COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa casino supervisor, dealer and patron are charged with conspiring to cheat at roulette and split thousands of dollars in illicit winnings. A criminal complaint alleges the trio carried out the scheme on several occasions in February and March at the Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs. In all, they allegedly split between $20,000 and $30,000 in earnings.

The conspiracy involved moving and adding additional chips to winning numbers, accepting late bets and placing additional wagers for guests. But it unraveled after a player noticed the cheating and complained to casino management, which alerted the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

The DCI said that roulette supervisor Jonathan Rumery, dealer Jonathan Waugh and player Cody Schroeder have been arrested. All three face felony charges.

LAKE VIEW – A personal water craft exploded Tuesday on Black Hawk Lake in Sac County, sending two people to the hospital. 40-year old Chris Forman, and his 41-year old wife Angie, of Omaha, Neb., were operating the personal water craft when it flipped over. After finally being able to get the vessel upright, gasoline had apparently leaked into the engine compartment causing it to explode while being started shortly after 11 a.m. on Tuesday.

Both of the passengers were thrown into the water by the blast, but were wearing
life jackets. They were taken to Loring Hospital in Sac City where they were kept
overnight.

The Lake View Fire Department, Lake View Police Department and the Sac County
Sheriff’s Department assisted at the scene.

The CAM School District’s Board of Education has scheduled a special meeting for Thursday evening. The Board will gather in the CAM High School Media Center at 6:30-p.m. to discuss the preschool building as it pertains to Capital Projects. In other business, the CAM School Board will discuss and/or act on any resignations and contracts to come before them.

Police in Creston say no injuries were reported following a chain reaction accident Tuesday afternoon. Officials say a 2010 Chevy Traverse driven by 33-year old Julie Wallace, of Creston, was stopped along with a 1999 Chrysler LHS driven by 24-year old Whitney Tridle, of Orient, as both drivers were waiting for a non-contact vehicle to turn into a driveway. A 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee, driven by 16-year old Jacob Hitz, of Creston, failed to stop in-time, and struck the rear of the Chrysler, which in turn hit the rear of the Chevy.

The accident happened at around 12:55-p.m. Tuesday on Sumner Avenue, north of the intersection with W. Adams Street. Hitz was cited for Failure to Maintain Control. Damage from the collision amounted to $4,500.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A federal appeals court has upheld jail sentences for two egg industry executives whose Iowa company caused a nationwide salmonella outbreak in 2010. In a long-awaited decision, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday backed the three-month jail sentences issued last year to Austin “Jack” DeCoster and son Peter DeCoster.

U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett sentenced them last year, citing a “litany of shameful conduct” that happened at their large egg-production company. But Bennett allowed them to their freedom they appealed the sentences, which the DeCosters argued were unconstitutional and unreasonable. Business groups took up their cause.

In a 2-1 decision, an appeals panel ruled that the DeCosters “are liable for negligently failing to prevent the salmonella outbreak” and that jail time is appropriate.

There’s been some cloudy and cool weather in some areas of the state to start the month of July, but there’s still a lot of summer left. Iowa Department of Public Health medical director, Patricia Quinlisk says you need to remember to use sunscreen when heading out. You can sometimes use the same sunscreen you had last year if it appears to still be good. She says the bottles usually have a date that tells you how long you should keep it around.

But doctor Quinlisk says there are some cases where that date might not be the best guide. “I think if it’s been there awhile — especially if you’re like me and you keep things out in your garage where it goes through the cold of the winter and the heat of the summer — that it probably is not a bad idea to just get new,” Quinlisk says, “that way you know that it is going to be working at its peak effectiveness and you will be protected.”

She says takes a look at your stock of sunblock to be sure it hasn’t expired before you head out, so you can stay protected from the sun.

(Radio Iowa)

Senator Joni Ernst spoke with reporters in Washington, D.C. moments ago, revealing a few details about her recent meeting with presumptive G-O-P presidential nominee Donald Trump. According to a report from C-N-N’s Betsy Klein, Ernst has “not received documents” from the Trump campaign that would be filled out by prospective vice presidential candidates.

Trump has begun campaigning with people like Newt Gingrich who are rumored to be on Trump’s list of potential running mates. Some prominent Republicans have said they won’t attend the Republican National Convention in Cleveland later this month. Ohio Governor John Kasich will not speak at the event, because he hasn’t endorsed Trump, but Ernst told C-N-N she’s not only willing to speak at the convention, she thinks it would be “a nice opportunity.”

Ernst says she and Trump discussed Iowa during her recent meeting with Trump and she encouraged Trump to get out and talk to as many Iowans as possible before Election Day. Iowa will be one of the few “swing” states in the General Election.

