WATERLOO, Iowa (KCRG) – The Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office released a statement regarding a scam alert that has been occurring throughout the county. According to the statement, the scam has involved a caller or callers contacting residents from a 319 area code and informing them that there is a warrant for the person’s arrest. The caller or callers have been able to use the Sheriff’s Office phone number to make the calls seem more legitimate. The caller or callers are then asking residents for credit card information over the phone, or asking residents to pay online at a specific website. The caller or callers have been threatening residents with arrest in an attempt to get them to pay amounts ranging from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. In the statement, the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s office explained that a peace officer will never request credit card information over the phone and that all warrants must be served in person by a peace officer. The recipient of the warrant will have to be booked in and processed at the Black Hawk County jail. If you are unsure whether or not you are being targeted by the scammers, you are asked to contact your local law enforcement.
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – In a new article in The Des Moines Register, pollster J. Ann Selzer has announced she will be ending her election polling with the 2024 election polls. She notified the Des Moines Register over a year ago that she would not renew her contract when it expired late in 2024. Selzer first worked with the Iowa Poll in 1987 as a Des Moines Register staffer. She then established her own firm and has continued to conduct the Iowa Poll on a contract basis since 1997. In more than 30 years of polling, Selzer has worked with various organizations, including but not limited to the Des Moines Register, the Detroit Free Press, the Indianapolis Star, and Bloomberg News. She earned an A+ rating in Nate Silver’s analysis of pollsters’ track records of accuracy in the very first list that came out. She maintained that A+ rating throughout the rest of her career. She will continue to work for current and future clients. She is also considering putting her other talents to work to benefit new clients.
MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (KCCI) – Two Marshalltown brothers have been arrested in connection to a string of burglaries at the Marshalltown Mall. Police said the thieves stole $9,200 in quarters and $180,000 in electrical equipment from the mall last winter. More than 7 months after those thefts, police were investigating a home burglary. While collecting evidence at the home, they found a cigarette butt, with the DNA of 50-year-old Giles Clark. Police executed a search warrant at Clark’s home and found many of the stolen items. They’ve since arrested Clark’s two sons, Hunter and Ashton, but Giles Clark has not been found. “It was a lot of work, we had not only our detective division, but we had a very tenacious young officer that did a lot on the case that kind of tied them all together for us,” said Lt. Saide Weekly with the Marshalltown Police Department. Authorities said if you have any information as to where Clark might be, call Marshalltown Police.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – One person has been arrested and a University of Iowa fraternity chapter has been suspended as authorities investigate a potential hazing incident, university leaders said Friday. It comes after first responders were called to the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity house early Friday morning for a fire alarm, and they found several dozen pledges blindfolded in the basement, according to a release from the university. One person has been arrested and charged with interference with official acts. That person is not a student and does not live at the house where the incident took place. That person’s name has not been released at this time and university leaders did not say how the person was involved in the incident. The University of Iowa’s Office of Student Accountability has suspended the operations of Alpha Delta Phi, pending the outcome of the investigation. The fraternity’s national chapter has also suspended the charter until further notice. The university released a statement saying it is committed to protecting the health and safety of its students and will address any behavior that puts student safety at risk. The university has also reached out to the students involved in the incident to offer counseling resources. The investigation into the incident remains ongoing.