m. Thursday, 36-year-old Daniel Jason Kennedy, of Council Bluffs, an inmate at the Pott. County Jail, was presented with a warrant for Criminal Trespass/2nd offense. Once he acknowledged the warrant, Kennedy was returned to the custody of jail staff.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office on Friday (today), reported five arrests from April 30th to May 5th. On Wednesday (5/5), Deputies arrested 53-year-old Charles Jonathan DeJong, of Manning, on two Cass County warrants for Failure to Appear.   DeJong was transported from the Carroll County Jail to the Cass County Jail and later released on his own recognizance.

On May 2nd, 59-year-old Myron L. Flathers, of Bridgewater, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for violation of probation.  Flathers was transported to Cass County Jail.  Upon arrival at the jail, he was found to be in possession of drug contraband.  He subsequently was assessed with an additional charge of possessing contraband, and was being held on $7,000 bond.

On May 1st, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 29-year-old Shialea Kay Cozad, for driving while barred.  Cozad was transported to Cass County Jail as was later released on her own recognizance. That same day, 31-year-old Marshall Brandon Fischer, of Atlantic, was arrested on charges of driving while barred and assault with bodily injury.  Fischer was transported to Cass County Jail and also later released on his own recognizance.

And, on April 30th, Cass County Deputies arrested 29-year-old Nathan Drew Simington, of Griswold, for OWI/1st offense.  Simington was cited and released.

The Sheriff’s Office reports also, that a little before 4-a.m. Sunday, May 2nd, deputies responded to an accident on eastbound I-80 at mile marker 57 (the Olive Street exit). Authorities say Loren Griffin, of Exira, was driving a 2016 Dodge Ram when he fell asleep at the wheel. The pickup truck ran over 50 yards of cable barrier and support posts, until it came to rest on the north side of the eastbound lanes. Griffin was not injured. His vehicle sustained an estimated $20,000 damage.

(Radio Iowa) – A Las Vegas man who’s making a cross-country journey on a stand-up electric scooter is almost done with the Iowa leg of his month-long adventure. Alex Simon left Boston, Massachusetts on April 24th and is traveling in segments all the way to Newport, Oregon. The past several days, Simon’s been quietly making his way across Iowa via U-S Highway 20, making stops in Dubuque, Iowa Falls and Fort Dodge.

“I’m promoting micro-mobility,” Simon says. “It’s nothing more than replacing cars with a smarter alternative when traveling short distances, based on zero to three miles. Instead of taking a

Alex Simon

car just to go down the road or to the coffee shop or to the park, maybe we can take an electric scooter or an e-bike or a skateboard, and that’s what this trip is all about.”

Alex Simon on an electric scooter

Simon plans to ride from Fort Dodge to Sioux City today (Friday) and is scheduled to arrive in Oregon by May 23rd.

https://www.facebook.com/zerotoepic/

The Iowa Department of Public health Friday, reported 459 new COVID-19 positive tests, and 18 additional deaths, including one in each of Audubon, Mills and Montgomery Counties, and two in Pottawattamie County (See the County-by-County-data below). This latest round of recorded COVID-related deaths bring the statewide total for the pandemic, to 5,980. The health department reports 397,132 total positive tests since the start of the pandemic. The state’s 14-day positivity rate is 3.8%, and the seven-day positivity rate is 3.7%.

COVID hospitalizations across the state are nearly steady. As of Friday, there were 189 hospitalized, 43 persons in an ICU, 44 people were admitted, and 16 were on a ventilator. In RMCC Region 4 (hospitals in western/southwest Iowa), there are 14 COVID patients hospitalized; three remain in an ICU; four people were admitted, and two people remain on a ventilator.

There have been more than 2.4-million doses of a COVID vaccine administered in Iowa, with 1.14-million persons having completed their respective vaccination series.

The state reports there are now two Long-Term Care Facility Outbreaks. Those are at the New Hampton Nursing and Rehab Center in northeast Iowa, and Urbandale Health Care Center. Combined, they have 22 positive cases among residents and staff,  with 18 total recoveries. The state reports 2,323 care facility deaths since the pandemic began.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:
Cass, 1,460 cases; {+2}; 54 deaths
Adair, 982; {+0}; 32
Adams, 349 {+1}; 4
Audubon, 526 {+0}; 10
Guthrie, 1,290 {+0}; 29
Harrison County, 1,925; {+1}; 73
Madison County, 1,746; {+2; 19
Mills County, 1,781; {+0}; 22
Montgomery, 1,106;{+1}; 38
Pottawattamie County, 12,161; {+20}; 168
Shelby County, 1,364 {+0}; 37
Union County, 1,362; {+2}; 32

(Radio Iowa) – Pandemic restrictions are being relaxed in some areas after more than a year, and optimistic Iowans are responding by planning summer vacations to destinations near and far. Hamilton County Public Health director Shelby Kroona, says to do your homework first and make certain visitors are being accepted before you buy plane tickets. “It’s really important to know where you’re traveling, especially if you’re going international,” Kroona says. “Some of those countries are going to start to open up to us. Europe is talking about letting Americans come and travel this summer, same with cruises and different things.”

Even some places in the U-S aren’t exactly safe from COVID-19, as she notes Oregon is experiencing a spike in cases at the moment. “Go online, look at the health departments for those states and there’ll be information on there if that is a hotspot right now,” Kroona says. “If you can delay, then plan that into your trip. Be thinking ahead of where you’re going and knowing what that state requires, because different states have different requirements.” No matter where you’re planning to go, researching options in advance is key and Kroona says the Centers for Disease Control is a good clearinghouse. “If you go to the CDC website,” she says, “there’s a wonderful travel page and it will give you all of the up-to-date guidelines for that particular country.”

For domestic vacations, even getaways to other parts of Iowa, she says smart travelers will familiarize themselves with the rules and regulations before venturing forth. “If you’re flying or using mass transportation, buses, subways, taxicabs, Uber or Lyft, all of those, even if you’re fully vaccinated, you will be required to wear a mask,” Kroona says. “It is in your best interest on some of these smaller things, like Uber and Lyft, just because you don’t know if the person driving has been vaccinated or not.”

It was announced this week that Broadway theaters in New York will reopen in September to 100-percent capacity since being closed over a year ago. All of the COVID travel facts can be found at cdc.gov.