A year in review - Hard News

In March, the Creston Community School District was one of many Iowa schools victimized by “swatting calls.”

At approximately 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Union County dispatch received a 911 call from an unknown male caller who said there was a shooter in the Creston High School bathroom and four students had been shot.

Over the course of Tuesday morning, more than 30 Iowa schools received similar communication. State government officials say the calls were made through an internet platform that makes tracking the calls difficult. Officials said the calls all had the same details, content and voice.

These “swatting calls” are calls made to law enforcement or directly to schools, businesses, public libraries or other entities where the public gathers. These calls are an attempt to trigger the dispatch of emergency services to a particular address.

The Creston Police Department as well as the Union County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa DNR, Afton and Creston first responders all responded and gave the all-clear when the calls were determined to be a false alarm.

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In March, Creston City Council looked into lowering fees for food trucks. Going through the city’s peddler ordinance, there are license options for one day, one week, six months and one year, with prices starting at $10 and going to $1,000. While the council all agreed that fees should be lowered, the discussion quickly became bigger than that.

Area restaurant owners disagreed with lowering the prices, saying that food trucks should pay their fair share. Some said they didn’t want the competition, while others were worried food trucks would be taking money out of Creston.

While the topic of fees was being debated, a new food truck in town was asked to leave McKinley Park because they hadn’t asked the Creston Parks and Recreation board’s approval. Because of the various issues brought up, the council moved forward to make a new ordinance specific to food trucks.

A committee was put together to meet with food truck owners, restaurant owners and the parks and recreation board on separate occasions to find what each wanted from the ordinance. No final decisions were made before the year’s end, but issues included fees and where food trucks could park.

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The city of Creston has gone through rental housing inspection talks for the entirety of 2023. In April, four months after the city council tabled a proposal to enact a property rental ordinance, meetings were held to inform landlords on the Rental Housing Inspection Program the city planned to go forward with along with the hiring of Jason VanAusdall of Iowa Inspections. Van Ausdall’s company was approved to provide services in May 2022.

Area landlords repeatedly expressed their displeasure with the program and how it was being communicated. Common concerns included the decision to use Iowa Inspections, costs to rental property owners and timing for maintenance. Those in favor of a new ordinance pointed to poor living conditions in town and bringing more people to Creston.

In June, the city council passed an ordinance requiring landlords to register with the city and undergo inspections every three years through an inspector authorized by the city. However, specifics with policy and who would be used for inspections was not formally decided.

The city started discussing changes to the city’s proposed rental housing administrative policy in September, looking at scheduling and checklist items. The policy was kept off the council’s agenda for the rest of 2023 due to the Iowa Public Information Board requiring the formation of a rental housing committee. A committee was formed in late December, made up of councilmembers Jocelyn Blazek, Steve Wintermute and Kiki Scarberry.

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In November, Creston residents elected to change things up, selecting a new mayor and council member for the ensuing years.

Waylon Clayton will replace Gabe Carroll as mayor as Clayton received 606 votes to Carroll’s 590. Carroll was mayor for one term.

In Creston Council seat Ward 4 Martin Graham wins with 61 votes, one more than candidate Sarah Scull with 60. Incumbent Brendalee Lyell-Keate finished with 30.

Incumbent Kiki Scarberry keeps her at-large council seat with 612 votes over contestant Jordan Nelson with 588. According to election results, 1,604 ballots were cast creating a 19% turnout.

Josh Thompson was the only candidate for Ward 2 council and the incumbent. He got 33 votes. Katie Turner, the only candidate for Creston’s park and recreation board, finished with 466 votes.

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Impaired driving arrests were way up this year for the Creston Police Department as proactive patrolling led to 59 OWIs in 2023.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports 30% of all traffic crash fatalities involve drivers with a BAC (blood alcohol content) more than 0.08%. “In every state, it’s illegal to drive drunk, yet one person was killed in a drunk-driving crash every 45 minutes in the United States in 2020,” their website states.

But it’s not just drunk driving the police department is cracking down on. They are getting a lot of other forms of impairment, not just alcohol-related OWIs, but also drugs.

NHTSA reports 56% of drivers involved in serious injury and fatal crashes tested positive for at least one drug. The department has requested samples for drug testing during multiple OWIs this year.