Author: Yorke Prough

A highspeed pursuit swept through Keokuk before continuing through Illinois on Sunday morning. At approximately 10:02 am, an officer with the Keokuk Police Department initiated a traffic stop on a Chevrolet near North 5^th Street and Grand Avenue. The driver of the vehicle was identified by the officer as Travis E. Scott, 45, of Keokuk. Scott was known by the officer to have active felony arrest warrants as well as a suspended driving status.

Scott would ignore visual and audible emergency signals, leading the officer on a pursuit into Illinois. Illinois authorities were requested to provide assistance. The pursuit would continue on North Highway 96 into Nauvoo, before Scott would then reverse course, traveling back towards Keokuk on North Highway 96.

The pursuit would continue back to the Keokuk/Hamilton bridge. The highest speed reported during the pursuit was 90 miles per hour.

Another Keokuk officer successfully deployed a tire deflation device on the vehicle driven by Scott on the Iowa side of the Keokuk/Hamilton bridge, significantly disabling the vehicle and preventing the vehicle from continuing at high speeds. Scott would continue on Main Street, colliding with a vehicle at 7th and Main Street. There were no injuries reported at the time of that collision.

Scott would continue to 8th and Main, striking one of the Keokuk Police Department squad cars, causing damage. Scott would then turn north on North 8th Street, where he would eventually lose control of the vehicle, striking a stop sign at Grand Avenue. As officers boxed the suspect vehicle in, Scott would strike another Keokuk squad car in an attempt to flee, causing significant damage. Officers were able to take Scott into custody at that time.

Certified narcotics K9 Officer Zsolt was deployed, performing a free-air sniff on the outside of the suspect vehicle. Zsolt would alert on the vehicle, resulting in the vehicle being searched by law enforcement for illegal narcotics. Items that support the charges were collected.

Scott is charged with Driving While Suspended, a simple misdemeanor; Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, a simple misdemeanor; Possession of a Controlled Substance 2nd Offense (Marijuana), a serious misdemeanor; Possession of a Controlled Substance 2nd Offense (Methamphetamine), an aggravated misdemeanor; Interference With Official Acts Causing Bodily Injury, a serious misdemeanor; Eluding, a class D felony; a felony warrant for Escape From Custody out of Des Moines County; and a felony warrant for Violation of Probation out of Lee County. Scott was also cited for various traffic offenses related to this incident.

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, Hamilton Police Department, Fort Madison Police Department, Lee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Lee County Consolidated Dispatch assisted the Keokuk Police Department during this investigation.

An arrest is merely an accusation supported by probable cause; all defendants are presumed innocent unless convicted in a court of law.

Wapello Fire and Rescue have been busy. A fire from Sunday continued into Monday afternoon, where they requested the assistance of the Morning Sun Fire Department.

Called to an area along US 61 north of Wapello, fire crews found that the high winds yesterday caused the fire from Sunday to grow. While contained to an area, fire crews worked tirelessly to ensure it did not spread to the adjacent grassland.

Fire crews remained on scene for approximately four hours. This fire will continue to burn in the timber and firefighters will continue to monitor the situation in an attempt to prevent the fire from spreading further. High winds and changing wind directions in the upcoming days could complicate these efforts.

While crews were on scene at the US 61 fire, an additional fire was reported in the area of Klum Lake Wildlife Management Area. Wapello Fire and Rescue was requested to respond for automatic mutual aid. An attack truck and a fire engine cleared the US 61 scene and arrived on scene to find a grassland area and wooded fencerow on fire. The high winds were causing the fire to rapidly spread into a wooded area. Fire crews quickly controlled the fire from further spreading into the densely wooded area. Additional crews from Grandview and Fruitland arrived on scene and assisted in extinguishing the remaining fire.

This fire was possibly caused by an improperly discarded cigarette. Wapello Fire crews cleared this scene and responded back to US 61 to assist the remaining crews on that scene. All units were back at base by 6:00 PM.

Conditions are extremely dry and it’s going to take a large precipitation event to change that. We are empathetic to those who need to perform prescribed land management burns but ask that you please avoid burning during periods of high winds or when high winds are forecast before your fire is completely extinguished.

After a report of an overturned truck in a ditch, the Mount Pleasant Police Department and Henry County Sheriff’s Department responded to the intersection of E Harvest Drive and S Locust St.

Upon arrival, a Ford Pickup was found lying in the ditch with an unconscious male inside the vehicle. The male, identified as Colton Atchley of Mount Pleasant, became conscious and was assisted out of the overturned truck. He was then transported to the Henry County Health Center for assessment.

Upon investigation, it was determined that Colton had been operating the vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, lost control, and rolled into the ditch. He was then taken into custody after being released from HCHC.

Colton Atchley was charged with Operating While Intoxicated 3^rd Offense and Driving While Barred. He received citations for failure to maintain control and failure to provide proof of financial liability/accident.

The Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) will present the following Welcome to Medicare seminars at Great River Health locations. The seminars will cover:

• Medicare Parts A and B benefits
• Prescription drug benefits (Part D)
• Medicare Advantage plans
• Medicare supplement insurance
• Identifying Medicare fraud, errors and abuse

The seminars will be offered at these times and locations:

Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center, Fort Madison

Wednesday, March 22, 2024 – Registration deadline: Wednesday, March 13, 2024.

10 to 11:30 a.m.

Willard and Canella Conference Room(s)

5445 Avenue O, Fort Madison (lower level-east side of building)

To make a reservation, call 319-768-3342.

Henry County Health Center, Mount Pleasant

Tuesday, April 2, 2024 – Registration deadline: Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Wednesday, June 5, 2024 – Registration deadline: Wednesday, May 22, 2024

6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Health Education Center

407 White Street, Mount Pleasant

To make a reservation, call 319-385-6774.

If you were planning on burning today, put that on the backburner. A Red Flag Warning is in effect from 9:00am to 6:00pm, with a Do Not Burn Warning. Very low humidity, gusty winds, and warm temperatures in the 70s (record highs) will lead to very high to extreme fire behavior.

From record highs to snow in just one day, that’s the Midwest. A strong cold front will move in Tuesday night, with a possible dusting of snow and cold wind chills.

So a recap, do not burn today due to that red flag warning, but enjoy the beautiful weather in the 70s this afternoon. Tomorrow, you can burn, but you might have to bundle up in layers to do so due to the temperature reaching into the teens.