The Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Thursday), released a report on recent arrests. Most recently, on Wednesday, 24-year old Joseph Andrew Riesberg, of Elliott, was arrested on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Riesberg was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains held on $10,000 bond. Last Friday, 27-year old Francis Daniel Kirchner, of Villisca, was arrested on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Kirchner was taken to the Cass County Jail and released later that day on his own recognizance.

On April 12th, Cass County Deputies arrested 48-year old Thomas Mathew Connors,  of Omaha, on a charge of Driving While Revoked. Connors was taken to the Cass County Jail and released the following day on $1,000 bond. Two arrests took place April 11th: 32-year old Bill Louis Stockwell, of Elk Horn, was arrested on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Stockwell was taken to the Cass County Jail and released later that day on $10,000 bond. And, 32-year old Jason Michael Melanson, of Elk Horn, was arrested for OWI/1st Offense. Melanson was taken to the Cass County Jail and released the following day on his own recognizance.

And, on April 10th, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 49-year old Jodie Ann Tuttle, of Harlan, on a District Court Warrant for Failure to Appear. Tuttle was taken to the Cass County Jail where she was later released on her own recognizance.

Des Moines – Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen today (Thursday) issued a bulletin to all health insurers writing business in Iowa stating that Iowa will allow the extension of transitional health insurance policies for individuals and small groups to continue through calendar year 2019.  This decision follows an announcement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) permitting these plans to continue. Oman said “I am very concerned about the rate shock for these folks, especially the 38,000 remaining Iowans in the individual transitional pool.  If these Iowans were forced to join the collapsed individual ACA-compliant market, they would see rate increases between 100 – 400 percent.

According to Ommen, “Each year, these Iowans are given the choice during open enrollment to join the ACA market and each year these Iowans have chosen not to do so.  They like their plans and they have kept them.  I appreciate CMS continuing to give states flexibility in this regard as has been done each year since 2014, because without transitional plans as an option for these Iowans, most would likely join the up to 26,000 Iowans that have fled our ACA-compliant individual market this year.”

Transitional plans are health insurance coverage that was purchased after the ACA was passed but prior to the implementation of the Marketplace in 2014.  Transitional plans are closed blocks of business that do not allow new entrants to the risk pool.

A program designed to teach students about the dangers and costs of driving impaired and distracted, was held Wednesday afternoon, in front of the Griswold High School. “Every 15 Minutes,” also stresses the importance of wearing seat belts, and it takes students through the process, legal and emotional, following a mock crash caused by an impaired or distracted driver. Judi Nelson, event coordinator and an emergency room nurse, says the program which started in the mid-1990’s, has resulted in a reduction in the number of deaths from drunk or impaired driving. She said while the number of alcohol related deaths is down, the number of other, preventable fatalities involving motor vehicles is up.

That’s because there’s more than just alcohol involved. In addition to the use of prescription and non-prescription drugs by both adults and young adults, the use of mobile devices such as cell phones, for texting and calling, has proven to be a factor in crashes resulting in deaths. The two-day “Every 15 Minutes” program began Wednesday morning, with students being removed from their classrooms in 10-to 15-minute intervals, from 8:30-a.m. until 1-p.m. They are dressed to become, the “Living dead,” and have their faces painted white to look like a skeleton. During the afternoon, there was a Mock Collision, on the north side of the Griswold School grounds, and a mock trial for the driver.

The students attended a retreat Wednesday night, where they engaged in activities and heard personal experiences from parents and teens who lost a loved one or close friend to a crash involving an impaired or distracted driver. Personal testimonies were heard from Nina McNeese and Julia Peltzer. McNeese lost her two pre-school age boys when a young driver was texting and driving, and hit their vehicle head-on, near Red Oak. There was also a Parent retreat with the some of the same speakers.

This (Thursday) morning, a Memorial/Mock Funeral Assembly was held in the Griswold School Auditorium. Local law enforcement, emergency personnel, legal services and others were involved in making the event as real as possible for spectators and those involved.

Sheriff’s officials in Mills County report 24-year old Colton Brian Edward Fricke, of Glenwood, was arrested at around 11:30-p.m. Wednesday. Fricke was taken into custody for Possession of a Controlled Substance, after the Mills County Sheriff’s Dept. K9 unit checked on a vehicle at the Foot Hills Park, outside of Glenwood. Upon investigation and searching the vehicle, THC wax was located. THC Wax is derived from marijuana plants but can have up to eight times the concentration of THC compared to the buds people typically smoke. Fricke was taken into custody and transported to the Mills County Jail, where his bond was set at $1,000.

And, no injuries were reported following a rollover accident Wednesday afternoon, in Mills County. Authorities say 66-year old Randall Barber, of Glenwood, was driving a 2011 Jeep northbound on 295th Street at around 4:10-p.m., when his SUV began to slide on the gravel as he was rounding a curve to the west. The vehicle entered the north ditch and rolled onto its roof. No citations were issued.

(9-a.m. News)

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office says a man who was serving a sentence in the Pott. County Jail, was served Wednesday afternoon, with a warrant for Violation of Probation. The warrant was read to 20-year old Trent Brian O’Neal, of Council Bluffs, before he was returned to his cell by Corrections Staff.