(Red Oak, IA) – Police in Red Oak report a woman was arrested Tuesday night at the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center, on a felony OWI charge. Authorities say 40-year-old Kristin Ann Miller, of Clarinda, was arrested at around 7-p.m. for OWI/3rd offense – a Class D Felony. Miller was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 bond.

(Red Oak, IA) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a traffic stop this (Wed.) morning (12/31), in Red Oak, resulted in the arrest of 40-year-old Aaron Lucas Allen, of Red Oak, on charges that include Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Driving Under Suspension. Allen was arrested at around 12:18-a.m. near N. 8th and E. Nuckols Streets, in Red Oak. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $491.25 bond.  Red Oak Police assisted in the arrest.

And, at around 5:50-p.m. Tuesday (12/30), Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 23-year-old Chance Deshon Marley Manley, of Council Bluffs, following a traffic stop near Broadway and Walnut Streets, in Red Oak. Manley was arrested for Driving While License Denied, canceled, suspended or revoked. His bond was set at $491.25.

TOPEKA (KSNT) – An Iowa-based company has recalled dog food sold in seven states as it may be contaminated with salmonella. Consumers Supply Distributing, LLC, announced on Dec. 24 a recall of bagged dog biscuits due to potential salmonella contamination, which poses a health risk to pets and people. The recall announcement, which was also shared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said the recalled dog food was sold at retail stores in Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Iowa, Texas, Montana and Nebraska.

Among pets, salmonella infections can make them seem lethargic or cause diarrhea, vomiting, and a fever. Even if a pet does not have any symptoms, the FDA says they can carry salmonella and spread it to other pets or humans. If your pet has any of the symptoms mentioned, it’s recommended that you contact your veterinarian.

The recall includes the following products, which both come in 4-pound bags:

“Country Vet Biscuits – Original Meaty Flavor”

UPC: 899623000463
Lot code: 40906513
Expiration date: Sept. 6, 2026
“Heartland Harvest Dog Biscuits”

UPC: 840227340691
Lot code: 40906513
Expiration date: Sept. 6, 2026

Consumers who may have purchased the recalled dog biscuits are encouraged to return them to the store for a refund. Those with questions can contact Consumers Supply Distributing, LLC, by calling 712-202-5609 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT on weekdays.

The notice explained that the biscuits were found to contain the salmonella bacteria during routine sampling. The company has halted production and is working to determine what may have caused the contamination. There have been no illnesses reported in connection with the dog biscuits, per the recall announcement.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KETV) — Law enforcement officers from Omaha and Council Bluffs have arrested a 21-year-old man in Council Bluffs, in connection with a deadly shooting last Summer, in north Omaha. The incident happened August 4th near North 24th Street and Patrick Avenue, in Omaha.

Once police got to the scene, they found 22-year-old Chance McCowin dead. 32-year-old Dontavis Montgomery, and 24-year-old Tai’Jianea Henderson, were injured.

On Tuesday, Dec. 30th, Omaha police announced the Metro Fugitive Task Force and the Council Bluffs Police arrested 21-year-old Damaree Amos in connection with the shooting.

He is set to be extradited to Douglas County, Nebraska.

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) – The Environmental Protection Agency says exposure to lead can cause a whole host of health problems; from headaches and hearing problems in kids, to hypertension and brain damage in adults.

The EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule says lead water lines, or galvanized water lines, need to be replaced by 2037. In the new year, a new law will require more transparency about lead service pipes when homes are sold in Iowa.

Starting January 1st, House File 876 will add to the seller’s disclosure statement for real estate transactions the presence of lead service lines. That includes the lines that connect the city’s water main to the interior plumbing in a building, or to the water meter.

In 2024, cities sent notifications to homeowners to let them know if there were, in fact, lead service lines in their area that affected their homes. Now, if homeowners who do have those lead service lines elect to sell their homes, they have to include that in their disclosure statement to the buyer.

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) – An 18-year-old is facing charges after firefighters in Sioux City were called to a fast-food restaurant on Gordon Drive. According to Sioux City Police, first responders were sent to the Wendy’s at 3805 Gordon Drive after getting a call on Tuesday, Dec. 30, reporting a fire.

The call came in at about 9 a.m., and police say customers and employees were evacuated from the building while Sioux City Fire Rescue extinguished the fire and secured the scene. “After reviewing surveillance video, investigators were able to identify a suspect who they believed was responsible for setting the fire,” stated the Sioux City Police Department in a press release.

Police say this suspect, identified as 18-year-old Malachi Neylon of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was located at a separate business a short distance from the Wendy’s.

Neylon is facing one count of first-degree arson and one count of fourth-degree criminal mischief. Under Iowa law, first-degree arson carries a possible sentence of up to 25 years in prison, and the criminal mischief charge is a misdemeanor that has a maximum penalty of one year in jail.

DALLAS COUNTY, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced Tuesday that the highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected in a mixed-species backyard flock in Dallas County. The current outbreak of avian influenza has impacted nearly 185 million birds at backyard and commercial poultry farms since it began in 2022.

The Dallas County detection, which impacted a flock of 15 birds, according to an IDALS spokesperson, is the 10th detection in domestic birds in Iowa this year. The H5N1 strain of the bird flu has also been detected in wild, migratory birds, most recently in large numbers at several lakes in southwest Iowa.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and state departments of agriculture continue to urge producers to practice increased biosecurity to help prevent the spread of the flu. U.S. senators from Iowa and other agricultural states recently urged USDA to prioritize a vaccine strategy for the flu.

