DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for a 2019 shooting that killed one man and injured another in a commercial district north of I-235 in Des Moines. Television station KCCI reports that Michael Lyke Jr. was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years on each of three counts in the case. He was ordered to serve the sentences one after the other. In February, Lyke pleaded guilty to reduced charges of voluntary manslaughter, willful injury and a weapons count in the June 2019 killing of 41-year-old Earl Caldwell.

Another man, 39-year-old Des Moines resident Littleton William Clark, was injured. Lyke had been scheduled to go to trial in April on more serious charges and would have received a mandatory life sentence if convicted.

The Iowa Department of Public Health’s Coronavirus dashboard, today (Friday), shows 559 additional positive test results for COVID returned from the labs, for a total of 369,643. There was also 11 additional deaths statewide, for a pandemic total of 5,631. Long-Term Care facility deaths account for 2,213 of the total number of deaths across the state.

Long-Term Care (LTC) facility outbreaks are down to just three. Hospitalization numbers show: 168 Iowans hospitalized with COVID (2 more than Thursday); 36 in an ICU (6 fewer than before); 41 people were admitted to a hospital across the state, and 13 patients are on a ventilator. The state reports 56 positive cases and 38 recoveries among residents and staff within those facilities. Iowa reports 0 positive cases in the last 14 days. Facilities must be free of cases for 28 days before being considered virus-free.

RMCC Region 4 hospitals (those in western/southwest Iowa) show 12 hospitalized COVID patients, six are in an ICU, three persons were admitted since Thursday’s report, and three are on a ventilator.

Nearly one million COVID-19 vaccine doses have now been administered in Iowa and more than 347,000 individuals are fully vaccinated against the virus. Iowa reports 998,054 vaccine doses have been administered in the state, with 347,382 individuals completing the vaccine series.

The 14-day positivity rate remains 3.9%, while the seven-day rate is down to 3.8%.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} – if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:

• Cass, 1,375 cases; {+2}; 52 deaths
• Adair, 938; {+4}; 31
• Adams, 327 {+0}; 4
• Audubon, 495 {+1}; 9
• Guthrie, 1,184 {+2}; 28
• Harrison County, 1,805; {+5}; 70
• Madison County, 1,602; {+2}; 18
• Mills County, 1,656; {+9}; 20
• Montgomery, 1,042; {+0}; 36
• Pottawattamie County, 10,936; {+10}; 149
• Shelby County, 1,246 {+6}; 34
• Union County,  1,275; {+1}; 31

(UPDATED) – Iowa Auditor of State Rob Sand today (Friday) released an agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Massena, for the period July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020. Sand reported ten findings related to the receipt and disbursement of taxpayer funds. The findings address issues such as a lack of segregation of duties, the lack of utility system reconciliations, disbursements exceeding budgeted amounts, business transactions that may represent conflicts of interest, a deficit fund balance and transfers that were not approved by resolution.

One issue the popped-up, was a potential conflict of interest in a purchase agreement.

Sand provided the City with recommendations to address each of the findings, including the need for more transparency.

He said the City Attorney is the best source for information, when development agreements are made, to make sure there isn’t the appearance of impropriety.

The City Council he says, has a fiduciary responsibility to provide oversight of the City’s operations and financial transactions. Sand says oversight is typically defined as the “watchful and responsible care” a governing body exercises in its fiduciary capacity. Rob Sand said also, it’s worthy knowing his office still has a “PIE” Program going, that they would like more public entities to participate in, and that promotes efficiency, and those entities are pinching pennies every chance they get. There’s even a reward for being efficient, aside from saving the taxpayers money.

PIE stands for Public Innovations and Efficiencies.

A copy of the agreed-upon procedures report is available for review on the Auditor of State’s web site at https://auditor.iowa.gov/audit-reports.

The Iowa Supreme Court says a District Court erred in ordering a new trial in the case of a man who sued the Glenwood Golf Corporation, owners of the Glenwood Golf Course (GCG, following an accident involving a golf cart. The incident occurred Sept. 14, 2017, during a golf outing by Terry Jones and his son Jeff. The younger Jones was driving a golf cart owned by GCG, when, as they crossed a bridge, the cart started to veer to the left. When Jeff Jones over-corrected, the cart’s left front tire became wedged into the steel structure of the bridge. The impact ejected Jones’ father Terry – who was in the passenger seat -through an opening in the bridge’s safety rail.

Terry Jones fell about 25-feet onto a creek bed below filled with concrete and steel reinforcement bar (Rebar). He suffered life-threatening injuries and was flown by helicopter to the UNMC in Omaha. Terry Jones underwent multiple surgeries and spent months hospitalization and in a rehabilitation facility. He and his wife Christine Jones entered into a settlement agreement with Jeff and his homeowner’s liability insurer which paid the couple and their lawyer a total of $877,500, with the payments in a structured annuity.

