Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety said late Saturday night, that authorities were investigating an officer-involved shooting incident that took place in Ottumwa. At approximately 8:55-a.m. Saturday, a call came into the Ottumwa Police Department dispatch center in reference to a house fire at 416 Waverly Avenue in Ottumwa. The caller also said that a male subject was outside shooting a rifle at the same house.

Ottumwa officers responded to the scene and upon arrival confronted the subject.  Officers gave commands for the subject to drop the rifle but the man refused.  He allegedly raised the rifle at officers in a threatening manner, who then  shot the subject. Officers immediately began life saving measures on the man, and the Ottumwa Fire Department was called to extinguish the fire.

The subject was transported to the Ottumwa Regional Medical Center and underwent surgery for his injuries.  A report on his condition was not immediately available. The officers involved with the incident were placed on paid administrative leave, per Ottumwa Police Department policy.

The Ottumwa Police Department requested the assistance of the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI).   The Wapello County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) State Fire Marshal Division (SFM) and Iowa State Patrol (ISP) also assisted with the investigation.

In a separate incident that occurred at the same scene, 49-year old Gerald Porter, was arrested for possession with intent to deliver more than five grams of methamphetamine. Porter was arrested after the officer-involved shooting.  His arrest was NOT associated with the shooting. No additional information was released.

A vehicle pulling into a parking spot in front of a Creston restaurant, Saturday morning, struck the building, causing $1,500 damage to the structure and $300 damage to the vehicle. Creston Police say 89-year old Wesley Brzozowski, of Creston, was driving a 1997 Mercury Marquis when he attempted to pull-up a little closer to the building in a parking spot.

His foot slipped off the brake and onto the accelerator, causing the car to lurch forward into the north wall of the Casa De Oro Restaurant. The accident happened at around 11:35-a.m. No injuries were reported, and there were no citations issued.

The Iowa Department of Corrections issued a statement Saturday afternoon, with regard to an escaped Work Release inmate. DOC spokesman Fred Scaletta says 26-year old Karlos L. Goldman Jr., was placed on escape status following an unexcused absence from the Fort Des Moines Work Release Facility.

Karlos Goldman

Goldman is serving a 26-year sentence, which began Dec. 18, 2008, for assault while participating in felony, voluntary absence, two counts of first-degree theft and forgery in two counties. He is described as African-American with black hair who is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs around 270 pounds. He has tattoos on his chest, upper left arm, left forearm, right forearm and neck. He has piercings on both ears.

Anyone with information on Goldman’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Des Moines Police Department or the Polk County Sheriff’s Department.

Kids across Iowa are hearing a message about the importance of reading books and switching off the television from an unlikely source — the star of a T-V show. Dan Wardell is the host of Iowa Public T-V’s Kids Clubhouse and he’s making his 10th annual trek to libraries across Iowa this summer.

“Ten years, I’ve been on the Reading Road Trip,” Wardell says. “It started with 51 libraries ten years ago and now I’m visiting 75 libraries, the biggest of the big libraries and the smallest of the small libraries all across the state. Just teaching kids to turn their TVs off, go outside and play, use their imaginations, read good books, and eat healthy food.” Wardell said he creates his own tales when he makes his stops.

“One of the cool things they’ve always let me do at IPTV is to write my own stories for these Reading Road Trip events,” he says. “I don’t actually read a book during the events but we incorporate the librarians, we incorporate the kids, we even incorporate the grownups into a super-interactive story time.”

The show will run for ten weeks. Find the full list of all of the stops at the website: http://site.iptv.org/about/iptv-news/iptv-announces-dates-tenth-annual-reading-road-trip

(Radio Iowa)