Here’s the latest report from the Mills County Sheriff’s Office:

On Monday (Aug. 1), Deputies arrested 41-year-old Louis Hardrock Younger, of Bedford, for Pre-trial revocation. He was taken into custody at the Mills County Courthouse and held on a $20,000 bond.

On Sunday (July 31), 45-year-old Amanda Kay Berglund, of Glenwood, was arrested for violation of a No Contact Order. She was being held in the Mills County Jail without bond.

There were three arrests last Thursday (July 28) in Mills County:

• 34-year-old Cynthia Marie Griffin, of Bellevue, NE., was arrested for OWI/1st offense ($1,000 bond).
• 51-year-old Jeffrey Wade Massey, of Hamburg, was arrested at the Fremont County Jail on a Mills County warrant for Possession of a Controlled Substance ($5,000 bond).
• and, 31-year-old Shaka Renee Gordon, of Omaha, was arrested at the Pottawattamie County Courthouse, on a Mills County warrant for Failure to Appear on charges that include Poss. of a Controlled Substance & Poss. of paraphernalia (Bond $1,000).

(Kimballton, Iowa) – Officials with the City of Kimballton report the water Boil Advisory issued Sunday, has been cancelled. Test results on a water sample sent to a lab in Ankeny came back clean, therefor the water is safe to drink and use once for other purposes, in Kimballton.

The City issued a Boil Advisory as a precaution, following issues with the water distribution system that potentially could have resulted in bacterial contamination to drinking water.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports many people are receiving text messages about their bank account having had unauthorized activity. The Sheriff’s Office warns you, “Do not call the number or click the link. It is a scam. If you question whether a text message or email is real or fake contact your local bank, by looking up the number yourself or stopping by in person.”

Never respond to any text where the sender is unknown or is not on your contact list. Follow these tips to help prevent you from becoming a victim of a text message scam:

1. Don’t reply directly to any spam text message – Directly replying to a spam text message lets a spammer know that your number is genuine. What happens next? They can sell your phone number to other spammers who might bombard you with promises of free gifts and product offers.

2. Do treat your personal information like it’s cash – Spam text messages may lure you into disclosing personal information like how much money you make, how much you owe the bank, your Social Security number, and credit card details. Most legitimate companies do not request personal information like passwords, account details, and other personal details via text messages. When in doubt, look up the company phone number, call them, and verify if a legitimate request was made. Don’t call the number sent in the text message.

3. Don’t click on any links in the text message – Clicking on a link in a spam text message could install malware that can collect information from your phone. It can take you to spoof sites that look real but are designed to steal your information. Malware can also slow down your cell phone’s performance by taking up space on your phone’s memory. Once the spammer has your information, it can be sold to marketers or, worse, identity thieves. It can also lead to unwanted charges on your cell phone bill. Your wireless carrier may charge you for receiving a text message, regardless of whether you requested it.

4. Do review your cell phone bill regularly – It’s smart to check your phone bill regularly to make sure it reflects the correct amount. If there are charges that don’t look right, call the phone company and find out if you’re receiving or sending spam messages from your phone.

5. Do check your phone’s settings – Your phone probably has built-in features to help block unwanted calls and text messages. Type in “block” using your device’s search function.

For Android phones, look for the three dots in the top right-hand corner of your text. Click on it and select “People” and “Options.” Next, select “Block” to stop receiving spam text messages from that number.; For iPhones, click on the “i” in the top right-hand corner of the spam text. Next, click on the number and select “Block.”

6. Do place your cell phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry – Wondering how to stop spam calls? Adding your phone number to the Federal Trade Commission’s National Do Not Call Registry lets you opt you out of receiving most telemarketing calls. If you receive an unwanted call after your number is on the registry for 31 days, you can report it to the FTC.

7. Do check to see if your carrier offers a call-blocking service – Most major carriers offer call-blocking services or plans that let you block phone numbers from unknown callers for a specific period of time. You can also see if one of the third-party call-blocking apps and services will work with your carrier’s wireless service.

8. Do report spam texts to your wireless carrier

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – A large tree fell on two, occupied vehicles this (Tuesday) morning, in Council Bluffs, but only minor injuries were reported. According to Council Bluffs Police, emergency personnel were dispatched at around 8:48-a.m., to the area of Stahl and Madison Avenue, for a tree that fallen on two occupied vehicles. One person was still pinned inside one of the vehicles.

