The latest area News with KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Motorists may not exactly be driving “Over the river and through the woods” to get to grandma’s house in time for Thanksgiving, but one thing is certain…they seem to be in a real hurry. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Ryan DeVault, in Council Bluffs, told KJAN News, he and his colleagues are frustrated by the ever increasing number of excessive speeders.

He says there can be consequences (besides a speeding ticket) for persons traveling in excess of 20-to 50 miles per hour over the posted limit. “The chances for serious injury and death at that point goes through the roof at those kinds of speeds,” he says.

ISP District 3 Trooper Ryan DeVault (Ric Hanson, photo)

Trooper DeVault says “Driving needs to be the most important thing. If you’re behind the wheel of a car, that’s your only responsibility.” He says they try and drill that concept into the cadets at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy when they are in training.

He said “time management” is something most drivers need to do a better job of, when getting from Point A to Point B and back.

DeVault said also, drivers should be on the lookout for deer, and even though it’s a natural reaction to want to “Veer for the Deer,” don’t.

He says hitting the deer (or other animal), is better than you ending up with serious injuries or death in by trying to avoid the collision.

(Radio Iowa) – NASA is releasing a video of Iowa native astronaut Raja Chari and four of his crewmates aboard the International Space Station as they prepare for Thanksgiving in orbit. Chari, who grew up in Cedar Falls, says he’ll be keeping alive a tradition with his wife and kids tomorrow (Thursday) even though he’s some 250 miles up and moving at nearly five miles a second.

The 44-year-old Air Force colonel and three other astronauts lifted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 10th, two weeks ago today.

Raja Chari (Photo via nasa.gov)

Daily exercise is vital in the weightless environment of the space station and previous residents have used this holiday to re-create a 5-K run after their meal, since they can’t easily go outside for a walk.

In the video aired on NASA-TV, Chari appears upside down as he sorts through the clear plastic packets of freeze-dried food which they’ll fill with hot water for their Thanksgiving dinner. Chari and German crewmember Matthias Maurer, an astronaut with the European Space Agency, discovered a treasure trove of edible goodies.

This is Chari’s first space mission and the plan is for him and his crew to be aloft six months.

See the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K66Nb8Jw9Q&t=137s

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court rules against a group of inmates at the Newton prison who said their constitutional rights were violated by a delay in getting sex offender treatment need to be considered for parole. The ruling says the Iowa Department of Corrections has not postponed treatment in order to delay parole. It says it is a numbers problem where there are more male sex offenders in Iowa’s prison system than spots available for treatment.

Newton Correctional Facility (Iowa DOC photo)

The ruling notes the Corrections Department has been actively addressing the need for sex offender treatment by increasing the number of classes and counselors. And says prioritizing the admission to treatment based on the tentative discharge date is a reasonable way to decide when a prisoner gets admitted to treatment.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Medicare sign-up period is once again underway, and that means scams related to Medicare are making a come back. The Atlantic Police Department, Tuesday, issued a warning to residents about a Medicare scam, whereby the person calling pretends to be with Medicare and already has the name and phone number of the potential victim. The caller then reads off a Medicare number for the potential victim to verify. A-PD says “This is a bogus number and they ask you to read them your actual Medicare number.”

The scammer threatens the potential victims’ Medicare will be denied if you don’t provide them with the number. “The caller has been trying to use these scare tactics to get your personal information,” according to Chief Dave Erickson. “They tell the potential victim that they need to replace their current paper card with a plastic card with a magnetic strip.”

Erickson warns “Do not give out any personal information over the phone or computer.”

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported following a collision Tuesday evening, in Elliott. The accident happened a little before 6-p.m. at 110th and Elm Streets. Officials say one vehicle was stopped in the westbound lane and preparing to turn left to head south, when the second vehicle struck the first from behind. Deputies determined the second driver was distracted by the use of their cell phone, prior to the collision. Because both drivers were minors, their names were withheld by the Sheriff’s Department.

Authorities remind drivers to “please don’t use your handheld devices while driving, and to always remain aware of your fellow travelers and yourselves.”

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, Tuesday, announced this year’s annual Scrooge Contest brought in a record amount of food and cash, with contestants raising the money and collecting non-perishable food items for the Atlantic Food Pantry. This year there were 2,299 items of food donated and $24,177.25 in cash.

