(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission approved fines Thursday for three different gambling violations. Racing and Gaming Administrator, Brian Ohorilko says the Diamond Jo Worth casino was fined for a violation of the self-gambling ban. He says the first and last name of an individual was transposed and that account was entered improperly on the self-exclusion list. Ohorilko says that allowed the person to sign up for a players club card at the casino.

The casino was fined five-thousand dollars for that violation. Diamond Jo Worth was fined 20-thousand dollars for an underage violation after an 18-year old entered the casino with two adults. “The security officer posted did not challenge the underage individual — specifically did not request I-D. And that individual was on the gaming floor for a little over an hour and had gambled at some slot machines,” Ohorilko explains. He says the two violations were treated separately because they fall under different rules.  He says the self-exclusion violation was the first offense and those violations start at five-thousand, and the first-offense underage gambling fine starts at 20-thousand dollars.

The other violation involved a late audit by the FanDuel sports gambling company. “This particular violation had to do with the daily fantasy sports operation. The annual audits are required by statute and need to be submitted within 180 days of the end of the fiscal year,” Ohorilko says.  He says the audit was submitted 74 days late and the company was fined 20-thousand dollars. The Racing and Gaming Commission took the action at their meeting in Council Bluffs.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports two women were injured during a near head-on collision that occurred at around 3:45-p.m. Thursday, at the intersection of Highway 71 and 110th Street. Authorities say Debra Bender was driving a 2012 Chrysler 200 northbound on Highway 71 in the slow lane, while a non-contact vehicle was making a left turn onto westbound 110th Street. A 2000 GMC 1500 pickup driven by Gary Johnson, of rural Villisca, began to turn left (east). When Johnson failed to see Bender’s car in time, the right front side of his pickup struck the right front side of the Chrysler.

Debra Bender and her passenger were transported to the hospital. The passenger was subsequently transported by helicopter to the UNMC in Omaha. Authorities say Gary Johnson was not injured in the crash. No citations were issued. Both vehicles were declared a total loss. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department was assisted at the scene by personnel from the Grant, Griswold and Villisca Fire and Rescue Departments.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig is dismissing a national environmental group’s report that cited ag run-off in ranking Iowa’s Raccoon River as one of the nation’s most-endangered rivers. “That so-called report was a bit of propaganda, I think. It was obviously a Washington, D.C based advocacy organization,” Naig says. “They can go out and say what they want to, but what they talked about related to Iowa is not based in fact. We’re moving in the right direction.”

The American Rivers report described the farm chemicals and manure that drain into the Raccoon River as a grave threat to using the river as a source for drinking water. Naig says there’s recently been an acceleration of the voluntary nutrient reduction strategy state officials unveiled in 2013 to promote rather than require conservation practices on Iowa farms. “We’ve got a long ways to go and I don’t sugar coat that at all…The strategy calls for a 45% reduction in nitrogen and phosphorus loss off of the Iowa landscape,” Naig says. “That’s a big number, not easily achieved. It’s going to time and focus, but the evidence is moving in the right direction.”

About two million acres of Iowa farmland is now planted with oats, rye and other so-called cover crops that hold soils in place. Naig says it took 15 years to reconstruct 100 wetlands and another 50 are currently under development. The number of filtration systems called “bioreactors” in Iowa will double after one project in Polk County is completed later this year. Meanwhile, the C-E-O of the drinking water system for half a million central Iowans says there will be a catastrophe if the state doesn’t find a way to more quickly reduce ag pollution in the Raccoon River.

Naig says the Des Moines Water Works is providing safe drinking water now and every indication is it will be able to do so in the future. “Last year, 2020 — a year unlike any other in terms of disruption to all of our lives, we set a record in terms of conservation adoption in the state of Iowa,” Naig says. “Even in that environment, more farmers, more landowners, more focus, more resources, more partners doing more on the ground than at any other time in our state’s history.”

Naig made his comments during taping of “Iowa Press” which airs tonight (Friday) at 7:30 on Iowa P-B-S.

A traffic stop in Page County on a motorcycle with no license plate escalated into a high-speed pursuit, Thursday. According to Sheriff Lyle Palmer, a Page County Sheriff’s deputy attempted to initiate a traffic stop on a Kawasaki motorcycle on 310th Street, just west of Highway 71, or about one-mile north of Braddyville. The driver and only occupant of the motorcycle – later identified as 51-year-old Steven William Wells, of College Springs –  was wearing a helmet, along with a red sweatshirt and blue jeans.

Steven W. Wells

The Motorcycle accelerated to speeds of over 100 mph and continued west on 310th with the Page County Deputy pursuing with lights and siren in a fully marked Page County Sheriff’s Office vehicle. The motorcycle continued west for approximately 3.5 miles at speeds in excess of 100 mph before turning north on Oak. The motorcycle then traveled north on Oak in to the city of College Springs, IA with the Deputy still in pursuit, not losing sight of the motorcycle.

The cycle finally stopped at 806 Pine Street in College Springs where Wells was immediately taken into custody. Hes was transported to the Page County Jail and held on charges of Driving while license is barred (Aggravated Misdemeanor), Eluding or attempting to elude a Peace Officer (Aggravated Misdemeanor). Wells also faces numerous other traffic violations from this pursuit. Bond on the charges was set at $4,000.

Officials with the Glenwood Police Department say two people were arrested recently, on separate charges. On Thursday (4/15), 21-year-old Carlos Estrada Joya, of Omaha, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. His bond was set at $1,000. And, on Wednesday, 44-year-old Richard Finn, of Pacific Junction, was arrested for OWI/1st offense and Possession of Marijuana, following a single-vehicle accident.

