Thousands of Iowans are getting letters in the mail saying they’ve won two roundtrip airline tickets, but beware before you start packing your bags. The letters may look like a traditional form letter from something called U-S Airlines, or they may resemble two boarding passes. Whichever one you may get, Geoff Greenwood at the Iowa Attorney General’s office, says the offer has several red flags that point to it being iffy.

“People are being notified that they were ‘selected,’ that they ‘qualified’ for an award,” Greenwood says. “They didn’t enter anything and that’s gotta’ tell you something right there. They’re just picking your name out of a hat and suddenly giving you this free trip?” Greenwood says, “If you were to say ‘yes’ to this offer, chances are you’re going to have to go through some hoops and chances are you’re going to have to pay some money before you get these supposedly free airline tickets.”

If you call the 800-number on the letter, Greenwood says you may be subjected to a high-pressure presentation. “We’re in the early stages of looking into this,” Greenwood says. “We don’t have a lot of information yet because Iowans are just starting to let us know about this. We’ll be asking some questions of the company and making sure the company is following consumer laws if they’re trying to do business here in Iowa.” While he’s not saying it’s a scam, Greenwood is saying to be very cautious.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with U-S Cellular have announced voting has started in the company-sponsored “Calling All Communities” campaign to improve education. Returning for its fourth year,the cellular phone provider will give communities the opportunity to help improve the education of students at 18 schools by challenging them to rally community support for the chance to win a share of $1 million. The school that garners the most community votes wins $150,000, while the next 17 schools with the most votes receive $50,000. Individuals can visit their local U.S. Cellular store to pick up a code to vote for their favorite school.

Calling All Communities is open to all K-12 schools — big or small, public or private. Voting concludes Oct. 21st. To vote, simply visit a local U.S. Cellular store to pick up a voting code, then enter it online at uscellular.com. You can check back to track your school ranking, see the top vote-getting schools, get ideas to rally more votes and post photos. With only one vote per person, it is important to get entire communities involved.

Since the program began in 2008, U.S. Cellular has awarded $3 million to 38 schools across the country for them to use however they see fit to impact the education of students. Past Calling All Communities champions have used their winnings in a variety of ways to strengthen the learning experience for thousands of students. Many winning schools outfitted their classrooms with new computers, improved outdated infrastructure and renovated gymnasiums, kitchens and science labs as well as provided scholarships to graduating students.

Among the school districts receiving awarded funds through the program over the past few years, is the Carroll Kuemper Catholic High School, which won $100,000 in 2009.  Getting off to a strong start in the voting has proven successful for schools in past campaigns. Previous winners got out of the gate early and rallied their community together in fun and innovative ways. Using social networking sites – such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter – will help spread the word online, but don’t forget to engage parent teacher organizations, alumni networks, sports teams, the school band or student groups to help get the word out.

The official rules for the campaign are located at uscellular.com/callingallcommunities.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A western Iowa store where a clerk was attacked with a stun gun in robberies just days apart is now under police scrutiny.  Exotic Gifts in Council Bluffs and other stores with similar names in the Nebraska cities of Omaha and Lincoln were raided Thursday by agents with the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Bureau. The Council Bluff store’s clerk was led away in handcuffs during the raids.  Federal authorities would not say what agents were seeking in the raid, but several boxes were seen being removed from the stores.  Only two weeks earlier, the clerk had been repeatedly shocked with a stun gun in back-to-back robberies. Two Omaha men have been arrested on suspicion of burglary in those robberies.

Officials with the Iowa National Guard say the 132nd Fighter Wing of the Iowa Air National Guard will be conducting an Operational Readiness Exercise, beginning this weekend. The exercise, scheduled to take place Sept. 15^th through the 21^st, is designed to increase the unit’s readiness for future domestic and combat operations at the Des Moines Airbase, which is located at the Des Moines International Airport.

F-16 fighter

In addition, increased flight operations will be conducted during the exercise in a temporary Military Operating Area (MOA) designed to provide realistic training. The MOA is situated in northwest Iowa and extends west from Carroll to Charter Oak, north to Sanborn, east to Whittemore, then southwest to Carroll. F-16 aircraft will be flying extended hours of operation, 7 a.m. to 1 a.m., and at altitudes as low as 4,500 feet. Given the lower altitudes, aircraft may be visible and audible throughout the temporary operating area.