(Radio Iowa) – Today (Monday) marks the start of Severe Weather Awareness Week in Iowa, as residents are reminded about some of the hazards that may be coming in the weeks and months ahead. Meteorologist Chad Hahn, at the National Weather Service, says tornadoes are one of the worst risks to lives and property, and last year, we had plenty.  “In Iowa, we had 43 tornadoes observed across the state,” Hahn says. “That’s slightly lower than our normal or average historically, which is right around 50 that we typically observe. Of course, we’ve had some years that we’ve had over 100, so there’s wide variability when it comes to the number of tornadoes.”

Each day this week, there will be a different weather focus. Today, Hahn says, they’re zeroed in on severe thunderstorms.  Hahn says, “We’re talking about what requires a thunderstorm to be considered severe, which is one-inch or larger hail and/or thunderstorm wind gusts in excess of 58 miles per hour.”

Other days this week will center on things like flooding, the difference between a watch and a warning, and how best to stay informed through old-school weather radios or smartphone apps. A statewide tornado drill is scheduled for Wednesday at 10 A-M. Hahn says the weather service is opening a series of storm spotter classes today in Marion County.  “We picked about 20 spots this year, many of them that we haven’t been since before COVID, actually, physically in the location, so we’re excited to get out into the communities that we serve,” Hahn says. “I’m happy to say we’re going to be getting into a lot of the far reaches of our areas of responsibility, including Emmet County, way up in the northwest, all the way down to Taylor County in our southwest.”

Learn more at www.weather.gov/dmx.

(Radio Iowa) – Republicans in the Iowa legislature are proposing an asset test and a new system to conduct frequent income checks for Iowans who’re enrolled in Medicaid or receiving what are commonly known as food stamps. The 34 Republicans in the Senate approved a bill last week to take those steps. Senator Jeff Edler, a Republican from State Center, is chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

“We have a responsibility as elected officials to ensure that tax dollars are being responsibly allocated,” Edler said. “The use of technology for real time verification is critical.” Senator Jason Schultz, a Republican from Schleswig, first proposed more frequent checks for Iowans receiving government assistance in 2019.

“If they do not not meet the standard and they are of higher assets or higher income or have won the lottery,” Schultz says. “I mean that came up in previous years.” Under the Senate-passed bill, Iowans with more than 15-thousand dollars in assets that can quickly be converted to cash, like stocks or a savings account, would no longer be eligible for food stamps.

A vehicle or a house would not be included in the asset calculation. A bill under consideration in the House sets up the same asset test, but also includes a proposed ban on using food stamps to buy pop or candy. Democrats oppose the changes. Senator William Dotzler, a Democrat from Waterloo, says some Iowans qualified to receive food and health care benefits will be kicked off the programs because they won’t have enough time to re-confirm that they’re eligible.

“This is just furthering a fallacy that people are too lazy to work and that they’re on the public dole and, man, we’re feeding kids when we shouldn’t be,” Dotzler said. Senator Sarah Trone-Garriott, a Democrat from Waukee, cites an analysis indicating an estimated 600 Iowa children would lose health care coverage if the bill becomes law.  “It’s really, really important that children do not lose access to these vital programs because these are significant changes,” Trone-Garriott says, “huge changes to the process.”

The House bill on this topic is eligible for debate in the House Appropriations Committee. It would require most adults receiving food stamps or enrolled in Medicaid to work or volunteer 20 hours a week. Iowans who are unemployed, taking care of a family member, pregnant or physically or mentally unable to work would be exempt from the work requirement. Those work requirements are not included in the Senate bill.

(Radio Iowa) – A former Fort Dodge man wanted in connection to a Christmas Day murder in Fort Dodge was arrested in southeast Minnesota Saturday morning. Authorities say Darwin Green is currently being held in the Fillmore County Jail pending local charges as well as a warrant out of Webster County. The Fillmore County Sheriff’s office says deputies and Preston, Minnesota Police officers located Green in a residential garage north of Preston, which is 40 miles north of Decorah.

