(Worth County, Iowa) – A single-vehicle crash early Saturday morning in northern Iowa claimed the life of a teenage passenger in the vehicle. The 20-year-old driver was injured in the crash.  According  to the Iowa State Patrol, 16-year-old Adyen Steele, of Saint Ansgar, died, when the 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix he was in, went out of control as it was eastbound on 410th Street, and struck a power pole before coming to rest in a ditch. The accident happened at around 6:40-a.m., just west of Kensett.

The driver of the car, Blair Hansen, also of Saint Ansgar, was injured and flown by helicopter to a Mason City hospital.  Both of the vehicle’s occupants were wearing their seat belts. The crash remained under investigation.

The accident marked the third separate crash over the past week that claimed the lives of two other teenagers. 16-year-old Logan Baldwin, of Webster City, died Friday morning when the tractor he was driving was hit from behind by a car, in Hamilton County. And, 19-year-old Jase Wilms, of New Market died in a fiery crash Feb. 23rd, in Page County.

OMAHA, Neb. [KETV] — The Douglas County, Nebraska, Sheriff’s Office has confirmed a man accused of hitting and killing a 21-year-old woman from Council Bluffs in 2016, was arrested in Honduras. Sarah Root was killed in the crash near 33rd and L streets in Omaha on Jan. 31st, 2016. Police believe Eswin Mejia was driving drunk and street racing, when he hit Sarah’s car at a stoplight. Mejia, who was in the country illegally, was not put on an immigration hold. He posted $5,000 of his bond and vanished. He was charged with motor vehicle homicide and failure to appear.

On Friday, Honduras police posted on social media announcing his capture. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the arrest to KETV in Omaha. The case caught national attention after Sarah’s mother, Michelle, fought to get a law passed that would require police to detain any undocumented immigrant who commits a crime resulting in death or serious injury.

After years of trying to get the bill passed in both chambers of Congress, “Sarah’s Law” was signed into law by President Trump Jan. 29, 2025, as an amendment to the Laken Riley Act to strengthen the legislation by requiring illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes against Americans to be detained.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office could not immediately confirm Mejia will be extradited, but the negotiations between federal governments will be part of the next steps.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A man from Montgomery County was arrested today (Saturday), at around 12:30-a.m., on an Adams County warrant. According to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, 40-year-old Cory Ross Smith, of Elliott,  was arrested in the 200 block of Cherry Street, in Elliott. He was taken into custody on an Adams County warrant for Failure To Appear, on an original charge of driving while barred.

Deputies transported Smith to the Adams/Montgomery County line, where he was then taken to the Adams County Jail, and held on a $2,000 cash or surety bond.

(Urbandale, Iowa/Iowa Capital Dispatch) – For the first time ever, financial aid given to undergraduate students by state universities has surpassed the amount provided by the federal government, according to the Iowa Board of Regents.  According to a board financial aid report, in the 2023-2024 academic year, institutional financial aid for undergraduate students grew by more than 5% to $319 million, the fourth consecutive year of increases. Federal undergraduate aid sat at just over $311 million in the same year.

With federal, state, institutional and other forms of financial aid combined, students received a total of $1.18 billion in financial aid, an increase of $600 million from the previous year.  The board discussed its annual financial aid report at its Thursday meeting after hearing presentations from financial aid experts at Iowa’s public universities.

Iowa State University Student Financial Aid Director Chad Olson said in Iowa, as well as across the U.S., federal financial aid has decreased due to less support provided for federal work study programs and the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant. Regent David Barker called the change in federal financial aid allocations “striking,” as it has dropped from almost $246 billion in 2010-2011 to just under $141 billion last academic year.

State aid grew by $6.5 million in the 2023-2024 academic year due to the implementation of a state workforce grant program, according to the report. According to the report, students with the most financial need receive the most financial aid, on average. Students with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $30,000 or less paid an average of $12,254 in 2023-2024, an increase of almost $350 from the previous year. The only income level to not see an increase in net price was the $30,001-$48,000 range, which decreased by just over $350.

