IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A prosecutor has urged jurors to convict an Iowa journalist of misdemeanor crimes stemming from her reporting from the scene of a violent protest, saying she was near an unlawful assembly and resisted an officer who arrested her. Prosecutor Bradley Kinkade urged jurors during his closing argument Wednesday not to consider that Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri was a journalist who was covering the protest for racial justice outside a mall last May. He says her profession was not a defense against charges of failure to disperse and interference with official acts.

Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri testifies during her trial after being arrested while reporting on a protest last summer, Tuesday, March 9, 2021, at the Drake University Legal Clinic, in Des Moines, Iowa. (Kelsey Kremer/The Des Moines Register via AP)

The jury is deliberating whether Sahouri and her former boyfriend Spenser Robnett are guilty of the two misdemeanor charges.

March 5, 2021 (Oakland, Iowa) — Golden Hills RC&D is pleased to announce that Western Skies Scenic Byway is the featured byway for the month of March. As part of the participation in the new Scenic Byways Passport program, each byway will offer a prize package from businesses and attractions along the byway for the featured month. The free digital Scenic Byways Passport encourages people to explore scenic byways and more than 100 unique attractions and destinations. Geofencing at participating locations allows travelers to check-in on the passport, earning them an entry into a monthly drawing for a prize package including an overnight stay, gift certificates and more valued at approximately $200. Select businesses along the byways will offer deals and discounts exclusively for passholders. Each deal redemption also earns an entry into the monthly drawing. The promotion runs through December 31, 2021 and features multiple stops on thirteen of Iowa’s Byways.

The Western Skies Scenic Byway prize package is valued at over $400 and features everything you need for a great getaway in western Iowa. Local businesses and attractions have generously donated the following items: a two-night stay at Whiterock Conservancy’s Garst Historic Farmhouse, $200 in gift certificates to Coon Rapids businesses (Coon Rapids Hardware Hank, Nature Ammil, The Trading Post, Brown Bag & Co., Frohlich’s SuperValu, Chuck’s Bar and Grill, Cady’s Coffee Shop and Coon Bowl III); an Audubon County Tourism bundle including a t-shirt, an Albert the Bull Sticker, free tour for two at Nathaniel Hamlin Park & Museum, $25 gift certificate to Darrell’s Place and two nights free for camping at Littlefield Recreation Area; and Harlan’s Milk & Honey package including a t-shirt and a $25 gift certificate.

Travelers can sign up for the passport at explore.traveliowa.com/byways with their email address or by scanning a QR code from posters at locations included on the passport.

“The Passport program is a great partnership between the Iowa Tourism Office, the DOT and the local byways,” noted the Western Skies Scenic Byway Coordinator Rebecca Castle Laughlin. “It provides a new interactive component to the byway experience while allowing travelers to choose their level of interaction. Many of the locations on the passport are parks and other outdoor attractions, which don’t limit visitors to standard operational hours and can provide for natural social distancing.”

“Transportation is essential to connecting people with all the wonderful things Iowa has to offer,” said Scott Marler, director of the Iowa Department of Transportation. “Our state’s scenic byways system helps travelers recognize both main roadways and roads less traveled that highlight the uniqueness of our great state.”

“Iowa’s scenic byways offer both a breathtaking view of our state’s diverse landscapes and a journey through Iowa’s cultural heritage through historic sites, national landmarks and other attractions that tell our state’s story,” said Debi Durham, executive director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority and Iowa Finance Authority. “The new Scenic Byways Passport is a great new way to explore Iowa all year long.”

Passport holders are encouraged to follow Travel Iowa on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates on monthly prize packages. More information can also be found on the Golden Hills RC&D and Western Skies Scenic Byway Facebook pages.

Tourism in Iowa generates nearly $9 billion in expenditures and $517.5 million in state taxes, while employing 70,200 people statewide. The Iowa Tourism Office is part of the Iowa Economic Development Authority. For more information, visit traveliowa.com.

(Radio Iowa) [updated] – The one-year anniversary of the first cases of COVID-19 being reported in the state was this past Monday and Governor Kim Reynolds says Iowa is about to hit another, more positive milestone. It’s projected the one-millionth Iowan will be vaccinated against the virus sometime in the next few days.

Getting scheduled for an appointment is still a challenge, so the governor says Iowans 65 and older can now call 2-1-1 to talk with a “vaccine navigator” to get scheduled for a shot.

Reynolds says almost 94-percent of Iowans who are 65 and older have gotten at least their first dose of a vaccine. Next week, nearly 95-thousand first doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are headed to Iowa. State officials say Iowa could get four-thousand doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine as well.

