Area students interested in working in the medical field have onlya few more days to apply for a scholarship from the Cass County Memorial Hospital Foundation. The application deadline for the $1,000 Elsie and Louie Hansen Memorial Scholarship is Monday, April 2nd, 2012. To be eligible for a scholarship you must be a Cass County high school graduate who is enrolled in, or has been accepted to and will be attending, a college of nursing or medicine leading to an LPN, RN, or MD degree.

The Louie and Elsie Hansen Scholarship was established through the generosity and careful planning of the two life-long Cass County residents, who believed in students receiving a higher education so much, that they bequeathed over 70% of their estate for that purpose, including a gift to the CCMH Foundation.

Under the supervision and guidance of the CCMH Foundation, scholarship opportunities are provided yearly.  Scholarship candidates must have graduated from a Cass County high school and be enrolled in an accredited nursing or medical doctor school. Applications are available on line at www.casshealth.org or may be picked up from the CCMH Foundation office.

The Iowa State Patrol says an Omaha man was injured during a rollover accident this morning on Interstate 80, in Cass County. Officials say 53-year old John L. Price was transported by Medivac Ambulance to the Cass County Memorial Hospital. Troopers had said earlier, Price was suffering from rib and shoulder pain, after the 1997 Toyota 4-Runner he was driving eastbound on I-80 went out of control at around 8:35-a.m.

The SUV crossed the median and rolled several times before coming to rest on the drivers side on the westbound lanes of I-80, about a mile and a-half east of the Marne exit.

Marne Fire, Atlantic Fire and Rescue and Atlantic Medivac assisted the Patrol at the scene. The accident caused the westbound lanes to be blocked-off for about 70-minutes.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – State medical board regulators say a Council Bluffs doctor violated treatment standards by improperly sedating patients while he worked alone after-hours at his clinic. As a result Michael Prescher’s medical license is suspended for a year and he must pay a $10,000 fine.  Prescher, a pain treatment doctor, was chief of staff at Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs. His privileges to practice there were suspended after some of the women he treated in 2009 and 2010 alleged he sexually abused them while they were sedated at his office.  Police never found evidence of abuse and the medical board says it was not proven.  Prescher’s attorney, David Richter says the suspension is too severe since none of the sex allegations were proven.  Prescher may reapply for a license in December.

The Atlantic Police Department reports 20-year Samantha Wehrli, of Atlantic, was arrested Thursday. Wehrli was taken into custody on a Cass County warrant for 4th Degree Criminal Mischief. The woman was booked into the Cass County Jail.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s unemployment rate has dropped a tenth of a percentage point, to 5.3 percent in February.  A report released Friday by Iowa Workforce Development says the rate was seven-tenths of a point under the year-ago figure of 6 percent. It’s the fourth month in a row the rate has been under 6 percent.  The U.S. unemployment rate remained at 8.3 percent in February.  Director Teresa Wahlert of Iowa Workforce Development says the gain of 8,700 nonfarm jobs last month “reinforced the view that Iowa’s economy is turning the corner.”

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled a Pottawattamie County man who was convicted of murder when he as a teen can challenge his life sentence as cruel and unusual punishment. Jefferey Ragland was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole for his involvement in a 1982 fight in the parking lot of a Council Bluffs store. During the fight, Ragland’s friend Timothy Sieff, struck Mathew Gill in the head with a tire iron and killed him. Ragland tried several appeals which were all rejected. His last appeal said giving him a life sentence was illegal as it was cruel and unusual punishment because he was only 17-years-old at the time of the crime. The district court and Iowa Court of Appeals rejected the cruel and unusual punishment appeal, saying it was a rehash of previous appeals made by Ragland in the case. The Iowa Supreme Court however ruled that the circumstances have changed with court rulings on the cruel and unusual punishment issue, and Ragland should be allowed to pursue that claim in district court. The High Court said however, the cruel and unusual punishment claim is the only avenue of appeal that can be considered in Ragland’s case.

(Dar Danielson/Radio Iowa)

One person suffered apparently minor injuries during a rollover accident this morning on Interstate 80, in Cass County. According to dispatch reports from the Cass County Communications Center, a vehicle rolled into the median off of I-80 westbound, about a mile west of the Marne exit (Mile marker 52). The accident happened at around 8:35-a.m.

State Patrol Troopers on the scene reported the subject suffered from rib and shoulder pain. Atlantic and MarneFire and Rescue were responded to the scene.  The accident resulted in I-80 westbound being blocked for a little more than an hour.

No other details are currently available.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors today (Friday) voted to appoint Cathy Downey, of Atlantic, to fill a vacancy on the County Veterans Affairs Commission. Downey will hold the position to fill the vacancy, for the remainder of a vacancy term created by the resignation on March 21st of VA Commissioner Jerald Putnam, of Griswold. Putnam had served on the Commission for more than 12-years. Downey will serve on the Commission at least until the term ends on June 20th, 2013.

The Board also voted to remove from the Local Emergency Planning Council James C. Wyman, of Griswold, and Chuck Kinen, who passed away last year. They voted to appoint to the LEPC, Kurt Reason (Marne Fire Dept.), along with Supervisors Gaylord Schelling and Mark Wedemeyer.

In other business, the Cass County Supervisors tabled action on a revision to the County’s cellular phone policy, pending further discussion with the various County Department heads, who have not yet had a chance to review the current proposed policy.