(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department says a man residing at an apartment in the 200 block of N. Maple Street, reported Monday night, that someone had broken into his apartment. Missing from the apartment was a keyboard with an estimated value of $100.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Council Bluffs Police Captain Todd Weddum reports just before 4-a.m. today (Tuesday), Council Bluffs police officers were dispatched to a disturbance, possibly involving a gun being fired, in the 500 block of South 7th Street. A preliminary investigation indicates that 31-year-old Justin Juhl, of Council Bluffs, was shot, one time in the leg, during
the disturbance. He was taken, by a citizen’s vehicle, to a Council Bluffs hospital for treatment prior to officers getting to the scene. His injury is not life threatening.

Detectives and CSI staff are currently working the scene and are interviewing potential witnesses. Anyone with any information regarding this incident are encouraged to contact detectives at 712‐328‐4728 or can remain anonymous by calling CrimeStoppers at 712‐328‐STOP (7867).

(Lincoln, NE) – A Senior U.S. District Court Judge in Nebraska, last week, sentenced a man from Colorado with a prior violent felony conviction, to 31-years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute, 500 grams or more of methamphetamine mixture in the Lincoln, NE, and Omaha/Council Bluffs metro areas. 38-year-old Jose O. Maes, of Colorado Springs, was convicted of the offense in Nov., 2022, following a three-day trial. Following his term of imprisonment, Maes will serve 15-years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

Testimony and evidence presented at trial showed between June of 2020 and February 12, 2021, Maes was involved in a methamphetamine distribution organization which transported multiple pounds of methamphetamine from the Colorado Springs, Colorado, area to the Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska/Council Bluffs, Iowa areas between the latter part of 2020 and February 12, 2022.

On February 11, 2022, investigators with the Lincoln/Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force saw Maes meet with two co-conspirators at the Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs. The three were engaged in what appeared to be the transfer of drugs in the casino parking garage. Shortly thereafter, an exchange of cash occurred at a nearby gas station. Later that evening, the two co-conspirators, driving separate vehicles, were stopped on westbound Interstate 80 on their way back to Lincoln by the Nebraska State Patrol. Both vehicles were searched, and a total of approximately four pounds of methamphetamine, numerous fentanyl pills, two handguns and $5,000 in cash were found.

As a result of these stops and searches, Iowa investigators were told Maes was believed to have returned to the casinos and was likely in possession of methamphetamine, cash and a firearm. Around 2:30 a.m. on February 12, 2022, an investigator from the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and a Council Bluffs Police Officer found Maes’s car in the Harrah’s Casino parking garage. Maes evaded efforts to contact him. This resulted in a pursuit involving multiple law enforcement agencies which ended approximately 30 miles away in a rural area of Pottawattamie County, Iowa. A search of Maes’s car resulted in the seizure of ¼ ounce of methamphetamine, a few fentanyl pills, a loaded handgun with an extended magazine and more than $34,153 in cash. That cash was later forfeited to the United States of America by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

This case was investigated by the Lincoln/Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force, the Nebraska State Patrol, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Iowa Division of Intelligence, the Council Bluffs Police Department, the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department, the Iowa State Patrol, the Omaha Police Department, and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – The University of Northern Iowa is using a U-S Department of Education grant to try to improve access to mental health professionals in rural schools. U-N-I’s School Psychology Program Coordinator, Nicole Skaar, says it continues a previous “grow your own” effort to get more psychologists in schools. “Taking current educational or related field professionals who have master’s degrees and are currently professionals in education or related fields, and retraining them to be school psychologists,” she says. Skar says this program will focus on the Great Prairie, Central Rivers, and Northwest Area Education Areas to train 15 school psychologists over the next five years. She says the national association recommends one school psychologist for every 500 students.

“Iowa is currently at one school psychologist to 19-hundred students. And if we’re looking at like, Great Prairie A-E-A — one of the A-E-A’s we’re currently partnering with — they are one school psychologist to every four-thousand students. So we clearly have a shortage of school psychs in Iowa,” Skar says. Skar says the first time they did the program those involved continued teaching while doing the work — but they’ve changed that this time. “To get them through the program and doing all of their field experiences that are required for the program, it was really difficult to make all that work logistically,” Skar says. “And so we have worked with the A-E-A’s in this program to provide a new type of full-time employment, that would be sort of like school psych assistant work.”

The program uses part of the two-and-half million dollar grant to help them pay for their classes. Skar says there are teacher shortages in a lot of areas, and taking some existing teachers for the program is a concern. “That’s one of the downfalls of this. We’re taking people who are already working as teachers or school counselors that may have a shortage area, and retraining them into school psychologists,” she says. Skar says they hope more psychologists can address some of the larger issues and help ease some of the pressure on the staff.

“We are providing psychological safety for both students and staff, so addressing student mental well being and staff well being that hopefully, we’re, you know, kind of cutting off, some of the more intensive issues that maybe school psychologists would be needed for, you know, needing more special ed teachers and things like that,” according to Skar. Skar says U-N-I at the same time is continuing to work on efforts to get more teachers into other fields as well to fill some of the gaps.

(KETV/Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The City Council in Council Bluffs, Monday night, passed a measure that allows the City’s Police Chief to offer a $10,000 hiring bonus, in hopes of receiving more qualified job applicants for Police Officers. The City’s law enforcement agency, like so many others across the country, is struggling to hire more officers. On the Council’s agenda prior to their vote to approve officials with the Police Department noted “The Council Bluffs Police Department has experienced difficulty in obtaining a sufficient number of qualified candidates to serve as police officers. The applicants that have been showing interest, have typically not been certified law enforcement officers at the time of hire and are required to spend several months upon the start of their employment with the city to become certified.”

The $10,000 will be given to individuals who are already certified law enforcement officers when hired. According to the department, it takes about $9,045 per candidate to train an officer to obtain certification. On Monday night, the city council estimated the department has about six openings with four current applicants. It’s unclear if any of those applicants would qualify for the bonus.

“Hiring certified officers is a win-win situation allowing the department to get experienced officers into and through the field training more efficiently. It also enhances our continuity of service by ensuring well-trained and experienced members are out serving the public,” the agenda item said.

The incentive goes into effect immediately and lasts through June 2024. Applications for Police Officers in Council Bluffs are being accepted through April 20, 2023.