Census data indicates there are about two-point-one MILLION adults in the state. More than 18-thousand Iowans have received the new, single dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Reynolds says they are among the 160-thousand Iowans who work in food processing, ag production and manufacturing companies or who live in communal settings that are on the state’s initial list for the Johnson and Johnson shots.

In the past week, 51 Iowa companies have hosted mass vaccination clinics for employees. A coffin filled with flowers and wrapped with an Iowa flag was carried into the state capitol on Tuesday as part of a memorial service for the more-than 55-hundred Iowans who’ve died from COVID-19 in the past year.

FORT DODGE – The Iowa Department of Corrections, Wednesday, said a correctional officer was assaulted at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility, Tuesday night. The officer was working his post on a living unit when an inmate unexpectedly struck the officer with a closed-fist strike to his head. The officer began using defensive techniques to control the inmate, and additional security staff arrived quickly to assist in restraining the inmate.

The officer was treated and released for minor injuries at the local hospital. The inmate was seen by facility medical staff and found to have not suffered any major injuries. The incident remains under investigation.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports a single-vehicle, injury accident took place this (Wednesday) morning, about four-miles north of Clarinda, in the 1400 block of Redwood Avenue. Authorities say 58-year old Machelle Dawn Graham, of Clarinda, was driving a 1999 Ford Ranger southbound on Redwood, when the pickup went out of control. The vehicle swerved several times on the road before it began to rollover. The pickup came to rest on the passenger side in the west ditch. As the vehicle rolled, Graham was ejected and was found by a passing motorist about 20-feet south of where the vehicle came to rest.

The woman was transported to Clarinda Regional Health Center for treatment of unknown injuries. Damage to the Graham vehicle was estimated at $3,000. It was considered a total loss. Charges are pending from this accident. The Page County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Clarinda Police Department, the Clarinda Fire Department, Page County Emergency Management, and the Clarinda Ambulance service.

And, last Friday, March 5th, Page County Deputies responded at around 5:30-p.m. to a motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Highways  2 & 59. And investigation determined:
45-year old Barry Joe Rhea, of Ponca City, OK, was driving a 2012 GMC Sierra pickup northbound on HWY 59 just south of the intersection with HWY 2.  Sheriff Lyle Palmer says 23-year old Richard Lee Hartman, of Braddyville, was driving a 2012 Ford Fusion southbound on HWY 59 north of the intersection with HWY 2. When Hartman attempted to turn east in front of Rhea’s pickup, the vehicle struck Hartman’s car as it was turning east. Hartman’s Ford then struck the westbound stop sign at the intersection before coming to rest in the southeast shoulder of the intersection. Rhea’s pickup came to rest in the northeast shoulder of the intersection.

Neither driver was hurt. Hartman was cited for Failure to yield upon left turn. Damage from the collision amounted to $11,000 altogether. The Page County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Shenandoah Police at the scene.

An Iowa woman has pleaded guilty to unlawfully using a former Department of Justice contractor’s government computer to access government records and to obtain sensitive, non-public law enforcement information.

According to admissions made in connection with her guilty plea, 33-year old Rachel Manna, of West Des Moines, was acquainted with Danielle Taff, who was employed as a contractor paralegal by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa. Taff was assigned to the office’s Civil Division, where she worked exclusively on matters related to civil forfeiture and was neither required nor authorized to access files and information related to the district’s investigation and prosecution of criminal cases.

Manna admitted that in the spring of 2018, she asked Taff to obtain non-public information about certain defendants in a criminal investigation and prosecution being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. As a result, on or about May 16, 2018, Taff used her U.S. Department of Justice computer to access criminal files stored on the district’s shared electronic data storage drive, including reports of law enforcement interviews with at least two individuals who cooperated with the district in a drug-trafficking investigation. Taff then used her cell phone to take approximately 30 photographs of the sensitive, non-public documents related to the drug-trafficking investigation.

After photographing the documents, Taff shared them with Manna, who subsequently shared the photographs with several individuals on Facebook. As a result, in October 2018, other individuals posted those photographs to a Facebook group dedicated to outing “snitches,” or law enforcement cooperators, in the Des Moines region. Among other sensitive information, the photographs taken by Taff and subsequently posted on Facebook identified at least two cooperators in the drug-trafficking investigation by name and other personal identifiers.

Taff pleaded guilty in November 2020 for her role in the scheme. Sentencing for Manna is scheduled for June 4.

The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, Chicago Field Division, is investigating the case. Trial Attorneys Erica O’Brien Waymack and Matthew Palmer-Ball of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case.

