A man from Creston was arrested Saturday morning on an assault charge. According to Creston Police, 31-year-old Dustin Levi Grout was taken into custody at his residence at around 6:45-a.m., Saturday. He was transported to the Union County Jail and later released, after seeing the magistrate.

And, a woman from Creston was arrested late Saturday night at the Creston Walmart. 39-year-old Nicki Renee Jones was arrested for Trespass-Refuse to Vacate/1st offense. She was cited and released.

(Elliott, Iowa) – Sheriff’s Deputies in Montgomery County, Saturday morning, arrested a man in Elliott for Public Intoxication. Authorities say Deputies were dispatched at around 12:25-a.m. to a flight complaint, in Elliott. Upon arrival, they saw a man later identified as Mathew Nicholson standing in the road on 5th Street. The man was found to be highly intoxicated, based on Deputies’ prior experiences.

Nicholson preliminary breath test (PBT) registered .211 (Just under 3 times the legal limit). He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $300 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) – One person escaped injury but another died during a house fire Sunday night, in Des Moines. According to KCCI, a woman who was trapped inside the burning home died in the fire on the east side of the Capital City. The fire was first reported just before 6 p.m. near the intersection of Wilson Avenue and Glenbrook Drive near Union Park.

Des Moines fire Lt. Rick Thomas said the woman was sleeping on the couch when flames tore through the house. Her adult son was outside when fire crews arrived at the scene. Crews quickly tried to battle through conditions to reach the woman, but a burned out floor slowed their progress. By the time firefighters found the woman, she had already died. Her name was not immediately released.

Officials say the son wasn’t injured, and a dog was safely taken out of the home. Investigators are looking into what caused the fire.

(Creston, Iowa) – One of three passengers in a small car was injured when the vehicle went out of control and struck a small concrete wall in Creston, Sunday night. According to Creston Police, a 2009 Toyota Yaris driven by 19-year-old Kimberly Elizabeth Webb, of Macksburg, was traveling east through the intersection of Adams and Sumner Streets at around 7-p.m.

As she was turning north onto Sumner, the car went out of control and proceeded outside of the roadway before striking the concrete wall. Webb was not injured, but her passenger, 19-year-old Sabrina Stewart, of Creston, suffered suspected minor, non-incapacitating injuries. She complained of pain and was checked out by medical personnel at the scene, but did not transported to the hospital.

Webb was cited by Police for Failure to Maintain Control. Damage to the car was estimated at $3,000. The wall, owned by the City of Creston, sustained $200 damage.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds is offering a narrow interpretation of the bill she signed into law last month about Covid vaccination requirements for private sector workers. According to Reynolds, only those workers who claim a religious or medical exemption — and have that claim rejected by their employer — are eligible for unemployment benefits.

“They just don’t decide to not get one and then get on unemployment,” Reynolds says. “They actually have to submit a waiver and if the waiver is rejected, then they qualify for unemployment.” Reynolds made her comments during an interview with Radio Iowa. In late October, the Iowa Association of Business and Industry told legislators the law didn’t solve the problem they were trying to solve and there’s a risk businesses will have to pay higher state taxes to cover this new group of employees who’ve refused Covid shots and now qualify for unemployment benefits.

Reynolds suggests it won’t be a large group of unvaccinated Iowans qualifying for employment. “We’re not going to let that get out of hand,” Reynolds says. “We’re going to continue to manage it, but you know we’re protecting Iowans and their rights and their freedom and liberty to make the choice for their health care and that’s where we’re going to stay.”

Reynolds says she heard from Iowa employers, particularly in the health care industry, who have been worried about staffing shortages if they’re required to dismiss workers who don’t get a Covid shot. Reynolds has joined three, multi-state lawsuits challenging federal vaccination requirements that would impact tens of millions of workers.