(Glenwood, Iowa) – Police in Glenwood, today (Friday), arrested a woman for Possession of a Controlled Substance. Authorities say 19-year-old Seven Barrett, of Glenwood, was being held in the Mills County Jail on a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

(Ft. Dodge, Iowa) – Police in Fort Dodge report an arrest was made recently in connection with a “shots fired” incident. There were no injuries reported. Authorities say as a result of this investigation thus far, 29‐year‐old Collin W. Towlerton, of Fort Dodge, was taken into custody for:

* Possession of a Firearm by a Felon (D Felony)

* Reckless Use of Firearm (Aggravated Misdemeanor)

* O.W.I. 2nd Offense (Aggravated Misdemeanor)

Towlerton was booked into the Webster County Jail. His arrest followed a call at around 11:44-p.m. Wednesday to the the Webster County Telecommunications Center. The caller reported hearing shots fired in the area of the 1500 Blk 17th St S.W. The caller also gave a description of a vehicle that was seen leaving the area.

Officers responded and located the vehicle described by the caller. A felony stop was performed on the vehicle and 2 subjects were detained. Upon further investigation by officers on scene, it was discovered that the garage belonging to 1524 17th St. S.W. had multiple bullet holes in it. Officers spoke to multiple witnesses and the scene was processed for evidence.

The Fort Dodge Police Department is continuing to investigate the incident and encourage anyone who may have information to contact law enforcement. Information may also be submitted anonymously via Crime Stoppers.

The Fort Dodge Police Department has been assisted in the investigation by the Webster County Sheriff’s Office, and the Webster County Attorney’s Office.

(Van Meter, Iowa) – A single-vehicle accident involving an SUV left three teens from Norwalk injured, in Dallas County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2019 Chevy Equinox driven by 16-year-old John Henry Clark, was traveling north on East Street in Van Meter, when Clark failed to negotiate the turn at Elm Street. The SUV struck an embankment, causing Clark, and his passengers: 16-year-old Reagan Groskreutz and 17-year-old Lily Hughes, to be injured.  Groskreutz was transported by Mercy One Helicopter to Mercy Hospital, in Des Moines. Hughes was transported to Blank Children’s Hospital by Waukee EMS.

The accident happened at around 9:47-p.m., Thursday. It remains under investigation.

(Rural Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Rescue and Cass EMS were dispatched at around 7:30-a.m. today (Friday), to the scene of a rollover accident near 620th and the Turkey Creek Bridge (an area between Memphis and Lansing Road, south of Atlantic, in Cass County. (Update 7:43-a.m.): There were no injuries reported. The vehicle was said to be upright, in a ditch.

(Radio Iowa) – There’s still some questions about who will pay damages and for the clean-up after the fire earlier this month at Marengo’s C6-Zero facility. Marengo Police Chief Ben Gray says the company’s insurance policy for the facility wouldn’t be sufficient to take care of a moderate clean up-let alone a large cleanup of this type. “And I will say I was kind of surprised you know for instance that the total amount of money available from the insurance company for the emergency response only $50,000. This is a million-dollar building plus that only has $50,000 worth of emergency response money — that seems under the value that it should be,” Gray says.

Emergency responders alone estimate they have $60,000 in damaged equipment. Friday is the deadline for C6-Zero to submit a plan for the cleanup of the site and runoff to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Iowa County Emergency Management coordinator Josh Humphrey says normally the company or building owner’s insurance would be on the hook for costs related to an industrial fire. He’s working to make fire departments to try and help them replace equipment. “Everybody is operational. I shouldn’t say they aren’t operational right now, but their abilities are less than they were a month ago. Nobody comes to a fire and expects to have damaged equipment and then nobody take care of it,” Humphrey says. “Somehow it has to be replaced. This type of an event where you have tons of equipment damaged, it’s not a good situation.”

Humphrey says fire departments are reporting damaged firefighter suits, firehoses, tanks and boots. Because it was a large scale industrial fire, he says more than two-thousand gallons of flame suppressing foam was used valued at $70 per gallon.

(reporting by Zachary Oren Smith, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – State Auditor Rob Sand has two main policy recommendations for the 2023 legislature. Sand is again asking lawmakers to raise the penalty for those convicted of significant crimes involving tax dollars. “Making large scale theft of public funds a mandatory prison sentence,” Sand says. Sand is also asking the legislature to change some wording in Iowa law that distinguishes between state agencies that get and spend federal money and those that don’t. “This one’s complicated, but the bottom line is the way the Iowa Code is written right now costs us federal dollars every year,” Sand says.

Under current state law, Sand says the state is paying what amounts to a federal government fine for audits of how federal tax dollars are spent by state government. “We’re talking about over $100,000 every year that we’re basically lighting on fire because the law hasn’t been amended,” Sand says.

Between July 1st of 2019 and June 30th of 2020, the State of Iowa spent or distributed more than $12 billion in federal funds. Staff is in the state auditor’s office always reviews how state agencies spend or distribute that money, along with the audits of how state tax dollars, fees and fines are spent.

(Radio Iowa) – It’s one of Iowa’s worst flu seasons in a decade, and a University of Iowa researcher whose two-year-old son died from influenza in early 2020 has helped develop an online game to teach children about about the flu and the importance of vaccines. UI biology professor Maurine Neiman is co-creator of the game, “Flu’s Clues,” where players try to determine which countries around the world are seeing flu outbreaks. “You travel virtually to these different places with potential outbreaks,” Neiman says, “and you get to interview local scientists or doctors to find out what they’re observing, what they’re seeing, and figure out for yourself, based on information that you’ve learned in the game, is what you’re seeing consistent with influenza.”

Once outbreaks are identified, players return to their virtual lab to work on creating a serum for the vaccine. “The overall objective is to help teach really anyone but the overt focus of the game is on kids about what influenza is and what it isn’t, why it’s something to take seriously,” Neiman says, “and how to protect yourself and your family and your community from the flu and, in particular, by vaccinating.”

Prof. Maurine Neiman (UI photo)

Neiman and the Iowa City Science Boosters Club teamed up with the Virginia-based non-profit organization Families Fighting Flu to create the game. “This is really exciting for us because a virtual setting, while it has its constraints, it also has its opportunities,” Neiman says. “In particular, you can reach many more people potentially across the country and even around the world.”

The game also contains important lessons about viruses in general, such as how to identify symptoms, determine differences between the flu and other viruses, and learn how vaccines are made.