[Kansas City, MO] — Every year, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Region 7, which includes Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, partners with local communities to hold Child Passenger Safety Week, which runs this year from September 15-21. The annual safety week ends with National Seat Check Saturday (September 21), a day for parents and caregivers to receive free instruction on how to correctly install and use the right car seats for their children. There are many locations throughout the region that will be offering free car seat inspections by certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians. Find out if an event or technician is available in your community by visiting www.nhtsa.gov/CarSeatInspection. Technicians will check car seats, let caregivers know if their children are in the right seats for their ages and sizes, and show them how to install the right seats correctly.

“Unfortunately, many parents are overconfident about their car seats,” said Regional Administrator Susan DeCourcy. “They think they are protecting their kids, but statistically, nearly half of car seats are either the wrong seat for the child’s age and size, or the seats are installed incorrectly. That puts children at risk.”

According to NHTSA, motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for children. Every day in 2022, an average of three children 13 and younger were killed in crashes, and another 429 were injured. “We know parents love their kids,” added DeCourcy, “so they’ll do everything in their power to protect them. An easy way to do that is to double-check their car seats — it’s worth making sure.”

In 2022, almost half (49%) of the children killed while riding in light pickup trucks were unrestrained, followed by SUVs (38%), passenger cars (34%), and vans (12%). NHTSA wants caregivers to know that it’s never safe to ride unbuckled in a passenger vehicle — no matter how short the trip or how big the vehicle. Bigger vehicles don’t protect child passengers, but properly used car seats, booster seats, and seat belts do.

When it comes to child passengers, there is a correctly sized seat for every age and developmental stage — from infants to teens. Whether it’s a rear-facing car seat, a forward-facing car seat installed with a tether, a booster seat, or a seat belt, a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician can put parents’ minds at ease by discussing correct car seat selection and showing them how to correctly install that seat in their vehicle. Children should stay in each seat and position until they outgrow those limits, and it’s important for all children under 13 to ride in the back seat.

If the allotted times on Saturday don’t work for your schedule, but you’d still like to have your car seats checked, find out if a technician is available in your community by visiting this helpful website from NHTSA. You can even filter your search results by Spanish-speaking technicians, virtual appointments, and Child Passenger Safety Week events. NHTSA.gov also has free resources available to caregivers. Learn about the different car seat types, read NHTSA’s research-based recommendations, and find and compare car seats.

It’s also important for caregivers to register their car seats with the manufacturer so they can be notified in the event of a recall. Download NHTSA’s SaferCar app, which allows users to save their vehicle, car seat, and tire info in a virtual garage. If any of the saved equipment is included in a safety recall, the app will send a notification.

For more information on child car seat safety, as well as how to find other car seat check events, go to www.nhtsa.gov/therightseat.

(Spencer, Iowa) – A collision at around 8:45-a.m. today (Wednesday) in northwest Iowa, claimed the life of a man from Clay County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2006 Harley Davidson motorcycle operated by 54-year-old Douglas Wayne Nielsen, of Everly, ran into the rear of a 2013 Chrysler Town and Country Van, causing Nielsen to be thrown from cycle. Nielsen was then struck by a pickup truck.

The accident happened as the motorcycle and van were traveling east on 350th Street in Clay County. Nielsen died at the scene. No other injuries were reported. The Patrol was assisted by the Clay County Sheriff’s Officer, Fostoria Fire Dept., and Spencer Fire/Ambulance.

(Radio Iowa) – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment accusing 18 people from five states, including Iowa, with bank fraud and money laundering. Court documents list seven Iowa credit unions as victims of the nationwide scheme. The defendants are accused of depositing at least 10 MILLION dollars worth of stolen business checks. Prosecutors say they registered sham businesses with state and federal agencies that were identical or similar to the names of the legitimate business, then deposited the checks in accounts under those alternative business names. According to the U-S Attorney based in Des Moines, the group was able to withdraw at least two MILLION dollars from those fraudulent accounts. At least a dozen businesses in the U-S and Canada and 14 banks and credit unions were victims.

The names of the defendants are listed in court documents, but their addresses are not listed, so it’s unclear which defendants are from Iowa. The credit unions named include:

• Ascentra Credit Union
• Collins Community Credit Union
• Financial Plus Credit Union
• Greater Iowa Credit Union
• GreenState Credit Union, and
• Veridian Credit Union.

(Shelby, Iowa) – The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency says “Due to the continuation of the discolored water, the City of Shelby is under a bottled water advisory until sample results become available. Tap Water can be used for bathing and other uses, but bottled water should be used for drinking, food prep, and similar uses. Bottled water will be provided to the Citizens of Shelby at the west side of the FireHall today after 10 am, 2 cases per family.”

Residents of Shelby have been dealing with pink-colored water caused by high levels of manganese since Sept. 7th. The water has also been brown at times, according to some residents.

Shelby’s water supervisor, Chad Gordon, told KETV in Omaha, the discolored water began appearing when two of the town’s four water pumps didn’t re-engage. He said the water flow was cut in half, but the chemicals treating the water weren’t. On Sept. 8, the City said on social media, that an excess of potassium permanganate accounts for the unusual color, but the water has been tested and is safe to drink.

In February, the water in Shelby was undrinkable due to high levels of manganese.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa-born astronaut Peggy Whitson is scheduled to command another two-week mission to the International Space Station next year. At 64 years old, Whitson is considered America’s most experienced astronaut. The Beaconsfield native flew on three NASA long-duration space flights and the Axiom 2 Mission in May of last year. She’s spent a total of 675 days in space, more than any other U-S astronaut or woman astronaut in the world.