Authorities say Finn was traveling westbound on Green Street in Glenwood at around 2:35-p.m., when he lost control of the 2012 Harley Davidson he was operating, while negotiating a curve in the roadway. The cycle hit a curb and sustained $3,000 damage. Finn suffered a bump on the back of his head. He was evaluated by Glenwood Rescue, but refused treatment.

An investigation determined Finn had slow, slurred speech, bloodshot watery eyes, and an odor of alcoholic beverage emitting from him. He admitted to officers he had smoked marijuana before riding the motorcycle. Finn refused sobriety tests and was arrested on the OWI charge. He was also cited for failure to maintain control, and having no valid driver’s license. His bond was set at $2,000.

(Des Moines, IA) Today (Thursday), the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) confirmed one case of the COVID-19 variant, SARS-CoV-2 P.1  in Iowa. This variant is also referred to as the Brazilian variant. We are still learning about the characteristics of this strain including any potential impact on vaccine effectiveness.

The case was detected in Johnson County. IDPH and local public health have already initiated contact with the individual to understand exposures and initiate the health monitoring process. The process includes notifying anyone with whom the individual has been in close contact. As always, affected individuals are advised to isolate in accordance with IDPH and CDC guidance.

The case was identified by the State Hygienic Lab (SHL). SHL is doing sequencing to understand what strains are circulating here in Iowa and contribute to the understanding of COVID-19 activity in the United States. Routine analysis of genetic sequence data assisted in identifying the new variant strain in Iowa.

The emergence of new variants underscores that it remains critical for Iowans to continue the mitigation efforts that we know work to slow the spread of COVID-19:

• Wear a mask or face covering
• Practice social distancing with those outside your household
• Clean your hands frequently with soap and water
• Stay home if you feel sick
• Get tested if you are exposed to, or have symptoms of COVID-19
• Get a COVID-19 vaccine when one is offered to you
• If you have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19, review CDC guidelines here

Griswold Fire and Rescue& Cass EMS were dispatched to the scene of a head-on collision in Montgomery County, Thursday afternoon. The call about the crash on Highway 71 at 110th Street went out at 3:45-p.m. Dispatch reports indicate two females were injured. One complained of back pain, the other was said to be disoriented.

A medical helicopter from Clarinda was set to arrive on the scene at around 4:30-p.m. Additional details were not immediately available.

Earlier, at around 2:05-p.m., Atlantic Rescue and Cass County EMS responded to a reported accident involving a motorcycle.  Dispatch reports said the scooter-type cycle had toppled onto its side just south of Keystone Road (about three-miles south of Atlantic), on Highway 71, just south of Keystone Road. The male operator of the machine, who is from Clarinda, was found behind the cycle, on the east shoulder of the road.

Authorities say the operator of the cycle said he had been traveling north on Highway 71, when he lost control on the graveled portion of the road. He suffered from apparent head and leg injuries, was transported by Cass EMS to the Cass County Memorial Hospital. The victim’s name had not been released as of late Thursday evening.

(Radio Iowa) – Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls says now that Democrat Rita Hart has conceded Iowa’s second congressional district race to Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks, disparities exposed by the recount in that race can be addressed. “I think the time is right, for a leadership bill, for Democrats and Republicans to come together to make some bipartisan changes to how recount elections are handled in Iowa,” says Wahls, who is from Coralville, which is in the second congressional district.

Two weeks ago, Hart dropped her request for a U.S. House review of the contest. Miller-Meeks finished six votes ahead of Hart in November’s recount of the 400,000 ballots cast in the second congressional district’s 24 counties. Scott County barely competed its recount in time and Wahls says priority one should be letting counties have more than three members on a recount board. “Currently, they don’t have that ability, but for large sized counties, you want to have that ability to have more people involved in the recount process,” Wahls says.

Hart’s campaign had argued there were at least 22 legally cast ballots that were not counted in the second district race. Wahls is recommending that future recount boards be allowed to review all ballots cast, not just the ballots that were included in the initial count, plus Wahls says legislators should get rid of the early December deadline for a panel of judges to complete any requested review of a recount.

“Instead we should give those (judges) the amount of time that is necessary for them to finish their work,” Wahls says. “We shouldn’t be forcing them to try and conclude by an arbitrary deadline.” Hart says a handful of days were not a sufficient amount of time for a panel of judges to oversee a review of 400,000 ballots in her second district contest.

The top Republican in the Iowa House says there are discussions underway that may yield a bipartisan agreement on technical changes in Iowa election law, but it’s unclear whether those changes will address recounts.

(Radio Iowa) – House Speaker Pat Grassley today (Thursday), said it is unlikely the 2021 legislature will vote to make it illegal to drive while handling a smartphone.

Grassley said some of the questions House Republicans have raised haven’t been answered. “Just the enforcement, with law enforcement, how that would all play out,” Grassley during an online news conference. “There’s a lot of members in the (House Republican) Caucus who have a lot of questions of how that actually look in its implementation.”

It is illegal to text while driving in Iowa, but drivers cannot be ticketed for having a cell phone in their hand while driving. The first vehicles to feature hands-free technology for making cell phone calls were introduced in 1999.

Today 26 other states have laws that ban motorists from using cell phones while driving, unless they’re making calls through the software in their dashboard. Back in 2015, Governor Terry Branstad lobbied legislators to pass a law to make it a crime to handle a cell phone while driving, but it failed that year and in every year since.