UPDATE 3/11/21 – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Thursday), said with regard to an odd call some have received in the County, they were informed that the call was a legitimate call from Cass County Public Health, regarding whether the receiver of the call is eligible for the COVID Vaccine. Therefore, it is not a scam, just something the Sheriff’s Office was notaware of. Authorities say “Don’t be afraid to answer calls from Cass County. If someone is asking about money or computer information, or for money for a family member in jail, that would be a scam.”

Original Post 3/10/21:

Official with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office say they had a report of an odd call that starts out automated, and says “This is Cass County. Please press 1.”(or whatever number). Then the automated voice says, “Thank you. Goodbye.” While this sounds similar to phone calls that are outgoing from the jail, unless the person knows someone who is in jail, they would probably be confused.

Officials say they don’t think it’s a scam, exactly, but it’s not clear what exactly it is in reference too. They just want people to be aware of these occurrences.

(Radio Iowa) – Senator Ken Rozenboom of Oskaloosa says the deer population is too large in some areas of the state and it’s time to change some of the state’s hunting regulations.  “In Appanoose County…the DNR’s target was to have 2700 deer taken this past year,” Rozenboom says, “but only 2200 were taken, so that’s 500 deer that are out there.”

Rozenboom is sponsoring a bill that calls for a study of the economic and environmental impact of the state’s deer population. He expects the study would indicate the Department of Natural Resources deer management targets should be increased. Jim Obradovich, a lobbyist for the Iowa Conservation Alliance, says the organization suggests changing who grants permits to hunters who have permission to hunt on specific properties. “Moving it out of a central location here in Des Moines and then actually having the conservation officers who know their areas the best be the ones who are able to issue those permits,” Obradovich says. “We wouldn’t be breaking new ground with this, by any means. We have some neighboring states who do that.”

Rozenboom also wants to reduce the 15-hundred dollar civil fine for illegally taking a deer. He hasn’t settled on a figure yet and Eric Goranson, a lobbyist for Pheasants Forever and the Iowa Bow Hunters Association, warns if it’s too low, unscrupulous hunters will exploit it. “It’d very easy to roll the dice and just start slaughtering deer, knowing that if you get caught every few years, it might be cheaper to do that,” Goranson says.

The bill has cleared a senate subcommittee, but the bill’s sponsor says major adjustments are in the works.

The Iowa Department of Public Heath Wednesday, reported on the Coronavirus dashboard, an additional 883 positive COVID-19 test results, for a pandemic total of 368,636.  There were also 27 additional deaths reported, for a statewide total of 5,601. There was one additional death reported in each of Cass, Adair and Pottawattamie Counties. Long-Term Care facility deaths account for 2,195 of the State’s total number of deaths.

The number of Long-Term Care facility COVID-19 Outbreaks is down to six. Three less than before. Hospitalization  statistics are down again, with 173 Iowans hospitalized with COVID, compared to 179 previously. The number of COVID patients in an ICU is up six, to 39. There were five more patients admitted to hospitals over the 24-hour reporting period, for a total of 22, and 10 patients are on a ventilator.

Hospitals in Western & Southwest Iowa report: 15 people are hospitalized for COVID; seven are in an ICU, no one with COVID symptoms was admitted over the past 24-hours, and one person was on a ventilator.

State data shows 916,360 vaccine doses have been administered in Iowa, with 293,783 individuals fully vaccinated. Iowa’s 14-day positivity rate remains 4.1%, but the seven-day positivity rate was up a tick, to 4.2%.

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, 1,372 cases; {+2}; 52 deaths
• Adair, 933; {+0}; 31
• Adams, 327 {+1}; 4
• Audubon, 494 {+1}; 9
• Guthrie, 1,180 {+0}; 28
• Harrison County, 1,802; {+2}; 70
• Madison County, 1,596; {+1}; 18
• Mills County, 1,646; {+6}; 20
• Montgomery, 1,046; {+0}; 36
• Pottawattamie County, 10,911; {+22}; 148
• Shelby County, 1,240; {+8}; 34
• Union County,  1,274; {+4}; 31

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County report two recent arrests. Tuesday afternoon, 55-year old Edward Eugene Johnson, of Council Bluffs, was taken into custody in Council Bluffs. Johnson was wanted on a warrant for Violation of Parole. And, 19-year old Michael Lee Noel, of Council Bluffs, was arrested during a warrant check at a residence in Council Bluffs. Noel faces charges that include Criminal Mischief in the 5th Degree (damage under $300), Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 2nd offense, and Violation of Probation. His bond was set at $1,300.