(Radio Iowa) – A former Plymouth County Deputy Sheriff has been sentenced to up to four decades in prison on theft and burglary charges. Forty-three-year-old Aaron Leusink was accused of stealing prescription pain medication and other property from the evidence room at the sheriff’s department and from two pharmacies as well as homes in the area. Leusink had over 16-hundred pills in his possession when he was arrested in the spring of 2020. Leusink spoke during his sentencing hearing.

“I’ve made some mistakes, your honor…I fully understand all of the people that I’ve hurt,” he said. “I apologize to my co-workers. I haven’t talked to any of them for two years. I had friendships that I didn’t think could be broken, bonds that couldn’t be broken. They were brothers and sisters to me and I violated all of that.” Prosecutor Monty Platz had asked for the maximum penalty on most counts, saying Leusink had betrayed the public trust.

“These crimes were committed almost exclusively either through or with the aide of his badge,” he says, “getting access to homes he otherwise would not have access to.” The former Plymouth County Sheriff, the current sheriff for the county and a deputy sheriff were among several people who gave victim impact statements during Thursday’s hearing. Leusink, who pleaded guilty to 11 different charges, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for first degree burglary, 10 years for second degree burglary and five years for felonious misconduct in office — for a total of 40 years in prison.

Eight other counts for burglary, theft and unlawful possession of prescription drugs will be served concurrently.

(Radio Iowa) – The raffle of an A-R-15 style rifle that had been scheduled this weekend at the Sioux City Bandits indoor football game has been indefinitely postponed. Brett Funke, the team’s marketing and sales director, says plans for the fundraiser began a year ago, after a similar gun raffle on “military night.”

“The rifle that was set to be given away is a fully custom rifle from our partners which is a veterans-owned organization and the company that helped make the rifle is also a veterans-owned organization,” he says. “Our whole intent there was supporting these two partners, but after internal conversations, we decided it would be best to postpone.” Funke says he’s not sure when the riffle raffle will be rescheduled, but now is not the time for it after A-R-15s have been used at recent mass shootings in Buffalo, Texas and Oklahoma.

A Sioux City businessman had threatened to withdraw his sponsorship of the Bandits after comments the team’s owner made to the Sioux City Journal — that complaints about the give-away were from mainly from East Coast residents who drive electric cars and have an overblown obsession with a piece of metal. Funke admits that spurred a social media firestorm. “I would say this gained traction online from people who have no connection to Siouxland or the Bandits organization,” Funke says. Funke says there were no complaints about last year’s fundraiser.

“We were able to give away the rifle last year,” Funke says. “Anybody that would enter had to be of legal age. When the winner was picked they had to go to our partner’s location, which is a licensed firearms dealer, undergo the background check.” The Bandits will still honor veterans at their game Saturday and collect donations for veterans’ causes. Veterans also will be invited to walk around the field at halftime, so the crowd can recognize and applaud the group.

(Radio Iowa) – An employee of the Ameristar Casino in Council Bluffs has been fired for helping a romantic partner gamble on credit. Casino managers reported the incident to state regulators. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission reviewed the case and has fined the casino 10-thousand dollars. Commission administrator Brian Ohorilko says a customer used a credit card to buy food and beverages and added hefty tips for a casino employee who was their dating partner.

“There were three situations that occurred over a two day period with a tip ranging anywhere from $100 to $280,” Ohorilko says. The AmeriStar employee converted the tips to cash and gave it back.  “That customer then used that money to gamble at the casino,” Ohrilko says, “and so that is a violation of Iowa Code.”

Iowa law forbids gambling on credit at the state’s casinos and on sports betting apps. You also have to use cash to buy lottery tickets in Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission had planned to announce the date it would begin accepting applications for a new Iowa casino, but given recent legislative action, that plan was tabled at today’s (Thursday’s) commission meeting.

Late last year, Linn County voters approved a gambling referendum. Earlier this week a group of developers announced plans for a 250-million casino and entertainment complex in Cedar Rapids. But last week the legislature overwhelmingly approved a two-year moratorium that blocks applications for new casino licenses through June 30th of 2024. The governor has not said whether she intends to sign or veto the casino moratorium, but state gambling regulators are proceeding as if it were in force, saying if anything changes, they could open the application window for a Cedar Rapids casino license later.