The settlement released Jeff Jones from all claims stemming from the accident. Terry and his wife filed a civil action against GCG, based on the premises the bridge was unsafe, and that GCG was liable for the negligence of the driver in a golf cart. The District Court denied related summary judgements, and the case went to a jury, which found GCG was not liable under the premises liability claim, and found Jeffrey Jones (even though he was a released party) was at fault. They awarded damages amounting to $520,000 for past medical expenses.

Terry Jones filed a motion for a new trial on the grounds the verdict was inadequate. The District Court ruled GCG is liable on the owner liability claim, and granted a new trial on the damages only. GCG appealed the case went to the Iowa Supreme Court. The IASUPCO found Terry Jones’ release of his son from liability extinguished GCG’s vicarious liability for damages caused by Jeff Jones. They Justices reversed the District Court ruling and remanded the case for dismissal.

The 8:06-a.m. newscast, with Ric Hanson.

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The Atlantic Chamber Ambassadors were hosted by Interior Touch on Thursday March 11th, 2021 for a ribbon cutting ceremony to welcome the new owners Jared & Carrie Schmitt. The Ambassadors were introduced to Carrie & Jared Schmitt who took ownership of Interior Touch January 15th, 2021. Jared has made his career in painting, and has worked with Cathy Baragary, the previous owner of Interior Touch, for many years. Cathy approached Jared about purchasing the business and Carrie explained that “it just wasn’t a good time for us in our lives.”

“Thankfully, Cathy didn’t sell the business and when she approached us again, a few years later, the timing was right.” Cathy is staying on staff until March to help with the transition and help Jared learn about measuring window treatment and flooring. Carrie & Jared also have Danielle Steinhoff and Lori Rutherford helping customers with their home improvement needs.

Interior Touch specializes in carpet, flooring, paint, and window treatments, but have recently started carrying area rugs. The business not only sells flooring but works with a few sub-contractors to provide flooring instillation. The Schmitts have big dreams for the business and are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the business community in Atlantic.

Authorities say a stuck accelerator was apparently the blame for an accident Thursday afternoon. Creston Police report a 2000 GMC Sierra pickup driven by 37-year-old Brandi Lynn Atkins, of Creston, was traveling in the Creston Wal-Mart parking lot at around 2-p.m., Thursday, and exited to the Maurice’s parking lot, when the gas pedal became stuck. The pickup accelerated and hit a stop sign and dumpster before coming to rest. There were no injuries, and no citations were issued.

Damage to the pickup owned by Lloyd Garner II, of Osceola,  was estimated at $1,500.

The 7:06-a.m. newscast with KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The Anita City Council appointed Councilman and Mayor Pro-Tem John Knutson as Mayor. Their action came during Wednesday’s City Council meeting. Knutson had served as Mayor Pro-Tem under Tom Harris, who died in December.

The City Council had the option to fill the position by a special election or by appointment. The latter means they’ll have to fill a council seat. In accordance with Iowa election laws, a notice pertaining to the open City Council seat will be published in the paper. Persons interested in filling the position are asked to contact the Anita City Clerk.

The Council also hired Eric Steffensen as the City’s new Public Works Director on Wednesday, and they authorized the Mayor to sign a new five-year 28E agreement with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office. The Anita City Council approved the use of Local Option Sales Tax money to outfit ten volunteer firefighters with new equipment, as well.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa has slipped in an annual state-by-state report that tracks the level of our public health emergency preparedness. The Hawkeye State achieved a score of just four out of a possible ten measures of preparedness for diseases, disasters and bioterrorism. Dara Lieberman, director of government relations at Trust for America’s Health, says Iowa now ranks with 14 other states in the middle tier. “The year before, Iowa was in the high tier,” Lieberman says. “We didn’t find specific backsliding by the state this year but we did find that other states gained more ground. One area where the state could certainly improve is that Iowa cut its public health budget for the last several years.”

Funding for public health was either stable or increased in 43 states, while the report says Iowa cut that funding by three-percent between fiscal years 2019 and 2020. “We think it’s an important measure because we can’t just be funding public health after an outbreak begins,” Lieberman says, “but we need to have the workforce, system and tools in place ahead of time so that we can make the population healthier as well as both the preparedness and emergency response systems that we need for an event like this.”

While all 50 states have made improvements in their emergency preparedness, she they all have room for further strengthening of their public health response programs. “The one area where Iowa is a bit of an outlier is the number of hospitals that are participating in health care coalitions, they could certainly improve that,” Lieberman says. “We also found that only 16% of acute care hospitals in the state were achieving the highest patient safety grades.” There are a couple of categories where Iowa continues to excel on the national report.

“We found that the percent of workers who used paid time off was above average in the state, and that’s an indication that workers can stay home when they’re sick, we know there’s wide variation in given industries of how acceptable that is,” Lieberman says. “And Iowa was also above average in its seasonal flu vaccination rates.” To see the full report, called “Ready or Not: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters and Bioterrorism,” visit the Trust for America’s Health website: www.tfah.org