(Red Oak, IA) – The Red Oak Police Department reports a man was arrested Sunday evening on a felony charge of Criminal Mischief in the 2nd Degree (A Class-D Felony). 18-year-old Matthew Kevin Miller, Jr., of Red Oak, was arrested at around 5-p.m. in the 400 block of E. Washington Avenue. Miller was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 bond.

Authorities say six juveniles were arrested for the same violation. Their names and disposition were not released.

(Glenwood, IA) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office has issued a report on arrests that occurred between Dec. 22nd and the 28th. Those arrested include:

• On Dec. 22nd: 53-year-old Adam Michael Blackman, of Malvern, was arrested on felony charges of Failure To Appear (FTA) on original charges in June, that include Child Endangerment and Possession of a Controlled Substance – Methamphetamine. Blackman posted a total cash/surety bond of $10,000, and is scheduled to appear in court January 5th.
• On Dec. 24th, Mills County deputies arrested 39-year-old Clinton Daniel Wostrel, of Nebraska City, NE. He was arrested on Interstate 29 near Pacific Junction, for OWI/1st offense. His bond was set at $1,000.
• Mills County Deputies arrested 31-year-old Cody Michael Fischer, of Omaha, on Dec. 26th. He was taken into custody on I-29 south of Council Bluffs, for Assault while displaying a dangerous weapon. Bond was set at $2,000.
• The following day (Dec. 27), 55-year-old Dean Allen Drake, of Silver City, was arrested in Henderson for Theft in the 4th Degree (re: property valued more than $300 but less than $750). His bond was set at $1,000; 36-year-old Geoffrey Oliver Johnston, of Lincoln, NE, was arrested Dec. 27th in Glenwood, for: Public Intoxication; Assault w/Bodily Injury, and Disorderly Conduct – Fighting or Violence. His total was set at $1,600; 34-year-old Blake Ryon Cummings, of Glenwood, was arrested at the same location on Garfield Lane, Dec. 27th. He was charged with: Public Intoxication; Assault w/Bodily Injury; Assault; Domestic Abuse Assault; Disorderly Conduct – Fighting or Violence, and Child Endangerment. Bond was set at $3,000.
• And finally, on Dec. 28th, Mills County deputies arrested 27-year-old Sarah Jeanette Croson, of Council Bluffs, for Theft in the 2nd Degree (re: a loss between $1,500-and $10,000). Bond was set at $5,000.

(Greenfield, IA) – Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports a man from southeast Iowa was arrested last week on an Adair County Bench Warrant. 44-year-old Timothy Fernando Manriques, of Knoxville, was arrested Dec. 22nd in Menlo, by an Adair County Sheriff’s deputy. He was wanted on a warrant for Violation of a No Contact/Protective Order – Contempt of Court.

Manriques was transported to the Adair County Jail in Greenfield, and released later that same day on a $300 cash or surety bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Health studies project more than 21-thousand new cancer cases will be diagnosed in Iowans next year, while 63-hundred Iowans will die from cancer — and both numbers are rising. Jody Hoyos, C-E-O of the Prevent Cancer Foundation, says the best way Iowans can beat the odds is to get screened every year, and she suggests making a New Year’s resolution to schedule a doctor’s appointment before December ends. “Just 51% of adults in the U.S. have had a routine medical appointment or routine cancer screening in the last year,” Hoyos says. “The challenge with this is we’re seeing a decline in the number of people going to these routine appointments, a 10-percentage point drop from our 2024 survey.”

Studies show that In Iowa, breast, prostate, lung and colorectal cancers make up roughly half of all cancer cases, while lung cancer remains the most common cause of cancer deaths in Iowa, accounting for about one out of every four cancer deaths. “Fundamentally, many people don’t realize they need to be screened, and that’s especially true if they aren’t experiencing any symptoms or they don’t have a family history of cancer,” Hoyos says. Cancer screenings need to be done every year, before you develop any symptoms, as she says early detection can lead to more treatment options, and more time with the people you love.

