(Radio Iowa) – The Powerball jackpot has grown to more than one BILLION dollars for Wednesday’s drawing. It follows the Mega Millions jackpot won last week that was also more than one BILLION dollars. Iowa Lottery spokesperson, Mary Neubauer, watches a specific aspect of the game when the jackpots get higher. “It’s something that’s called coverage. And what that number means is how many of all of the possible combinations of numbers in the game have been purchased or quote unquote, covered for a particular drawing,” she says. Neubauer says the addition of another drawing has had an impact on coverage numbers for Powerball.

“Because the Monday drawing in Powerball has only been around for about three years now, the coverage for a Monday drawing has always been lower. I think people are still figuring out that Powerball has a Monday drawing,” Neubauer says. “So in our recent drawings, what we’re seeing is that there is a higher quote , unquote coverage number for Wednesday and Saturday.”
Neubauer says the coverage number isn’t always a predictor that a jackpot will be claimed. “Interestingly when the Mega Millions jackpot that huge Mega Millions jackpot was just won last week. The coverage in that game wasn’t wasn’t terribly high. It was also only in the twenty percent range and there still was jackpot winner in the game,” she says.

Neubauer says the Powerball game has come a long way, the starting jackpot at the beginning was two million dollars.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Wednesday), released a report on arrests that occurred from March 20th through the 31st.

On March 31st, 18-year-old Blake Welch, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI/1st Offense.  Welch was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance; 42-year-old Lesli Wiston Altamirano, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI/2nd Offense.  Wiston Altamirano was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

On March 30th, 43-year-old Nichole Anaya, of Atlantic, was arrested for Driving while Revoked and Possession of a Controlled Substance – 1st Offense.  Anaya was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held pending her later release on her own recognizance; 19-year-old Alex Rush, of Griswold, was arrested March 30th, on a warrant for Probation Violation.  Rush was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond.

On March 29th, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 33-year-old Devin Register, of Atlantic, on a warrant for Failure to Appear.  Register was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his release after time served; 28-year-old Kris Sorcey, of Atlantic, was arrested for Driving while Revoked.  Sorcey was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance.

On March 24th, 2024, the Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 65-year-old Randall Krogh, of Atlantic, for OWI/2nd Offense, and Interference with Official Acts.  Krogh was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance.

And, on March 20th, 45-year-old Brian Meredith, of Wheaton, IL, was arrested in Cass County, for OWI/1st Offense, and Possession of a Controlled Substance – 1st Offense.  Wheaton was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Another proposed amendment to Iowa’s Constitution has emerged at the statehouse. Republicans in the Senate are proposing a constitutional amendment that would require a flat rate for personal income taxes in Iowa. Under current law, Iowa’s multi-rate system is being phased out, to reach a single rate of three-point-nine percent by 2026. Republican Senator Jason Schultz of Schleswig says multiple rates that impose a higher tax the more income a person earns penalizes success.

“Every time you feel like you’re moving ahead, you’re rewarded by a salary, there’s another hurdle,” Schultz says. “We’re just going to take another chunk of that money.” Eleven states have a flat tax and four of those states have constitutions requiring a flat income tax. Democrats oppose the concept. Senator Cindy Winckler, a Democrat from Davenport, says the amendment would limit the legislature’s authority to make decisions about taxing and spending. “Taxes are not necessarily things that people want to pay, but services are what they expect to receive,” Winckler said, “and that balance is important.”

Last week, House Republicans proposed a constitutional amendment that would require a two-thirds vote by lawmakers to raise income taxes. Proposed constitutional amendment have to clear the House AND the Senate twice — in years that are separated by a statewide election — before Iowans see the proposed amendment on a ballot for yes or no vote.

DAVENPORT, Iowa – A man from northeast Iowa was sentenced last week to serve 17-years in Federal prison, for receiving child pornography. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, says public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, proved 49-year-old Corey Lester Schlemme, of Oxford, set up multiple Facebook accounts under various names to send and receive child pornography. After receiving a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a subsequent search of Schlemme’s Oxford residence confirmed that he was sending and receiving child pornography.

