(Corning, IA) – The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests over the holiday weekend. Authorities say on or about 8-p.m. December 31st, Adams County Deputies conducted a traffic stop at Highway 34 and Fig Avenue. Upon further investigation, 20-year-old Brallan Lopez Illescas, of Osceola, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance-Marijuana, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Lopez Illescas was transported to the Adams County Jail.

Lopez

And, on or about 12:40-p.m. January 2nd, Adams County Sheriff’s Deputies traveled to the Pottawattamie County Jail to take custody of 21-year-old Molly Beckwith, of Council Bluffs. The woman was wanted on an active Adams County warrant stemming from an incident that occurred on or about August 3rd, 2025. Beckwith was charged with Felony Burglary in the 3rd Degree, Burglary in the 3rd Degree/Motor vehicle and Unauthorized use of a credit card, and Theft in the 3rd Degree (all Aggravated Misdemeanors), as well as two counts of Theft in the 4th Degree, and one count of Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree (Serious Misdemeanors).

Beckwith was transported to the Adams County Jail. (Photos from the Adams County S/O)

Beckwith

(Red Oak, IA) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a Red Oak resident was arrested at around 11:30-a.m. Friday. Authorities say Skye Graysen Ver Linden was taken into custody for OWI/1st offense. Skye Ver Linden was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on full bond.

(Harlan, IA) – Firefighters in Harlan were dispatched to the scene of a storage unit fire at around 7-a.m. today. The building, located behind Leinen Construction at 3113 12th Street in Harlan, was reported to be fully engulfed in flames. Westphalia Fire is providing mutual aid. Additional details are currently not available.

(Photos are courtesy Kylie Stevens)

(Creston, IA) – Officials with the Creston Police Department report a man was arrested at a convenience store early Saturday morning. Authorities say 31-year-old Austin Allen Jones, of Creston, was arrested a little before 1-a.m. Saturday, at the Casey’s store on W. Taylor Street, in Creston. Jones was charged with Contempt (of court) -Violation of No Contact or Protective Order. Jones was taken to the Union County Jail and held without bond until seen by a judge.

(Radio Iowa) – A University of Iowa College of Business professor says motivational posters with inspirational messages that adorn many of our workplace walls often do little to motivate or inspire employees. Ken Brown, a U-I professor of management and entrepreneurship, says for a poster like that to have real impact, it has to be bundled with what managers are actually doing day-to-day to keep members of their staff working toward a common set of goals. “For example, in my home gym, I could post a picture of somebody doing exercises but that doesn’t mean I’m going to get fit by looking at it,” Brown says. “You actually need to have something that backs up the statements, the inspirational quotes or whatever it is that’s on your wall if you want to make change.”

Brown says some workers may mock the posters as confirmation their leaders are completely disconnected from what’s really going on in the workplace. “I’ve certainly worked with students and managers that are working with a firm that has a very competitive, bottom line-driven culture,” Brown says, “and they put up signs that talk about, ‘Teamwork makes the dream work,’ ‘It’s important that we work together,’ ‘We’re all in this together,’ when the reality is exactly the opposite.” A business called Despair-dot-com offers de-motivational posters, with sarcastic messages like: “The glass is half-empty: Deal with it.” and “Adversity: That which does not kill me delays the inevitable.” Brown says he’s never bought one of the Despair posters, but he’s tempted, as he finds them hilarious.

“People recognize that motivational posters and motivational quotes are sometimes hypocritical, which spawns a desire for people to make fun of that,” Brown says. “It spawns a desire for people to escape from the frustration by having a laugh with other people.” Of course, some people like the original posters, with photos of pole vaulters or pouncing panthers. Brown notes he can have two students sitting side-by-side for a lecture and one may think it’s the worst class ever, while the other may say it was a fascinating, life-changing experience. “Different people react differently to the same stimulus, the same poster, and that’s a reality that we need to understand as leaders and managers,” Brown says. “So we have to be sensitive to context, get to know our people and understand that it may not be the same thing that motivates everybody on our teams.”

Brown says his research finds people who are naturally upbeat tend to react positively to employee motivation techniques, while those who aren’t, don’t.

(Radio Iowa/KJAN data) – State Climatologist Justin Glisan says snow was the main feature of the weather in December. “You look across the swath from southeastern Iowa up to northwestern Iowa, above average by anywhere from four to eight inches. And then you get into the northeast corner and the southwest corner, it’s below average in terms of snowfall,” Glisan says. Glisan says the snow impacted temperatures in December.

“Temperatures were about one-point-seven degrees below average. And again, that was anchored by colder temperatures and more snowpack in eastern Iowa,” he says. “Precipitation about an inch, that’s about four-tenths of an inch below average.” Glisan says December was pretty ordinary on most accounts.

“On the snowfall, even when we had that above average swath across the state, we came in right about average. The normal was seven-point-nine inches, preliminarily, we’re about eight inches,” Glisan says. He says there’s nothing in the December weather that’s noteworthy as far as records go.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Corrections, Sunday, reported 23-year-old Tywun Marquese Moore, who was convicted of Robbery 2nd Degree in Linn County, failed to report back to the  Work Release Center as required on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026.

Tywun Marquese Moore

Moore is a 5’9″, 184-pound Black male. He was admitted to the work release facility on July 8, 2025. Persons with information on Moore’s whereabouts should contact local police.

The Republicans who represent Iowa in the U.S. House and Senate are praising the capture of Venezuela’s president, while top Iowa Democrats suggest the move may trigger another endless war. Senator Joni Ernst and the four Iowans who serve in the U.S. House say Maduro and his cartels have illegally trafficked deadly drugs into our country for years and President Trump took decisive action to hold him accountable.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican leaders in the Iowa House may pursue a plan to have community colleges grant four-year degrees — but House Speaker Pat Grassley says it would have to be focused on helping residents in higher education deserts access a four-year degree program — in targeted subjects. “I don’t think we want to just turn them over to four-year degrees for every single thing,” Grassley says. “If there’s some really valid, justifiable degrees that maybe it makes sense, I think that would be where the conversation should start.”

House Majority Leader Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, says serving prospective students in parts of the state will be a likely focus. “Think of southeast Iowa, think of southwest Iowa,” Kaufmann said, “and there’s a real desire for something closer.” Kaufmann says some community colleges in eastern Iowa — like Kirkwood in Cedar Rapids — are next door to major four-year universities.

“I think that the bill that we put out will provide flexibility for customization within each individual community college,” Kaufmann said. The Community Colleges of Iowa released an analysis in October suggesting the 15 area community colleges would need 20 million dollars over the next five years to hire faculty, prepare facilities and design courses for four-degrees. Republican Representative Taylor Collins, chairman of the House Higher Education Committee, asked for the report.

“Where I’m sitting at today in Mediapolis, we’re over an hour away from another institution that grants four-year degrees, so this is really about unleashing opportunities for rural students who want to take the next step in their education,” Collins said,” and we also know it’s already being done.” Community colleges in 24 other states offer four-year degrees, mostly in high demand areas like nursing, business and education. “Really fields that we need more trained professionals,” Collins said, “particularly in those rural parts of the state.”

In 1989, West Virginia became the first state to have its community colleges offer four-year degrees. Missouri is the only neighboring state where some community colleges are offering four-year degrees. The governor of Illinois has proposed allowing some community colleges in his state to offering four-year degrees.