DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is warning of a phone scam involving callers who target citizens by misrepresenting themselves as DCI staff.

The DCI has received reports from citizens that scammers are attempting to extort money related to a the citizen’s access to a website. The callers are misrepresenting themselves as DCI agents working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to collect money. Some callers are using false agent names and badge numbers. Citizens are also reporting that their caller ID devices display a number for the Iowa Department of Public Safety. The DCI does not request payment over the phone.

Listed below are some helpful tips to prevent being targeted by fraudulent calls:

• If you get a call from someone who claims they are collecting money on behalf of the DPS—even if a caller ID device shows the DPS—hang up.
• The DPS does not request payment over the phone.
• Do not provide or confirm personal information or financial information to anyone who calls.
• If you receive a phone call similar to the one mentioned above, you are asked to contact your local law enforcement and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office Hotline at 515-281-5926 or 888-777-4590.

Only minor injuries were reported following a two-vehicle accident Friday evening, near I-80 and Highway 71, in Cass County. The collision happened at around 5:50-p.m. just south of the I-80 eastbound on-ramp. Atlantic Fire and Rescue, Medivac Ambulance and Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the scene.

No other details are currently available.

Michael Bloomberg has reached out to a senior Iowa Democrat in a sign that the billionaire former New York City mayor is planning a presidential campaign. Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack told The Associated Press that Bloomberg telephoned him Thursday evening as reports were emerging that he was weighing a campaign. Bloomberg left a voicemail indicating he plans to run.

Of Bloomberg’s message, Vilsack said: “He is in.” In a follow-up email, Vilsack told the AP that Bloomberg said in the message that “it was true he is running.” Bloomberg aides say he has made calls to prominent Democrats but has not made a final decision to run for president.

Vilsack was the U.S. secretary of agriculture under President Barack Obama. Vilsack has been consulted by several of the more than one dozen Democrats campaigning in his state, which holds the leadoff caucuses in fewer than 90 days.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An airline says it plans to base two planes in Des Moines, bringing jobs and possibly new flights to the city’s airport. Allegiant Travel Company announced Friday it would base two Airbus A320 aircraft at the Des Moines International Airport. Allegiant, based in the Las Vegas area, said it would invest $50 million in Des Moines and bring at least 66 jobs to the community. It plans to begin hiring pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and other employees.

Allegiant now offers eight non-stop flights from Des Moines to cities in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada. Allegiant says the new planes and crews create options for more flights from Des Moines but didn’t specify specific locations.

Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees reminds landlords or others with rental properties, and those persons planning construction of new homes or the sale of existing homes, that the law in Iowa requires those residences to have Carbon Monoxide Detectors.  He says effective July 1^st 2018, a new law went into effect that requires carbon monoxide alarms in rental properties – single or multi-family units – you must provide and install those alarms in each unit, unless there is no fuel burning source of heat. Homes/apartment with electric are okay, but if there is a garage attached where a vehicle stored, an alarm is needed there as well.

If a tenant has approached their landlord about installing a carbon monoxide alarm, and it isn’t taken care of promptly, the renter has another option. The tenant can purchase their own and install it, then submit their receipt to the landlord and have the cost taken off their next month’s rent. Or, the renter may be simply reimbursed for the cost, depending on the arrangement. The detectors typically cost around $20 if they are batter operated, or around $30 if they are a plug-in type. Rentors who run into push back from their landord can notify the Atlantic Fire Department. McNees said he or someone in the department will make sure the landlord is aware of their responsibilities, just like they were notified when the smoke detector law went into effect.

Landlords who have questions about the law, can click on this PDF link for review. Chief McNees said the alarms should be installed near a gas-fired furnace or fireplace, on every floor if possible, or in an apartment building, in every unit. He said unfortunately, there have been deaths in Atlantic and the area, from carbon monoxide poisoning. Also, with regard to home heating in these cold months ahead, McNees reminds area residents about the dangers of space heaters: Make sure there is a dedicated line to plug them in, don’t overload the plug-in, or leave space heaters unattended. Space heaters should never be located near curtains or other flammable materials. The same applies to the use of candles.

(Radio Iowa) — A Grammy-award-winning rock-a-billy star is the headliner at the annual “Winter Dance Party” — an event that celebrates the lives of three performers who perished in a northern Iowa plane crash nearly 60 years ago. Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives will perform February 1st at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. Laurie Lietz, executive director of the Surf Ballroom and Museum, says it becomes a little harder each year to set the entertainment lineup for the three-day event.

“The traditional artists from the ’50s are in many cases not performing anymore,” she says. “We found that to be the case, specifically, when we were looking to do something a little more rock-a-billy centric as we did this year.” The Kingsmen will open the 2020 Winter Dance Party on January 30th. The band is known for the song “Louie, Louie” and has one remaining member who played with the ensemble in the 1960s.

Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J-P “The Big Bopper” Richardson performed at the Surf in February of 1959 and died a few hours later when their plane crashed in a cornfield.