The average net cost of all public university students at all income levels in Iowa was $18,660, according to the report. The University of Northern Iowa has the lowest average net price of $15,931, with Graceland University in Lamoni in second place and ISU in third with $17,374. The University of Iowa ranks fifth behind Buena Vista University in Storm Lake with an average net price of $20,121. UNI Director of Financial Aid Tim Bakula said during the meeting the net price of a public university education in Iowa is, on average, around $6,000 less than the net cost of attending a private university.

Presenters also spoke about the debt incurred by some Iowa college students, which UI Director of Student Financial Aid Brenda Buzynski said the total average has decreased from previous years due to fewer students graduating with debt.  According to the report, debt levels have generally remained steady, but the percentage of students who borrow funds for college decreased at each university, all sitting between 50% and 60%. Nonresident debt remains higher than resident debt, the report stated.

University students in Iowa have dealt with changes that have come about with the new FAFSA, presenters told the board, from more Pell grants to fluctuating aid amounts due to new assets that must be listed and the removal of consideration of siblings also in college. The Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act, introduced by Sen. Joni Ernst and Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado in early February, would exempt farmland and operational equipment, as well as small businesses with fewer than 100 employees, from being listed on the federal student aid form as assets.

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Vietnamese native formerly of Des Moines was sentenced Thursday, to three years in federal prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.

According to public court documents, in 2020 and 2021, 45-year-old Long Ly used his connections in the Des Moines Vietnamese community to convince five victims to let him file unemployment benefits claims on their behalf, even though the victims were employed and ineligible for unemployment benefits. Several of the victims had little English-language proficiency. Ly also submitted unemployment benefits claims for himself, even though he was gainfully employed.

In submissions to Iowa Workforce Development, Ly misrepresented that he and his victims were unemployed. And in some of the submissions, without his victims’ knowledge or approval, Ly filed unemployment benefits claims with Iowa Workforce Development directing benefits payments be sent to bank accounts Ly controlled.

As a result of Ly’s misrepresentations, Iowa Workforce Development issued nearly $100,0000 in benefits payments to Ly and his victims to which they were not entitled. Some of the benefits payments included funds which had been authorized and paid in connection with COVID-19 pandemic emergency declarations.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Ly will be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Ly was also ordered to pay $72,872.20 in restitution.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports a Creston teen was cited following an accident Friday night. Authorities say 17-year-old Broderick Phelps was driving a 2005 Nissan 350 eastbound on Union Street at around 9:15-p.m., when he lost control of the car. The vehicle left the road as it was rounding a curve and spun out, coming to rest on the north side of the road. No injuries were reported. The car sustained disabling damage amounting to a police-estimated $5,000. Phelps was cited for Reckless Driving.

And, there were no injuries or citations reported following an accident Thursday afternoon, in Creston. Authorities say an SUV driven by 29-year-old Brandon Phipps, of Creston, struck Buick SUV driven by 58-year-old Leona Shepherd, of Creston, causing a total of $7,500 damage. The accident happened at around 4:30-p.m., on Highway 34 (Taylor Street), near the intersection with Pine Street.

According to the police report, the SUV driven by Shepherd was waiting to pull out onto Taylor Street from 101 W. Taylor. The SUV driven by Phipps was on Taylor Street, waiting to turn left into the parking lot at 101 W. Taylor. A third (no contact) vehicle was stopped on Taylor Street, waiting to turn left onto Pine Street. When Phipps went to turn, he didn’t see the vehicle traveling west in the outside lane, authorities say. When he accelerated while turning into the parking, his SUV struck Shepherd’s SUV.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig is back from a trade trip to Costa Rica and Guatemala. Naig says both countries present a lot of trade opportunities. “To Guatemala being the largest economy in Central America, both very good markets for us, from a soybean meal, from a corn, from a corn, from a pork, beef and turkey standpoint as well, and we think both have a real upside from an ethanol standpoint,” he says.

“We can help Costa Rica and Guatemala on two fronts. One is, you know, to help supply their livestock industries with feed. And so we do that through exporting soybean meal, dry distillers grains and corn, but also the consumer. You know, their rising incomes, they are looking for more protein,” Naig says. He says representatives of Iowa’s beef industry were on the trip. “Iowa corn fed beef is very, very desirable, competes well, dark turkey meat as well. So these, markets, represent multi faceted opportunities for us,” he says. Naig says the accessibility of the two countries is a positive.

