(Radio Iowa) – Two northeast Iowans are charged with taking part in kidnapping. Oelwein police were advised of an alleged child abduction that took place in the 10 block of 6th Street Northwest around 8 p.m. Thursday. Following an investigation, authorities found the suspect vehicle in Black Hawk County.

A man and woman were then arrested for felony child stealing. Officials identified them as 31-year-old Raquel Bowser of Oelwein and 27-year-old Justin Green of West Union.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are being encouraged to get their flu shots early this season as the upcoming flu season, coupled with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, could put a bigger strain on health care systems. Shelly Jensen is an immunization nurse clinician with the Iowa Department of Public Health.  “Health care systems could be overwhelmed treating both patients with flu and patients with COVID,” Jensen says, “so getting that flu vaccine this year is more important than ever.”

Jensen says it’s still too soon to predict how severe this flu season could be. She says it’s especially important for people with underlying conditions like diabetes, asthma or cancer to get vaccinated. Jensen says the vaccine is widely available, but distribution might look a little different this year because of the pandemic. “There may be more drive-thru clinics,” she says. “It may look a little different at your doctor’s office. They may not have as many walk-in appointments.”

The flu vaccine is recommended for anyone over the age of six months.

(Radio Iowa) – The Nebraska Supreme Court has ruled residents should be able to vote on a constitutional amendment to legalize casino gambling and two initiatives to regulate casinos. The ruling supports a petition from the group “Keep the Money in Nebraska” and others. The C-E-O of the Native American Ho-Chunk tribe, Lance Morgan, says they want to bring the gambling into the state and there is support. “We’ve done the polling and the vast majority of Nebraskans support it. I think anybody who knows anything down in Omaha knows the Council Bluffs (Iowa) casinos are full of Nebraskans.” Morgan says. “So gaming is here — there’s gaming in every state that touches Nebraska.”

Nebraska’s Secretary of State had refused to put the measures on the November ballot, saying there were multiple conflicting issues. The Supreme Court’s split decision overrules the Secretary of State and Morgan says they will now campaign to get the measures passed. “And my guess is we’ll face some challenges — both socially oriented challenges — and then challenges probably funded by Iowa casinos I suppose,” Morgan says. “We will fight for our share of the airways and see if we can get people to join us.”

The Nebraska Supreme Court in a separate ruling rejected putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot to legalize medical marijuana.

(Radio Iowa) – State medical director Dr. Caitlin Pedati says having students move around a classroom every few minutes creates more opportunities for the coronavirus to spread.  “The advice that we’ve provided is that rather have people interaction more and create more person to person interactions, really you want to have fewer person to person interactions,” she says.

The Iowa Starting Line website indicated a few Iowa school districts are asking students to get up and move around every 12 to 14 minutes, moves that could avoid quarantining students who were — for at least 15 minutes — within six feet of someone who tests positive for Covid. “I wouldn’t suggest that as an approach,” Pedati says. Some schools are doing the exact opposite of encouraging periodic movement and, instead, are keeping students and teachers together in pods throughout the day to prevent the potential spread of the virus through a school building.
“We’ve got a virus that moves from person to person and so minimizing person to person interactions is how you can minimize the transfer of this virus,” Pedati says.

Waukee administrators say they’re recommending students stand up and move up to five times an hour to promote healthy habits, but all students in a classroom will still be asked to quarantine if one tests positive for the virus. The Des Moines Register reports Woodbury-Central School District officials are evaluating whether shuffling students around every 12 to 14 minutes would prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Two, out-of-state men were arrested on drug charges Thursday night, in Creston. According to Creston Police, 19-year old Brandon Montrell Thompson, of Kansas City, MO., and 18-year old Josiah Ahmad Reed, of Sheffield, AL., were arrested at the Union County Jail. Both were charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense. Thompson posted bond and was released. Reed was being held in the Union County Jail on a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

And, 34-year old Skylar Allen Rufenacht, of Creston, was arrested today (Friday), at around 4:50-a.m., for Domestic Abuse Assault with Intent to Inflict Serious Injury/1st offense. Rufenacht was being held without bond in the Union County Jail, until seen by the magistrate.

Creston Police said also, a man reported the passenger side mirror on his vehicle was damaged sometime between 12-a.m. and 7-a.m., Thursday. The vehicle had been parked in a lot behind a business located near the 200 block of N. Elm Street. The damage was estimated at $100.