(Creston, IA) – The Creston Police Department reports the arrest at around 3:20-p.m., Tuesday (Jan. 6th), of a woman from Thayer. Authorities say 32-year-old Hayley Joan Vandel was arrested on a Driving While Barred charge. She was taken to Union County Jail. Vandel posted a $2,000 cash or surety bond and was released from custody.

(Red Oak, IA) –  A traffic stop late Tuesday night (Jan. 6) in Montgomery County, resulted in a felony drug arrest. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the Montgomery County K-9 Unit conducted the traffic stop at around 11:10-p.m., in the 1100 block of 110th Street. During the investigation, K-9 “Riddick” was deployed, and a search of the vehicle resulted in the driver, 65-year-old Terry Joe Halvin, of Red Oak, being taken into custody.

Halvin was arrested for Possession of Methamphetamine/3rd offense, a Class-D Felony offense. Halvin was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $5,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Most Iowans likely haven’t started filling out their tax forms yet, but they might be more eager to do so this year. Stacy Engle, a spokeswoman for the Internal Revenue Service, says projections point to higher refunds ahead, thanks to increased standard deductions under the so-called Big Beautiful Bill that passed Congress last July. “When that change happened, most people did not make any changes to their withholding, and most employers did not adjust the withholding for the change,” Engle says. “That is going to increase the amount of standard deduction people get, which will increase the amount of overpayment they made based on withholding.”

It could be the biggest tax refund season in U-S history, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent projecting refunds averaging between one- and two-thousand dollars. Iowa’s small businesses and farmers will also see tax changes, as Engle says the standard mileage rate is rising for cars, vans, and panel trucks — including electric and hybrid vehicles. “Anyone that’s in business as a small business, self-employed contractor or a farmer will get the increased mileage rate,” Engle says, “and it went up 2.5 cents, the highest mileage rate that’s been on record of 72.5 cents per mile.” Engle notes this change won’t affect the 2025 tax return, as it kicks in for the 2026 tax year, giving businesses and farmers time to plan ahead.

Engle says another change allows workers who earned overtime above time-and-a-half to deduct the extra half-rate — up to 12-thousand-500 dollars.“Until the end of this year, most employers have been doing withholding based on what you make rather than excluding the $12,500 in your overtime,” she says, “so that’s going to hopefully increase the amount someone would owe in tax or increase their refund.”

For more information on the changes, visit IRS.gov.

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced Tuesday the Iowa Farm Act, a legislative plan to support Iowa farmers and rural communities. “The Iowa Farm Act is about meeting today’s challenges while preparing for the future. It brings together ideas we have heard directly from farmers, agribusinesses, and rural communities across the state,” said Secretary Naig.

Key Provisions of the Iowa Farm Act:

Tax Relief:

• Expands retired farmer rental income tax exemption to partnerships, S corporations, trusts and estates.
• Eliminates grain excise tax for cooperatives and grain handlers.
• Exempts honeybee purchases from sales tax.
• Exempts above-ground storage tanks under 91,000 gallons from property tax.

Transportation & Logistics:

• Modernizes agricultural equipment transportation standards for improved safety.
• Increases truck weight allowances for dairy products to reduce hauling costs.

Biosecurity and Protecting Producers:

• Protects producer confidentiality during disease outbreaks to encourage early reporting.
• Authorizes the Department to store disease response equipment.

Modernizing Department Functions and Improving Government Efficiency:

• Streamlines Iowa Code by eliminating outdated language and reducing duplication.
• Provides flexibility in large-scale inspections with alternative methods.
• Clarifies Grain Indemnity Fund updates.
• Expands marketing opportunities for Iowa-made agricultural products.

Naig is also requesting a $1.335 million budget increase to maintain essential operations in animal health, food safety, consumer protection, and water quality initiatives as part of the Department’s FY27 proposal.

Ag leaders across the state say they are thankful for Naig’s efforts in strengthening Iowa’s farming community.

TAMA COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) – The body of a missing Tama County man has been found in Newton County, Arkansas, according to officials. Nicholas Collins has been missing from Tama County, Iowa, since December 19. He was reported missing after 10 days of friends and family not being able to contact him.

His white Mini Cooper was found on January 1 at a trailhead in the Ozark National Forest region in Johnson County, Arkansas, with its license plates removed. The Tama County Sheriff’s Office previously said Collins left a note when he left his home in Garwin that he was “going away for a while.”

Officials said there is no evidence of foul play and an investigation into his death is ongoing.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is calling on the legislature to pass a law requiring the collection of D-N-A from adults arrested for felonies or aggravated misdemeanors. “No family should have to wait years for answers about what happened to their loved one and no criminal should ever get away with murder, rape or other violent crime,” Bird said. “We need to give law enforcement the tools they need to investigate and to bring violent criminals to justice.”

All 50 states require D-N-A testing of adults CONVICTED of felonies. Over 30 states have also passed D-N-A collection requirements from those ARRESTED for violent crimes. They’re all named “Katie’s Law,” for a 22-year-old woman who was brutally attacked and murdered in New Mexico. Suzana Martinez, the former governor of New Mexico, joined Bird at a statehouse news conference yesterday (Tuesday).

“DNA…is the 21st century fingerprint,” Martinez said. “…Upon arrest, when we take your fingerprints, we should be taking the DNA as well.” Martinez was the district attorney who tried the case against the man who killed Katie Sepich — once the D-N-A he submitted following a CONVICTION for a different crime matched the D-N-A material found under Katie Sepich’s fingernails.

Martinez says by requiring D-N-A collection at the time of an arrest, Katie’s Law turns every booking station into a doorway to justice for a cold case. “It brings a level of scientific certainty to our justice system that gut feelings and that line-ups just don’t do,” Martinez said. “Katie Sepich’s death was a tragedy, but the three-year’s delay in identifying her killer was a failure of the system.”

