The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two men and a woman were arrested on numerous charges Thursday evening, following the pursuit of a Nebraska plated vehicle during a traffic stop in the 29,000 block of Highway 34. The incident began at around 6:30-p.m.  When a Mills County Deputy attempted the traffic stop, the vehicle failed to stop and attempted to flee at speeds in excess of 100 mph. In the attempt to flee, the vehicle became stuck on a minimum maintenance road. Two of the three suspects inside the vehicle took off on foot, while the third was arrested at the vehicle.

Mills County pursuit suspects (Photo courtesy Mills County S/O)

The Fremont County K9 “Danken” arrived on the scene and began tracking the other two suspects. After a brief track, Danken and his partner located a female suspect, 24-year-old Jessica Hale, who was identified as the driver of the vehicle. She was hiding in a brush pile. K9 Danken, along with his handler and three back-up deputies began tracking after the second suspect and tracked him for nearly two-miles in below freezing temperatures.

Montgomery County EMA drone ready to be deployed (Montgomery County EMA Facebook page photo)

The Montgomery County EMA was able to use a drone to watch the suspect run into a nearby farm building, where perimeter deputies were able to take the suspect into custody. The suspect vehicle had illegal narcotics inside, and was confirmed stolen from Omaha. The suspects, Hale, 37-year old Richard McIntyre, and 35-year old Brandon Woodruff, all of Omaha, were booked into the Mills County Jail on multiple felony charges. In addition, Hale and Woodruff had outstanding warrants out of Douglas County, NE.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office was assisted during the incident, by the Mills and Fremont County K9 Units, Fremont and Montgomery Sheriff’s Departments, Montgomery County EMA, and Malvern Fire/Rescue. The Mills County Sheriff’s Office also sends a special “Thank you” to an anonymous Mills County resident who helped, by transporting the K9 team during the search efforts.

(Radio Iowa) – The governor is asking legislators to boost the D-O-T’s budget for road salt by one-point-three MILLION dollars, for NEXT winter. Lee Wilkinson is finance director for the Iowa Department of Transportation. “The last three years our salt usage has increased and that’s primarily due to the severity of the winters,” Wilkinson says.

In each of the past three winters, the D-O-T used about 214-thousand tons of rock salt, on average. The cost of rock salt increased 11 percent over that time frame, adding to the D-O-T’s dilemma. The governor is also asking legislators to ensure the agency can more quickly replace the blades on the D-O-T’s snow plows. Wilkinson says replacing the blades reduces wear and tear on the trucks, as well as on road surfaces. “Next to salt, they may be the most critical item that we buy to support winter operation,” Wilkinson says.

Wilkinson says blades haven’t been replaced as often as recommended, because managers currently search for unspent money elsewhere in the D-O-T budget for the purchases. The governor is suggesting legislators set aside at least 629-thousand dollars to buy new blades for D-O-T snow plows this summer.

Police in Creston arrested a woman on an OWI charge early this (Friday) morning. Authorities say 33-year-old Samantha Diane Meeks, of Mount Ayr, was arrested at around 12:30-a.m., at 302 N Pine. She was charged with OWI/1st Offense, and transported to the Union County Jail before being then transferred to Adams County Jail, for holding.

(In an update to our previous report) Firefighters from Earling were called a little after 6-a.m. Thursday, to the 500 block of Main St., in Earling, for a reported structure fire. Authorities say as the first engine arrived on scene, they declared a working fire. At that time Westphalia Fire was paged to provide mutual aid. Firefighters with Earling began an offensive attack on the fire located on the first floor of the residence. Fire Departments from Panama and Defiance were also called to assist with manpower, and to haul water to the scene.

(Photo courtesy Jason Anastasi)

Officials say the fire entered the walls of the residence and worked its way up to the second floor, attic and finally, through the roof. At that point, firefighters’ means of attacking the flames was moved to defensive positions, outside. With the help of Harlan Fire and their ladder truck, the fire was contained to the residence only.  All the occupants made it out of the house safely prior to firefighters’ arrival, and there were no injuries.

The house is believed to be a total loss.