The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports two people were arrested on drug charges last week. 34-year old Robert J. Etzen, II, of Pleasant Hill, and 28-year old Natasha Lee Cain, of Marshalltown, were arrested at around 3:30-a.m. March 11th by Stuart Police, following a traffic stop. The officer noticed a strong smell of marijuana coming from the 2004 Pontiac Grand Am. The driver, Natasha Cain, was asked to come back to the patrol vehicle for questioning, and at that time, the Officer could smell the odor of marijuana coming from her person. Cain admitted to having smoked pot just prior to the traffic stop, and that there was a marijuana roach near the front driver’s seat.

Also in the car, were Cain’s two minor children, another minor female who claimed to be Cains’ niece, and an adult male, Robert Etzen, II. When Ezten consented to be searched, the Officer found a small plastic baggy with a blue pill inside, which Etzen admitted was Xanax, and that he had a prescription, but there was no evidence to support his claim. He allegedly lied to the officer about his name. It was discovered he had warrants for his arrest out of Story and Polk Counties. Etzen was arrested on the warrants, and for unlawful possession of a prescription drug. His bond at the Adair County Jail was set at $1,000. Cain was arrested for Possession with the Intent to Deliver, after 10.2 ounces of marijuana was found in the trunk of the car. She was also charged with Child Endangerment without injury. Her bond was set at $7,000. She was released on bond later that morning.

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports also, 36-year old Dustin Lee Driskill, of Creston, was arrested at around 1-a.m. on March 11th, following a traffic stop for unsafe passing, in Orient. Driskall was taken into custody for OWI/1st offense and released later that morning on a $1,000 cash or surety bond. 49-year old Fletcher Lee Nichols, of Anita, was arrested March 12th, following a traffic stop. He was charged with Driving Under Suspension, and released from the scene on a citation. 22-year old Brett Mikel Cheers, of Creston, was arrested March 16th, for Driving Under Suspension. He was also released from the scene with a citation.

48-year old Michael Ray Johnson, of Des Moines, was arrested March 14th following a traffic stop for speeding on I-80. He was taken into custody for Driving While Barred, and later released on a $2,000 cash bond or surety. And, 28-year old Matthew Ryan Johnson, of Fontanelle, was arrested March 15th, on a felony warrant or mittimus for Theft in the 2nd Degree. He was being held in the Adair County Jail to serve a 30-day sentence.

(Corrected report issued 12:15-p.m. by CBPD)

Council Bluffs Police say no injuries were reported after a trailer came loose this (Monday) morning from a pickup, and caused an accident that involved two vehicles. Authorities say 80-year old Lucas Dennis, of Winnebago, MN., was driving at 2016 Ram pickup pulling a single-axle trailer, when the trailer became unhitched. Both were traveling north on Interstate 29 near Nebraska Avenue at around 6-a.m., when the incident occurred.

Officials say the trailer’s safety chains were attached, but they failed to secure the trailer, and broke apart when the trailer unhitched itself from the pickup. The trailer entered the median and entered the southbound lanes, where it was struck by a 2006 Chevy Silverado pickup driven by 41-year old Matthew Ruttle, of Omaha. Ruttle told Bluffs Police that by the time he realized what was happening, he did not have time to evade the errant trailer. After Ruttle’s pickup hit the trailer, the vehicle rolled and ended-up in the median. Ruttle was wearing a seat belt, and while having suffered a minor cut to his forehead, refused medical treatment at the scene.

The trailer remained in the southbound lanes, where it was hit by a 2006 Ford Focus driven by 33-year old Guadalupe Lemus, of Council Bluffs. The impact caused the airbags to deploy in Lemus’ vehicle. He was wearing a seat belt and was not injured. Both vehicles sustained disabling damage. Police cited Lucas Dennis for failure to secure a load.

(9-a.m. News)

ADEL, Iowa (AP) — The adoptive parents of a 16-year-old girl who weighed only 56 pounds (25 kilograms) when she died want their trials moved out of Dallas County in central Iowa.
Court records say lawyers for 41-year-old Misty Ray filed a motion Friday mostly matching one filed earlier this month for her husband, 42-year-old Marc Ray. Both have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, child endangerment resulting in death, and other crimes.

The motions say the Rays can’t get fair trials in Dallas County because of extensive publicity. Misty Ray’s mother has made the same argument in her bid for a new trial location. Sixty-three-year-old Carla Bousman has pleaded not guilty to aiding and abetting child endangerment and other crimes.

An April 25 hearing has been scheduled on all three motions.