“Routine screenings are important for everyone, even if you really know your body and you feel like you would know if something’s going on, very often, cancer doesn’t show any signs or symptoms in the early stages, and the vast majority of cancer cases are diagnosed in people with no family history,” Hoyos says. “So everyone, regardless of family history and if they’re feeling great, should be getting screened.”

The Cancer in Iowa Report, released every February, finds Iowa has the second-highest cancer rate in the country, behind only Kentucky, and Iowa has the fastest-rising rate of new cancer cases. The 2025 report showed 171,000 Iowans are now considered cancer survivors, or about one in every 20 Iowans, and they’ll need long-term medical attention.

On the web – https://preventcancer.org/ or https://shri.public-health.uiowa.edu/

(Council Bluffs, IA) – A man from Council Bluffs was arrested this (Monday) morning, in connection with a fatal collision between the vehicle he was driving and a pedestrian. Police in Council Bluffs, today (Monday, 12/29/25), said in a news release, that 72-year-old Dennis Stark was taken into custody after toxicology test results came back from the lab, showing his Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) was .127%. Stark also had marijuana in his system, during the crash, according to the test results. A warrant had been issued for Stark’s arrest, charging him with Homicide by Vehicle while Operating under the Influence (OWI).

[Update 12/31]: On Tuesday, a judge set Stark’s bond at 10% of $25,000. He is scheduled to be back in court on Jan. 7.

Dennis Stark (CBPD photo)

Authorities previously identified the pedestrian as 47-year-old Heidi Divis, of Omaha. An investigation determined Divis was crossing Kanesville Blvd. northbound against the walk signal with 8th Street at around 5:45-p.m. Nov. 6th, when she was hit by a 2009 KIA Sportage driven by Stark, as the vehicle was traveling eastbound through the intersection, as the traffic light was yellow.

(Radio Iowa) – Well over 450 Spencer residents have downloaded a new smart phone app designed to provide a variety of information — including weather alerts. Spencer City Manager Kevin Robinson says it’s part of the ongoing response to the historic flooding that hit Spencer in mid-2024. “One of the takeaways after the flood was people were relying on the messaging from the local government as a definitive direction of what to do,” he says. “For example, how much risk are we exactly in at what particular time? When should we, if we should leave our home?” Spencer sits at the convergence of the Little Sioux and Ocheyedan Rivers. The smart phone app uses data from the Flood Center of Iowa and provides notifications when river levels rise.

“The Flood Center has stream gauges all throughout Iowa and they update information every 15 minutes and then they feed that information into their flood models,” Robinson says. “We wrote the application on the Android and Apple phones so that the Iowa Flood Center information could flow into their phones.” That data is also used for a new three-tiered flood warning system Spencer has developed — and which is also shown on the app. Spencer hired retired Clive Fire Chief Rick Rowe to assess how the city handled the flooding and plan for how to handle future disasters. Rowe concluded the public wanted simple to understand warnings and he helped guide development of the app. Robinson says push notifications are built into the app.

“When we had a snow emergency come up here the last month or so, we were able to push messages out to people. When the derecho came we were able to warn about the weather — and then the app also isn’t just weather,” Robinson says. “It’s essentially an application version in the palm of your hand of our website.” The app is free to download in the Apple Store or Google Play Store. The city pays a small per download fee to the developer and Robinson predicts the company will start offering to build similar apps for other cities in the next few months.

(Radio Iowa) – A cold front blew into Iowa Sunday bringing blizzard conditions that closed down Interstate 35 from Ames north to Clear Lake, and spawned snow squalls across central and eastern Iowa. National Weather Service Meteorologist Rod Donovan says more snow and winds in excess of 50 miles an hour led to the blizzard conditions, while the snow squalls are a shorter lasting event. “Snow squall warnings actually can cover a wide variety of things. In this case, the quick reduced visibility greatly deterioration or quick deterioration of travel and roadways. In addition, you can have flash freeze with those,” he says. The flash freeze changes precipitation, and driving conditions quickly.