Cedar Rapids has applied for a state casino license twice before and been denied. The commission cited studies indicating
casinos in Riverside and Waterloo would lose customers to a casino in Cedar Rapids.

MODALE, Iowa — (UPDATED)  Authorities in Harrison County say the body of a missing 20-year-old Omaha woman who went missing when a boat on the Missouri River sank Sunday night has been found. A statement from the Harrison County Emergency Management Agency reads as follows:

(Radio Iowa) – The presidents of the University of Iowa and Iowa State University are each getting a 50-thousand dollar increase in their annual salaries, but the salary for the University of Northern Iowa’s president will remain the same after July 1. The Board of Regents approved the salary hikes late this morning, along with deferred compensation packages for ISU president Wendy Winterstein, Iowa president Barbara Wilson and for UNI president Mark Nook. “We’re very pleased with our university leadership,” said Board of Regents president Michael Richards.

He suggested the extra compensation sends a signal. “We want to continue with the same leadership team,” Richards said, “and this is an indication of our willingness and interest in keeping a steady course as we go forward.”

The board has also approved a $20,000 performance incentive for the superintendent of the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs. Mark Braun, the executive director of the Board of Regents, will be getting a $50,000 retention bonus on July 1 and — if Braun stays in the job for the next year — he’ll get another $50,000 retention bonus on July 1st of 2023.

“Other people say it differently, but I think that we like the team,” Richards said. Mark Nook has been UNI’s leader for over five years. Wendy Winterstein has been ISU’s president since November of 2017. Barbara Wilson was hired last year to lead the University of Iowa.

AMES, Iowa – JUNE 2, 2022 – The Iowa Department of Transportation, Thursday (today) announced $100M in grant awards for Iowa commercial airports. In March, Governor Reynolds announced a historic investment to modernize and strengthen Iowa’s air transportation system through the $100M Iowa Commercial Aviation Infrastructure Fund (ICAIF). The fund aggressively targets some of Iowa’s largest aviation system needs: terminal buildings, parking structures, and hangar infrastructure at commercial service airports. Iowa’s eight commercial service airports were eligible to apply for projects that support modernization and expansion.

All of Iowa’s commercial airports applied, and have been approved for their fully allocated amount announced in the ICAIF program, including:

• Des Moines International Airport: $58.7-million, to construct a 5-story parking garage, a new commercial multi-lane drive adjacent to the parking garage, and complete 30% design phase for the new phased Airport Terminal Project.
• The Eastern Iowa Airport (Cedar Rapids): $28.3-million serves to complete the final phase (Phase 4) of the Terminal Modernization that began in 2014.
• Sioux Gateway Airport: $3.1-million to begin Phase 1 of the North T-hangar Development project with T-hangar buildings.
• Dubuque Regional Airport: $2.7-million to construct a box hangar.
• Waterloo Regional Airport: Nearly $2.2-million to construct a parking lot canopy system for ticketing lane, pay station lanes, as well as parking structure for disabled and high-use parking spaces.
• Mason City Municipal Airport: $1.5-million to construct T-hangar units.
• Fort Dodge Regional Airport: Nearly $1.6-million to construct box hangars.
• And, Southeast Iowa Regional Airport (Burlington): Nearly $1.6-million to construct a box hangar.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Last month, Cass County adopted a Recreational Trails Plan that serves as a guide to expanding recreational opportunities for residents of southwest Iowa. Officials with the Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO), say on an often-overlooked piece of rural infrastructure, bicyclists come into view as they traverse the abandoned rail route that runs between Atlantic and Audubon. Seeing cyclists here is commonplace now—but it didn’t happen by accident. And, according to Nishna Valley Trails President Dave Chase, “The increased relevance of trail networks is a longstanding project, with a goal of connecting folks to nature and giving them more recreational opportunities right here at home.”

