FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – Closing arguments have begun in the case of a northwest Iowa man accused of killing his mother and kidnapping another woman.  The Messenger in Fort Dodge reports attorneys gave closing arguments Thursday in Webster County. Both sides finished presenting evidence Wednesday. Kirk Levin, of Early, is charged with first-degree murder in the January death of Marilyn Schmitt. He also faces third-degree kidnapping for allegedly abducting 21-year-old Jessica Vega, a woman he met online.

Jurors have heard testimony for several days, including from Vega and a law enforcement official who later found Schmitt’s body. On Wednesday, prosecutors showed two videotaped interviews where Levin confessed to killing his mother and kidnapping Vega but also denied it.    Levin declined to testify on his own behalf.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) – Missouri Western State University is offering the equivalent of in-state tuition to students from 51 selected counties in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas and Nebraska, potentially saving them $6,000 per year. The university says its “Griffon Rate” will be in effect this fall. It applies to both undergraduate and graduate tuition, for new and current students. 

Undergraduates taking classes on the main campus in St. Joseph will save about $200 per credit hour. Regular tuition for out-of-state students is $392 per credit hour. The “Griffon Rate” will be roughly $192 per credit hour. Missouri Western says it also will continue to offer scholarships for out-of-state students who meet academic requirements, but the “Griffon Rate” can’t be used in conjunction with them.

About 11-hundred “military federal technicians” who are part of the Iowa National Guard soon will be furloughed one day a week for 11 consecutive weeks, because of the so-called “sequester” cuts in the federal budget. Colonel Greg Hapgood, a spokesman for the Iowa Guard, is one of the employees who will be going without pay for 11 days over those 11 weeks. “A federal technician is in some respects a federal civilian employee Monday through Friday, but they’re also a military member of the Iowa National Guard, for the most part,” Hapgood says. “We do have some that are purely civilian federal technicians, but the vast majority are what we would call dual-status technicians that are both a member of the Iowa National Guard and work for the federal government, for the Department of Defense.”  

The furloughs for those 11-hundred Iowa Guard personnel start July 8th and will end September 30th, which is the last day of the current federal fiscal year. “The 1100 that will be furloughed, the vast majority of those will be either between the headquarters of the Iowa National Guard and also at our Air National Guard units which have a number of technicians in Sioux City, Fort Dodge and also here in Des Moines,” Hapgood says. “But it will be felt in all four corners of the state.” The Iowa Guard has facilities in 43 Iowa communities.”The furloughs will affect, roughly, less than 10 percent of our force, but it will make some of our processes more time-consuming,” Hapgood says. “Things may be slower than usual, whether it’s acquiring logistics or doing personnel actions or the wide variety of things we do with our federal technicians.”  

Hapgood says the Guard will be prepared to deploy whenever activated, regardless of the furloughs. “The Iowa National Guard, though hindered by these furloughs, we still will be able to maintain readiness to the best possible degree and also respond to the state in a timely manner.” The Iowa National Guard dates back to Iowa’s territorial days, with Iowa Militia units forming in 1846 to help fight on the U.S. side in the Mexican War.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with Miller Orthopedic Specialists in Omaha have announced a new physician has joined their staff. Bradley B. Copple, DPM, has joined Dr. Inderjit S. Panesar to create a Podiatry team which will serve the Omaha/Council Bluffs area. Copple is an Omaha native who practiced with Methodist Hospital’s Foot and Ankle Center/Dept. of Orthopedics for four-years, before joining Miller Orthopedic Specialists.

With the latest addition of Dr. Copple, Miller Ortho now has five orthopedic surgeons, a hand and vascular surgeon, and now, two podiatrists who will diagnose and treat patients with pain and conditions related to bones, joints, muscles and tendons.

For more information, or to schedule an appointment, call 402-991-9958, or visit www.millerortho.com.