The recording-breaking year was capped-off with a last minute donation from Atlantic Bottling Company. Ray Paulin with Atlantic Bottling was named this year’s Scrooge. Paulin collected 401 food items and $8,621 in cash (total points 43,506). Tom Cappel, with Deter Motor Company and the Atlantic Fire Department, came in second with 933 food items and $8,419.28 in cash (total points 43,029.40). Kelli Anstey, with Fareway, came in third with 965 food items and $7,136.97 in cash (total points 36,649.85).

Last year the four Scrooge Contestants brought in $23,348.10. Ray Paulin will be the Grand Marshal of the Lighted Parade 6-p.m. Dec. 4th, in downtown Atlantic. The Scrooge contest was organized in 2002, by the late Eleanor Hoover.

(Radio Iowa) – The teenagers accused of murdering a high school Spanish teacher in Fairfield are seeking a reduction in their bonds and release from jail as they await a trial. Sixteen-year-olds Jeremy Goodale and Willard Miller each face a first degree murder charge in the killing of Nohema Graber, whose body was found in a Fairfield park earlier this month. Prosecutor Scott Brown says based on the factors in the case, bond at the least should be kept at a million dollars each or even raised to two million.

“The investigation in this case has revealed that the defendant, along with the co-defendant, has engaged in a extremely brutal murder,” Brown said. Attorneys for the teenagers say they don’t have the means to flee and, if they’re released, their families will monitor them. Christine Branstad is an attorney for Miller.

“My client’s parents and extended family are willing to ensure 24/7 monitoring,” Branstad said, “are willing to provide different residences at which he can live, they’re willing to restrict any access to electronics.” Prosecutors say the families are not capable of monitoring the teens as the crime was committed while the 16-year-olds were living at home.

Judge Joel Yates heard the lawyers’ arguments in court yesterday (Tuesday). He plans to issue written rulings next week.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Kate Payne)

(Radio Iowa) – A western Iowa farmer who announced in late May that he planned to run for the U.S. Senate in 2022 has ended his campaign. Dave Muhlbauer, of Manilla, is a former Crawford County Supervisor who describes himself as an old-school farmer-labor Democrat. His father and grandfather were state legislators. Muhlbauer’s nephew died in an accident earlier this year and Muhlbauer says the tragedy has had a devastating effect on his family.

Muhlbauer says after a period of reflection with his family and close friends, he’s decided he cannot continue his campaign for the U.S. Senate. Muhlbauer was the first Democrat to announce they hoped to challenge Republican Chuck Grassley’s bid for an eighth term in the U.S. Senate.

Former Iowa Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer of Cedar Rapids, retired Admiral Michael Franken of Sioux City, Dr. Glenn Hurst of Minden and Bob Krauss, who has run unsuccessfully three times before, all say they intend to seek the Democratic Party’s 2022 nomination for the U.S. Senate.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says her administration just got the district court ruling that blocks the state’s ban on Medicaid coverage for transition-related surgery for transgender Iowans — and it is under review. “So of course, we are disappointed with the ruling and disagree. My legal team is looking at it and there will be more to come later on. But it is just too early, we just got the ruling yesterday and are looking at it and trying to determine what our options are,” she says.

The governor says the state is in much better shape heading into Thanksgiving this year compared to one year ago — despite increases in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Reynolds says COVID hospitalizations were nearly 15-hundred last year and are now around 597. She says there are also more people vaccinated. “The numbers continue to go up — so that’s positive. We’re seeing a lot of the pediatric vaccines are being administered and we are seeing some families that are taking advantage of that. And we have a good number of people who have had COVID who have natural immunity, and that’s part of the equation also,” Reynolds says.

Reynolds says she hasn’t gotten a COVID booster yet — but plans to do so. She has gotten a flu shot. “I want to encourage people to do that because we were kind of isolated last year. And so we anticipate that this could be a really bad flu year,” she says. “So, people should take advantage of the flu shots.” A reporter asked her if she is confident the five BILLION dollars coming to the state from the recently passed federal infrastructure bill would be spent appropriately.

“Why wouldn’t we be confident that that money would be spent appropriately? That’s a ridiculous question. A lot of it is a sup-up (supplemental appropriation) from existing programs that are already in place. There’s some of the money that’s not that can be utilized on new programs. We are waiting on them to give us the criteria on how the money can be spent,” Reynolds says. Reynolds says that is not the biggest concern with the federal money.

“I tell you what we do need to think about though is the amount of money that is being spent in Washington, D-C. The impact that that has on inflation, the impact that that has on working families trying to make ends meet. Tax and spending policies are going to continue to drive inflation — and that has an impact on hardworking families,” according to Reynolds. Reynolds spoke with reporters after pardoning two turkeys at Terrace Hill.