Authorities issued an alert for Green after he fled a traffic stop in the area on foot on Friday. Green is charged with aiding and abetting first-degree murder of the death of Montreail Dungy in Fort Dodge on December 25th.

Another suspect in the case, Lakendrick Mosley of Des Moines, is also in custody. Mosley was arrested Friday night in the same Minnesota County where Green was arrested Saturday morning.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a traffic stop at around 12:40-a.m. today (Sunday at Highway 48 and 140th Street, resulted in the arrest of 36-year-old Claire Ashly Thalken, of Emerson, for OWI/1st offense. Thalken was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says if a New York District Attorney announces an indictment against former President Trump, it will be a politically charged prosecution. Reynolds says it’s ironic that D.A. is focused on charging a Republican former president of the United States when New York is facing unprecedented crime. Reynolds notes New York and federal prosecutors who had previously investigated Trump’s 130-thousand dollar payment to a porn star declined to press charges.

The governor says Americans are concerned about more pressing issues like inflation, border security and emerging foreign adversaries, while Reynolds says a New York District Attorney appears hellbent on a pursuing a ridiculous case against Trump.

(Griswold, Iowa) – A number of special guests, donors and citizens of Griswold and Cass County turned out Saturday morning for a groundbreaking ceremony, in Griswold. The ceremonial gold spades donated by Henningsen Construction were dug-in just behind and slightly southeast of the $2.3-Griswold Community Schools for the Lakin Child Development Center. Before the honored speakers addressed those in attendance, Miss Christina and Miss Autum’s preschool class donned plastic “hardhats” and carried plastic shovels to sing a couple of songs, including “Bob the Builder.”

Noble Initiative Foundation Board Member and Cass County Supervisor Board Chair Steve Baier gave a brief summary of how the special day was made possible. He said “Go back five years ago. Noble Center Church was facing a very difficult decision: whether to keep the rural churches doors open while facing a declining and aging-out membership, or use the funds they had amassed for a greater purpose: supporting the needs of the community through child care, and support the young families in the community.

The church members ante-up’d $65,000 to get the ball rolling on a daycare center, and a series of community meetings were held with citizens and stakeholders in the project.

Just about the time planned fundraising events and community meetings were set to take place, COVID hit in 2020, leaving the project “adrift,” for about a year, according to Baier. When COVID began to wane, the Board was able to get back to business, and fundraising strategies came back to the forefront. It wasn’t long thereafter nine-acres land for project was negotiated, and donations and grants for the viable project began to pour in.

That includes a $450,000 grant from the State of Iowa, $150,000 from the ARPA Fund provided by the Cass County Board of Supervisors and hundreds of gifts from individuals and organizations from within and outside of the community help push the the total to $1.8-million. Baier said in late 2022, the Charles E. Lakin Foundation stepped-forward with a grant totaling $500,000, which ensured the Initiative had the funds to make the Lakin Childhood Development Center in Griswold, a reality.

Other speakers included: long-time active member of the Griswold community, Shirley Bierbaum. She made a significant donation toward the project; Nick Zimmer, from Red Oak, whose expertise in organizational fundraising and grant writing helped form relationships with several entities and incorporated into the success of the project; and Noble Initiative Board President/City Councilman, Jared Wyman.

Kids dig-in during the groundbreaking!

Afterward, visitors and guests were invited to head outside to witness the groundbreaking by Board members and others, including a special opportunity for the kids to dig-in their shovels. The dirt really went flying when the kids pitched-in.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – A Council Bluffs man was sentenced on March 22, 2023, to a total of 144 months in prison, following his guilty pleas to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and escape.

According to court documents, Keven Leroy Spanel, 59, distributed methamphetamine in the Council Bluffs and Omaha metro areas. In early 2022, Spanel was arrested carrying a firearm, which he used to protect himself and his drug trafficking activities. In July 2022, while on temporary release to attend a doctor’s appointment, Spanel escaped on foot by threatening the transportation driver with a screwdriver. Spanel was apprehended five days later by the Council Bluffs Police Department. After his prison term, Spanel will be on supervised release for five years.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, Council Bluffs Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and United States Marshal Service investigated the case.

