(Radio Iowa) – A building collapsed this weekend in Hinton, partially blocking traffic on Highway 75 for a time. No one was inside the 120-year-old brick and concrete building when its west wall collapsed at about 8:10 a-m Saturday. Owner Sara Smith says the building was used for storage of equipment, and her husband had noticed earlier that something didn’t seem right. “I’m thinking it had something to do with the roof. My husband was down here yesterday looking at it. Something just didn’t seem right so he wanted to get the insurance company down here to get it looked at,” Smith says. She says the trouble her husband noticed may’ve been the cause of the collapse.

“The beams have crisscrossed, they weren’t in alignment any more. We get a lot of truck traffic, so it vibrates the whole building every time they go by. I don’t know if that had something to do with it or not,” she says. The Le Mars Fire Department checked the building with its drone to see if there were any additional concerns with the integrity of the building. Smith estimated the damage to the building’s contents at “hundreds of thousands of dollars.” She wasn’t certain as to the value of the building itself.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new monthly survey shows continued economic improvement in nine Midwest and Plains states, but business leaders indicated the coronavirus pandemic is still hurting business. The overall index for the region in January suggests improved growth, coming in at at a strong 67.3 from December’s 64.1. Any score above 50 on the survey’s indexes suggests growth, while a score below 50 suggests recession. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey. He estimated a rosier economic outlook in the coming months, citing an increase in the survey’s confidence index.

The monthly survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

A traffic stop January 26th in Adams County resulted in numerous drug charges being filed on two people from Corning. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports deputies saw two vehicles driving onto the Corning Hotel property. They knew one of the drivers had a suspended license. Deputies then made contact with the individuals, who were identified as 38-year old Jackie Ann Dimmler, and 37-year old Clay Ryan Pettit.

Upon further investigation, both were taken into custody for:

• Possession of a Controlled Substance (PCS)/Methamphetamine – 1st offense
• Poss. of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense
• PCS with the Intent to Deliver
• Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia.
• and Failure to Affix a Drug Tax stamp.

Dimmler was additionally charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm or offensive weapon, and Driving Under Suspension with four withdrawals. Pettit was also charged with Driving Under Suspension, times seven. Both were transported to the Adams County Jail, where Dimmler was being held on $50,000 bond, and Pettit’s cash or surety bond was set at $34,000.

(Des Moines) The Girl Scout Cookie Program^® kicks off in Greater Iowa February 1, and Girl Scouts are selling in creative, socially distant, and contact-free ways to keep themselves and their customers safe. Girl Scouts are adapting their sales methods to share the joy of Girl Scout Cookies through the largest girl-led entrepreneurship program—including taking contact-free pickup and delivery orders through a new national collaboration with Grubhub. Customers can also buy cookies online and have cookies shipped to their house or picked up at a local virtual cookie booth.

Beth Shelton, CEO of Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa, says “When you buy delicious Girl Scout Cookies, you are helping girls not only discover their inner leadership potential but also use their earnings to power amazing experiences for themselves and their troop. Many girls put the money toward impactful community projects right in their own backyards, from supporting animal shelters and food banks to working with local and state legislators to change laws.”

Cookie Varieties include: Toast-Yay!, Caramel Chocolate Chip, Girl Scout S’mores, Lemonades, Shortbreads, Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties, Caramel deLites, and Peanut Butter Sandwiches.

Price: $5 per package

When: February 1 – March 28, 2021. Customers can place orders starting on February 1, and booth sales will begin on February 12.

New Girl Scout Cookie – Meet the Toast-Yay! This year, Greater Iowa will offer the new Toast-Yay!^™ cookie, a French toast–inspired cookie dipped in delicious icing and full of flavor in every bite. Toast-Yay! gives consumers a new way to celebrate moments of joy alongside other favorites, like Thin Mints^® and Caramel deLites^®.

The proceeds from each and every purchase stay local to power Girl Scouts’ essential leadership programming.

How to Safely Purchase Girl Scout Cookies This Season: Girl Scout Cookie season is recognized in Greater Iowa from February 1 through March 28. Consumers can support Girl Scouts by purchasing cookies a few different ways:

• If you know a registered Girl Scout, reach out to her to find out how she’s selling cookies in ways that meet local and state safety protocols.
• If you don’t know a Girl Scout, visit girlscoutsiowa.org/findcookies, or use the official Girl Scout Cookie Finder app for free on iOS or Android devices to find socially distant or contact-free cookie booths if they are available in your area.
• Visit www.grubhub.com/food/girl_scouts to order via contact-free delivery from Grubhub  – in Ankeny,  Ames, Des Moines, and Sioux City areas.
• Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa is grateful to many retailers across the state for opening space outside their retail locations for Girl Scouts to sell cookies in a safe and socially distant manner, when allowed by local COVID-19 guidelines.
• Beginning February 1, enter your zip code into the Girl Scout Cookie Finder at girlscoutsiowa.org/findcookies to purchase from a local Girl Scout troop online for shipment to your door or to donate cookies to first responders and local causes.

