Creston Police report the arrest on Friday morning, of 27-year old Miah Lynn Caron. The Belton, IA woman, was taken into custody on a Montgomery County warrant for Probation Violation. Caron was turned over to Montgomery County Deputies.

And, a Creston woman residing in the 600 block of Grand Avenue, reported Friday, that sometime between 10-a.m. and Noon that day, someone stole a B.F. Goodrich 275 R 16 tire and rim from her property. The loss was estimated at $180.

AMES, Iowa – May 18, 2020 – The development of a long-range plan for public transit in Iowa is nearly complete. This plan supports the current state transportation plan, Iowa In Motion 2045, and will provide input into the future development of Iowa in Motion 2050. The intent of these efforts is to efficiently plan and manage resources for an effective statewide public transit system within Iowa’s multi-modal transportation system.

A key part of the plan update is collecting public input. Stakeholder and public feedback have been considered throughout the planning process and is being sought once more to help refine the final draft of the Iowa Public Transit Long-Range Plan.

A copy of the Plan can be reviewed at https://iowadot.gov/iowainmotion/Modal-Plans/Public-Transit-Plan. Any comments, feedback, or input can be submitted by following the instructions found at the top of the webpage. The public comment period is open now through Wednesday, July 1.

Once the public comment period concludes, the feedback will be considered and incorporated into the plan. The plan will then be presented to the Iowa Transportation Commission prior to its final publication. For questions, please contact the Systems Planning Bureau, Iowa Department of Transportation, 800 Lincoln Way, Ames, Iowa 50010, telephone 515-239-1520, email Iowa.Motion@iowadot.us.

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

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(Radio Iowa) — An expert on insects says there’s no evidence so-called “murder hornets” are in Iowa and it’s entirely possible they’ll -never- buzz this far inland. Donald Lewis, an extension entomologist at Iowa State University, prefers to use the wasp’s proper name, Vespa mandarinia, or the Asian giant hornet. “That’s the official name,” Lewis says. “It was a good enough name in its home country of Japan. It should’ve been a good enough name here, but it got called something else which tends to add a little alarmism to the whole process.”

Vespa Mandarinia (AKA the “Murder Hornet”)

The hornets were found in recent months in Washington state and in British Columbia, Canada in very small numbers and their nests were quickly destroyed. “The possibility of the Asian giant hornet in Iowa is very slim,” Lewis says. “There’s a long history of insects finding their way to the North American continent and establishing and becoming invasive species. The chances for this one are slim but it’s worth watching.” The hornets got their murderous nickname because they can brutally wipe out honey bee colonies by decapitating the smaller, beneficial insects. About a dozen people -are- killed by the giant hornets every year in Japan, while in the U-S, about 50 people die every year from getting stung by various insects.

In addition to being the world’s largest hornet at up to two inches long, their coloring is very distinctive. “This is a huge wasp and it’s typical of all wasps with an elongated, slender body,” Lewis says. “They have four wings. The abdomen has a black-and-orange stripe. The head is orange, but the eyes are very black, which makes the eyes very prominent.”  For the most part, if you don’t mess with the hornet, it won’t mess with you, Lewis says, but it will attack if provoked and its sting can be very painful and potentially fatal. If you encounter one, he says the best defense is simply to steer clear.

(Radio Iowa) — Almost 400-thousand Iowans have asked for an absentee ballot for the June 2nd Primary and early voting for the primary is likely to set an all-time record. Secretary of State Paul Pate, the state’s commissioner of elections, says “People have listened and they heard. They got the message: let’s vote safe, let’s vote from home right now.”  His office mailed absentee ballot request forms to every registered Iowa voter, encouraging Iowans to ask their county auditor for the vote-by-mail option rather than in-person voting on Primary Day.  “I think the pandemic has put a much stronger emphasis on voting,” Pate says. “People are at home. They’re paying attention to what the government’s doing.” we’re going to probably be a record, if not already, as far as primaries go.”

The deadline for requesting an absentee ballot is Friday at 5 p.m. Officials suggest any request sent through the U.S. Postal Service should be mailed today (Monday) to ensure it gets to the county auditor on time. Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald says in Iowa’s largest county, an average of about nine-thousand people typically ask for an absentee ballot for a Primary. His office has already processed 10-thousand requests.  “And we still have 54,000 requests,” Fitzgerald says. While there will be in-person voting available on Primary day, election officials like Fitzgerald are encouraging Iowans to use this vote-at-home option. “We are in the pandemic,” Fitzgerald says. “You have people now that are voting safely, making sure they don’t spread the virus.”

Pate says Iowa National Guard soldiers distributed personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies to county auditors last week that will be used by poll workers at precinct voting sites on June 2nd. Each voting booth will be cleaned between uses. Some counties plan to offer voters gloves. In Polk County, each Primary Day voter will be given their own pen to use and take with them after they cast their ballot. “We want Iowans to be able to vote,” Pate says. “We want them to be able to vote safely and we want our poll workers to be safe.” Fitzgerald says in Polk County — and most others — the number of precincts have been reduced, to ensure there’s enough space inside for social distancing and to make sure there are enough poll workers. “I don’t want to wake up like they did in Wisconsin and find out that 400 people have quit, so we’re constantly training,” Fitzgerald says. “We’re constantly talking to our poll workers.”

Pate predicts as many as 70 percent of ballots cast in the June Primary, however, will be absentee ballots. He says Iowans can track their absentee ballots on www.voterready.iowa.gov. “When the auditor’s office receives your request it’ll show that. It’ll show when the auditor sends (the absentee ballot) out. It’ll show when it got back to the auditor’s office, Pate says, “so you know it got there.”