Mike Naig (Iowa PBS photo)

“There’s a tremendous logistic advantage, logistical advantage for us to go down the Mississippi, across the Gulf and into ports in Central America,” Naig says. “So we have a logistical advantage, and then you match that up with the quality and the consistency that we can supply. We’ve got some very, very good customers in those two countries.”

The Iowa Economic Development Authority was on the trip with Ag Department as they worked to connect Iowa companies with markets for their products and service.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency late this (Friday) night, issued a BURN BAN, in effect immediately and until further notice! Emergency Management Coordinator Brian Hamman issued a statement on social media, saying the ban was necessary as a result of “Multiple, large and out of control field fires.”

Hamman said numerous fires were reported Friday (Feb. 28th), “As a direct result of Red Flag Conditions (Temperatures, High Winds & Low Relative Humidity) throughout the entire area. All fires originated from previously burnt brush piles from approximately 1-2 weeks ago, that had rekindled due to the strong sustained winds and eventually spread to dry adjoining grass and fields.”

Hamman said “While conditions two weeks ago were conducive to light and burn brush piles, we have quickly dried out due to the extreme warm up this week. Regardless of issuing an Open Burn Ban yesterday, today or tomorrow, it would not have changed the outcome today due to the extreme weather conditions. This is why we stress the importance of monitoring these piles for several weeks after they have burnt or request that once they are burnt, to please bury them or put soil on top.

“A special thanks,” He said, ” goes out to the US National Weather Service Omaha/Valley Nebraska for monitoring the fire trends today and quickly alerting us of wildfire detections via satellite, they were able to detect (5) fires prior to them being reported to 9-1-1.

“Another special thanks goes out to all the area farmers who quickly responded to all the different fires today with tractors & discs as well as all of our responding fire departments. Most all have fulltime jobs and are volunteers who give up their time to help when called upon.

“Lastly,” Hamman said, “A special thank you to Montgomery County 911 and all the area dispatchers who had a difficult day with all of the fires. At one point, we had (4) active field fires within Montgomery County ongoing. They fielded numerous calls and answered all radio traffic without hesitation and with the upmost professionalism.”

(Images are from the MCEMA Facebook page)

A brief list of each fire is listed below:

(1) At 11:30am, Montgomery Co EMA was notified of a wildfire detection via US National Weather Service Omaha/Valley Nebraska satellite radar in the area of US HWY 71 x US HWY 34. Montgomery County 911 received a 9-1-1 call shortly after reporting a field fire in the area of 220th x T Ave and fire departments were dispatched. The fire quickly grew out of control, jumped the road and was eventually contained with fire suppression units and tractors & discs. Crews were on scene for roughly 2 hours.
1 minor injury reported.
Origin of Cause: Previously lit burn pile. Estimated 45 acres burned.
Responding Agencies:
Villisca FD
Stanton Fire and Rescue Department
Red Oak Fire Department
Corning Iowa Fire Department
Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office – Red Oak, Iowa
Montgomery County 911
(3) Tractors & Discs

(2) At 1:08pm, Montgomery County 911 received a report of a small field fire in the area of 230th x C Ave southwest of Red Oak. Fire crews from the initial fire were released and responded as well as surrounding county mutual aid partners. The fire was quickly contained by a tractor and disc and with the first arriving fire units.
No injuries reported.
Origin of Cause: Previously lit burn pile.
Responding Agencies:
Red Oak Fire Department
Stanton Fire and Rescue Department
Emerson Volunteer Fire/Rescue Association Inc.
Essex Fire Rescue
Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency
Montgomery County 911

(3) At 2:01pm, Montgomery Co EMA was notified of another wildfire detection via US National Weather Service Omaha/Valley Nebraska satellite radar in the area of US HWY 48 x H Ave. Fire crews from the second fire were released and dispatched to the scene as well as additional mutual aid partners. Once initial crews arrived on scene, a fast-moving field fire was ongoing and additional out of county mutual aid resources were requested along with several area farmers with tractors & discs. Fire crews remained on scene for roughly 6 hours at this incident scene due to numerous piles of debris smoldering.
1 minor injury reported.
Origin of Cause: Previously lit burn piles. Estimated 150 acres burned.
Responding Agencies:
Red Oak Fire Department
Elliott FD
Stanton Fire and Rescue Department
Grant FD
Griswold Fire & Rescue
Carson Fire and Rescue
Macedonia FD
Clarinda FD
Numerous Tractor & Discs

