The Harlan Police Department, Wednesday, issued a report on arrests made over the past week. There were two arrests on Sunday:

• Troy Dakota Weelborg, age 37, Council Bluffs, was arrested following a call for service. Weelborg was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with violation of a no contact order.
• Tamara Leigh Dryer, age 33, Harlan, was arrested following a call for service. Dryer was transported to the Shelby County Jail where she was charged with violation of a no contact order.

There were two arrests last Saturday:

• Jennifer Rose Miller, age 39, Harlan, was arrested following a traffic stop. Miller was transported to the Shelby County Jail where she was charged with driving while suspended, operating nonregistered vehicle, and no proof of insurance.
• Elizabeth Grace Christo, age 38, Harlan, was arrested following a traffic stop. Christo was transported to the Shelby County Jail where she was charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

And, there were two arrests on March 11th:

• Julie Ann McManigal, age 46, Manning, was arrested on an active Ida County warrant. McManigal was transported to the Shelby County Jail to await transport.
• Randi Lynn Hess, age 19, Harlan, was arrested on an active Shelby County warrant. Hess was transported to the Shelby County Jail.

(Updated)(Radio Iowa – Governor Kim Reynolds says projections indicate there will soon be a “significant” increase in the amount of Covid vaccine the federal government ships to Iowa. “Today, I’m announcing that all Iowans will be eligible for vaccinations starting Monday, April 5th, as long as the vaccine allocation increases as we’ve been told and as we are expecting.”

There are two-point-one MILLION adults in Iowa — and more than 413-thousand of them are fully vaccinated today according to the state website tracking how many shots of the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines have been given. “If we’re able to ramp up in a the manner we’re projecting — and we’re ready to go — it’ll be good news for Iowans,” Reynolds told reporters today.

The governor says mass vaccination clinics are proving very worthwhile in Iowa as hundreds of people are getting the shots every hour at the events. “Iowans have demonstrated our ability to work together and ensure vaccine is administered efficiently and responsibly,” Reynolds says. “I’m confident that we’re prepared to open up even more.” Reynolds says a computer glitch that prevented Iowans who are administering COVID shots from registering that information in a statewide database has been fixed. Iowa and several other states were affected by the hardware problem that popped up on Tuesday.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Sheriffs in two central Iowa counties say their offices are investigating after cattle were found slain and dumped along gravel roads in their jurisdictions. The Ames Tribune reports that two cows and a calf were found dead in Boone and Greene counties on March 10. Investigators said the calf, found in Boone County, had its front legs bound with twine. Boone County Sheriff Gregg Elsberry said a red shorthorn cow was found a short distance away in a creek with its throat slashed.

The carcass of the other cow, also a red shorthorn, was found in a Greene County ditch. Authorities say that scuff marks on the animals’ hides indicated they were dumped on the roads from a vehicle.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Missouri was arrested Monday night on Felony Eluding and other charges. 20-year-old Tyler Blake Miller, of Maryville, MO., was arrested on I-29 at Highway 34, following a traffic stop and pursuit. In addition to Eluding, Miller was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance, Reckless Driving and being a Fugitive from Justice. He was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

Today (Wednesday), 23-year-old David Patrick Robertson, of Lincoln, NE., was arrested at the Douglas County, NE., Jail, on a Mills County warrant for Contempt of Court. Bond was set at $7,500. And, 36-year-old Jeffrey Thomas Olsufka, of Wayne, NE., was arrested at around 6:50-a.m. on Hyland Avenue, for Unlawful Possession of Prescription Medication, and Failure to affix a drug tax stamp. His bond was set at $6,000.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A jury has convicted a man of first-degree murder for the 2019 shooting death of another man in a Des Moines home. Television station WHO-TV reports that that Stanley Wofford was found guilty Monday in the Aug. 31, 2019, death of 45-year-old John Belcher. Wofford was charged in the case nearly three weeks after the shooting. Police testified that Wofford called 911 about half an hour after the shooting and claimed to have found Belcher’s body. Police later determined it was Wofford who did the shooting. Wofford faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison when he’s sentenced on April. 23.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa says there’s a humanitarian crisis at the country’s southern border and the Biden Administration should no longer allow unaccompanied minors to stay after they cross into the United States. Miller-Meeks is among a dozen Republicans from the U.S. House who toured facilities in El Paso this week and met with Border Patrol agents. “I saw firsthand the crisis they are facing,” Miller-Meeks says, “and believe it is our job, as congress, to do everything in our power to address it.”

