OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Documents say employees maintained a secret waiting list of veterans for some Omaha mental health appointments. The Omaha World-Herald reports that a compliance officer’s memo to the director of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System says the list dodged VA requirements for establishing and maintaining waiting lists. The compliance officer’s audit included two whistleblower complaints made about lists for appointments at the VA’s mental health psychotherapy clinic in Omaha.

The VA acknowledges the audit but won’t answer questions about it. It also says no veterans were harmed. The VA set up strict requirements for establishing waiting lists following a 2014 scandal that showed VA employees were covering up chronic delays with false paperwork and secret lists.

A man from Union County was arrested Monday afternoon on a warrant out of Nebraska. Creston Police arrested 29-year old Christopher Woolums, of Creston, on a Sarpy County, NE., warrant for Violation of Probation, on an original, Possession of a Controlled Substance, charge. Woolums was being held in the Union County Jail pending extradition to NE.

And, a Creston man reported to Police Monday morning, that someone had stolen property from his home valued at $1,500 altogether. The incident at a residence in the 600 block of Grand Avenue, took place sometime between August 1st and Oct. 13th. The missing items included a gold watch, 2 teeth with gold fillings, and a prayer blanket.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Sioux City area agencies have been searching the Missouri River for a car reportedly driven off a road into the water. The search was called off around 8 p.m. Monday because of darkness. Rescue crews had been sent to the scene near Larsen Park around 4:20 p.m.

Sioux City Fire Rescue Capt. Dave Ahlers says authorities aren’t sure whether anyone was inside the car. A city news release says witnesses reported seeing a small brown vehicle floating before going under the water’s surface.

AMES, Iowa (AP) – School district leaders have declared their support for members of a central Iowa high school marching band who protested inequality in the nation by leaving the football field during the national anthem.  The incident happened before Ames High School’s home football game against another school Friday night. Some other band members reportedly did not play their instruments during the performance.

A statement from school district leaders Monday praises the students, saying they protested “the right way” and “didn’t resort to violence, and they didn’t resort to one-sided arguments.” Athletes, primarily National Football League players, have been protesting police brutality in recent weeks by either kneeling or linking arms during the national anthem. Others have stayed in their locker rooms.

The Governor’s Safety Traffic Bureau has identified five Iowa counties it wants to target to try and cut an increase in traffic accidents during the past year. Carroll, Marshall, Benton, Muscatine and Plymouth County are part of the project known as the “High Five Rural Traffic Safety Program.” Iowa State Patrol trooper, John Farley, says for Plymouth County making the list was based on the number of accidents — not just accidents resulting in a de “Plymouth County only had three fatality accidents last year — but there was 80 personal injury accidents or fatalities total. And that does represent kind of a large number for the population — so per capita,” Farley says. “Sixteen of those accidents did occur within the city limits of Le Mars, but the other 64 did happen outside of Le Mars, or in the county areas.”

Trooper Farley

Farley says for Plymouth County and the others on the “High Five” list, they will do some additional patrolling of the county’s roads and highways. He says they will work projects throughout the year and focusing on impaired drivers. Farley says it’s not just drunk driving. It will be drivers impaired by alcohol, narcotics and prescription drugs. The Iowa State Patrol trooper says in addition to a step up of enforcement activity, there will be several educational and informative ads. Farley says they will focus on driver’s ed programs and give educational talks to civic organizations.

Farley says in addition to watching for impaired drivers, the “High Five” program will look for distracted driving, primarily those drivers that are texting while driving, and drivers who are speeding. “We’ve said it before — speed kills. We’ve always heard that and it still is.The number one factor in accidents is speed releated,” Farley says.

The Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau says 72 percent of the fatal crashes in Iowa in 2015 occurred on secondary rural roads. Rural roads make up approximately 79 percent of the total roadways in the state.

(Radio Iowa)