Bird’s also proposing a bill that would let children and adults who are victims of sex crimes get a lifetime no-contact order. “One particularly troubling case that I will never forget where…a woman with children of her own ran into the person who sexually assaulted her as a child in a grocery store and didn’t realize the no-contact order didn’t exist anymore because she didn’t realize she had to extend it,” Bird said.

Under current law, criminal no-contact orders usually last a year. Bird also wants to change confidentiality rules and let a crime victim’s counselor notify law enforcement if they believe there’s an immediate risk of harm to their client or someone connected to their client. Mary Ingham is Executive Director of Crisis Intervention Services, which serves crime victims in 15 north central Iowa counties. “This is about fairness, this is about balance and it’s about time,” Ingham said. “For decades, defendants have had pages of rights guaranteed by law. Victims deserve the same commitment.”

Bird’s also seeking a tougher felony charge against some accused of threatening an Iowa judge or their family.

(Radio Iowa) – A legislative panel is examining how to expand access to Iowans who need intensive, recovery-oriented mental health services outside of a hospital setting. Representative Gary Mohr of Bettendorf is chairman of the temporary committee, which met yesterday (Tuesday).

“Many of you are going to think as a result of today we’re going to come out with a grandiose, multi-million dollar plan. Don’t plan on it. Some of you expect us to come out with virtually nothing and maybe one of two recommendations. Don’t count on it,” Mohr said. “We’re going to get as far as we can moving this issue forward.”

Mohr and other lawmakers heard testimony about the lack of “subacute” mental health care services — and learned there are only 30 slots available in Iowa today for adults who need those services after hospitalization for a mental health crisis. Mary Neubauer of Clive told lawmakers her adopted son Sergei was diagnosed with depression, anxiety and P-T-S-D after abuse he suffered as a child in Russia.

Neubauer says after Sergei attempted suicide and was hospitalized a decade ago, she and her husband found the kind of programs he needed next in Arizona and California because there were none in Iowa. After Sergei committed suicide in 2017, Neubauer has been an advocate for action in Iowa. “We’re Iowans. We’re Midwesterners. We pride ourselves of how we take care of each other,” Neubauer said, “and we haven’t been doing the best job of that in terms of mental health care here in Iowa.”

Neubauer says there’s growing demand, world-wide, for high-quality, comprehensive mental health recovery services and there’s a chance for Iowa to position itself as a go-to place for that kind of care.

Officials from two key agencies suggest there are some regulatory changes that might improve the business model for these intensive, sometimes months-long treatment programs. They said some insurance companies limit coverage for these services to just 10 days — because of a reference in state law that could be changed — and there are professional requirements for employees that make it hard to fill all staff slots.

Dubuque, Iowa – On January 4, 2026, the Dubuque Police Department (DPD) requested assistance from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) with an officer-involved shooting.

On January 4th, 2026, at approximately 12:52 AM, a uniformed DPD officer on routine patrol observed a physical fight in front of Odd Fellows Bar. As the officer came to a stop and exited his vehicle, the officer witnessed Jaiondrick Lovely, 28, shoot Cory Wilson Jr., 29.  The officer then fired his weapon at Lovely, who then ran into the bar.  Officers immediately provided Wilson Jr. medical treatment, and he was later transported to MercyOne hospital in Dubuque.  Officers searched the bar, located Lovely suffering from a gunshot wound, and provided him medical treatment. Lovely was subsequently transported to Unity Point Finley Hospital.  Both Lovely and Wilson Jr. were later pronounced deceased.

The involved DPD officer was uninjured and will remain on critical incident leave in accordance with DPD policy pending a review by the Office of the Iowa Attorney General, and the Dubuque County Attorney’s Office.

Agencies involved in the response to this incident included DPD, the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office, and DCI.

As part of DPD’s standard protocol, DCI was requested to investigate the officer-involved shooting.  Once the investigation is complete, findings will be forwarded to the Dubuque County Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Iowa Attorney General for review.

DPD Investigators are continuing to investigate the circumstances leading to the shooting of Wilson Jr.

BLACK HAWK COUNTY, Iowa – A teen from eastern Iowa died during a collision Tuesday morning between a semi and passenger vehicle. The crash in Black Hawk County happened at around 7:43-a.m. at the intersection of S. Canfield Road and Independence Avenue, south of Dunkerton, when a Chevy Impala traveling east on Independence Avenue pulled-out in front of a semi tractor-trailer that was traveling southbound on Canfield Road.

Following the collision, both vehicles came to rest in the southeast ditch of the intersection, according to the Iowa State Patrol’s crash report. The driver of the car – 15-year-old Ciara Crisman, of Waterloo – was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the semi – 35-year-old Travis Rink, of Clarion – was not injured.

The crash remains under investigation. The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Dept., Dunkerton Police, fire and ambulance, and Jesup Fire Dept.

(Red Oak, IA) – A head-on crash Monday afternoon in Montgomery County resulted in two people being sent to a hospital The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the collision happened at around 4:20-p.m. in the 2500 block of Highway 48, about six-miles south of Red Oak.

Authorities say a Chevy SUV driven by Debra Lafollette, of Red Oak, was traveling northbound on the highway, when a  when a Ford SUV driven by Sean Belgrave, of Shenandoah, for reasons unknown, crossed the center line of the highway before colliding with Lafollette’s vehicle.

Both drivers suffered from serious injuries and were transported to the hospital by Red Oak Rescue. Both vehicles were totaled in the crash. Sheriff’s officials say no citations have been issued at this time, as the investigation is ongoing.

Red Oak Police, Red Oak Fire and Rescue and the Montgomery County Communications Center assisted with the incident.