In an update to our earlier reports, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Friday), said Deputies responded at around 3:32-a.m. to a two-vehicle accident on eastbound Interstate 80, near mile marker 72. Four subjects were transported to Cass County Memorial Hospital for treatment.  Two of the subjects were later transferred to CHI/Bergen Mercy in Omaha.  The accident is still under investigation.

The Sheriff’s Office reports also, there were three people arrested from June 25th through July 6th. On Tuesday (July 6) Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 42-year-old Monty Wayne Casteel, of Atlantic, on a Cass County warrant for failure to appear.  Casteel was taken to the Cass County Jail where he later plead guilty and was released. On July 3rd, Deputies arrested 23-year-old Levi Branson Glover, of Lewis, for OWI 1st offense.  Glover was transported to Cass County Jail and was later released on his own recognizance.

And, on June 25th, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 46-year-old Brad James Smith, of Perry, on a Cass County warrant for failure to appear. Smith remains held on bond in the Cass County Jail.

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Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers, Friday (today, 7/9), released information with regard to a high speed pursuit that took place July 1st. On that date, officers from the Clarinda Police Department and deputies with the Page County Sheriff’s Department were involved in the chase, which began when a Clarinda Police Officer attempted to stop a black Dodge Charger for failure to display registration plates.

The chase started on N. 12th Street and continued through northeast Page County and into northwest Taylor County. The driver of the Charger – later identified as 46-year-old Jeremy Leslie Williams, of Clarinda – failed to stop, initiating the pursuit. Williams lost control of the car near 200th & Able Avenue in Taylor County, and fled on foot. A search of the area was conducted but Williams could not be found.

Clarinda Police arrested Williams on Thursday, July 8th, on a Page County arrest warrant for eluding law enforcement officers and driving a motor vehicle while under license revocation. Williams was arrested without incident in Clarinda, and was being held at the Page County Jail on $3,000 bail. Clarinda Police Officers were assisted by the Page County Sheriff’s Department and the Taylor County Sheriff’s Department and Page County Emergency Management with the pursuit.

Reports have been forwarded to Page County Attorney’s Office for formal charging decisions.

An Iowa State Patrol Trooper came upon an accident this (Friday) morning on Interstate 80 westbound at mile marker 72, temporarily blocked in the right/outside lane. The incident took place at around 7:15-a.m.  According to dispatch reports, a semi-tractor trailer apparently rear-ended another semi during heavy rain. Traffic was at a standstill for a brief time. No injuries have been reported.

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(Radio Iowa) – Attorney General Tom Miller says Iowa will get 25 million dollars from a settlement in a lawsuit over opioid abuse. A-G spokesperson, Ashlee Kieler (Kee-ler) says it involves the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma. “The settlement stems from the lawsuit that was filed back in the spring of 2019. It looks to hold the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma responsible for their actions with regards to the opioid epidemic,” Kieler says.

The lawsuit alleged that Purdue officials repeatedly made false and deceptive claims that OxyContin was safe and suitable for a wide range of pain patients. Iowa’s share of the money comes from a total settlement of four-point-three BILLION dollars. “The money would be used for opioid treatment prevention programs and recovery for people affected,” she explains.

The Sacklers will the settlement amount over the next nine years as part of the agreement — and the Sacklers will be permanently banned from the opioid business. She says Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy after the lawsuit was filed and the company will wind down operations by 2024. The settlement requires Purdue and the Sacklers to make public more than 30 million documents, including attorney-client privileged communications about the original F-D-A approval of OxyContin and tactics to promote opioids.

The top Democrat in the Iowa Senate is blasting Republican Governor Kim Reynolds for how the state has managed federal funds to help low-income Iowans pay overdue rent and utility bills during the pandemic. A Des Moines Register analysis found the state has awarded about two percent of the 195 million in rent relief it received from the last round of pandemic aid approved during the Trump Administration. Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls of Coralville says that’s unacceptable. “This is another example of the governor saying one thing and doing another,” Wahls says. “She has said that affordable housing is a priority…and obviously they’re slow-walking getting these dollars out the door.”

The State of Iowa is eligible for another 120 million dollars worth of rental assistance. A spokesperson for the state agency that’s managing the program says a final decision has not been made yet on whether the state will apply for those funds. Iowa Congressman Cindy Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines, says the state should be using all of that money. “I talk to people all the time who can’t afford the roof over their heads. I’ve talked to landlords who are having a difficult time,” Axne says. “Let’s put some rental assistance into those hands so those landlords who have the affordable housing can keep the affordable housing in our communities.”

A federal moratorium on evictions for renters who’ve lost work due to the pandemic is set to end July 31st. State officials have thus far awarded about four million dollars in rent and utility assistance out of the initial 195 million dollar allotment.

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources reports DNR staff investigated a fish kill along Ioway Creek in Ames, Thursday (July 8th), after a passerby noticed dead fish mid-morning and called the DNR. The impacted area begins near the pedestrian bridge in Stuart Smith Park and continues south approximately a mile. Several different species and sizes of dead fish were observed in the area; however, live fish were observed at the Duff Avenue bridge.

DNR staff believe a water main break that happened late afternoon Wednesday on South Riverside Drive, which discharged approximately 700,000 gallons of drinking water according to the City of Ames, is to blame, but the investigation continues. The drinking water is believed to have entered into a nearby storm sewer that leads directly to Ioway Creek. Drinking water contains chlorine and has a temperature of 55 degrees, both of which can stress fish, especially during times of low flow such as now.

The water main was repaired and there is no on-going discharge. DNR Fisheries staff will be conducting a dead fish count and the DNR will determine appropriate enforcement action.

At least four people were injured in a crash that happened early this (Friday) morning on eastbound Interstate 80 in Cass County. The accident happened at around 3:35-a.m., near mile marker 58. Atlantic Fire and rescue, Cass EMS and Anita Rescue were called to the scene. LifeFlight was requested at the scene but they declined due to storms in the area. Two dogs in the crashed vehicle were transported to the Atlantic Animal Shelter.

Additional details were not immediately available.

In an update to our previous reports, the Iowa State Patrol early this (Friday) morning, said two of three people who were injured in a crash Wednesday evening on I-80 in Adair County, have died from their injuries at a hospital. Two passengers in the vehicle, 85-year-old Harold Willey, and 68-year-old Faye Frolic, both from Rock Springs, Wyoming, died from injuries they sustained when the 2013 Toyota Camry the were in struck the rear of a semi-tractor trailer at around 7:52-p.m. Wednesday, on I-8 eastbound, near mile marker 75.

The driver of the car, 68-year-old Pamela Willey, also of Rock Springs, was injured in the crash and transported by LifeFlight to Methodist in Des Moine. None of the crash victims were wearing a seat belt.  The driver of the semi was not hurt.