Nishna Valley Trail is a nonprofit organization that engages in advocacy of the development of recreational trails, including promoting development of the T-Bone Trail that will connect Atlantic and Cass County to national and state networks of recreational throughways. Chase says also, “It’s hard to understate how the development of these trails brings people together and makes our communities more desirable,” and, “With any desire to expand recreational opportunities comes the need for money,” he says.

With the influx of federal dollars via COVID-19 relief and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the potential for increased investment energizes conversations about the way forward for communities seeking to boost safe outdoor recreation. Last month, with the help of SWIPCO planning professionals, Cass County adopted its 2022 Recreational Trails Plan, a document that lays out plans for trails across the county and in each community—including multi-use pedestrian and bike trails (both paved and un-paved), as well as water trails and equestrian trails. The trail plan provides important context for individuals, government entities, and non-governmental organizations who have an interest in outdoor recreation and non-motorized transportation in the region.

No financial obligations for Cass County are attached to the plan—but the document itself is a crucial piece of a funding puzzle when it comes to state and federal grant opportunities. SWIPCO Planning Technician Dani Briggs says “While this document is largely non-binding and serves as a framework, many grants for trails and recreational development require counties to have an updated trail plan.” Briggs and SWIPCO worked to develop the plan with community stakeholders. She says “The Recreational Trails Plan lets folks know where your community wants to go as they decide whether to fund your proposed projects.” Briggs also notes that the group tasked with writing the Recreational Trails Plan solicited community input in an outdoor recreation survey of Cass County residents, which showed recreational trails among the top-desired amenities by respondents.

Stakeholders involved in the plan’s creation include municipal and county leaders, Cass County Iowa State University Extension, Atlantic Parks and Recreation, Cass County Conservation, Healthy Cass County, Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development, Nishna Valley Trails, and community members who are committed to the development of recreational trails in the region. Over many months, they worked together to identify strengths and opportunities inherent in recreational trail development, seeking community input and, finally, approval from Cass County supervisors—who adopted the plan unanimously. Dave Chase says “This is really a project aimed at bringing people together in a way that’s fair, equitable, and accessible to anyone who wants to experience all of Cass County and southwest Iowa. That’s what it’s all about—taking this wonderful place and making it an even more attractive place to live, work, and raise a family.”

The complete 2022 Cass County Recreational Trails Plan can be found at the Cass County Conservation Office website (https://www.casscountyia.gov/county-departments/conservation-office/) under the Parks/Wildlife Information tab. Printed copies of the trails plan can be found at the Cass County Extension Office (805 W. 10th St. Atlantic, IA 50022), at the public library in Atlantic (407 Poplar St. Atlantic, IA 50022), and at City Hall in Massena (100 Main St. Massena, IA 50853).

(Radio Iowa) – Some Iowa ingenuity will be going into orbit and eventually onto the surface of the Moon. Collins Aerospace in Cedar Rapids is the choice to produce the next generation of spacesuits for American astronauts. Collins officials say their design offers enhanced mobility, they’re lighter than the current suits and will allow for longer missions. The suits are to be used by astronauts working outside the International Space Station and, in the next decade, on the Moon.

Collins Aerospace photo

The suits boast being able to accommodate nearly every body type and they can rapidly incorporate new technologies. Collins also designed the first spacesuits used by Apollo astronauts in the 1960s and ’70s.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a man was arrested on a felony warrant Wednesday afternoon, in Carter Lake. An on-duty Sheriff’s Deputy noticed the male passenger in a 2007 Saturn Ion was violating the seatbelt law, and conducted a traffic stop. As a result, a records checked revealed the passenger, 44-year-old Chad Ray Delezene was wanted for Violation of Probation. He was taken into custody and transported to the Pott. County Jail and later released.

And two people being held in separate Nebraska jails were transported to the Pott. County Jail, Wednesday, to answer to their Iowa charges. 45-year-old Rhonda Kay Tabler was picked-up from the Cass County, NE jail on an outstanding Theft in the 2nd Degree, warrant. 21-year-old Marc Anthony Aviles, of Council Bluffs, was taken into custody at the Sarpy County, NE, Jail, on a warrant for Violation of Probation.