The Glenwood Police Department reports 39-year old Crystal Rowland, of Glenwood, was arrested Monday. Rowland was charged with Failure to Appear, plus a new charge of Driving While Revoked. Her total cash or surety bond amounts to $2,000.

Des Moines, Iowa – A man from northwest Iowa, 46-year-old Andrew Warren Joyce, from Emmetsburg, was recently charged with one Class B Felony count of Ongoing Criminal Conduct, one Class C Felony count of Theft 1st Degree, on Class D Felony count of Theft 2nd Degree, and one Class D Felony count of Failure to Trust Pre-need Funeral Services. The charges followed an investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau that began in 2019.

Photo courtesy of the Palo Alto Sheriff’s Office.

According to criminal complaints filed by the Iowa Insurance Fraud Bureau, while acting as an Iowa funeral director licensed to sell pre-need funeral insurance policies, Andrew Joyce failed to comply with the requirements of Iowa Code chapter 523A. A Cease and Desist order was previously issued against Joyce by the Iowa Insurance Division in October of 2019. On December 29th, 2020 Joyce was charged and posted bond with a promise to appear in court at a later date. No additional information was released.

A reminder: If you have information about insurance fraud, or suspected fraud, contact the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau at 515-654-6556.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — An investigation continues into what caused a fire at the Council Bluffs airport that destroyed one plane and damaged several others. The fire broke out Wednesday morning, sending thick black smoke into the air. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in about 40 minutes.

Authorities say one plane was a total loss and others sustained smoke damage. Officials have not yet estimated the financial toll.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa has one of the nation’s worst rates of children being hit by trains, according to a study by a non-profit group that works to protect kids from preventable injuries. Nadji  Kirby, senior program manager at Safe Kids Worldwide, says Iowa has the country’s third-highest percentage of railroad-related accidents involving kids. “In Iowa, between 2010 and 2019, there were 54 children injured in rail-related incidents,” Kirby says. “Of those, 12 were fatal and 42 were non-fatal.”

Those accidents accounted for 16-percent of all rail-related injuries in Iowa, ranking the state behind only Indiana at 20-percent and Idaho at 19-percent. The study found many parents don’t realize the importance of addressing railroad safety, with fewer than half of parents surveyed saying they’ve talked with their kids about it — and half of parents admit to taking risks around railroads. “The majority of parents don’t consider children being hit by trains to be a big problem, despite the fact that we found that every five days a child is killed in a train collision,” she says.

Safe Kids Worldwide and Omaha-based Union Pacific Railroad are working to increase awareness and educate families about how to be safe around train tracks. Kirby says railroad crossing accidents often occur when a driver isn’t paying attention near the tracks, when drivers or walkers choose to go around a safety barrier, or when they race to cross the track before the train passes.  “Talk to the kids about only crossing at designated crossings that are marked by signs, lights and gates,” Kirby says. “Always wait for the train to completely pass because trains can take up to a mile to stop, so once a train sees you, it might be too late. Also, the importance of not being distracted around tracks or trains, because distraction is a big issue, driving and/or walking.”

For motorists, allow plenty of space when stopped at railroad crossings, as trains are at least three feet wider than the tracks on either side.

Full report: https://www.safekids.org/research-report/railroads-often-overlooked-danger-children