(4) At 2:48pm, Montgomery Co EMA was notified of an additional wildfire detection via US National Weather Service Omaha/Valley Nebraska satellite radar in the area 110th x O Ave. Mutual aid crews responding to the HWY 48 x 110th fire were diverted and found an ongoing field fire in the area of 155th x Pine Ave. A tractor and disc was already deployed in the field assisting to create a fire break and out of county mutual aid partners were requested due to the large ongoing fire west of Elliott. Crews remained on scene for roughly 90 minutes.
No injuries reported.
Origin of Cause: Previously lit burn pile.
Responding Agencies:
Grant FD
Stanton Fire and Rescue Department
Villisca FD
Essex Fire Rescue
Clarinda FD
(1) Tractor and Disc

(5) At 3:18pm, Montgomery Co EMA was notified of an additional wildfire detection via US National Weather Service Omaha/Valley Nebraska satellite radar in the area of 270th and O Ave. Montgomery County 911 also took a call reporting this field fire and fire crews that were enroute to the previous fire were redirected and quickly contained the field fire with additional assistance from tractor & discs that were on scene or arrived shortly after. Crews were on scene for 1 hour.
No injuries reported.
Origin of Cause: Previously lit burn pile.
Responding Agencies:
Stanton Fire and Rescue Department
Villisca FD
Clarinda FD
(3) Tractor and Discs

(6) At 3:38pm, Montgomery Co EMA was notified of an additional wildfire detection via US National Weather Service Omaha/Valley Nebraska via satellite radar in the area of 110th x C Ave. Smoke was quickly visible at the HWY 48 x 110th fire and out of county mutual aid was requested as there were no available fire units within Montgomery County due to numerous ongoing field fires. Some units were able to be released from the HWY 48 x 110th fire to aid the out of county mutual aid resources and additional tractor & discs were called or responded directly to the scene. Crews were on scene for 2 hours.
No injuries reported.
Origin of Cause: Previously lit burn pile.
Responding Agencies:
Red Oak Fire Department
Griswold Fire & Rescue
Carson Fire and Rescue
Macedonia FD
Oakland Fire and Rescue
Henderson FD
Clarinda FD
Numerous Tractor & Discs

Other agencies providing assistance during those incidents:
Mills County Emergency Management Agency
Pottawattamie County Emergency Management
Page County Iowa Emergency Management \ E 911
Cass County Iowa Emergency Management Agency
Cass County 911 Center

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds today (Friday) signed the bill into law that removes the words gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act. The governor released a video statement saying the signing of the bill into law safeguards the rights of women and girls.

Reynolds says it is about the biological differences, and that is all.

Reynolds says that also forced Iowa taxpayers to pay for gender reassignment surgeries.

The Governor acknowledged this is a sensitive issue for some, and says many of whom have heard misinformation about what this bill does.

Reynolds says the bill does strengthen protections for women and girls, and she believes that is the right thing to do. The law goes into effect July 1st.

(Radio Iowa) – The head of Sioux City’s Human Rights Commission says some of the most vulnerable people in the community will suffer after the city council slashed the commission’s budget this week by more than a third, or 140-thousand dollars. Executive director Karen Mackey oversees the panel that enforces anti-discrimination laws.

City officials say property tax cuts passed by the Iowa Legislature have led to a tighter financial outlook. Mackey says it’s too early to tell where cuts will take place, but staffing will likely be reduced. She says she knew money would be tight, but had no idea the city council would cut next year’s budget so deeply, and now the commission’s future is uncertain.

The commission has a staff of five full- and part-time employees who investigate anti-discrimination laws in Sioux City.

Part of the board’s funding also comes from the U-S Department of Housing and Urban Development. The commission also organizes an annual multicultural fair and Mackey fears because of budget cuts, the event planned for next month will likely be the last.