Peggy Whitson (Axiom photo)

The next Axiom mission, AX-4, will use a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and a Dragon spacecraft, launching from Florida. Whitson’s commanding an international crew of four, with the other three astronauts hailing from India, Poland and Hungary. Axiom says the mission will emphasize scientific research, technology demonstrations, and the commercialization of space.

Axiom has not released a specific date for the launch, only saying it’ll be in the spring of 2025.

(Radio Iowa) – A Norfolk, Nebraska organization delivered 15 sets of washers and dryers to Sioux City Tuesday for families who lost those appliances in the flooding. The Community Action Agency of Siouxland is coordinating recovery efforts and Katie Logan is part of the agency’s long-term recovery group. “We have been working for the past couple months to help all victims of the flood figure out what their unmet needs are and get them connected to the resources,” she says. “We are very fortunate that Orphan Grain Train reached out to us right away when the flood hit our area.” She says they told the Orphan Grain Train they had several families that needed washer and dryers and they quickly responded.

Logan says they are still taking requests for items to help flood victims. “Our long term recovery group will be banded together for as long as it takes us to get everybody taken care of. I urge any family that still has an unmet need in our county to please call us at the Community Action Agency of Siouxland and we will get them hooked up with whatever they might need,” she says. Logan says other requests have come in for refrigerators, freezers, lawn mowers, drywall and insulation from flood victims.

Woodbury County residents can contact the Community Action Agency of Siouxland to seek help.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Auditor Kathy Somers reports the Cass County Board of Supervisors will attend an Economic Development and Community Planning meeting, Thursday morning. The meeting takes place at the Whitney Building (222 Chestnut Street), beginning at 10-a.m.

Somers says there may be a quorum of the Board present, but no deliberations among the Board members, or action, will be taken.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Adair County, today (Wednesday), approved a request from Adair County Auditor Mandy Berg, for a wage increase, as it pertains to Maintenance Worker Scott Roberts. The increase brings his hourly wage to $20.67.

The Board also approved publishing of the Adair County FY 24 CASH Annual Financial Report. Auditor Mandy Berg…

The Supervisors authorized Board Chair Jerry Walker to sign the final pay voucher for the N-17 (Richland Township) Culvert Project, in the amount of $132,425.
And, they heard a weekly report from Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman, who said a crew will be in the county the next couple days applying pavement markings on various highways.

The Adair County Engineer’s Office and Secondary Roads Department asks residents to be patient and give the road painting crews some space, and avoid passing the paint truck if possible to prevent paint transfer.

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Des Moines businessman pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography. Officials with the U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, said today (Wednesday), that according to public court documents, 61-year-old Jeffrey Walter Gray created and possessed child sexual abuse material. Gray, from as early as approximately 2005 to at least approximately 2016, used minors to produce child sexual abuse material. Some of the material was created at the photography business Gray owned and operated in the Des Moines area—Wicked Imagery.

The material included images from hidden cameras placed in the changing rooms at Wicked Imagery to capture videos and/or images of minor children undressing. In November 2023, investigators recovered a hard drive which was later determined to contain child sexual abuse material, including at least fifteen minor victims, from Gray’s residence.

Gray is scheduled to be sentenced on January 8, 2025, and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and maximum sentence of 30 years for the sexual exploitation charge. Gray also faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the possession of child pornography charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the United States sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case with the assistance of the Des Moines Police Department. The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc. For information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the resources tab.

(Radio Iowa) – There’s big excitement over tiny turtles in central Iowa. A new program pairs the Iowa D-N-R, Iowa State University and Des Moines’ Blank Park Zoo to raise what are known as Blanding’s turtles, a species native to Iowa that’s classified as globally endangered. Chris Eckles, the zoo’s chief engagement officer, says trained I-S-U students have tagged several turtles with radio transmitters and any pregnant turtles the students find are brought to the zoo. “We’ll then do an x-ray on the turtles to see how many eggs there are, and then we will induce her and have her lay her eggs here at the zoo,” Eckles says. “As soon as she’s done with that, we give the female back to the Iowa State student to take back to where they found that turtle — that’s really important to go back to where they know is home.”

Blank Park Zoo photo

Four pregnant turtles were recently found and their eggs were incubated, which produced a crop of 57 baby turtles. They’re all being cared for at the zoo, for now. “They have little containers that they’re in, like a little setup of water and food and all that sort of stuff, and they are marked so we know who came from what mother, so that we know when we put them back in the wild, we know that we’re going to put them back in the area where the female was found,” Eckles says. “So they have little markers on them, so we can identify who goes where.” The dozens of turtles will be set free next spring in the spots where their mothers were discovered. The turtles were about the size of a quarter when they hatched, and they’ll be about three to four inches in diameter when released.

“It was very exciting when they hatched. I think we were all just very giddy. It just feels good that we can have some success, knowing that hopefully we can add population back to Iowa, and hopefully get them back into a rebound situation and bring the populations back up,” Eckles says. “There’s a lot of bad news out there some days, and then this is one of those days where you feel really good about what we do and why we do it, and it makes our mission really matter.”

Releasing 57 turtles from four mothers is a big deal, Eckles says, as adults in the wild typically will only be able to raise one or two hatchlings to adulthood. Some of them may live as long as 70 years.