The number of immigrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border is at its highest level since 2019. “To put this in perspective, President Obama’s secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, stated during his tenure that 1000 apprehensions a day was considered a bad day,” Miller-Meeks said. “We are at more than three times that now and, on top of it, we continue to face a global pandemic.” Miller-Meeks says it’s time to require Covid tests for migrants seeking asylum who are released to stay with family in the U.S. until their court hearings. “As a physician and the former director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, I know that the Covid-19 pandemic is not yet over,” Miller-Meeks said. “We must ensure that any individuals the Biden Administration insists on releasing into our communities do not have Covid-19.”

Border Patrol agents assess the health of migrants, but only those who show Covid symptoms are tested and treated before release from custody. Rapid tests of migrants buying tickets at the Brownsville, Texas, bus station are finding about six percent test positive for Covid. “Without proper testing and quarantine, they are likely to bring Covid-19 with them and the communities to which they are transferred are unaware,” Miller-Meeks says.

A Democratic congresswoman from El Paso accused Republicans of using the stereotype that immigrants bring diseases into the country to stoke fear and anger toward migrants. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says House Republicans are trying to distract attention from their unified opposition to the pandemic relief package Democrats enacted last week.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, Wednesday, said 45-year old Shane Morgan was arrested at around 8:45-p.m. Tuesday, in Council Bluffs. Morgan was taken into custody for OWI/1st offense, and later released from the Pott. County Jail.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports a woman from Nebraska was arrested on numerous charges at around 3:20-p.m. Tuesday, following a traffic stop. The Fremont County K9 Unit stopped a 2008 Honda Civic for a traffic violation and an excessive number of passengers in the vehicle, near the 24-mile marker southbound Interstate 29. The vehicle was discovered to be stolen out of Papillion, Nebraska.

Emma Faith Smith

The driver, 18-year old Emma Faith Smith, of Papillion, was arrested for Operating a Motor Vehicle without Owner’s Consent, Possession of Marijuana, two counts of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor, Interference with Offical Acts, and several traffic offenses. She was being held at the Fremont County Jail on a $3,900 bond. The Iowa Stated Patrol assisted the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office with the call.

March 17, 2021 — The new round of stimulus checks are on their way. Direct deposit payments are hitting Americans’ bank accounts now, and checks will be mailed out in the coming weeks. Previously, BBB Scam Tracker received numerous reports from people who were contacted by scammers through text message, email and phone calls about their COVID-19 stimulus checks. BBB believes many of these same tactics may be used again.

Is that call or text a con or the real deal?
Watch out for an email or text messages instructing you to click a link to “request benefit payments.” The link connects to an application prompting the entering of personal information in order to “make sure you are getting all the payments owed to you.”  Beware! This “application” is really a way to phish for personal details and commit identity theft. In a phone variation of the con, the scammer pretends to call from a government agency. The con artist insists on being paid immediately – or confirmation of personal information – before a stimulus check is sent.  Other times, scammers claim additional funds are available or that the consumer can receive funds immediately once a small “processing fee” is paid with a pre-paid debit card. These are all red flags and should be reported to BBB Scam Tracker at bbb.org/scamtracker.

Tips to Spot a Government Imposter Scam:

• Stay calm. Resist the urge to act immediately, no matter how dramatic the story is. Scammers try to get people to act before thinking about the situation.
• Don’t reply directly. Don’t respond to unknown calls, texts, or emails. If you think the message may be real, find the government agencies’ contact information on the Internet and contact them directly.
• Check for look-alikes. Research to see if the government agency or organization that contacted you actually exists. Scammers often make up names of agencies and/or grants.
• Do not pay any money for a “free” government grant or program.  It is not really free if there is a fee involved. A real government agency will not ask for an advanced processing fee.  Instead, find out if the agency is legitimate by checking grants.gov.

For more information about scams related to the coronavirus, see BBB.org/coronavirus. If you’ve spotted a scam (whether or not you’ve lost money), report it to BBB.org/ScamTracker. Your report can help others avoid falling victim to scams.