DES MOINES – A federal grand jury in Des Moines returned a three-count indictment charging five Des Moines individuals with offenses related to fentanyl trafficking. Among those are Devonte Darnell Hassell, Ryan Redmond, Kevin Stanley Harris, Jr., Andonia Angel Devora, and Ricky Jamall Ellis. All face various federal charges related to the distribution of the drug following arrests on December 18th. Those individuals are connected to search warrants conducted in 13 locations across the Des Moines metro area and featured more than a dozen federal, state, and local police agencies.

IOWA – The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services is reporting the first human case of avian influenza A(H5) in the state. The individual was exposed to infected poultry while working with a commercial flock in northwest Iowa. The person reported mild symptoms, and the case was identified through testing at the State Hygienic Laboratory and confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As of December 20th, the CDC has reported 64 confirmed human cases of H5 HPAI across nine states. The majority of the exposures are linked to infected poultry or dairy cows.

IOWA -No significant travel impacts are anticipated for the coming holiday week, according to the National Weather Service. The main theme will be mild temperatures with highs often in the 30s and 40s. The week will start out dry with the first precipitation chances in the form of light rain or light snow southeast Christmas Day. After that, there will be intermittent slight chances for light rain for Thursday and Friday, but above normal temperatures will keep any impactful wintry precipitation out of the forecast.