(Updated 9:58-a.m.)…

Three people were taken into custody early this morning in connection with a recent drive-by shooting which occurred in Des Moines. Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker told KJAN News the incident became known to authorities in western Iowa very early this morning. Danker says at 1:39-a.m there was an all-points bulletin to law enforcement about a silver sedan with Nebraska plates that was possibly involved in a shooting in Des Moines. Authorities were able to track the suspects by “pinging” a cell phone as they traveled across the state heading back to Nebraska.

The Sheriff says Cass County Deputy Ben Bartholomew was traveling west on I-80 next to a silver Oldsmobile Alero. As the car passed the deputies’ cruiser, Bartholomew pulled in behind the car and began to follow it.  The deputy ran the car’s license plates, which came back as a white Dodge van. Several other law enforcement agencies, including deputies with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department, Iowa State Patrol and a DOT Enforcement officer assisted in conducting a felony traffic stop of the suspect’s vehicle at around 2:15-a.m..  near the Shelby exit.

The suspects, 24-year old Kendra Akins, 24-year old Ivory Goodwin and 26-year old Shera Goodwin, all of whom are from Nebraska, were taken into custody without incident. The vehicle was impounded at the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department. Officials with the Des Moines Police Department traveled to Pottawattamie County to bring the individuals back to Polk County. Danker could not say for certain if a weapon was found in the vehicle. Additional information about the incident in Des Moines which resulted in the suspect’s arrests, is still not available.

Two Red Oak residents have been arrested on Child Endangerment charges. According to Red Oak Police, officers and officials with the Department of Human Services conducted a welfare check at a residence on Reed Street in Red Oak. 

As a result, 28-year-old Johna Christine Dolph of Red Oak, and 30-year-old Paul Earl Lemburg II, of Red Oak were each arrested on two-counts of Child Endangerment. Lemburg also faces a drug possession charge.

The pair were being held in the Montgomery County Jail. Dolph’s bond was set at $5,000, while Lemburg was being held on $6,000 bond.

The City of Atlantic’s Planning and Zoning Commission will meet Monday evening, at City Hall. During their 5:30-p.m. session, the P&Z will review the site plans for the Iowa Interstate Railroad Office Building, and, the site plans for the Masker Plumbing and Heating Storage Building. 

The Commission will also review and discuss the first drafts of the Zoning Ordinance, which includes: An Overview and Reference Coding; General Provisions; Definitions, and R-1 (Residential/Agricultural/Open Space) definitions and descriptions.

Authorities in Guthrie County are continuing to investigate the reason behind a 9-1-1 service outage that occurred Saturday morning. The emergency line went down for about two-hours. In the interim, calls were being taken only at the Sheriff’s Office. It was the second time over the course of the past three-months 9-1-1 service was disrupted in Guthrie County. In May, a severed fiber-optic line was to blame for a similar disruption in service.

When floodwaters from the Missouri River threatened to wash away the small southwestern Iowa town of Hamburg last summer, residents helped the Army Corps of Engineers to hastily build a makeshift levee to save it.  Now, the town of nearly 1,200 is asking for help from across the country to keep the levee.  Town leaders have turned to the Internet to make their plea for help, building a site – www.hamburglevee.com – to try to raise the nearly $5 million needed to ensure the levee meets federal certification standards. Short that, the city would have to spend more than $1 million to tear the levee down.  The website notes that if 1.5 million give just $3 each to the effort, the levee can be saved “for less than a latte.”