“Cold air coming in, snow melting on the roadways or any residual wetness from the rain previous to that. And so we actually got a lot of iced up areas as all that cold air came in with those as well,” he says. Donovan says the snow squalls typically last an hour, while blizzards last three hours or more. He says it’s not going to be nice out there this (Monday) morning. “Early morning wind chills will be near 25 below across northern Iowa, more of a five to 15 below as you get in the central and southern Iowa. So quite cold, especially considering what we’ve had lately, and in addition there’s certainly going to be some hazardous travel as well in the morning,” he says. Donovan says things will thaw out a little on Tuesday.

“We are going to have a bit more warmer air coming in I guess so to speak, coming back in by Tuesday,” Donovan says. “So we are so looking at high temperatures in those upper 20s to mid 30s and that should be enough with usually get enough radiation through any clouds or any sunshine should help melt off the roadways that any residuals there.” Donovan says the colder temperatures make it tougher for the anti-icing materials the D-O-T uses to work and continued blowing snow this morning will be an issue.

(Creston, IA) – The Creston Police Department reports a woman was arrested Friday afternoon, for Violation of a No Contact Order. Authorities say 40-year-old Fallon Danielle May, of Creston, was arrested at her residence at around 1-p.m., Friday. May was taken to the Union County Jail and later transported to Adams County Jail, where she was being held without bond

(An Iowa Capital Dispatch report) – A Des Moines surgeon accused of negligence and wrongful death has agreed to pay a $2,500 civil penalty for inadequate management of medical records in the case. According to the Iowa Board of Medicine, Dr. Marc Miller performed an outpatient, robotic-assisted laparoscopic hernia repair on a male patient on May 22, 2020. The patient was discharged later that day. The following day, the patient reported intense pain and swelling and was advised by Miller that the condition was normal and would likely resolve itself in a few days, the board alleges.

According to the board, Miller did not direct the patient to the emergency room or advise him to seek other forms of medical attention, and no entries were created in the patient’s medical record to document the report of pain and swelling. Ultimately, the patient decided to go the emergency room on the afternoon of May 26, 2020, due to continued pain and swelling. His condition deteriorated as he went into septic shock, emergency surgery was performed and the patient died a few days later.

Earlier this month, more than five years after the patient’s death, the Iowa Board of Medicine charged Miller with one count of improper management of medical records in the case. To settle the case, Miller agreed to accept a warning from the board and pay a $2,500 civil penalty. In addition, he agreed to complete what the board calls a “live, interactive course on medical records documentation.” Court records indicate the patient in the hernia-repair case was a Polk County man, and that the surgery was performed at the surgical clinic of UnityPoint Health in Des Moines. According to the man’s estate, which later sued Miller for wrongful death, Miller perforated the bowel during surgery, failed to discover the error during the course of the operation, and then closed the incision.

The lawsuit alleged the patient called Miller the next day to report severe pain and swelling. Miller said the patient’s intense pain was ‘normal’ and would take quite a few days to go away.” The lawsuit alleges the patient “remained in intense pain for the next several days,” and told others he was in “agony” to the point where he couldn’t even try to lay down on the bed. On May 26, 2020, the lawsuit alleged, the patient spoke to one of Miller’s agents, who reiterated Miller’s assurance that the pain was normal and did not require medical intervention. Several hours later, the patient “decided on his own to go to the emergency room” where he went into septic shock and emergency surgery was performed. “During surgery, he went into cardiac arrest and had to be given CPR for 20 minutes and shocked five times,” the lawsuit alleged. “He suffered overwhelming multisystem organ failure … and died on May 29, 2020.”

Miller and UnityPoint Health denied any wrongdoing. In May 2023, a lawsuit filed by the patient’s family, was settled out of court. The terms of the settlement were not made public.