(Radio Iowa) Iowa is being downgraded in a non-profit group’s report which ranks the states for public health emergency preparedness. Dr. Nadine Gracia, president and CEO of Trust for America’s Health, says the past year brought many challenges, including the ongoing pandemic, extreme weather events, rises in chronic disease rates, and startling jumps in the number of lives lost to substance misuse and suicide.

“We had 19 states and the District of Columbia in the high performance tier, 16 states in the middle, and 15 states in a low performance tier,” Gracia says. “This year, Iowa did move down a tier. It was in the high performance tier in last year’s report in 2022, and this year, it is now in the middle performance tier.”

Of the ten key categories the report measures in each state, Gracia says Iowa slid back in two of them, though she says those are opportunities for growth over the coming year. “The state no longer has emergency management accreditation, so working to restore that accreditation is an opportunity,” Gracia says. “Also, looking at a factor or an indicator around patient safety and the percentage of hospitals that score at the highest tier with regards to patient safety, that we also saw a decline between 2022 and 2023.”

The report found Iowa excelled in some areas, like in the percentage of Iowans who got their seasonal flu vaccine. Also, the number of Iowans who can take paid time off is higher than the national average. Among the other positives for Iowa. “It has plans in place, for example, to expand its healthcare capacity during times of emergency,” Gracia says. “It also has plans in place to be able to expand its public health laboratory capacity, to increase testing during times of emergency. The state also has public health accreditation, which advances the quality of services that public health departments are providing.”

Iowa also saw improvements in its water safety, according to the report. Gracia says putting a sufficient investment into public health in Iowa and nationwide is vital. “An important recommendation is for Congress as well as state and local governments to ensure that their funding is there and necessary to strengthen our public health infrastructure,” Gracia says, “to be able to modernize our systems, our data systems, our ability to do the communications that are necessary and also to bolster and increase and strengthen a diverse public health workforce.”

The mission statement of Trust for America’s Health is to promote optimal health for every person and community, and make the prevention of illness and injury a national priority. See the full report at: https://www.tfah.org/

(Radio Iowa) – More Iowa high school and middle school students are enrolling in educational programs offering courses directly related to employment in current or emerging occupations.

Dennis Harden oversees the career and technical education area for the Department of Education. “The number of CTE courses continues to increase with 9,643 courses offered in 2022, which was a 7.6% increase from the previous year,” he says. School districts are required to offer at least 12 units of coursework within four of the six CTE service areas.

Harden says all school districts experienced growth in courses with a statewide average of two courses being offered. “The participation rate continues to climb as well, with the participation rate in 2022 being 73.1%,” he says.

(Department of Ed photo)

Harden detailed some of the key areas of student interest. “Our largest CTE service area with 90 programs is applied science, technology, engineering and manufacturing, followed by health science and information solutions, human services, business, and finally agriculture,” Harden says.

CTE programs are delivered through middle schools, high schools, and community colleges, which include state our regional centers.

SHELDON, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety report an arrest has been made in connection with the death of a woman in Sheldon.The suspect, 41-year-old Nathaniel Byron Kessel, of Rock Rapids, Iowa, was taken into custody at around Noon today (Friday), in Flandreau South Dakota. Hessler was arrested on two Iowa: 1 count of felon in possession of a firearm (Class D Felony) and 1 count of murder in the 1st degree (Class A Felony).

Authorities say that at or about 4:00-p.m. Thursday, March 23, 2023, the O’Brien County Communication Center received a 911 call about a deceased female located at 604 4th Ave., in Sheldon. When authorities arrived, they found the female deceased inside her home. Her name was not immediately released. Her death was being treated as a homicide. An autopsy has been scheduled for Saturday March 25, 2023 at the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner, in Ankeny, Iowa.

If you have any information regarding this investigation, please call the Sheldon Police Department at 712-324-2525, or you can call the DCI at 712- 224-7680.

This is an ongoing criminal investigation; no further details or names are being released at this time.