More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:05-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The Creston Police Department Tuesday (today), said 39-year old Abraham Schweers, of Lenox, was arrested at around 2:24-a.m. Monday, on a Union County Warrant for Theft 5th Degree. He was released from the Union County Jail on a $300 bond. There were two incidents of theft reported recently, to Creston Police.

Authorities say a woman residing in the 400 block of New York Avenue said Monday, that at around 1:15 AM Monday, someone came onto her property and took a radiator that was sitting outside next to the garage. The loss was estimated at $300. And, Sunday morning, a man residing in the 800 block of N. Lincoln, in Creston, told Police that sometime in the past 24 hours, someone had broke into his vehicle while it was parked in the lot at his apartment building. The man advised that a Seiko Watch and a handicap placard were taken from the vehicle. Those items were valued at $75.

(Radio Iowa) A 900-billion-dollar federal stimulus package includes additional relief to help restaurants make it through the next stage of the coronavirus pandemic. The bill allows small businesses to apply for a second forgivable loan through the Paycheck Protection Program. Most businesses can apply for an amount equal to two-and-a-half months of payroll. But Jessica Dunker, president of the Iowa Restaurant Association, says restaurants can ask for more. She says since they’ve had such a big hit they’ll be able to have three-and-a-half months of payroll that they’ll be able to borrow and have forgiven as long as we use it in appropriate ways.

Sixty percent of the loan must be used to pay employees. Dunker estimates that even with the relief money about one thousand restaurants and bars across the state will close because of the pandemic. ” Nonetheless, the timing of it will help a number of restaurants get over that hump and into the spring when the vaccine is more widely available and we’re able to open our patios back up,” Dunker says

Dunker Iowa’s hospitality industry is estimated to have lost nearly one-point-five billion dollars in revenue in 2020.

(By Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio)

Police in Glenwood, Monday, said two Glenwood men were arrested recently on separate warrants. Authorities report 21-year old Domonic Monson, was arrested December 16^th on a Pottawattamie County warrant for Failure to Appear. His cash or surety bond was set at $2,000. On Saturday, 46-year old Joseph Bremken was arrested on a Mills County warrant. His cash/surety bond was set at $1,000.

Glenwood Police said also, 18-year old Hunter Rapley, of Glenwood, was arrested Saturday, for OWI 1^st Offense. His cash/surety bond was also set at $1,000.

(Radio Iowa) – There are only a few shopping days are left until Christmas, and many Iowans are avoiding the crowds — and COVID-19 — by doing their holiday shopping online, but that course of action brings another whole set of risks. Consumer protection specialist Tricia Collins says Iowans doing last-minute shopping need to be especially careful when clicking on random ads in their social media feeds, as they may look very tempting. “You want to watch out for offers that appear to be too good to be true, because in most cases, they may be,” Collins says, “and you also want to keep your eye out for fake websites or online marketplace pages.”

Collins says many of the complaints agencies get each holiday season are about fake websites and bogus ads on places like Facebook. One way to avoid trouble, she says, is to do your research. “A lot of time crooks will use fake websites and social media messages to trick you into thinking it’s the real business,” Collins says, “and then you may download some malware or they try to gather your personal and financial information.”

She says your best defense is to shop around and don’t buy something on a whim from an unknown source. “You want to verify that the website you’re looking at is legitimate before you place an order or provide any information,” Collins says. “Look for the company’s name, where they’re located, their contact information.” It’s smart to double-check before you double-click as those supposed sale prices might not be a deal at all.

(Radio Iowa) – Nine months into the pandemic and many Iowa families are still being pushed into homelessness. Waypoint Services, a Cedar Rapids-based provider, is seeing the need grow sharply among Iowans who never experienced homelessness before. Housing services director J’nae Peterman says area shelters and other providers are also struggling to meet the demand for rent assistance and transitional housing.  “Within a month-and-a-half time period, we served the amount of people that we typically serve in a full year,” Peterman says. “That’s typically around 3,000 people and that’s what we’re seeing in less than two months.”

Some families were able to avoid homelessness by continuing to live in buildings that were damaged by the derecho in August, but winter weather is forcing some of them out. “People were living in their units as long as they can but as it gets colder, they can’t keep them warm and they do need to leave, unfortunately,” Peterman says. “Shelters are completely at their max capacity and doing the best that they can.”

People facing homelessness or eviction anywhere in Iowa can call Waypoint’s hotline at 1-833-739-0065 or get free legal advice from Iowa Legal Aid at iowalegalaid.org.

(By Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – A man serving a life sentence for a kidnapping in Black Hawk County has died. The Iowa Department of Corrections says 58-year-old Dale Dean Viers died Sunday from likely complications related to COVID-19 and other preexisting medical conditions at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Viers has been serving his sentence at the Iowa State Penitentiary. He was convicted of kidnapping a girl from a Waterloo street in 1994 and abusing her. The Department of Corrections website reports 13 inmates have died of COVID.

Red Oak Police say three people were arrested, Monday. 69-year old Bernard Lee Binns, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 5:40-p.m. on a Public Intoxication charge. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond. And, at around 7:40-p.m., 23-year old Matthew Marlin Williams, and 22-year old Kayla Marie Williams, both of Red Oak, were arrested on charges of Domestic Abuse Assault. Both were being held without bond, in the Montgomery County Jail