(Radio Iowa) – Paddlefish licenses are now on sale for the Missouri and Big Sioux River season which starts in February. Iowa D-N-R Western Iowa Regional Fisheries Supervisor, Chris Larson, says they have 950 resident licenses that will be sold in the first round through December 31st. “And then at that time, if not, all the licenses have sold, which for the last, well ever since we started it almost ten years ago, we’ve never sold out of licenses. So from January 1st to January 7th, anglers can purchase a second license if they would choose to do so,” he says. Larson says they also have 50 non resident licenses.

“We’ve almost come close or have sold out non-residents almost every year, but resident licenses would sell on average since we started this around 300,” he says. Paddlefish are not caught through the traditional fishing method of casting out bait on a hook. “Paddlefish are filter feeders, and so you really can’t catch them on a typical hook and line with a lure. You got to use a weighted treble hook, and you lower it down to the deeper water areas, and then you jerk it up and hope to snag one,” Larson says. Some areas of the state have been impacted by the drought and then a wet spring, but Larson says not the Missouri River.

“You know, there’s just such a gigantic watershed that water levels south of Gavins Point (Dam) are mostly regulated by the core for navigation during the navigation season, which is usually March 15th through about the first of December,” Larson says. “And then they do have winter flows that go from this time of year until that March date.” Larson says the paddlefish tend to hang out in deeper water in the winter around the wing dikes from Sioux City all the way to the Iowa border. He says they don’t move much in the winter, but do a lot of traveling when things warm up.

Paddlefish catch(DNR-photo)

“We did about a five-year tagging study, and we’ve had those fish caught down by Tennessee in the Mississippi River and clear up to the Quad Cities on the Mississippi River, and then all the way up to Gavins Point Dam,” he says. The fish have a big paddle that sticks out in front of their face called a rostrum that they use to help navigate through the water. Larson says it’s a sensory organ to figure out where the little zooplankton they eat might be.

You can find out how to get a paddlefish license on the D-N-R website.

(Radio Iowa) – Saturday will mark the first day of winter, though Iowans have already been dealing with frigid temperatures for weeks and many are using alternative heat sources, like space heaters. That extra heat can bring extra risks. Red Oak Fire Chief John Bruce says if you’re using a space heater, never plug it into an extension cord. “Make sure that it’s plugged directly into an outlet,” Bruce says. “Your electrical system is designed to pop a breaker if there’s an issue within that device, so it does not keep pulling a load and overheating that system.” The chief also recommends moving everything away from the space heater, especially anything that might burn.

“Sadly, we do see where they’ll put an alternative energy source in, and somebody has combustibles stacked very close to it,” he says. “They either fall over or get knocked into it, or just the radiant heat because of proximity will ignite those. Then, we typically get into a room and contents, or a full-fledged structure fire.” Bruce recommends checking other potential fire hazards, like Christmas decorations, ovens and stoves. “You’re going to be bringing in these decorations, these potential alternative ignition sources that could create a fire,” said Bruce. “Plus, usually, you have the traditional added cooking, and occupants within the house, families coming in, and friends coming in to stay. So, just a once-over to make sure they’re operating can be a saving grace, as well.”

The National Fire Protection Association says home heating sources are the country’s leading causes of home fires and home fire injuries, and the third leading cause of home fire deaths.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report a woman was arrested early this (Tuesday) morning on Arson and Criminal Mischief charges. 38-year-old Sara Sue Batten, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 12:15-a.m. in the 600 block of E. Reed Street. She was charged with Criminal Mischief in the 5th Degree (Simple Misdemeanor) and Felony 1st Degree Arson. Batten was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $25,000 bond.

Separately, Red Oak Police arrested 41-year-old Matthew Wayne Echternach, for Driving While Barred. He was arrested Monday night in the 200 block of E. Oak Street and was being held on a $2,000 bond.

CLIVE, Iowa — For the third time in three months a  person has won a large prize in the Lucky for Life game.  According to the Iowa Lottery, the winning ticket was purchased at the Kum & Go at 3105 Grand Prairie Parkway in Waukee. It matched the first five numbers but missed the Lucky Ball. The numbers were 9-12-22-36-45 and Lucky Ball 3.