(Radio Iowa)

Residents of the Omaha-Council Bluffs area who have breathing troubles like asthma may find it particularly difficult to be outside for very long during the day this week. Greg Youell, executive director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency, says there are higher concentrations of ground-level ozone, thanks to the steamy weather and pollution. “Ground level ozone is formed when you have the combination of emissions and sunlight and hot temperatures,” Youell says. “Our ozone season typically tracks with baseball season. It’s in the hotter months and these hot summer days is when the ozone could be really high.”

Health officials say readings in Omaha-Council Bluffs will be in the upper end of the moderate range of the Federal Air Quality Index. Despite the ozone issues, Youell says the air quality is usually quite good though the levels are now “teetering on the edge” of the limits. “We don’t want to go into what’s called non-attainment,” he says. “If we did that, it could end up being a big burden on our entire area. It could mean having to do inspections for our vehicles which can lead to more costly repairs for our cars. Also, it limits the ability to some of our businesses to expand and attract new businesses in the area.”

Youell says there are small things residents can do to help reduce the ozone levels. “Limit trips as you’re driving around,” he says. “Carpool or take the bus, walk and bike. Moving the lawn is one thing you want to avoid or at least do it during the cooler hours of the day. The same with refueling your vehicle. If you can do that at dusk or nighttime, that helps to reduce the amount of fuel that’s lost through evaporation.”

Other suggestions include: shutting off your car if you plan to idle it for longer than 30 seconds and sealing all containers that contain paint, cleansers, solvents and other chemicals.

(Radio Iowa)

Atlantic will find more shoppers than usual filling its sidewalks and doorways from Thursday, July 14th through Saturday, July 16th. Participating Atlantic businesses will once again offer crazy summer deals during the Annual Crazy Daze retail promotion event. Crazy Daze is a three-day sale event that encourages customers to shop local.

Shoppers will enjoy a free “Thanks with Franks” hotdog lunch on Saturday, July 16^th from 11 am–1 PM at City Park. The meal, sponsored by Hockenberry Family Care, Hy-Vee and Walmart, is a way to say “thank you” to all the loyal shoppers in the area. Free beverages, provided by Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company, will also be available. Kids Activities including bounce houses and games will be going on at City Park as well.

And, Saturday July 16th only, those who participate in the “Shop Local Passport Program,” will receive incentives for shopping local. Once you fill up a card at a participating business, you will receive a second full passport card to be entered into the monthly $50 drawing.

For more information on Crazy Daze and other Chamber events, visit atlanticiowa.com or contact the Chamber office at 712.243.3017.

While we’re in the midst of a summer heat wave, some Iowans are already thinking about the winter ahead and the price of heating our homes. Iowa Department of Agriculture fuels analyst, Harold Hommes, says the cost of the most popular fuel used to heat homes in Iowa has jumped up by around one dollar in the last few months. Hommes says the move up in price of natural gas is easier to take after the cost bottomed out.

He says the cost reached “incredibly low” values earlier this year of one-dollar, 60 cents to one dollar, 70 cents per million-metric therms earlier this years. Hommes says there’s still good supplies available and with the price hanging around two-dollars, 86 cents, it’s still a “real, real good value.” You can still benefit from lower natural gas prices in the summer season, as it’s used for a lot of products.

“Business and industry continue to use it, it’s fractunated and ends up in a lot of industrial products that we use,” Hommes says. He says natural gas is used to make nitrogen fertilizer for example, and in a lot of other industrial uses. Hommes says if natural gas prices continue to move up, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll see an increase in price from the utilities when it’s time to turn on the furnace.

“My guess is that in anticipation for fall demand pick up they’ve already locked in prices at some pretty preferential rates. So , I look for this winter’s prices to be fairly competitive,” according to Hommes. The cost of another heating fuel — propane — is likely remain steady heading into fall.

“One month ago, we were on 98-cents a gallon and we’re still there today, virtually unchanged,” Hommes says. “Even in comparison to last year, at this time a year ago we were at one-one-oh-one ($1.01) so, again, we’re pretty much unchanged if not modestly three cents lower.” Given the market impacts of supply and demand, he says our supply is exceptionally high and the demand is very low during the summer months.

Hommes says, “Right now, we’re sitting here in the Midwest on record inventory levels that exceeded what would’ve been a record last year but we’ve surpassed those.” A few things could change the picture, he says, like a long-range forecast that calls for a bitter cold winter, or if there’s an increased demand for propane by farmers this fall to dry their crops. Still, he predicts there will be -no- significant propane price spikes in the coming months.

“If it does go up during the heating season, I would expect only modest increases,” Hommes says. “It’s going to be one of those years where last year, people got by without locking in the pretty favorable summer prices and we never really saw a great appreciation throughout the winter season.” He predicts a repeat in the winter ahead. In January of 2014, Iowa hit a record high for propane at just over five dollars a gallon, while prices now are about one-fifth that. It’s estimated 67 percent of Iowans use natural gas to heat their homes, 15 percent use electricity, 14 percent use liquid propane.

(Radio Iowa)