MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say several people have been treated for smoke inhalation after a fire at a home in Mason City. The fire was reported a little before 11:15 p.m. Sunday. The Mason City Police Department said in a news release Monday that a neighbor noticed the fire, ran to the house to alert residents and helped get several outside to safety.

Police say the neighbor and several of the residents were taken to a hospital.  The home is occupied by clients of Opportunity Village, which is a charitable organization that serves people with intellectual disabilities. The fire cause is being investigated.

The Better Business Bureau is warning older Iowans about a scam making the rounds during this Spring Break season. The con usually involves a phone caller claiming to be grandchild in distress while off somewhere vacationing. The bureau’s Dan Hendrickson says scammers ask to have money wired to them and often beg the senior not to tell their parents.

“People should never wire money to someone they haven’t met, even if they think they’re helping a loved one out of a jam,” Hendrickson says. “Just know that in many cases where seniors have wired away money to supposedly help a loved one get out of jail, that money has wound up gone.”

Hendrickson says if you think you’re being scammed, ask questions only your grandchild would be able to answer.

“Scammers will call a senior and say, ‘Grandma or Grandpa, it’s me,’ and then the grandparents will say, ‘Oh, Timmy’ or ‘Jim’ and right there, they’ve given the scammer something to work with because the scammer will say, ‘Yes, it’s Jim,’ and start to work them.”

Hendrickson recommends if you think you’ve received such a call, report it to the B-B-B’s Scam Tracker as soon as possible.

(Radio Iowa)

A traffic stop last Thursday afternoon southwest of Cromwell, in Adams County, resulted in the arrest of a Union County man. Adams County Sheriff’s officials say 57-year old Dennis Brown, of Creston, faces charges that include two counts of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was pulled over near 190th and Vanilla Avenue at around 3:05-p.m., Thursday, and transported to the Adams County Jail, where Brown’s bond was set at $300.

If you’re with a child who just managed to drink an entire bottle of shampoo, would you know what to do? This is National Poisoning Prevention Week. Tammy Noble, a registered nurse and the education coordinator at the Iowa Poison Control Center, says everyone should have the toll-free phone number programmed into their smart phone.

“There’s an easy way you can do it,” Noble says. “Text the word ‘poison’ to the number 797979, that will send you a text message back and then that can help add that phone number into your contacts.”

If you have the number already at your fingertips, it will save precious seconds and minutes should you ever need to dial it. The hotline is 800-222-1222. “People don’t think they’re ever going to need the poison center and then when something happens and they need to call us, they’re scrambling for how to find the phone number,” Noble says. “We hear a lot of times from our callers that they had to Google the number and look it up.”

The Sioux City-based poison center is staffed ’round-the-clock and gets up to 50-thousand calls a year. Many of the calls that come in about children involve their exposure to cosmetics or personal care items, things that you may use every day that usually aren’t locked up.

“It’s the toothpaste, the deodorant, the shampoo, the hair spray, the lotion,” Noble says. “The good thing about those types of things, they tend to be lower in toxicity. Most of the time, we can just give some advice to the caller and treat those over the phone and have them stay at home without having to go to the hospital or rush to the doctor’s office.”

Almost as many calls come in about household cleansers, ranging from bleach to laundry pods, and those items can be much more toxic. About six in ten calls involve pharmaceuticals which Noble says is a reminder to keep medicines out of the reach of kids, while adults need to read the labels and make sure what they’re taking.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, poisoning is the top cause of injury death in the United States.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa Senator Charles Grassley will be at the center of today’s (Monday’s) confirmation hearing for the man President Trump has nominated to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Grassley has been a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee since 1981, his first year in the U.S. Senate. He became the panel’s chairman in 2015, when Republicans took control of the Senate. It means Grassley will be a sort of ringmaster as Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch answers senators’ questions during a hearing that could last for days. Grassley was at the White House when Trump announced Gorsuch was his pick to fill the vacancy on the nation’s highest court. During an interview that night Grassley called Gorsuch a “principled, mainstream conservative.”

A coalition of progressive groups that go by the name “Why Courts Matter Iowa” argue Gorsuch would be a “threat” to women’s rights. Another group called the “Main Street Alliance of Iowa” says Gorsuch — as a federal judge — has “repeatedly rewarded big business” in his rulings. Grassley has said he expects “high interest” in his committee’s hearing this week. Grassley also notes “with television and internet coverage, social media…people everywhere should be able to witness Judge Gorsuch’s testimony.”

The hearing is scheduled to begin today (Monday) at 10 a.m. Iowa time.

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Creston are reporting six arrests and one incident of theft/fraud occurred over the past week. Sunday night, 47-year old Robert Johnston, of Mt Ayr, was arrested following a traffic stop in Creston. Johnston was charged with Possession of Paraphernalia, Driving While Barred, OWI/1st offense, and Possession of a Controlled Substance – 3rd Offense. He was later released from the Union County Jail on a $5,000 bond. Early Sunday morning, 54-year old Ronald Brammer, of Afton, was arrested in Creston forDriving While Suspended. He was later released from the Union County Jail on a $300 bond.

Three men were arrested early Saturday morning, in Creston. 21-year old Lucas Clark, 37-year old Jason Carleton, and 21-year old Jeffrey Hicks, all of Creston, were arrested at around 1:30-a.m. Saturday, for Public Intoxication. Clark and Carleton were released on $300 bond, while Hicks was released from the Union County Jail on time served.

Last Thursday morning, Creston Police arrested 39-year old John Burgoyne, of Creston, at the Law Enforcement Center. Burgoyne was taken into custody on a Union County Warrant for the charge of Theft 2nd. He was later released on a $5,000 bond.

And, Sunday night, the Creston Knights of Columbus reported that sometime between March 3rd and March 13th, their checking account information had been hacked and 4 checks were printed in 4 different states to 4 different individuals, 2 of those checks were cashed. The loss was estimated at a little more than $3,970.