Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker early this (Tuesday) afternoon released additional information about a shooting incident that occurred at around 3-a.m. in Oakland. Danker says Pottawattamie County Communications received a 911 call reporting that a female had been shot at 303 Brown Street in Oakland.

Robert Reynolds

Deputies, assisted by Council Bluffs Police Officers and Iowa State Troopers arrived shortly thereafter and after a brief standoff, 63 year old Robert Reynolds, of Oakland, was taken into custody. Deputies investigating the incident found a 64 year old female from Rural Cass County Iowa deceased at the scene. Reynolds was transported to the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office and later booked in on the charge of Murder in the First Degree. The name of the victim is being withheld at this time. The investigation is ongoing.

Police in Harlan have released a report on arrests over the past week. Authorities say two people were arrested Monday. 21-year old Trent Wendt, of Panama, was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, following a traffic stop. And, 26-year old Richard Floersch, of Harlan, was arrested Monday on disorderly conduct and public intoxication charges, after officers were called to a disturbance in the vicinity of 5th and Dye Streets, in Harlan. Floersch was transported to Myrtue Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries prior to being hauled-off to jail.

On Sunday, Police officers in Harlan arrested 19-year old Bradly Freund, of Earling on charges that include Eluding and Possession of Alcohol by a person under the age of 21. His arrest stems from a traffic stop. Freund was also cited for Failure to Obey a Stop Sign and charged through the Iowa DOT with a .02 (Point Oh-Two) Violation.  Also arrested Sunday, was 44-year old Stephen Livingston, of Harlan. He was charged with Criminal Mischief in the 2nd degree, assault and public intoxication. Livingston was arrested after police responded to a report of a person out of control in the 600 block of Baldwin Street.

And on Friday, April 4th, 25-year old Michael Hall, of Harlan, was arrested on an active Shelby County bench warrant.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – A virus never before seen in the U.S. has killed millions of baby pigs in less than a year, threatening pork production and pushing up prices by 10 percent or more.  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says a pound of bacon averaged $5.46 in February. That’s 13 percent more than a year ago. Ham and chops have gone up too, although not as much.

Scientists believe porcine epidemic diarrhea came from China, but they don’t know how it got into the United States.  Agricultural economist Steve Meyer estimates the virus has killed nearly 6.8 million pigs in 27 states since last May. Meyer says Americans expect cheap food, but PED has shown how much an outbreak can cost and how important disease prevention is to the food supply.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Tuesday) said a Cumberland man was arrested Friday, on drug charges. 54-year old Jerry Lee Edwards was taken into custody on charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance (Methamphetamine) (3rd or Subsequent), Possession of a Controlled Substance (Marijuana), and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Edwards was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released later that day on $5000 bond.

Also on Friday, deputies in Cass County arrested 20-year old Rynell Markelle Ware, of Lincoln, NE, on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Ware was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was being held on $5000 bond.

And on Sunday, 31-year old Rachel Lynn Segobia, of Gretna, NE, was arrested in Cass County on on a charge of Public Intox. Segobia was taken to the Cass County Jail where she was released the following day on bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Senate is sending to Gov. Terry Bransad a bill that will survey schools in Iowa to determine whether they’re testing for the presence of radon gas. The bill requires districts to report by the end of this year to the Iowa Department of Education and the agency to file a report with the Legislature by January.

Sen. Matt McCoy, a Des Moines Democrat, who introduced the measure, says the House “gutted” his bill but a report will at least bring public attention to the issue. McCoy’s version, which passed the Senate, would have required schools to test and fix problems if radon had been detected at dangerous levels.

Republican Rep. Matt Windschitl says gathering information is the right path for now.

1112 AM CDT TUE APR 8 2014

…CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EXPECTED FOR WEDNESDAY…

A WARM AND DRY AIRMASS WILL BE OVER THE REGION WEDNESDAY. THIS
AIRMASS COMBINED WITH SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 15 TO 30 MPH AND
AVAILABLE FUELS/DRY GRASSES…SHOULD ELEVATE FIRE WEATHER
CONDITIONS INTO THE RED FLAG WARNING RANGE.