The Iowa Poison Control Center took more than 26-thousand calls last year, that’s more than 70 calls from Iowans per day. Tammy Noble, a registered nurse and spokeswoman for the Sioux City-based facility, says Iowa’s numbers are staying fairly constant and they come from all 99 counties, but calls to poison centers nationwide are gradually falling.  “The numbers are going down and I think it’s largely because there’s a lot more people using their computers and looking online to get the information,” Noble says, “which can be a little complicated.”

While the internet is a vast source of information, there’s also a lot of misinformation, so Noble says relying on Google in a potential life-and-death situation isn’t the wisest idea, especially when experts are a free phone call away. “Don’t guess, just call us and we’ll give you the recommendations that are needed and let you know if you have to go to the hospital,” Noble says. “Please know, the majority of the time for most poisonings, we can give you advice over the phone and tell you what to watch out for.” In recent years, there’s been a slight shift in the people about whom calls to the poison center are being made. “We used to be over 50% of our calls were kids under the age of six, so, zero-to-five year olds,” Noble says. “Now, our numbers for 2017, it’s only about 44% of the calls are about those little ones.”

While there’s an upturn in calls about adult poisonings, there’s also been an increase in calls about senior citizens. Calls regarding youngsters tend to come after a curious tyke has gotten into something they shouldn’t. “Things you use every day that you don’t lock up, deodorant, lotion, shampoo, toothpaste, cosmetics and personal care products,” Noble says. “The good thing is, those products tend to be a little less dangerous and if a child gets into those, we can give you advice over the phone and tell you what to do.”

Calls about Iowa teens chomping those colorful — and potentially toxic — laundry pods spiked back in January when viral videos began circulating online. Noble says they’re continuing to get two or three calls a week about laundry pods. “We are still seeing kids that are unintentionally getting into it,” Noble says. “The product may be left out and mom is doing laundry and has the product out on the counter and the kids are getting into it, biting into it or they’re squeezing it and it gets into the kid’s eyes.”

Calls to the ’round-the-clock hotline are free, confidential and always answered by a toxicology expert. The number is 800-222-1222.

(Radio Iowa)

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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Officials say a man’s body has been found on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids. The body was found around 2:45 p.m. Sunday outside an empty commercial building that is used to handle overflows from a homeless shelter. Officials are investigating what they say is an unattended death. The man’s name hasn’t been released.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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Creston Police report several arrests took place over the weekend. At around 6-p.m. Saturday, 27-year old Scott Draman, of Creston, was arrested for Theft in the 5th Degree. He was subsequently cited and released on a Promise to Appear in court. 20-year old Natalie Eslinger, of Creston, was arrested at around 12:35-a.m. Saturday, on two counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drugs. She was transported to the Adams County Jail and later released on $3,300 bond.

At around 6:30-p.m. Friday, 68-year old Richard Cunningham, of Creston, was arrested for Theft in the 5th Degree. He was subsequently cited and released on a Promise to Appear in court. A little after 3-p.m., Friday, Creston Police arrested 26-year old Joshua Jones, of Shenandoah, for Domestic Abuse. Jones was later released on a $1,000 bond. Creston Police arrested 26-year old Anthony Cross, of Creston, at around 10:30-a.m. Friday. Cross was taken into custody on a Union County warrant for Failure to Appear on an original charge of a Controlled Substance Violation. His bond was set at $10,000.

And, at around 9-a.m. Friday, 33-year old Maxine Burton, of Thayer, was arrested in Creston for Driving While Suspended. She was later released from the Adams County Jail on a $300 bond.

A group that operates a website about the Jodi Huisentruit case says they’ve discovered search warrants were recently executed tied to the case of the missing Mason City television anchor. John Vansice has claimed he was the last person to see Huisentruit alive, saying that she stopped at his house the night before her disappearance in 1995. Vansice moved to Arizona more than 20 years ago. The website “FindJodi.com” says that search warrants were issued on March 20th of last year for two vehicles belonging to Vansice.

Jodi Huisentruit

The warrants were sealed the next day and were resealed in October of last year for an additional year. Mason City police say the search warrants are part of their ongoing investigation in the case. Huisentruit disappeared from the parking lot of her Mason City apartment building on June 27th, 1995.

(Radio Iowa)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The City Council in Sioux City is considering more than $12 million in assistance for a $56 million project to convert two historic downtown buildings into luxury apartments and a nearly 150-room hotel. Developer Lew Weinberg and St. Louis-based developer Restoration St. Louis plan to turn the former Warrior Hotel and Davidson buildings into a Marriott brand hotel.

The Sioux City Journal reports that the financial package would include a partially forgivable $5 million loan, a portion of the city’s share of hotel-motel taxes generated by the facility, property tax incentives, and reduced rates for city ramp parking.

The council could vote on the package today (Monday).