Two men were arrested on separate charges Sunday, in Mills County. Sheriff’s officials say 24-year old John Patrichs Shanahan, of Omaha, was arrested at around 10:15-p.m., on an OWI/1st Offense, charge. Bond was set at $1,000. And, 41-year old Larry Steven Hutchings, of Emerson, was arrested at around 3:30-p.m. Sunday in Emerson, on a charge of Criminal Mischief. His bond was set at $300.

Officials with the Iowa Dept. Of Natural Resources said today (Tuesday) that the City of Mapleton had begun discharging untreated wastewater into the Maple River, after planned repairs on the wastewater treatment plant were delayed. The City began routing wastewater to polishing ponds on May 15th, to enable repairs to a wall in the plant. The ponds filled to capacity Monday after heavy rains. The City began discharging wastewater to prevent damage to the ponds.

Contractors are expected to complete repairs by Wednesday or Thursday. The DNR cautions people to keep children and pets away from the area for 24 hours after repairs are completed. The repairs were scheduled in April after a wall between two sections of the treatment system failed.

ALTOONA, Iowa (AP) – Gov. Terry Branstad has signed a bill that provides increased state funding and coordination for an apprenticeship program to train workers in skilled jobs including those in construction and information technology.

Standing in front of the giant new data center under construction in Altoona in which Facebook is investing nearly $1 billion on Tuesday, Branstad said a skilled workforce is extremely important and in high demand in Iowa. Microsoft and Google also are building data centers in the state.

The bill provides over $3 million for the program which will be administered by the Iowa Economic Development Authority. A previous state apprenticeship program received about $1 million in funding.

The bill also provides about $3 million for other job training programs that will continue to be run through community colleges.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported following an accident last Friday afternoon, in Braddyville. Officials say a 2007 Chevy Tahoe and a 1986 Toyota pickup collided at the intersection of Highway 71 and Mulberry Street at around 4:25-p.m.  The Tahoe, driven by 54-year old David Morgan, of Clarinda, was traveling south on Highway 71 and slowing to turn east onto Mulberry Street, when his vehicle was struck from behind by the Toyota, driven by 25-year old Trevor Allan Gray, of rural Blanchard.

Gray was cited for Following too close and No proof of Insurance.

A man dressed in camouflage and acting suspiciously was arrested last week in Page County.

Damon Dustin

Sheriff’ Lyle Palmer reports 40-year old Damon Curtis Dustin, of Braddyville, was charged Friday with Public intoxication, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and disorderly conduct, after deputies investigated a report from Ross Park (east of Braddyville), about a man in the park armed with a crossbow and a machete. They found Dustin, who was in possession of a crossbow and several knives.

Dustin was brought to the Page County Jail and held on $1,000 bond.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Iowa court reporters are expressing relief that a college in the state will offer a training program in the occupation this fall. The Sioux City Journal reports an estimated 60 percent of court reporters in Iowa are expected to retire within the next 10 years. Filling those vacancies was going to be difficult because the AIB College of Business in Des Moines ended a longtime court reporter program after the Iowa Supreme Court supported switching to digital audio reporting.

The courts changed course and decided court reporters were a better option, but with the business college ending its program, people had to travel to Minneapolis or St. Louis to take classes. Reporters say they’re pleased to hear Des Moines Area Community College will offer court reporting this fall.

A chase that began early this (Tuesday) morning following a traffic stop in Pottawattamie County, ended in Mills County with the suspect getting away. The Pott. County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy tried to stop a vehicle for speeding 84 in a 55-mile per hour zone near Macedonia at around 2-a.m., but the vehicle sped-off.

The chase ended with the vehicle crashing into a field off of Highway 34 near Emerson, in Mills County, but not before Mills County authorities deployed stop-sticks, which hit the vehicle but didn’t puncture the tires as intended. After the vehicle crashed, a Red Oak Police k-9 unit and Omaha Police helicopter Able 1 attempted to locate the driver of the vehicle, but were unable to do so.

The vehicle had Kansas license plates, but the VIN came back to a vehicle stolen out of Oklahoma. No other information is currently available.

w/ Ric Hanson

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DES MOINES, Iowa – With the announcement of the first U.S. transmission of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), many are concerned about what it could mean for public health.

Dr. David Swerdlow, who is leading the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) response team for the virus, says there is no alarm for Iowans at this point. While the virus can spread from person to person, Swerdlow says, it isn’t easily transmitted.

“There’s been no sustained transmission like you see with flu, where it goes from person to person to person,” says Swerdlow. “So, at the current time, we are concerned about the virus, we do think that there could be imported cases, but we don’t see this as being a major problem in the U.S. with widespread cases.”

According to the CDC, the first U.S. transmission of the virus occurred when an Illinois resident had contact with a person in Indiana who was infected while traveling in Saudi Arabia. Those two cases of MERS are not linked to a third patient in Florida, who also had traveled to Saudi Arabia.

MERS was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Since then, there have been almost 600 confirmed cases in 15 countries, including 173 deaths. Swerdlow says most patients develop respiratory illness with fever, cough and shortness of breath, and he adds there is no specific treatment.

“If a person gets a respiratory illness like this, they can be treated in an intensive care unit if needed, the standard things that we do for patients with respiratory illness,” he says. “But there’s no specific treatment, like an anti-viral.”

The CDC advises healthcare workers traveling to the Arabian Peninsula to follow guidelines for infection control, and for other travelers to take precautions to protect their health. As with any respiratory illness, Swerdlow says that means frequent hand-washing, covering coughs and sneezes, and avoiding contact with those who are sick.

(Iowa News Service)

(AP) – Conservation officials across the Midwest are urging people headed outdoors to take precautions against tick bites. Insect repellants and covering up are two steps that can help. Officials say long-sleeved shirts, pants and securing pants cuffs are the first defenses.

People should check for ticks after returning indoors and shower quickly to remove unattached ticks. Putting clothes in the dryer on high heat before washing should kill any remaining ticks.

Ticks can spread various diseases, including Lyme disease, Rock Mountain spotted fever and tularemia. Most tick-transmitted diseases require prolonged feeding. To remove a tick, use a tweezers and grasp it as close to the skin as possible. Don’t jerk or twist the tick when removing and clean the bite area.