COUNTIES: MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-MONTGOMERY  FREMONT-PAGE-  
…A FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR
SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA…

* WINDS…SOUTHWEST 15 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY…AS LOW AS 20 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS…FIRES CAN EASILY IGNITE AND SPREAD QUICKLY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A FIRE WEATHER WATCH MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE FORECAST TO OCCUR. LISTEN FOR LATER FORECASTS AND POSSIBLE
RED FLAG WARNINGS.

Officials with SWIFS (Southwest Iowa Family Services, Inc.), have released their 2013 year-end financial reports and IRS Form 990. SWIFS President Hal Gronewold said in a news release that “All outstanding pledges for construction of the Ann W. Wickman Child Development Center (in Atlantic) have been collected, and the time has come for the next phase of fund-raising, which is to eliminate or substantially reduce the mortgage debt incurred.”

Gronwold says the net mortgage debt at year-end amounted to $408-thousand, while the annual debt service cost amounts to $26,500. The Wickman Center is being operated by the Nishna Valley Family YMCA. Gronewold says there are 130 children registered at the Center, with a daily attendance of between 65 and 85 children. An application is pending with the State of Iowa, for a Level 5 Quality Rating. That’s the highest level rating a child care facility can attain.

Gronewold says the original plan envisioned the YMCA assuming ownership of the Center after 5-years, but that the Center would also be free of debt at the end of that time frame as well. Since it is not, they are “In need of significant gift or bequest(s) and will be attempting to identify some situations where a gift of appreciated real estate or securities would result in a monetary benefit for both parties.”

Gronewold says if the fundraising campaign in successful, no further fund-raising will be necessary. If not, SWIFS will retain ownership of the Center and continue to be responsible for the debt, which will necessitate an annual fund drive. For more information, go to www.swifs.org.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A southwest Iowa lawmaker who has stopped joining in legislative action at the Capitol is still receiving his salary and daily expense payments.  Secretary of the Senate Michael Marshall told The Des Moines Register on Monday that Sen. Hubert Houser was receiving his $144 daily expense payments and his $25,000 annual salary, though he hasn’t voted on a measure since March 4.

Houser told the Register earlier he was too busy with work on his farm to join in legislative business, adding that as a Republican in the Democratic-controlled Senate, he had little to do. On Monday, Houser told the Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil he’s willing to return his legislative pay to the state if anyone requested he do so.

Houser, a Republican, has served 22 years in the Legislature.

A tip that’s required is no longer considered a tip under new I-R-S rules — and that has caused a change for restaurants. Restaurants have had policies for years where they add an automatic “gratuity” or tip when they serve large groups. Iowa Restaurant Association President, Jessica Dunker, says the I-R-S changes things at the start of the new year. “You can have an automatic gratuity — but then that has to be treated as a service charge,” Dunker explains.

The I-R-S now treats a service change as worker wages from the employer. “And that means as an example, if you have worked more than 40-hours this week, what’s included in your wage is part of that service charge,” Dunker says. “So that the calculations for an employer become very difficult. In addition to that, a service charge. an employer has no obligation to give to the employee.”

While restaurants used to include an automatic gratuity of 20-percent or more for large parities, most now list a suggested but not mandatory tip for larger groups.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowans who use a popular social media website are being warned about a new scam that involves that missing passenger airliner, according to Jim Hegarty at the Better Business Bureau. Hegarty says, “If you’re on Facebook and a post catches your attention with the headline, ‘Video of Malaysia 370 plane found in Bermuda Triangle, Passengers Alive,’ it’s designed to trick you into clicking on the link that would lead you to the video that doesn’t exist or it’s a phony one.”

He says it would be a mistake to click on that link, even if it appears to be from a friend you trust.  “A pop-up may appear, prompting you to update your video player but when you click on that, what you’re doing is downloading malware into your computer that can do all sorts of bad things,” he says.

That malware may record your keystrokes to obtain passwords and access to your personal financial information. Hegarty says while you can trust your friends, you many not be able to trust their Facebook accounts as they can be hacked.  “Don’t click on these because lots of times people’s Facebook can get highjacked and folks will send you things that appear to be coming from them when in fact they’re coming from scammers,” Hegarty says. “These guys are trying to do whatever they can to get unsuspecting consumers to click on these links.”

Hegarty says stay away from links to video footage that claims to be “exclusive,” and he suggests you just hover your cursor over the link to see if it’s really going to the address it claims.

(Radio Iowa)