Slippery road conditions contributed to a fatal collision Tuesday morning, in Union County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 18-year old Alexis L. Rounds, of Creston died, after the 1998 Jeep Wrangler she was driving went out of control on Highway 34, about one-mile west of Creston.

The SUV spun across the center line and into the eastbound lane, directly into the path of a 2009 Peterbilt semi, driven by 64-year old Gregory A. Powell, of Diagonal. The semi hit the Jeep, over-riding it before both vehicles came to rest against a guardrail. Both vehicles were then consumed by fire. The accident happened at around 5:44-a.m.

Rounds died at the scene. Powell was uninjured in the crash.

Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon reports Severe Weather Sirens will be test throughout Cass County today (Tuesday). There is no severe weather expected. Disregard any sirens you may hear. Thank you.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal officials say the amount of water being released into the Missouri River from a key dam on the Nebraska-South Dakota border has been reduced to winter levels. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in a news release Tuesday that the amount of water flowing out of Gavins Point Dam has been reduced to a rate of about 17,000 cubic feet per second. That’s down significantly from the reduction seen a year earlier, after heavy rain and snow melt in the spring of 2019 sent the river to record levels and flooded parts of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

The Harlan Police Department has issued a report on arrests that took place over the past week. On November 29th, 51-year old Patricia Jeannette Bissen, of Harlan, was arrested following a traffic stop. Bissen was transported to the Shelby County Jail where she was charged with operating while intoxicated, speed, and fail to display license plate. On Dec. 2nd, 48-year old Jamie Dean Anderson, of Harlan, was arrested on an active warrant. Anderson was transported to the Shelby County Jail.

December 3rd, Harlan Police arrested 22-year old Sara Ann Cooper, of Harlan, following a call for service. Cooper was transported to the Shelby County Jail where she was charged with domestic abuse assault. And, on Sunday (Dec. 6), 68-year old Thomas Mathias Wageman, of Harlan, was arrested following a traffic stop. Wageman was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with operating while intoxicated and trespass.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say one person has been hospitalized for injuries received in a north Des Moines house fire. The Des Moines Register reports that the fire was reported around 7 a.m. Monday along 5th Avenue. Fire Department Lt. Rick Thomas says two people were in the home when the fire broke out, which officials say started in the attic. Firefighters entering the home were met with a smoke explosion, which happens when a buildup of unburned gasses mixing with air and an ignition source.

Thomas said one person was injured and hospitalized with burns. Authorities did not release that person’s name. Officials did not immediately know the cause of the fire.

DES MOINES, IA – A District Court Judge in Des Moines, Monday, sentenced a West Des Moines man to prison for Possession of Child Pornography. Officials say 33-year old Bryant Dale Voss received a sentence of 84 months (7 years), followed by five years of supervised release once he serves his sentence. He must also comply with sex offender registry requirements upon release.

An investigation into Voss began in July 2017 when law enforcement were operating a law enforcement version of the file sharing program BitTorrent in an undercover capacity. Agents
located child pornography files available for sharing from Voss’ computer and downloaded multiple files from him in July 2017. Voss knew that his file sharing program made certain child
pornography files on his computer available to others to download. Subsequently, investigators executed a search warrant at Voss’ West Des Moines residence where they seized his computers and electronic devices.

The investigation showed that Voss knowingly possessed hundreds of images and ten videos of child pornography on an external hard drive and used his computer to knowingly access and view videos of child pornography.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday (today) appointed Kipp Harris, of Atlantic, to fill a vacancy on the County Compensation Board. The vacancy was created by the resignation of Phyllis Nichols. Harris will fill the position for the remainder of Nichols’ four-year term, which expires June 30, 2021.

In other business, the Board passed Ordinance #37 on the first reading. The Ordinance basically updates the County’s Code of Ordinances, as required by the Code of Iowa. Auditor Dale Sunderman explained what it entails: It repeals Ordinance 33 and updates policies concerning the construction/reconstruction of roadways, division of taxes for the 2017 Cass County Agribusiness Urban Renewal Area [for Elite Octane], and regulates the operation of ATV’s on County roadways.

(Radio Iowa) – With a federal government shutdown looming on Friday, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he’s confident both chambers of Congress will agree on a continuing resolution to extend spending for a week. Grassley, a Republican, predicts the larger plan that will pass on December 18th will include the long-awaited relief package for individuals, businesses and state and local governments impacted by COVID-19. “There’s so much bipartisan agreement on so many parts that are needed,” Grassley says. “If we can forget some things that don’t have bipartisan support, we’ll take care of a lot of the need that’s out there.”

Grassley accuses House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of being very uncooperative over the past several months by making no concessions on a pandemic relief package — and he blames her for the lengthy delay. “This is a very much nicer environment to be in than from August through the election, when Pelosi was refusing to negotiate,” Grassley says, “and she more or less admitted that she did it to help Biden and Democrats in the election.”

If there’s not agreement by Friday, tens of thousands of federal employees who are deemed “nonessential” will be furloughed — or they’ll be forced to work without pay until the impasse ends. Grassley doesn’t think it’ll come to that and he expects a compromise on COVID relief soon with Democrats Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer. “The good news is that Pelosi and Schumer have moved off of their all-or-nothing position and seem to be negotiating,” Grassley says. “That’s the first good news we’ve had in four or five months on this subject.”

The last time the federal government shutdown was the longest shutdown in U-S history. It ran 35 days between late December of 2018 through late January of 2019.

A car-versus-deer accident Monday night south of Arispe, in Union County, resulted in suspected minor injuries to a Ringgold County man. The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports 30-year old Johnathan Watkins, of Tingley, was traveling south on Highway 169 at around 7:50-p.m., when a buck deer crossed the road. Watkins’ 2020 Chevy Trax struck the animal, causing $14,000 damage to the vehicle, which was totaled in the collision.

Watkins was transported by Medic1 ambulance to the Ringgold County Hospital to be checked out.