To learn more about the history of Girl Scout cookies and the Girl Scout Cookie Program, visit girlscoutcookies.org. To join or volunteer, visit girlscoutsiowa.org/join and girlscoutsiowa.org/volunteer.

Organizers of the 2021 southwest Iowa Legislative Coffees are collaborating this year. The coffees will be held together via Zoom, Saturday, February 13, Saturday, March 13, and Saturday, April 10. The February coffee will take place from 9 – 10:30 a.m., with the option to continue longer, should conversation and participation encourage extending discussion.
Collaborating counties are Adams, Cass, and Union.

Ellen Gerharz, executive director of the Creston Chamber of Commerce, says “It makes sense for safety and convenience this year to hold our legislative time together online. We have space for 100 total participants. People may join on their phones to listen in and participate. Depending on how many join, we may adapt the March meeting for time.” Nancy Turner, organizer for the Corning coffee event, says “We asked Senator Tom Shipley and Representative Tom Moore, who agreed to this format. It also saves travel time, safety, and cost for our state legislators, enabling them to devote their morning engaging with residents.”

Kim Spillers, representative for the Progressive Rural Iowa Development Enterprise economic, says “We’re excited to use Zoom, because of the potential for greater participation. Connecting with our state legislators is valuable for them to hear what’s important to us as they discuss and make decisions on our behalf at the state Capitol.”

To be efficient in this format, people with questions for Senator Shipley or Representative Moore are asked to submit them AHEAD, by noon on Thursday, February 11. Questions will be given to our legislators to be prepared to answer. For those not submitting questions ahead, participants may ask in the “chat” feature of Zoom during the coffee, and will be taken as time allows. The coffee will begin with a brief update by each legislator of the work taking place in his chamber.

If you plan to attend the February 13 coffee, please send questions and requests for the Zoom link to any of the following organizers (listed below). Be sure to leave a message, if no answer to a phone call.

• Ellen Gerharz, chamber@crestoniowachamber.com, 641-782-7021
• Marti Gebbie, chamber@adamscountyiowa.com, 641-322-3243
• Kimberlee Spillers, kim@ghorizons.com, 712-250-0275

The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports four arrests. At around 3:45-a.m. Saturday, 46-year old Jason Eugene Burg, of Creston, was arrested following a traffic stop near the intersection of Bridgewater Road and Highway 92. Authorities say Burg failed to stop at the intersection. A deputy followed him and observed the pickup weaving back and forth from the center line to the fog line. Upon further investigation, Burg was arrested for OWI/1st offense, when his breath tested at .135%.  He was released later that morning on a citation.

Friday night, 33-year old Austin James Hill, of West Des Moines, was arrested by the Iowa State Patrol, on an Adair County warrant for Driving While License Denied or Revoked. He was released the following evening on a $1,000 cash or surety bond. On January 27th, 20-year old Joel William Blazek, of Greenfield, was arrested on an Adair County warrant for Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree, Child Endangerment, and Lascivious Acts with a Child – solicitation. The charge is not new. Sheriff Jeff Vandewater says Blazek’s arrest was for failure to comply with the conditions of his release. He was being held in the Adair County Jail on a $35,000 cash or surety bond, with 10% acceptable.

And, on Jan. 26th, Stuart Police arrested 31-year old Manuel Duran-Arellanes, for Theft in the 1st Degree, following an incident that took place on Nov. 26th. Authorities say a witness saw a vehicle accident at the intersection of the I-80 eastbound off-ramp and the Stuart Road. The vehicle’s driver – who was described as an Hispanic male – fled on foot. The vehicle – a 2019 Nissan Versa, valued at more than $10,000 – was determined to have been stolen. Authorities later caught up with Duran-Arellanes, and detained him based on the information they had received. After the witness positively identified the man as being the driver, Duran-Arellanes was taken into custody and transported to the Adair County Jail, where he was being held on a $10,000 cash or surety bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Arizona man accused of threatening to shoot Iowa lawmakers has been sentenced to five years in prison. The Des Moines Register reports that Cody Leveke, also identified as Cody Meyers in court records, was sentenced Friday in Des Moines’ federal court. Leveke was arrested in December 2019 and convicted in September of interstate communication of a threat.

Authorities say Leveke sent emails to state Sen. Herman Quirmbach saying he was “angry enough to pull a mass shooting down at the State House,” among other things. Prosecutors say Leveke was angry over the failure of a bill that would have allowed him to apply to be removed from the sex offender registry without moving back to Iowa.