Upon arrival, emergency crews found a large full size tree had split near the base and a large portion had fallen across Madison Ave. The tree landed on top of two passing vehicles, a sedan traveling south bound and a full size pickup traveling north bound. Four people (3 adults and 1 juvenile) were in the south bound sedan. They were able to get out of their vehicle sustaining minor injuries to one of the occupants.

The driver of the north bound pickup was pinned inside of the vehicle for approximately 30-to 40-minutes while rescue crews cut the tree off of the driver and vehicle. The driver of the pickup was conscious and talking throughout the incident. He was transported to the hospital by rescue squad with what is believed at this time to be non-life threatening injuries. During the course of the incident numerous departments with the city including Council Bluffs Fire, Council Bluffs Police, & Public Works were involved. Arrow Towing also brought in a in a large articulating boom tow truck to stabilize the tree and eventually lift the tree off of the pickup.

South 1st and Madison Ave had traffic rerouted for a couple hours while the scene was cleared. This is an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Council Bluffs Police Traffic Unit. (712)328-4948

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Harlan Police Department reports three arrests:

On Sunday, 19-year-old Trent James Ring, of Minden, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance, Poss. of drug paraphernalia, & public intoxication.

Police arrested 38-year-old Troy Dakota Weelborg, of Harlan, on Saturday, for Violation of a No Contact Order.

And, on Friday, 30-year-old Crystal Jean Oliver, of Harlan, was arrested for a Controlled Substance Violation, Poss. of drug paraphernalia, prohibited acts, failure to affix a drug tax stamp, failure to obey a traffic control device, and open container.

Harlan Police said also, no injuries were reported, when a 2011 Chevy Impala driven by Glenn Euchner, of Harlan, accelerated forward from a parking space and struck an apartment building on Hawkeye Avenue. The incident took place Sunday. There were no injuries reported also, following a collision Monday, between a 2004 Pontiac Bonneville driven by Rylie Wohlhutter, of Harlan, and a 2017 Ford Explorer driven by Brooke Wilson, of Avoca. The accident happened at 9th & Pine, in Harlan, as the car was traveling north on 9th Street after stopping at the stop sign. The car struck the SUV, which was traveling west on Pine Street, and making a turn onto 9th Street.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the U-S shouldn’t let China dictate the itinerary of any American traveling abroad, especially someone as high-ranking as U-S House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She’s in the midst of an Asian tour and is visiting Taiwan, which has prompted China to issue a series of threats while flexing its military muscles. Grassley says, “We cannot have any government telling any member of Congress what country they can go to — or not go to.”

China considers Taiwan part of its territory, and Republican Grassley says it’s -not- a mistake for Democrat Pelosi to visit the island, which would send a message the U-S supports Taiwan’s independence. A Chinese official reportedly said, “Those who play with fire will perish by it,” in regards to Pelosi’s travel plans. “It would show a very definite weakness on our part in our dealing with China,” Grassley says, “if we would lend credence to their threat that we better not go to China.”

Pelosi would be the highest ranking U-S official to visit Taiwan since then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich stopped there in 1997. “I’m a strong supporter of Taiwan as well, and it’s been 35 or 40 years since I visited Taiwan,” Grassley says. “I don’t have any desire to go back again, but if I wanted to, I’d do it regardless of what the Chinese government said about me.”

One report says China’s state-run media implied Pelosi’s jet would be shot down before it would be able to land in Taiwan.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors held a brief meeting this (Tuesday) morning, during which they accepted the resignation of Beth Peterson as Safety Coordinator. Peterson, also serves the an Election Clerk for the County. A Safety Coordinator basically serves as a responsible for planning, implementing and overseeing company’s employee safety at work. Their main duty is to ensure that the company is in compliance and adheres to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) guidelines to to reduce work-related injuries.

The Board currently has no candidates for the position. Anyone interested should contact the Montgomery County Auditor’s Office. The Board of Supervisors will eventually act on appointing a person to the position.

In other business, Barry Byers, with the Montgomery County Secondary Roads Department, gave a report on the department’s activities.