A traffic stop at around 2:40-p.m. Saturday, in Red Oak, resulted in the arrest of a Nebraska man, on a drug charge. Red Oak Police say while talking with the driver, 21-year old Demetrius A. Smith, of Omaha, they could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from the inside of the vehicle. A search of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of a small amount of marijuana and scale.

Smith was taken into custody for Possession of Marijuana. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where bond was set at $1,000.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The National Weather Service is warning of snow and strong winds across much of Iowa and Nebraska. The storm is expected to bring up to 4 to 7 inches of snow in southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa beginning Saturday night and continuing into Sunday. Even heavier snow is possible in southeast Iowa. The snow could be accompanied by winds of up to 40 mph, creating near blizzard conditions. About 2 to 4 inches of snow is forecast for Des Moines and Omaha.

Blizzard Warnings were posted late Saturday afternoon for the southern two tiers of counties in southwest Iowa. The warnings go into effect early Sunday morning and run until 9-p.m. for all but the far southwest corner counties.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Officials in north-central Colorado have released the names of two people who were killed when their vehicle was struck by a stolen vehicle in Fort Collins. The Larimer County coroner’s office say the victims of Thursday morning’s crash were 55-year-old John Nees of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and his daughter, 38-year-old Nicole Nees of Fort Collins.

Authorities say the stolen vehicle involved in the fatal collision was used to crash into a pawn shop where guns had been stolen a few hours earlier. Fort Collins police said Friday 19-year-old Marcos Orozco was arrested on suspicion of burglary, eluding and motor vehicle theft in connection with the break-in. Police say more charges are possible pending the outcome of the investigation into the wreck.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A variety of factors may be behind a 4 percent drop in Amtrak ridership in Iowa, but some passenger rail advocates remain hopeful service will one day increase in the state.
The National Rail Passenger Corp., which operates as Amtrak, reported that 57,955 people boarded Amtrak passenger trains at Iowa’s six stations during the 12 months ending Sept. 30. That’s more than 4 percent down from the previous year and nearly 16 percent less than Iowa’s record ridership year of 2010.

The California Zephyr travels daily eastbound and westbound through Iowa, stopping at Burlington, Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa, Osceola and Creston. The Southwest Chief stops in Fort Madison.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari blames the decline on more people driving due to low gasoline prices. He also thinks higher-performing vehicles lead more people to drive themselves.

“Our competition, for the most part, is driving, and as people buy newer cars that get better mileage, part of me wonders if people aren’t finding themselves driving because their cars are higher performing than they were 10 years ago,” Magliari told The Des Moines Register .

Iowa rail advocates also note Amtrak has cut its ticket agents at train stations, making it harder to buy at a depot. “There are still people who come into the station wanting to buy a ticket and who maybe have never ridden Amtrak before,” Krebill said. “When there is no ticket agent, there is really no one there to answer questions and tell people how to get on a train and where to get on a train.”
Iowa’s ridership drop came even as national ridership remained steady and revenue climbed 2.2 percent over the previous year.

Rail supporters continue to push for expanded service, especially a route from Chicago traveling through Iowa City and Des Moines to Omaha, Nebraska. Sen. Matt McCoy, of Des Moines, has long sought state funding for rush a route, and he said he’ll continue advocating for rail in his new position on the Polk County Board of Supervisors. Krebill said there’s plenty of support for a line through Iowa linking Chicago to Omaha, and others have called for a line through Des Moines that links Minneapolis-St. Paul to Kansas City. Des Moines lost its regular passenger trains in 1970.

(Radio Iowa) — The annual financial review of IPERS — the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System — was completed last week. IPERS C-E-O Donna Mueller says the report shows the pension system had 32-point-three billion dollars in assets on June 30th. “That’s after paying $2.1 billion in benefits for the past fiscal year. Of that amount, $1.8 million was paid to Iowans,”Mueller says. “We currently have…110,000 retirees.”

In total, about 360-thousand public employees who are retired — OR — are STILL working are IPERS members. “A misnomer — everyone thinks that it’s only state employees. No, state employees only make up 14 percent of the membership,” Mueller says. “Education continues to be over 50 percent.” The other public employees invested in IPERS are city and county employees. IPERS was established in 1953 to provide pension payments to public employees in Iowa.

Investments account for about 70 percent of the benefits paid out, according to Mueller. Actuaries calculate the net investment return in the past fiscal year was nearly eight percent.

(Radio Iowa) — It’s smart policy for Iowans to keep their smartphones locked with a password or a fingerprint, according to consumer protection advocate Michelle Reinen. She says having an unlocked phone is one step from having your identity stolen. Even if unlocking the phone takes a few extra seconds, Reinen says it’s worthwhile to secure it.

Reinen says, “While it can be an inconvenience, it’s really hard to argue that inconvenience against the valuable data those devices hold.” Smartphones, for many of us, provide access to a large portion of our lives, from banking information to our personal communications and our social interactions. “You want to make sure that people can’t get into the device and get all your contacts and email messages and if you have a password app, those types of things that can sit on those devices,” she says.

If you have a work-issued business phone, safeguarding it can be crucial to keeping company data secure. “That’s certainly a larger larger consideration beyond the identity theft and the cyber scams that are out there, and worth consideration as well,” she says. If your phone has the fingerprint technology for locking, use it. If you prefer a passcode, be sure to use a number that’s not easily guessed, like a birth date, and never use four zeros.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — One of the last one-screen movie theaters in the Des Moines area will soon close. The Des Moines Register reports the Varsity Theatre in the Drake Neighborhood will close next month.

Owner Denise Mahon announced Friday on the Varsity’s Facebook page that the theater across the street from Drake University will close after the Sunday matinees Dec. 30. Mahon’s father bought the theater in 1954 with a partner and became sole owner in 1975.

Denise Mahon started running the theater in 2009, when her father died. Mahon declined an interview request but called it “a very nostalgic day and difficult decision.”