(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa, today (Monday), said a Council Bluffs man, 34-year-old Dereck Meyer, was sentenced last Friday (September 13, 2024), to 144 months (12-years)  in federal prison, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and marijuana. Meyer pled guilty April 19, 2024, to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana. In 2011, Meyer was previously convicted in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa for possession with intent to distribute more than 5 grams of methamphetamine within a protected location.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that on November 19, 2022, law enforcement officers in Denison, Iowa stopped a vehicle driven by Meyer. Meyer admitted to being in possession of marijuana, failed to follow officer’s commands and drove off at a high rate of speed initiating a pursuit through Denison, Iowa. Meyer ultimately drove into the alley and was taken into custody.

During a search of the vehicle officers located 55.46 grams of methamphetamine in the rear seat next to Meyer’s wallet. Officers also seized four plastic bags, each containing approximately one ounce (about 28 grams) of marijuana, a clear plastic bag containing 4.4 grams of marijuana, and a clear plastic bag containing 3 grams of suspected cocaine. Meyer intended to distribute some or all of the drugs to another person or persons.

Sentencing was held before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Meyer was sentenced to 144 months’ imprisonment and must serve an eight-year term of supervised release following imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. Meyer remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement, Iowa DCI Laboratory, and the Denison Police Department.

(Radio Iowa) – The Des Moines City Council will vote tonight on whether to ban camping in public areas and to cut the notice time before removing tents and shelters on city property from ten days to three. Opponents say the changes would criminalize homelessness and further crowd shelters. Backers say the amendments will push homeless populations to use available resources nearby.

City Manager Scott Sanders says the intent of the ordinance is not enforcement. “There is language that we have added to be as clear as possible that the intent of this ordinance is get compliance,” Sanders says. “To get to the heart of what we’re trying to do here is to get individuals into safer environments.”

The city’s plan is for Primary Healthcare outreach workers to visit people found camping on public property and help transport them to shelters. Shelby Ridley, director of programs at Primary Healthcare, presented a plan to the city council last week to hire three more outreach workers. “Street outreach is a necessary thing for this community,” Ridley says, “but you won’t see less people experiencing homelessness until we have an increase in housing.”

Someone who fails to comply would be fined $15 and charged with a simple misdemeanor. However, if shelters are full or the person is unable to pay, they would not be held liable. The city first introduced the proposed changes at a meeting in July. Tonight will be the third and final reading.

(Radio Iowa) – An Associated Press investigation has found a group called the Patriots Run Project tried to recruit candidates to run as independents in two of Iowa’s competitive congressional districts. Congressman Zach Nunn — the Republican in Iowa’s third district — says he’s outraged to see anyone prey on hardworking Iowans or try to deceive voters. The man from Scranton who was recruited to run against Nunn told the Associated Press he withdrew his name from the ballot after determining his candidacy was intended as a dirty political trick.

The group failed to collect enough petition signatures for a woman it recruited to run against Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks in the first district. Iowa Republican Party chair Jeff Kaufmann says it’s truly despicable that this Democrat-backed group knowingly took advantage of disabled or retired Trump supporters to try to cheat and pull votes away from Republicans.

The Associated Press reports the Patriots Run Project recruited candidates in run for congress in four other states. According ot the A-P, the group is not registered as a business, a non-profit or a political action committee in the United States and the group’s website lists a Post Office Box in Washington, D.C. as its address. Meta took down the group’s Facebook page a few weeks ago and the group’s website cannot be found in a Google search.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report the arrest at around 10:45-a.m. today (Sept. 16th), of 46-year-old Jill Renee Coddington, from Red Oak. She was taken into custody at her residence in the 1600 block of E. Summit Street, for Domestic Abuse Assault. Coddington was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail.

(West Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa REALTORS® distributed more than $609,000 in housing relief grants to 547 households across the state following devastating spring and summer storms this year.  According to the organization, Iowa REALTORS® is dedicated to ensuring Iowans impacted by natural disasters are afforded the resources to rebuild their homes and sense of community through relief grants. Iowa Realtors CEO Gavin Blair said in a press release, “The sense of home for thousands of Iowans was diminished this spring and summer as a result of destructive severe weather events. As Iowans, we know that helping one another is the first line of action. Iowa REALTORS® stand behind our communities and are proud to provide needed support to those who faced the unimaginable.”

