(Des Moines, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau said Tuesday, 32-year-old Patrick Dilworth was sentenced to suspended term five-years in prison, Monday (August 7, 2023), after pleading guilty to two Felony counts of Fraudulent Insurance Submissions, and one count of Theft in the 3rd degree (an Aggravated Misdemeanor). The charges were the result of an investigation by the  Bureau in September 2022, when the Bureau received information implicating Dilworth, in a series of fraudulent insurance claims across multiple companies. The investigation determined Dilworth falsified injury reports and accompanying documentation to gain monetary benefits to which he was not entitled.

Patrick Dilworth was taken into custody by the Johnson County Sheriff’s office on July 15, 2023. Dilworth’s 5-year suspended sentence will be served concurrently with 3-years of supervised probation and a suspended fine of $1,025, for two of the counts. Additionally, Dilworth received a 2-year suspended sentence, to run concurrently with a suspended fine of $855, for the remaining count. Dilworth was also ordered to pay restitution.

Photo courtesy of the Johnson County Sheriff’s office.

Iowans with information about insurance fraud are encouraged to contact the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau at 515-654-6556.

(West Des Moines, Iowa) – Children in 47 communities across Iowa will now be able to further develop their skills in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) thanks to a donation from the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation. As part of its Henry’s Heroes Program, the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation recently delivered 50 STEM carts to 50 public libraries across Iowa. Iowa Select Farms employees nominated their hometown libraries to receive the carts to empower kids to be future innovators, creators and leaders. (See the list of AREA libraries receiving STEM carts, below. Find the full list HERE.)

STEM carts include a variety of STEM toys and kits that encourage organic and structured play grounded in science, technology, engineering and math concepts. For older kids, STEM pairs academic concepts with real-world applications to make connections between school and careers. The 543 public libraries across Iowa serve as free, trusted and welcoming gathering places that support children, families and communities. Iowa consistently ranks in the top five states for its number of public libraries.

The list of area libraries that received STEM carts includes:

Adel Public Library, Adel
Early Public Library, Early
Mount Ayr Public Library, Mount Ayr
Murray Public Library, Murray
Orient Public Library, Orient
Schleswig Public Library, Schleswig

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak have arrested a woman on an assault charge. Authorities say 20-year-old Kaydence Reanne Fussel was arrested this (Wednesday) morning in the 400 block of E. Joy Street, for Simple Assault. Fussel was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The State Historical Society of Iowa’s mobile museum is hitting the road again as it continues its journey to all 99 Iowa counties. Housed in a custom-built Winnebago, the 300-square-foot museum on wheels launched in 2017 and completed its first 99-county tour in 2019, making 175 stops along the way and attracting nearly 65,000 visitors, including 11,400 students. The current exhibition, “Iowa History 101: Iowa’s People & Places,” debuted in 2021 and will continue its 99-county journey through the end of this year.

The public is invited to take free self-guided tours of the mobile museum during Farmers Market at Exira City Park at 100 East Washington Street in Exira, on Friday, August 18th, from 4-until 6-p.m. State Historical Society of Iowa Administrator Susan Kloewer said “This traveling exhibit has been a huge success because it shares Iowa history in towns across the entire state, and Iowans are eager to have that experience in their communities. We’re grateful to our community hosts and generous sponsors who are helping make this next 99-county tour possible.”

The exhibition shares stories from Iowa’s past with an eclectic array of artifacts from the State Historical Museum of Iowa’s permanent collection, plus a video narrated by former WOI-TV host Jackie Schmillen. Guests will see iconic artifacts that reflect the role of Iowans in state, national and international events, including a Meskwaki cradleboard representing the past and continued presence of Native nations in Iowa. They’ll also see women’s suffrage materials from the early 1900s and the pen used by Iowa Governor William Harding to sign Iowa’s resolution in support of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

IA Mobile museum 2023

Other artifacts include a menu from a dinner held in Des Moines for Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, in 1959, as well as photos of a southeast Asian refugee and Sudanese women in central Iowa, and a flight suit that southern Iowa native and accomplished astronaut Peggy Whitson wore during one of multiple expeditions (totaling 665 days) aboard the International Space Station. State Curator Leo Landis said “These images and objects remind us of the role Iowans played in global events. It’s easy to overlook the significant contributions Iowans have made in promoting equality and liberty, but this exhibit can inspire all Iowans to understand and appreciate our past and promote these values.”

EMC Insurance Companies sponsored the first tour and renewed its support for the new exhibition. The idea for the mobile museum emerged in 2014 from a series of community conversations. Iowans care deeply about history and made it clear they wanted new ways to access the State Historical Museum’s resources. Iowans may request a visit from the mobile museum for their local schools, libraries, museums, community festivals, county fairs and other places where people gather. Visits are complimentary and the tours are self-guided.

More details are available at history.iowa.gov. Iowans can also follow the mobile museum’s statewide journey on Facebook at facebook.com/IowaHistory. The traveling exhibition presenting sponsor is EMC Insurance Companies and fuel sponsor is Casey’s. Additional partner support is provided by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Winnebago Industries, Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company and Mike Wolfe.