(Neola, Iowa) – Fire fighters are battling a field fire this (Tuesday) afternoon, near Neola. KJAN listener Zach Ploen provided us with a view from the Tri-Center Neola High School. He said it was across I-80 and making its way east. The closest towns are Minden and Neola. Minden Fire was enroute to the scene early today.

Photo courtesy Zach Ploen.

(Radio Iowa) – Retailers are facing a dilemma with their return policies as the holiday shopping season is upon us. I-S-U assistant professor of supply chain management, Robert Overstreet, says return policies that are too restrictive can turn off customers. He cites online retailer L.L. Bean’s decision 2018 to change the return policy that allowed you to bring something back with or without a receipt. “They just changed it to one year with a receipt,” he says. “…I think I’m a rational person and that seems fair — but they receive quite a backlash for that decision.” Overstreet says L-L Bean made the change after they found some people were taking advantage of the policy.

“What had happened is people would go to thrift stores and find things and return for it credit. Or dumpster dive. One article said people were dumpster diving, ” he says. Overstreet says increased costs and supply chain backups now have focused attention again on return policies. “Things flow really well out toward the customer. I mean, we in supply chain, we’re really good at that. But trying to get stuff back into the supply chain is harder, it’s more expensive,” he says, “we don’t know what’s coming back, we don’t know what shape it’s in, we don’t know if it can be resold.” Overstreet says some companies figure in the cost of returns in their sales — but many can’t. He says some retailers have decided to deal with it in another way. “I was just reading an article recently where companies are just not even taking the material back, just giving the person a refund, and allowing them to keep the material because it’s just cheaper to do that and then take it back into the system,” Overstreet says.

He says has says having overly lenient return policies in an effort to get customers can backfire. “What it did is it took all of the burden of the purchase decision away from the consumer and place it on the retailer because he made a bad choice, you didn’t have to pay for that,” Overstreet says. He thinks such policies will be an incentive to people who already are abusing the system. “And I think what’s going to happen with those we allow you to keep the item even though you’re using it have used it may actually continue to use it but you’re claiming you want to return it that’s going to create a whole new issue and people act in bad faith and says ‘I’ll just keep it for free, tell them I want to return it. I’m just gonna keep it anyway,” he says.

The National Retail Federation says if consumer habits mirror previous years, 20 to 30 percent of the merchandise they buy this holiday season will be returned.

(Griswold, Iowa) – The Griswold School Board has two, upcoming Work Sessions on different topics. During the first session on Monday, December 5th at 5:30-p.m., the Board will meet in the Conference Room, with the purpose of developing an action plan that supports their 2022-23 Board of Education goals. The second work session will be held 4:30-p.m. Monday, Dec. 19th. The Board will gather in the Conference Room and proceed to tour the District’s facility, with the purpose of conducting a facilities assessment.

(Wright County, Iowa) – A collision a little after 7-a.m. today (Tuesday) in northern Iowa, claimed three lives. All three of the victims were occupants of a 2007 BMW 525 that collided with a 2020 Mack tractor-trailer. The accident happened at the intersection of Hancock Avenue and 160th Street, north of Holmes. The Iowa State Patrol said the victims died upon impact with the truck. The driver of the semi, 20-year-old Braxton William Matthew Murphy, of Eldora, was not injured.

At this point, only one of the victims have been identified. That person was 27-year-old Jorge Marih Lopez-Lopez, of Britt. He was wearing a seat belt. It’s not known if the remaining victims were wear a seat belt, and we also don’t know who was driving the car.

The crash remains under investigation.

(Shenandoah, Iowa) – Officials with the Shenandoah Police Department reports numerous recent arrests. Beginning with the latest arrest:

Police on Monday (11/21) arrested 54-year-old Curtis Arthur Blacketer, of Oklahoma City, OK, at around 12-p.m.  He was taken into custody for Public Intoxication and Disorderly Conduct, following a call about a disturbance in the 1000 block of 7th Avenue, in Shenandoah. Blacketer was unable to post a $600 bond, and was being held in the Page County Jail.