The two election officials made their comments this weekend on the “Iowa Press” program on Iowa P-B-S. They both are urging Iowans voting by mail to avoid a common mistake — and remember to sign and date the ballot.

Sheriff’s deputies in Montgomery County responded to an accident Sunday, in Villisca. Authorities say when a juvenile male failed to maintain control of the vehicle he was driving, the vehicle struck two legally parked cars in the 100 block of N. 4th Avenue. There were no injuries. During their investigation, Deputies determined the juvenile was allegedly under the influence of alcohol, and had alcohol in his possession. The individual was cited into Juvenile Court for OWI/1st offense, and Possession of Alcohol under [the] legal age. He was also cited for Failure to Maintain Control.

The name of the juvenile was not released.

Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh reports Cass County COVID-19 Mobile Food For All offers food delivery to Cass County residents in need of the service during COVID-19. Just beginning its third week, the program has over 80 households registered. Cass County COVID-19 Mobile Food For All continues to accept registrations, and is now also recruiting volunteers to assist with food delivery.

Registration is open: Once registered, households will receive weekly food delivery until grant funding runs out, or participants notify the program that they are no longer in need of the assistance. The weekly service is available to people in Cass County in need of food delivery during COVID-19. To learn more or register for the program, visit www.extension.iastate.edu/cass, or call Cass County Public Health at 712-243-7443.

Calling volunteers: While Cass County COVID-19 Mobile Food For All continues to expand, the Cass County Local Food Policy Council is recruiting volunteers to assist with food delivery. Volunteers are needed Monday through Thursday from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Volunteers able to commit to volunteering on the same day of the week for a month are preferred. Volunteers must be able to lift heavy grocery bags repeatedly and climb on and off a bus multiple times an hour.

As many individuals registered for food delivery are at high risk for COVID-19, volunteers must be committed to adhering to safety practices recommended by Public Health including maintaining a six-foot distance from others, wearing a mask at all times, and frequently washing hands or using hand sanitizer. On days with fewer than approximately 15 deliveries, volunteers will be asked to drive their own vehicles (mileage will be reimbursed).

On days with more deliveries, volunteers will ride a SWITA bus driven by a SWITA driver. For more information or to sign up to volunteer, contact Brigham Hoegh at bhoegh@iastate.edu or 712-249-5870.

Cass County COVID-19 Mobile Food For All is made possible by a grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority. The Cass County Local Food Policy Council, Cass County Public Health, Cass County ISU Extension, Southwest Iowa Transit Agency (SWITA), and Cass County are partnering on the program.For more information, follow @CassCountyLocalFood on Facebook or contact Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh at 712-249-5870or by email at bhoegh@iastate.edu.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State health officials reported five more deaths and 323 additional cases of coronavirus on Sunday. The Iowa Department of Public Health said 351 people have died from COVID-19 in the state and 14,651 have tested positive for the disease caused by the coronavirus. For some infected people, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe illness or death. But for most people, it causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa has rebuilt its stockpile of personal protective equipment after a dire shortage that prompted the state to buy replenishments from some unusual sources. Records show Iowa’s executive branch has signed $45 million worth of emergency purchase orders for isolation gowns, masks, face shields, goggles and other equipment from mid-March through April. That includes $7.2 million in contracts for gowns and goggles with a Des Moines business that has never previously sold either and is known for making Republican campaign signs. The deals include 590,000 masks that were purchased directly from China and to be flown to an Ankeny warehouse.

CASS COUNTY, Neb. (AP) — An Iowa man is facing several charges after fleeing from police in southeast Nebraska. The Cass County Sheriff’s office says the chase reached speeds up to 130 miles per hour on U.S. Highway 75 Friday morning. The 55-year-old Council Bluffs man stopped briefly after deputies pulled him over around 11:40 a.m. before fleeing northbound. The driver’s 2005 Ford Crown Victoria wound up in a ditch after he exited the highway without slowing down. The Cass County Sheriff’s office says the man was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, fleeing to avoid arrest, reckless driving and several other charges.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — University of Iowa researchers privately warned that the coronavirus would continue spreading through the state even before Gov. Kim Reynolds relaxed social distancing policies, a move they said would exacerbate the problem. In a report to the Iowa Department of Public Health on April 27, the university experts said that Iowa had not reached a peak and reopening the state economy before then would “result in a rapid rise of cases.” In a paper dated May 4, they found that the virus was still likely growing. They said that Iowa’s school and business closures and other steps had strongly mitigated the spread of infection but nonetheless were not “sufficient to prevent uncontained spread.”

Officials with Pottawattamie County Public Health (PCPH), Sunday afternoon, said there are three new, positive cases of COVID-19. All three are residents of Council Bluffs. Two of the cases are persons 18-to 40 years of age, one is 41-to 60 years old. All were tested between May 14th and May 15th.

Thus far, officials say, 2,014 Pott. County residents have been tested for COVID-19, and a total of 162 persons have tested positive. An additional six people have recovered, for a total number of recoveries at 74. Two individuals are hospitalized, 83 are self-isolating.

Based on PCPH contacting tracing investigations, a total of 55 Pott. County COVID-19 cases are the result of Community Spread.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State health officials reported five more deaths and 323 additional cases of coronavirus on Sunday. The Iowa Department of Public Health said 351 people have died from COVID-19 in the state and 14,651 have tested positive for the disease caused by the coronavirus.

For some infected people, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe illness or death. But for most people, it causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks.