The Union County Secondary Roads Department reports County Road H-33, just east of the Adams County line, northwest of Cromwell, is closed due to a pavement buckle. The road was closed Saturday, pending repairs.

Authorities in Iowa say many agencies will be participating in the national “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign from July 3rd to July 7th, 2019. In an effort to combat drunk driving, officers will be exhibiting zero tolerance for impaired drivers. Nationally, during the 2017 July 4th holiday period (the most recent statistics available) 601 people died in motor vehicle crashes, or, an average of 134 per day. During that same time there were four fatalities on Iowa roads.

Besides the possibility of serious injury and death to the impaired driver, he or she is endangering the lives of anyone else in their vehicle, or anyone that they may encounter on the road. There is also a financial aspect of driving impaired. An OWI arrest can cost up to $10,000. You could lose your license, your car, and your job. You could serve jail time. Before you set out to celebrate this holiday weekend make a plan – have a designated driver, call a taxi, or other rideshare service.

Area law enforcement agencies remind you, that it is never okay to drink and drive!

(Radio Iowa) — Iowans who are planning trips this week will find plenty of company on the road. The number of travelers over the Fourth of July weekend is expected to set a record not just for the holiday, but for all holidays. Rose White, spokeswoman for Triple-A-Iowa, estimates a record 49-million Americans will be taking trips of 50-miles or more from home during the long weekend. “This is the highest level since AAA began tracking holiday travel 19 years ago,” White says. “We predict drivers will experience the greatest amount of congestion in the major metro areas on Wednesday, July 3, as the commuters mix with the holiday travelers.”

Travel volume for the holiday is expected to rise more than four-percent, with nearly two-million more vacationers than a year ago. A record high 41-million people will be traveling by car, which means higher demand for gasoline. “For Iowa, prices are much lower than the national average, currently sitting at $2.53 a gallon, which is 16 cents lower than a year ago,” White says. Factors driving the boost in travel numbers include favorable gas prices, low unemployment, robust consumer spending, and rising disposable incomes. A large refinery in Pennsylvania is shutting down, following recent explosions and fires. White was asked what effect it might have on gas prices in Iowa. “It may or may not, at this point, we don’t know,” White says. “It certainly will impact the region along the East Coast but as they do need additional supplies from other sources, if they do have to tap into some of those in the Midwest, it could certainly tighten our supplies as well.”

The national average price for gas is $2.69, down 15-cents from a year ago. In Iowa, the cheapest gas is selling in Sioux City at $2.38 a gallon while Dubuque has the most expensive gas at $2.67.

A Taylor County man was arrested a little after 7-p.m. Sunday for OWI/3rd or subsequent offense. Timothy Dean Coleman, of Clearfield, was arrested at Highway 34 and Notchwood Avenue in Adams County, following a traffic stop on a vehicle traveling 74 mph in a 55 mph zone.

Coleman was taken into custody after he failed Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and registered a BAC of nearly double the legal limit. He was brought to the Adams County Jail and held on a $5,000 cash-only bond.

A woman from Nebraska was arrested following a traffic stop in Villisca at around 8:25-p.m. Sunday, in Montgomery County. Authorities say 44-year old Shantel M. Keller, of Palmyra, NE., was arrested for OWI/1st offense.

Keller was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

(Corrects suspect name to DUSTIN MATTOX – previous was incorrect info. from the Fremont County S/O) –

Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports Deputies of the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop Sunday evening on highway 59 north of Shenandoah. During the course of the stop, two Shenandoah residents were arrested for possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.

37 year old Dustin Lee Mattox and 39 year old James Stouder were both transported to the Fremont County Law Enforcement Center for the possession of approximately 3 ounces of methamphetamine. Dustin Mattox was also charged with 2 counts of delivery of methamphetamine.

Dustin Lee Mattox (Fremont County S/O photo)

Mattox is currently being held on $45,000 cash bond while Stouder is being held no bond awaiting appearance from the magistrate.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Three additional cases of a dog disease that can be passes to humans have been linked to an Iowa breeder. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship says three additional cases of canine brucellosis have been confirmed in dogs linked to a commercial breeding facility for small dogs in Marion County.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska voters may decide next year whether to legalize casino gambling in a ballot measure that could tip the number of states that allow commercial gambling into the majority. Supporters of legalized casinos have launched a petition drive to place the issue on the 2020 ballot with financial backing from the economic development corporation owned by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. The National Conference of State Legislatures says 25 states allow commercial casinos.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have identified a man shot to death this week in the Kirkwood Glen neighborhood of Des Moines. Police say in a news release that the victim is 41-year-old Earl Marcello Caldwell, of Des Moines. The shooting happened Friday afternoon, when officers and medics were called to the area for a report of a shooting and found Caldwell suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to an area hospital, where he died.