The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public to be on the lookout for a silver Dodge Caravan, following an incident that took place last Thursday. Authorities say at around 3-p.m., the Sheriff’s Office received a call about a person performing a sex act in the Sidney City Park. The witness said the subject was driving a silver Dodge Caravan with Iowa license plates, but the witness was unable to get the license plate number. The driver was described as being a white man in his mid-30’s, with brown hair and a beard. When the man saw that he was being observed, he left the park and was last seen heading west on Knox Road.

If you see the suspect vehicle or driver, do not approach the man. Instead, call your local law enforcement agency.

WELLMAN, Iowa (AP) — A superintendent who let a convicted sex offender volunteer at an eastern Iowa school district says he’ll resign if the school board doesn’t give him a vote of confidence.
Minutes of Saturday’s special Mid-Prairie school board meeting in Wellman show Superintendent Mark Schneider apologized for dividing the community with his 2015 decision regarding volunteer Trent Yoder. Yoder had pleaded guilty to exploiting a minor at an Anita school by videotaping a high school athlete changing her clothes in 1998. He was removed from the sex offender registry after 10 years.
Schneider told the board members he needed their votes of support at their May 14 meeting to resolve the Yoder issue and others.
Yoder also spoke Saturday and told the board he wouldn’t volunteer for any events for the remainder of the school year.

Officials with the Creston Police Department report two arrests took place, Sunday. Late Sunday morning, 41-year old Joel Gross, of Creston, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault and Going Armed with Intent. His bond at the Union County Jail was set at $7,000. And, at around 3:15-a.m. Sunday, 24-year old Cody Parmenter, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Suspended, and on an Adams County warrant for Failure to Appear in court. He was later released from custody on a $500 bond.

Creston Police said also, a resident of the 1200 block of Lake Avenue reported Saturday, that sometime around 8-p.m. that evening, someone broke into her home and vandalized the property, by spray painting things on interior walls of the residence, and they stole cash and silver. The loss was estimated at $2,700. On April 21st, a resident of Kent reported to Creston Police, that his storage unit at 634 New York Avenue, in Creston, was broken into and several items were stolen.

The missing items include a Summit Racing V8 grill and cover, Much Boots, Stihl leaf blower, a Stihl weed eater, and a Homelite chainsaw. The loss was estimated at $1,756.

April has been distracted driving awareness month and a state trooper says it continues to be a problem across the country and in Iowa. Sergeant Nathan Ludwig with the Iowa State Patrol says they see motorists texting driving every day on Iowa’s roadways despite a change in law that makes it illegal. “It just seems like everybody is doing it because people just can’t seem to get that phone out of their hand,” Ludwig says.

The law changed last July 1st so law enforcement officers don’t have to pull over violators for something else to charge them with texting and driving. “Just since last July 1st, just the Iowa State Patrol we’ve written 915 citations so far and those are just the ones we’ve actually seen and gotten stopped,” Ludwig says.

Ludwig says texting while driving can be a tough law to enforce. “It is hard to get up right beside someone and actually see their fingers texting on the phone,” Ludwig says. “for us, it’s unless they actually put their phone up to their ear and they’re dialing a number or talking, then it’s pretty obvious that they’re texting or doing something else on their phone.”

Sergeant Ludwig believes auto manufacturers contribute to the distracted driving problem with the other things in cars. “People don’t look down the road when they’re driving. They’re relying on sensor on their vehicle, they rely on their G-P-S, and they don’t look at road signs. We’re distracted from kids in the car, movies in the car, and I see people putting on makeup or eating breakfast or doing something in their car all the time,” Ludwig says.

He says the Patrol’s biggest advice to people is to get stuff done ahead of time and then get in your car and just drive. A common misconception is that it’s legal to text when stopped at a stop sign or stoplight. Ludwig says you can only legally text while behind the wheel when your car is off the traveled portion of the roadway and at a complete stop.

(Radio Iowa)

OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) — An Ottumwa woman accused of stealing from dependent adults has pleaded not guilty. Court records say 42-year-old Malia Ollom entered the pleas last week to 22 counts that included allegations of forgery, theft and dependent adult abuse. Her next court hearing is scheduled for Friday.

Authorities say Ollom worked for Crest Services and was responsible for managing the finances of adults under her supervision. Police were contacted Jan. 11 about irregularities that occurred in the clients’ accounts between May last year and January. Authorities say that among the incidents, Ollom fraudulently obtained and used a credit card using information from one of her clients and stole more than $5,700 from another by forging the victim’s name on checks.