Review of seized evidence also determined that Schlemme represented himself as a minor female in fraudulent Facebook accounts to persuade a minor victim to produce and send him child pornography. Over the course of nine months, Schlemme exchanged thousands of messages with the minor and solicited numerous videos and images of the minor engaged in sexually explicit acts. At the time of this investigation, Schlemme was a coach for the Clear Creek Amana School District.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Schlemme will be required to serve five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Schlemme was also ordered to pay a special assessment of $5,000.00.

The case was investigated by the Johnson County Joint Forensic Analysis Cyber Team, with assistance from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

For information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the resources tab.

(Carroll, Iowa) – A chase involving a juvenile male and a Carroll County Sheriff’s Deputy, ended in a crash occurring east of Carroll on Highway 30 Tuesday morning. According to reports, when a Deputy tried to perform a traffic stop on a 1999 Dodge Ram pickup at around 11:30-a.m., Tuesday, the vehicle took off eastbound on Highway 30, just east of the intersection with Hawthorne Avenue. During the pursuit, the vehicle crossed the center line and in an apparent attempt to avoid stop sticks, entered a field before returning to the highway and into oncoming traffic.

A Carroll County Sheriff’s Deputy, in a 2021 Dodge Durango made contact with the truck on the rear passenger side, causing the truck to become disabled and come to a stop on the westbound side of Highway 30. The juvenile bailed out of the pickup, but after a short foot chase, was taken into custody.

No injuries were reported, but both vehicles sustained damage in the crash. Officers with the Carroll Police Department and Iowa State Patrol Trooper assisted in handling the incident.

(Missouri Valley, Iowa) –  Officials with the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge invite you to join them this ​Saturday, April 6th, to learn about the passengers and cargo of the steamboat Bertrand, which sank April 1st, 1865, after the vessel struck a submerged log at around 3-p.m. on the Missouri River, 25-miles north of Omaha. The stern-driven paddle-wheel boat was headed to the gold fields of Montana Territory when the accident occurred.  After initial salvage efforts, she was quickly submerged beneath the water and silt. Her cargo was written off as complete loss.

Just over a century later, the wreck was found and its cargo recovered. Since 1981, the cargo has been on display at the visitor center at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge. To commemorate the 159th anniversary of the sinking of the Bertrand, DeSoto NWR will host an afternoon of special events, beginning at 1 p.m., Saturday, at the DeSoto Visitor Center.

At 1-p.m., the refuge will host two special guest presenters from the Gerald R. Ford Conservation Center. The Ford Center is located in Omaha, NE and offers “services to private individuals, museums and libraries, corporations, and state and federal agencies”, including “examination and treatment of three-dimensional objects, paintings, and works on paper”. Ford Center staff has performed extensive conservation work on thousands of Bertrand artifacts, particularly metal items like tin cans, brass lamp fittings, and steel tools. In their presentation, the conservators will share the work they perform, highlighting some of the conservation techniques used on artifacts like rare Goodyear-patent rubber rain slickers and canned foods.

Living history re-enactors will be present throughout the visitor center from 2 p.m. until 3 p.m., giving a sense of what life and travel may have been like for the travelers, salesmen, crew, and others aboard the Bertrand on their way to new opportunities in the Montana Territory.

There will also be activities for children and adults between 2 and 3 p.m., including stenciling and a cargo scavenger hunt. To wrap-up the event, join the Bertrand Curator for a presentation at 3 pm. This talk will focus on some of the passengers of the Bertrand and what we can learn about them through the belongings they left behind.

The event will conclude at 4:00 p.m. The refuge Visitor Center will be open from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. the day of the event.

(Stuart, Iowa) – Officials with the Stuart Police Department report that at around 10:30-a.m., Friday, April 5th, the Department will co-host a mock accident for West Central Valley High School students. The exercise is in coordination with Stuart Fire Department, Stuart Rescue, Menlo Fire & Rescue, Dexter Fire & Rescue and Redfield Fire Department.

The mock accident will take place in the gravel parking lot on the south side of the sports complex. Multiple emergency services agencies will be on site.

Authorities say while this event is not open to the public, they want the community to be aware the event is taking place, and to not be alarmed if you see a large emergency response in the area.

Picture is from the Stuart P-D’s last mock accident held in 2022

If you have any questions, please email Sgt. Katie Guisinger at kguisinger@stuart911.com.