The ticket comes with a $25,000 a year for life prize. It hasn’t been claimed yet, so check your tickets! If you’re the lucky winner the prize must be claimed at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive within 180 days.

In October a Des Moines man also won the second level prize of $25,000 a year for life and in November another Des Moines man won the top prize of $1,000 a day for life. Since the game started in 2016 there have been 23 Iowans who’ve won the top two prizes.

OMAHA, Neb. — A man from northwest Iowa who was attempting to open the cabin doors of a plane before takeoff was sentenced last week in federal court, for assaulting a flight attendant in Omaha. According to reports, 37-year-old Wesley Orban, of Ireton, will serve three years probation for assault in a special aircraft jurisdiction. Orban was aboard a plane that was about to depart from Eppley heading to LaGuardia Airport in New York in November 2023.

A passenger told authorities that Orban began yelling “God is real” and spoke of demons, then jumped from his seat and ran toward the front of the plane, according to court documents. Flight attendants heard Orban yelling, “open the doors” and he started pounding on the cabin doors, attempting to open them, according to court documents.

A flight attendant and four other passengers were able to subdue Orban, who then said, “I’m embarrassed, I don’t know why I did that,” court documents state. The flight was suspended and the airplane was returned to the gate, with Orban being taken into custody by the Omaha Airport Authority Police Department.

(Radio Iowa) – There’s a shortage of school bus drivers nationwide — and in Iowa. David Johnson, executive director of the Iowa Pupil Transportation Association, says it’s difficult to get younger people to consider the job because it requires working part-time — in the early morning and then after school. “That is the big struggle,” he says. “You really don’t have time to do a job in between.” Being a driver does require certain skills, according to Johnson.

“A teacher has 20 students in front of them. A bus driver has 50 students behind them and you can have a very calm route, you can have a very chaotic route. It kind of depends,” Johnson says. “Most of the people I talk to, once they get into it and do it, they love it.” Johnson, who used to manage school bus routes for the Van Meter School District, says drivers would often tell him they’d only drive for one more year — but then agree to drive for the next school year because they liked the work.

The average age of a school bus driver in the U-S is 57. Johnson says some older drivers did decide to retire once the pandemic put a stop to their daily routes — and that worsened the driver shortage.  “I think at the same time, right after COVID the feds put in more training you have to get a license and I think that hurt us as well,” Johnson says. “People are like: ‘I’m not going to go through all of this just to drive a bus for three hours a day.'” Johnson says there may be changes, though, in the federal rules that require entry level training for all those seeking a commercial drivers license, regardless of whether they intend to operate a semi or a school bus.

“There’s a lot of steps that school bus drivers have to go through,” he says. “They’re never going to drive a semi across the country, so they’re taking that stuff out and making it very school bus specific for people who want to get a school bus driver.” School bus drivers in Iowa must be a high school graduate, pass a criminal background check, meet medical requirements AND have a commercial drivers license. The chairman of the Iowa House Education Committee says he’s investigating whether it would be possible to create a transitional license for school bus drivers, a step that could help schools recruit new drivers as they complete C-D-L training.

National data indicates that when schools started this fall, there were about 12 percent fewer bus drivers than there were in 2019.

(Iowa News Service story) – A conflict between federal child labor regulations and those passed by the Iowa Legislature has increased the number of businesses fined for hiring children to do dangerous jobs. The U.S. Department of Labor recently imposed a $171,000 fine against an Iowa company for illegally employing school-age child under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Peter Hird – the secretary-treasurer of the Iowa Federation of Labor – said at the behest of several Iowa businesses, the state lowered the standards for hiring children, to help stem a post-pandemic labor shortage. “Some employers got fined,” said Hird. “They said they were following Iowa law, but the federal law supersedes the Iowa law, so they were getting fined by the federal Department of Labor. Plenty of people were warning the Legislature that that could happen before they passed those laws.”