Producers who notice sudden increases in bird deaths, or symptoms like lethargy, swelling of the head, coughing and difficulty breathing in their flock should contact their veterinarians immediately.

The public health risk of HPAI remains low, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

POLK COUNTY, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – State regulators have revoked the license of a registered nurse who provided home health care for disabled children before being arrested on child-pornography charges. In October, the Iowa Board of Nursing issued an emergency order suspending the license of registered nurse Kenneth Wayne Clark of Ankeny. The order was based on a disciplinary charge that Clark had engaged in unethical behavior and engaged in practices that are harmful or detrimental to the public by acting in a manner that is contradictory to professional decorum.

Court records show that on Aug. 1, 2025, Wayne’s home and vehicle were searched by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office alleges it found methamphetamine, psilocybin mushrooms, and marijuana, as well as multiple pieces of drug paraphernalia — including glass pipes, bongs and storage containers for marijuana and methamphetamine. One month later, on Sept. 9, 2025, Ankeny police alleged that from March 1, 2025, to July 30, 2025, Clark knowingly and unlawfully downloaded or possessed on his cellphone videos that are “consistent with child sexual abuse material.”

Prosecutors have charged Clark with 10 counts of purchasing or possessing the depiction of a minor engaged in a sex act. Police records indicate there are more than “2,600 unclassified videos and 60,511 images” at issue in the case, including at least 50 videos “consistent with child sex abuse material” that were allegedly downloaded onto the phone.

The court then issued a no-contact order against Clark barring any contact with minors. The Board of Nursing alleged the no-contact order was particularly relevant to its emergency order in that Clark was “doing in-home care for disabled children” prior to his arrest.

A trial on the criminal charges is scheduled for March 23, 2026.

(Radio Iowa) – The number of traffic fatalities has dropped significantly in Iowa this year and could reach a 100-year low. Some law enforcement officials cite Iowa’s new law banning the handling of a smart phone while driving as a major factor. Larry Grant, the state safety planner for the Iowa Department of Transportation, says officers have been issuing citations for the past six months and will start issuing citations January 1st — so he expects the full effect of the law on traffic safety will occur in 2026.

“The public, they work around those laws a lot of times, so we’re hoping that once that’s enforceable that’s going to drive down crashes as a whole,” Grant says. “That plays into, then, fatalities and serious injury crashes.” A high percentage of traffic fatalities involve a single vehicle that runs off the road. “It tends to be a single occupant, sometimes impairment and then they aren’t wearing their seatbelt, which is very surprising,” Grant says, “that vehicle rolls and that person is either seriously injured or killed.”

As a result, Grant says the Iowa D-O-T’s new policy is that every road the agency builds in the future will have edge line rumble strips and, if it’s a two-lane road, there will be rumble strips along the center line. “Those marks on the road that are ground in, that when you drive over it makes that noise that alerts the driver they’re either crossing the center line or going off the edge of the road,” Grant says. The D-O-T is also widening all paint strips that mark lanes on the road from four inches to six inches.

“The newer vehicles, they’re looking for those edge line and center line markings,” Grant says, “and so with us increasing the size of those markings, it enhances the ability of that vehicle to actually see where the road is and keep that vehicle within the lanes of travel.” Grant says there have been amazing improvements to vehicles that are contributing to the drop in fatalities — as well as accidents.

“Vehicles are really made to absorb those crashes so they have crush zones. They have air bags, and then they have anti-lock brakes and then traction control — all this technology, then we really advanced it when it started doing lane assist or adaptive cruise control,” Grant says, “so all those things that vehicle is doing for the driver without the driver even, honestly, knowing that.” Other roadway improvements are improving safety — and reducing wrecks — like high-intensity reflective signs, particularly on the curves of roads.

“It makes that driver kind of look up a little bit and a lot of times when people are driving, they’re not focused on the roads, they’re looking down. We want to draw their attention to those safety signs that are out there, whether it’s stop signs or yield signs or, again, those chevrons around a curve,” Grant says. “Whether it’s in the daylight or at night when those headlights hit, it draws attention to those signs.”

Grant was a state trooper for nearly 30 years and has been the Iowa D-O-T’s State Safety Planner for the past three-and-a-half years.

(Radio Iowa) – A Democrat has won Tuesday’s special election for a seat the Iowa Senate. Unofficial results show West Des Moines City Councilman Renee Hardman won with 73 percent of the vote. She will be the first black woman to serve in the Iowa Senate. The seat had been vacant since State Senator Claire Celsi’s death in October.

Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner notes this is the third special election this year for a state senate seat and Democrats have won all three. She says that shows Iowa voters want change.

Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann says Tuesday’s election was in a very tough district for Republicans and the party is focused expanding the Republican majorities in the state legislature next year.

There will be 17 Democrats and 33 Republicans serving in the Iowa Senate in January — one vote short of a G-O-P supermajority. It means Republicans will need at least one Democrat to vote to confirm any people Governor Reynolds nominates for state government positions.

*****

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart released the following statement regarding tonight’s State Senate District 16 special election results: “Renee Hardman crafted a well-run grassroots campaign focused on affordability, and Democrats across Iowa worked tirelessly to end 2025 with another 40-point victory to prevent a new Republican supermajority. Hardman has been a valued West Des Moines City Councilmember – working to cut taxes and improve public safety. She is ready to step up to take on an even larger role for our state.  Democrats will continue to focus on affordability, common sense, and a new direction for our state. With candidates committed to their communities like Renee, Democrats are offering a new direction for Iowa in 2026!”