Last Saturday, Shenandoah Police arrested 34-year-old Brent Allen Neal, of Shenandoah, on a charge of OWI/2nd offense, following an investigation into an accident that occurred at around 10-a.m., near the corner of Southwest Road and South Fremont Street. Neal was unable to post the required $2,000 bond, and was transported to the jail.

On the 18th of November, Shenandoah Police were called to the Casey’s General Store at around 1:30-p.m., following a reported theft. An investigation resulted in the arrest on a charge of Theft in the 5th Degree, of 34-year-old Elizabeth Rose Anderson, from Shenandoah. She posted a $300 bond and was released with a court date.

The previous day (11/17), at around 1-p.m., Shenandoah Police were called to the 100 block of South Center Street, for a disturbance. An investigation resulted in the arrest of 90-year-old Douglas Dean McGinnis, of Shenandoah. He was charged with Harassment in the 3rd Degree, and served with a summons to appear in court.

And, finally, on Nov. 16th at around 1:45-a.m., Officers in Shenandoah conducted a traffic stop in the 2000 block of Highway 59. They arrested 28-year-old Amber Jaye Fichter-Harris, of Shenandoah, for Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Unlawful Possession of a prescription drug, as well as possession of paraphernalia. Fichter-Harris was unable to post a $2,300 bond, and was booked into the Page County Jail.

“All charges are merely allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.”

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday morning, held a Public Hearing on a proposed amendment to Zoning, changing McCunn Specialty Firearms, LLC near Massena, from Business District to Light Industrial, for the purpose of assembling certain firearms. There were no comments from the public. Zoning Administrator Rich Hanson.

Hansen noted that the Cass County Zoning Commission has already given its approval for the change. Brice McCunn explained in additional detail, what kinds of services they would, and would not be offering, with regard to the assembly of weapons.

He said they don’t have any interest at this time in machining a gun or related components, but that could change sometime in the future.

Since there was no Resolution for action today’s (Tuesday’s) agenda, the Board agreed to meet approximately 10:45-a.m. Wednesday to pass a Resolution approving the change in zoning. In other business, West Central Community Action Executive Director Wendy Mueller provided the Board with an Annual Report, and a request for funding of $4,500, which is a $500 over last year. She said they have not asked the County for an increase, since 2016,

Mueller said the demand for assistance has increased substantially since the advent of Covid, and it has not waned. For Fiscal Year 2022…

West Central provided Head Start school readiness and other services for low income families with children who are between 3- and 5-years of age. The also handle child care resource and referral services.

She said in 22 Fiscal Year, they had 192 enrolled in child care at 12 home providers who participate in the program. One of the problems is finding affordable child care. Board Chair Steve Baier says next Monday, ground breaking will take place in Griswold for the 88-hundred square-foot Noble Initiative Foundation daycare center. Noble Initiative is a 501(c)3 non-profit agency.

(Radio Iowa) – Around eight in ten nursing home residents on Medicare received psychotropic drugs during the past decade, according to a watchdog report from U-S Health and Human Services that was requested by Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley. He says he’s “very disturbed” by the report. “It shows that just an overwhelming number of people in nursing homes are on psychotropic drugs,” Grassley says, “and I don’t think that it’s justified and I think that there’s overuse of it.” The report covered the years between 2011 and 2019. Grassley says nursing home residents deserve to be “treated with dignity” and their loved ones ought to have the confidence that nursing homes are appropriately prescribing medicines.

“If it was given to people because they just wanted to keep people quiet,” Grassley says, “it seems to me an inhumane thing to do.” Grassley says the Inspector General report “confirms many of our fears” that serious medications are being administered “without appropriate diagnoses or oversight.” He says the report makes it clear that more needs to be done to protect nursing home residents.

Link to the full report:
https://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/OEI-07-20-00500.asp?hero=psychotropic-nursing-home-hero