Federal officials fined Qvest, a Sioux City Pork Processing contractor, for employing 11 children to perform dangerous overnight work cleaning equipment at its pork processing plant. Federal law forbids employing children under 18 in dangerous jobs in meat and poultry processing plants. Hird said Iowa employers pushed for a rollback in state regulations in 2023, as part of a national trend among certain businesses hiring child labor to fill in the gaps where it can’t find adult employees.

He said organized labor pushed back against the changes. “We also have human trafficking going on,” said Hird. “We’ve seen it in Iowa on construction sites, and now we’re seeing it in meat packing plants where kids are showing up to work with school backpacks, but some employers are saying they don’t know that they were kids.”

Hird said the Biden administration has prioritized going after businesses who employ children, but he said he is concerned that the incoming Trump administration might be inclined to side with businesses on the issue. “Obviously, we want employers who are or employing these kids to get caught if they’re doing illegal activity,” said Hird. “Typically, the last time around, the Trump administration’s Department of Labor wasn’t quite as vocal about child labor.”

WATERLOO, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Public Safety reports that on December 15, 2024, the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation with a death investigation involving a male who died while in the custody of Black Hawk County deputies.

At about 6:55 p.m., deputies with the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office heard radio traffic of a vehicle pursuit initiated by the Waterloo Police Department. The vehicle, a 2011 white Ford Crown Victoria, was reported to be traveling at a high rate of speed over 90 mph while driving northbound in the southbound lanes of travel along Logan Avenue (Highway 63). At one point during the pursuit, the vehicle struck a civilian vehicle and continued to flee from officers. Waterloo police officers terminated the pursuit due to the danger the fleeing vehicle presented within city limits. The fleeing vehicle continued north out of Waterloo.

At about 7:16 p.m., a Black Hawk County deputy observed the same 2011 white Ford Crown Victoria traveling on Cedar Wapsi Road north of Waterloo city limits. The deputy attempted to stop the vehicle and again the vehicle refused to stop. Deputies chased the vehicle for approximately nine miles at speeds over 90 mph. Deputies were able to disable the vehicle near the intersection of Highway 63 and Highway 3 when it struck stop sticks that had been deployed by a Bremer County deputy.

The driver, later identified as Willie Earl Washington, 42, of Waterloo, Iowa, was removed from the car by deputies and handcuffed. Washington became unresponsive while handcuffed on the ground. Deputies administered CPR and an ambulance was dispatched, but Washington did not respond and later died. The pursuit and arrest were recorded on several vehicle cameras and officer body worn cameras.

An autopsy is scheduled for December 17, 2024 at the Office of the Iowa State Medical Examiner. Upon completion, the results of the investigation will be forwarded to the Bremer County Attorney’s Office for review.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa report two Nebraska men and two Iowa men were sentenced for conspiracy to provide false statements during the purchase of firearms.

According to public court documents, in late October 2022 through May 2023, Alfredo Rios, Jr., 28, a Nebraska resident, Christian Javier Rios Magana, 23, a Nebraska resident, Martin Velazquez Trujillo, 49, an Iowa resident, and Victor Alfonso Magana-Ahumada, 38, an Iowa resident, conspired to make false statements to federally licensed firearm dealers to fraudulently obtain firearms. As part of the conspiracy, the firearms purchasers falsely stated they were the actual transferee or buyer of the firearm. The fraudulently acquired firearms were illegally shipped to Mexico.

On Thursday, December 12, 2024, Magana-Ahumada was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison. After completing his term of imprisonment, Magana-Ahumada will be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release.

On June 5, 2024, co-conspirators Alfredo Rios, Jr., Rios Magana, and Velazquez Trujillo each received five months’ terms of probation. “The purchase of a firearm intended for someone else, is straw purchasing and it is illegal,” said Bernard G. Hansen, ATF Special Agent in Charge, Kansas City Field Division. “Doing so circumvents background checks and record keeping requirements that are intended to keep the public safe and impede access to firearms by prohibited and often violent criminals. Firearms trafficking is not a victimless crime; it is illegal and puts firearms in the hands of said prohibited and violent criminals. These investigations are a priority for ATF in our mission of reducing violent gun crime.”

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.