The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports an Oct. 11th meeting to discuss a stormwater construction permit for a facility near Monona has been canceled. The DNR will continue to accept public comment through Oct. 20 on a stormwater permit for soil-disturbing activities during construction at the Walz Energy facility.

Written comments should be directed to Storm Water Coordinator, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, 502 E. 9th Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50319; at joe.griffin@dnr.iowa.gov or fax at (515) 725-8202. People may also contact the Storm Water Coordinator at 515-725-8417.

A public hearing on the permit will be held later this fall.

A call about an assault Monday afternoon in Glenwood resulted in the arrest of a juvenile. Glenwood Police say the Mills County Dispatch Center received a call at around 4:15-p.m. Monday about an assault that took place at the Glenwood Lake Park. The victim reported that while exercising at the park, a male juvenile approached her and grabbed her buttocks. When the woman confronted the boy, he ran off and left a bicycle behind. The bike was determined to have been stolen.

Glenwood Police located the teen at around 6:30-p.m. He was taken into custody and later charged with Assault and Theft in he 5th Degree (Possession of Stolen Property). The juvenile’s name was not released because of his age.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Police say a Des Moines mother has been arrested after officers found her three young children alone outside their home, including one covered in feces and another with a full diaper. TV station KCCI reports that a 4-year-old boy was left in charge Monday of his 2-year-old and 1-year-old siblings. He’d taken them outside after their stove made a frightening sound when he tried to make breakfast. County records say Destinee Miller remains jailed Tuesday on child endangerment charges.

Officers say the house was littered with hundreds of mounds of dog feces. Miller later told officers she had left to take one of her dogs to a vet. State authorities have taken custody of the children.

(UPDATE: This service is not yet available in the following counties: Franklin, Hancock, Henry, Jefferson, Johnson, Lee, Marion, Monona, Plymouth, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Scott, Van Buren, Washington, Webster and Winnebago.)

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg today (Tuesday) announced Text-to-911, a new public safety tool, is available to Iowans.  Text-to-911 is a statewide system that allows cell phone users to send text messages to 911 in an emergency. Right now, 94 of Iowa’s 113 emergency call centers are able to accept text messages from at least one cell phone carrier. The remaining call centers are expected to have the capability by the end of the year.

Gov. Reynolds said “Text-to-911 is a prime example of how we’re using technology to make Iowa a safer place for everyone. Iowans are able to send a text to 911 when a voice call would put them in danger or when a medical condition makes it impossible for them to speak.” Lt. Governor Gregg said “For those unable to make a call to 911, the ability to send a text in emergency or life-threatening situations is invaluable.”

Text-to-911 is a nationwide initiative. The Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEMD) oversees Iowa’s 911 program and has worked with local public safety agencies and wireless carriers to build a statewide network and make Text-to-911 technology possible. In some areas of the state, not all cell service carriers have the necessary technology in place to send texts to the 911 call centers that are capable of accepting them. The providers are working to make this service available as soon as possible.

Residents in counties currently accepting texts to 911 can check with their carrier to find out about availability in their area. Six wireless carriers currently, or will in the near future, provide their customers with the ability to text 911. The carriers are: AT&T, iWireless, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon.

For more information on the Text-to-911 program, visit homelandsecurity.iowa.gov.

Police in Shenandoan report a vehicle stolen from Coin was recovered Monday and a suspect in the theft was taken into custody. 28-year-old Jason Lee Myers, of Clarinda, faces charges that include Possession of stolen property, and driving while suspended. Myers allegedly took a red 2001 Pontiac Grand Am from in front of a residence in Coin. The theft was reported late Monday morning.

Officers received information that the stolen vehicle was seen traveling south on Highway 48 from the Montgomery County line. The vehicle entered Essex and pulled into the Casey’s parking lot, where Myers was taken into custody. He was being held in the Page County Jail on $5,000 bond.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports two women were arrested on Theft charges Monday. 43-year old Melinda Anne Starkey, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center on a Union County warrant for theft 2^nd degree. She was being held for Union County in the Ringgold County Jail. And, 35-year old Katie Loraine Campbell, Lorimor, was arrested and then transferred from the Clarke County Jail to the Ringgold County Jail, on a Union County warrant for theft 2^nd degree.  Both women were being held on $5,000 bond, each.

Senator Chuck Grassley is joining two of his colleagues in the Iowa Congressional delegation in calling for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to take another look at its rule allowing so-called “bump stocks.” Those devices were used by the sniper in last week’s mass shooting in Las Vegas. Grassley, a Republican, is shifting the blame, saying bump stocks were deemed legal for sale during Pr “I would advocate very much for ATF reconsidering their rule,” Grassley says. “I’m quite surprised that something like that would happen during the Obama administration when they tended to have more of an anti-gun attitude than the present administration does or the majority of Congress holds.”

Congressman David Young and Senator Joni Ernst, both Iowa Republicans, are calling on the Trump Administration to quickly review federal regulations on the devices, which enable semi-automatic weapons to fire much more rapidly. Grassley says he’s against making a knee-jerk reaction and will not introduce legislation right away on bump stocks or anything else relating to restrictions on firearms. “We’re going to wait until we get all of the evidence that we need from the Nevada shooting, oughta’ wait until the police reports are done,” Grassley says. “Just today some new information came out, as an example, and I think that we will move accordingly.”

Grassley says the A-T-F ruled in 2010 that it would not regulate the bump stock device. “This tends to make a gun that you’ve got to pull the trigger each time you want to shoot a bullet kind of like an automatic,” Grassley says. “If automatics are outlawed, it seems to me like it was ridiculous for the Obama administration in the first place to put something in that would make a non-automatic gun an automatic gun.”

The shooter in Las Vegas opened fire on the night of October 1st from a 32nd floor hotel room window, spraying bullets into a crowd at a country music festival. A woman from northwest Iowa was among the 58 people killed, and more than 500 were injured in the stampede. Funeral arrangements are being announced today for 33-year-old Carly Kreibaum, of Sutherland. Kreibaum was a Sibley native, married and a mother of two. Her funeral is scheduled for 10:30 A-M on Saturday in Sutherland at the town’s community center. She’ll be buried at Waterman Cemetery in Sutherland.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday, is expected to discuss a report from the State Auditor’s Office, with regard to the travel expenses of the County Employees. Their meeting in the Supervisor’s Board Room at the Court House, begins at 8:30-a.m.

Late last month, the State Auditor’s Office issued a report on employee travel expenses for Cass County personnel and elected officials determined some officials used County credit cards improperly and a county employee was doing non-beneficial work on County time.  The review was for the period of July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2016 and was conducted as a result of citizen concerns regarding the frequency of County Treasurer Tracey Marshall’s travel and certain purchases made using a County credit card.

The review determined County-issued credit cards were used to purchase items not related to County business. The County credit card policy specifies that County cards may not be used for purposes other than County expenses such as fuel, meals during overnight travel, lodging, and equipment purchases.  The review also determined that supporting documentation is not always provided or required for employee travel expenses submitted for reimbursement.