(Radio Iowa) – Marion’s newest police officer is believed to also be the youngest ever hired by the eastern Iowa department. Officer Kylie McCaughey joined the Department in 2021 at 18-years-old and has since turned 19. McCaughey tells K-C-R-G T-V that she has wanted to be a police officer for as long as she can remember.“Probably since I was like three, I can’t remember ever wanting to do anything else,” she says. The Linn-Mar High School graduate traded in her cross country uniform to wear the same uniform as her school resource officer Tom Daubs.

”I tell kids in school all the time I have the best job in the world. I’m a police officer that gets to be in your schools. And then for someone like Kylie to see that a run with it and now be a police officer as well, that’s such an awesome experience for everyone involved,” Officer Daubs says. McCaughey completed about one year of college in 2020 during high school, and applied to the department the following year. Marion Police Chief Mike Kitsmiller tells K-C-R-G T-V wasn’t sure about hiring someone so young until he talked to McCaughey.

Officer Kylie McCaughey (KCRG photo)

”Our deputy chief came in and when we were going through the rankings he said hey I’ve got somebody that I think is fantastic. He said she’s 18-year-old and I kind of scoffed. He said, no talk to her yourself, and I did and I was like wow,” Kitsmiller says. Since being hired Officer McCaughey has completed the police academy and just recently finished her field training. The Marion Police Department is currently looking for more officers and Chief Kitsmiller says McCaughey is a great example of why those interested in the job shouldn’t count themselves out. He says if you’ve got what it takes to do the job they’ll definitely give you a look. For Officer McCaughey it’s only the beginning.

“It is everything that I’ve wanted it to be I mean there’s, there’s an opportunity every day to reach somebody. And to meet somebody in their worst situation and to possibly help,” according to McCaughey. And she says its the opportunity to do what she has always wanted to do.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Department of Public Health officials asked for the review of a non-profit called FAMILY, Incorporated. It links needy residents to a variety of government services for women, children and families in Pottawattamie and Mills Counties. The review centered on the organizations’s contracts with state agencies — one for home visits with pregnant women and families with young children and the other for a program called Early Childhood Iowa. Auditors determined that over a four-year period, FAMILY, Inc. billed Medicaid for more than 20-thousand dollars in services already covered by the contracts.

State Auditor Rob Sand says due to a lack of records, it was not possible to determine if improper billing happened before July 1, 2017. According to the auditor, the Iowa Department of Public Health adopted more cross-checks last year to ensure other providers aren’t double-billing for these same services. A spokesperson for FAMILY, Inc. was not immediately available for comment when the special investigation by the state auditor’s office was released this (Tuesday) morning.

(Perry, Iowa) – Officials with the Perry Police Department have confirmed Perry Police Chief Eric Vaughn was shot in the line of duty early this (Tuesday) morning. Chief Vaughn was transported to a local hospital via air ambulance. A report on his condition was not immediately available.

Authorities say a suspect in the shooting was detained, and that there currently was no danger to the public. The incident happened at around 5 a.m. Police have not released details on what led up to the incident.

Officials with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation were scheduled to be in Perry to investigate an officer-involved shooting.

(Radio Iowa) – It’s more expensive to fill our gas tanks in Iowa than ever before. Prices reached a record high in the state this (Tuesday) morning, topping a previous record that had stood since the recession 14 years ago. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican, places the blame on the Democrat in the White House. “I think Congress has set a pretty good policy for energy,” Grassley says. “This president has screwed it up.”

Triple-A-Iowa says the statewide average for gas is now $4.08 a gallon, beating the record of $4.02 that had stood since July of 2008. Grassley blames Joe Biden’s policies, from those enacted in January of 2021 to those from just a few weeks ago. “First day in office, shut down pipeline, stop drilling on the north slope of Alaska, and then stop drilling offshore of Alaska, on public lands in America, in the Gulf, then put regulations on fracking.” More recently, Grassley says Biden told the banks not to loan money to energy companies, further jacking up fuel prices.

Grassley says, “A couple of months ago, when it started hitting the president that his bad policies raised the price, you know what he did? He didn’t undo all the bad policies he put in place. He went to Saudi Arabia and Venezuela and said, ‘Send us some oil.'”

Grassley says the U-S should return to relying on its own stores of fossil fuels as well as biofuels, not imports, which he says have taken the country from being energy independent to energy dependent. Triple-A says the national average for gas is $4.37 a gallon, while California has the most expensive average at $5.84. In Iowa, the state’s cheapest gas can be found in Davenport at $4.01, while the most expensive gas is in Dubuque at $4.15. The motor club says diesel fuel hit a record high in Iowa on Monday at $5.31 a gallon.

(Anita, Iowa) – The CAM School Board, Monday evening, held a public hearing on a published 2021-22 Budget Amendment. Superintendent Paul Croghan said there were no comments from the public, during the hearing.

Mr. Croghan said also, the Board approved several resignations.

They also approved the issuance of contracts to a few individuals.

In other action, the CAM School Board voted to list district property with a realtor, and decide later if they want to sell the property. They also approved an MSW (Master Social Worker) agreement with Green Hills AEA. The agreement is essentially the same as last year, but like everything else, it’ll cost more.

The Board approved: two additional Iowa Connections Academy graduates; a contract with Atlantic Bottling; a District Developed Service Delivery Plan; Contracted Technology services, and, milk-bread-and chemical bids for the FY23-24 School Years. Their final action – followed a closed session – was to deny an Open Enrollment request for two students.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports a woman was arrested for shoplifting Monday evening. Authorities say 23-year-old Monica Nicole Johnston, of Creston, was taken into custody at the Creston WalMart store at around 7:45-p.m.  Johnston was arrested for Theft in the 5th Degree, cited, and then released from the scene.