Three people were arrested early this (Thursday) morning, in Creston. At around 12:15-a.m., 24-year old Jeffrey D. Ott, of Orient, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on a charge of Operating a motor vehicle without consent. His bond was set at $2,000. And, just before 4-a.m., 45-year old Walter Hall, Jr. was arrested at a residence on N. Vine Street in Creston, for Violating a Protective Order, and Assault with Injury. At the same time and place, 43-year old Michelle Marie Snyder, was arrested for Violating a Protection Order. Hall and Snyder were being held in the Union County Jail while awaiting a bond hearing.

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — Mercy Medical Center officials say the hospital would partner with a national health care company in building a 100-bed psychiatric hospital in Clive. The Des Moines Register reports that Pennsylvania-based Universal Health Services would be its partner. Universal Health has more than 350 hospitals and other facilities across the country and in Great Britain. The Clive hospital would be its first Iowa project.

Mercy’s plans for building the hospital were initially reported earlier this month, but the location wasn’t disclosed. Mercy filed a detailed application Wednesday with state regulators. The $31 million facility could open by 2020, if the state were to approve it.

Supporters say the Mercy project would address a critical shortage of treatment services in central Iowa. It would be the only free-standing mental hospital in central Iowa.

Motorists traveling across Iowa are at a greater risk for hitting a deer right now. Mick Klemesrud, with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says late May into the early part of June is the second-worst time of the year for deer running into traffic. “It’s primarily due to the birthing season,” Klemesrud says. “Our does are running off last year’s fawns, telling them it’s time to be on their own. Then, she’s going to be looking for a secluded area, maybe a nontraditional area, where she feels comfortable and can deliver this year’s fawn.”

Only November ranks higher than June for vehicle-deer collisions. And the animals aren’t just darting into traffic early in the morning or late at night. “They can be on the move at any time,” Klemesrud says. According to the Iowa Department of Transportation, 12 people were killed in vehicle crashes with deer in Iowa over the last four years. Hundreds of other people were injured, while thousands more have at least dealt with deer-related damage to their cars or trucks. The DNR has a deer advisory board, which has agreed to a statewide deer population that supports an annual hunting harvest of 100,000 to 120,000 deer. “Last year, we harvested 105,000 – so our herd is on the lower end of that harvest goal,” Klemesrud says. “I think we’re in that range of where we find (the deer population) socially acceptable.”

Another reason for the rise in vehicle-deer crashes this time of year involves the increase in cars on Iowa roads due to the start of the summer travel season.

(Radio Iowa)

Authorities are releasing the name of the man who’s been missing since a kayak accident in Fort Dodge on Monday afternoon. The missing boater is 26-year-old Alex Dencklau, of Clare. Dencklau and his wife were kayaking on the Des Moines River when the kayak Alex Dencklau was in capsized below a hydroelectric dam. Dencklau’s wife was able to swim to shore. A kayak paddle belonging to Decklau was discovered Wednesday near the Fort Dodge Wastewater Treatment Plant. Rescue efforts will continue today (Thursday).

(Radio Iowa)

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is joining Iowa and the city of Council Bluffs in a lawsuit to challenge the federal government’s approval of a tribal casino near Omaha.
Attorney General Doug Peterson announced the effort Wednesday to prevent the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska from building the casino in Carter Lake, Iowa.

The National Indian Gaming Commission ruled last year that the tribe can put a casino on trust land in the city. Carter Lake is the only city in Iowa located west of the Missouri River, and the only way to access it by land is through Nebraska, where casino gambling is illegal. Neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa, has three casinos.

Tribal Chairman Larry Wright Jr. says he’s confident the court will rule that the tribe can offer gaming on its sovereign land.