Through three separate grant relief campaigns, Iowa REALTORS® distributed $609,373 in funding to 547 Iowans. The funding was available to individuals impacted by storms in April, May and June to assist with mortgage and rental payments or hotel reimbursements.  Recipients received funding through a simple application process, sharing the stories and photos of the devastation they encountered following these deadly storms.

A woman from Minden- identified only as Jennifer – said she and her family experienced the total loss of their home following tornadoes that struck this past May. She said “The shock of this traumatic event still haunts us. Not only did we deal with wind damage, but the rains that followed for the following days made it extremely difficult to salvage anything that remained.” When flood waters filled the basement and five feet of the first floor of their home in Rock Valley, Stacia and her family lost all of the contents on the two floors. Because of the nature of the disaster – flooding – Stacia’s insurance claim was denied. The ability to obtain relief from Iowa REALTORS® will help her family as they begin to pick up the pieces.

In order to provide needed assistance following three major storm events and their subsequent flooding, Iowa REALTORS® received generous grant funding from the National Association of REALTORS’® REALTORS® Relief Foundation.

HARLAN, IA, September 16, 2024 – The Alzheimer’s Association is inviting Harlan area residents to join the fight to end Alzheimer’s by participating in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s this Saturday, Sept. 21st. The Walk to End Alzheimer’s helps support the Alzheimer’s Association’s critical research, care and support across Iowa. It is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research.

Registration begins at 9-a.m. with the Promise Garden Ceremony & Walk at 10 a.m., in Harlan’s Pioneer Park. Register and donate at alz.org/walk to get the most out of Walk day and support the fight to end Alzheimer’s.

The Alzheimer’s Association and its volunteers and walk participants are fighting for a different future. For families facing the disease today, for more time, for treatments. Alzheimer’s research is closer than ever to stopping Alzheimer’s, but to get there, the Alzheimer’s Association needs Harlan to join them for the world’s largest fundraiser to fight the disease. Nearly 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease – the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. Additionally, more than 11 million family members and friends provide care to people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In Iowa alone, there are more than 62,000 people living with the disease and nearly 100,000 caregivers.

The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Since 1989, the Alzheimer’s Association mobilized millions of Americans in the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk^®; now the Alzheimer’s Association is continuing to lead the way with Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Together, we can end Alzheimer’s. Visit alz.org/walk to register and learn more.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Sheriff’s Department reports a woman from Ankeny was arrested Sept. 10th on an Adair County warrant. 30-year-old Chutaia Marika Kei Brown was arrested at and extradited from the Polk County Jail, on a warrant for OWI/2nd offense, and two counts of Child Endangerment. The offenses allegedly occurred on January 13, 2024. All three charges are Aggravated Misdemeanors.

Brown was being held in the Adair County Jail on a $6,000 cash-only bond. A status hearing in her case is set for Sept. 27th.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa’s Auditor of State Rob Sand, today (Monday), released a report showing that the State of Iowa is failing to meet the federal mandate on inspections of nursing homes certified to accept Medicare or Medicaid and that Iowa is inspecting certified nursing homes at a slower rate compared to neighboring states. Additionally, Iowa ranks 46th nationally in the amount of licensed nursing staff per resident. Iowa has the 17th highest turnover rate among nursing staff. Nearly 11 out of 20 nurses who worked at a certified nursing home in the previous year are no longer employed at the facility.

The Auditor’s Office calculations find that the State of Iowa conducts inspections, on average, every 17.1 months. This is more than 4 months more than the federal mandate requiring certified nursing homes to be inspected, on average, every 12.9 months. CMS also instructs states to inspect individual nursing homes at least once every 15.9 months; 85.4% of Iowa’s 403 certified nursing homes did not meet this expectation on at least one occasion in the past 3 inspections.

In preparing this report, the Auditor’s Office used publicly available data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Specifically, the Auditor’s Office calculated the duration between completed standard inspections across all certified nursing homes to determine the frequency. This report also takes into consideration the national pause on inspections at nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic to reach its findings. Durations that occurred during the COVID-19 stoppage are shortened by 147 days – the length of time between official federal guidance to stop and restart onsite standard inspections.