(Radio Iowa) – After an email chain about President Trump sparked controversy, the dean of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry is stepping down from the post in June. Last October, Dr. David Johnsen co-signed an email to dental school staff and students that criticized President Trump’s executive order banning diversity training. A conservative student responded to the email. The student was notified the next month that he had to attend a professional misconduct review hearing.

The hearing was cancelled after Republican legislators raised concerns on the student’s behalf. The dental school dean publicly apologized for the incident during a legislative oversight hearing earlier this month. The controversy was not mentioned in the announcement that Johnsen was stepping down as dean at the end of the semester. Johnsen had planned to retire in June of 2022 and he’ll serve as a pediatric dental professor in the next academic year.

WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (AP) — A 34-year-old Kansas has been convicted of killing his girlfriend in Iowa in 2018. Zackery Bassett, of Elwood, Kansas, was found guilty Tuesday of second-degree murder in the September 2018 death of 50-year-old Andrea Solokowski, in Webster City, Iowa. Bassett was originally charged with first-degree murder in the case. Prosecutors said Bassett had abused and stalked Solokowski, of Sioux City, for more than a year before her death.

An autopsy found injuries consistent with asphyxiation but Solokowski’s cause of death was listed as undetermined. The maximum sentence possible for second-degree murder is 50 years in prison. Bassett is scheduled to be sentenced April 5.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says a new state website will be available, starting tomorrow (Friday), with information on COVID-19 vaccines, who is eligible to get a shot and links to providers giving shots. “But I want to be clear, you cannot schedule an appointment on this site or register to be contacted when scheduling is available,” Reynolds said, “but it will connect you to a provider for scheduling in their system.”

A private company built the www.vaccinate.iowa.gov website this past week, after Reynolds cancelled a contract with Microsoft for a website that would have helped Iowans schedule shots. The new website will have a “vaccine locator.” “You can find providers near you, click through to their websites to check availability and get details about scheduling,” Reynolds says. State officials say the website will be functional for smart phones as well as laptops and other computers. In addition, a call-in system is being set up to help Iowans age 65 and over who’ve been unable to schedule vaccinations.

The governor says operators answering calls to 2-1-1 will begin that service the week of March 8th. “In the meantime, some vaccine navigators will start tomorrow by contacting older Iowans who have reached out to their Area Agencies on Aging,” Reynolds says. The governor says the agencies have taken calls from “hundreds” of older Iowans who need help getting scheduled for a shot. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 622-thousand doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been administered to Iowans — and nearly 53 percent of Iowans over the age of 65 have had at least their first dose.

“The progress we’ve made over the last several weeks is pushing us toward a turning point in our Covid-19 recovery,” Reynolds says, “and I’m committed to continuing this forward momentum in Iowa.” Reynolds says it’s expected that 70-percent of the Tier One populations in Iowa will have gotten at least one dose, which includes first responders, K-12 teachers and child care workers. She says the state’s planning ahead for the -next- group.

“Essential workers and individuals with disabilities living in home settings are expected to start vaccination in early March and achieve the 70% mark in early April,” Reynolds says. “At that time, we could again expand to the next eligible group.” The governor says doses of the third vaccine, made by Johnson and Johnson, will begin arriving in Iowa next week, with an initial shipment of nearly 26-thousand doses. It will require only a single vaccination, with no follow-up booster shot. The State of Iowa is scheduled to receive more than 91-thousand first doses of vaccines next week for distribution to counties.

A woman from Polk County was injured during a single-vehicle rollover accident this (Thursday) morning, in Guthrie County. The accident happened as 62-year old Kristie Lynn Sheeder, of Windsor Heights, was traveling north on 190th Street at around 10:20-a.m.  Sheeder lost control of her 2008 Ford Edge, causing the SUV to enter the northbound ditch, where it struck a utility pole, and rolled over. Sheeder suffered possible/unknown injuries, and was transported by her sister to the Guthrie County Hospital.

The SUV sustained $8,000 damage and was a total loss. The Guthrie County REC pole sustained an estimated $2,500 damage. No citations were issued.

Atlantic School District Superintendent Steve Barber, Thursday (Today) issued an update with regard to COVID-19 and the District. You can read the message in its entirety, below:

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa man has been arrested and charged with livestock neglect resulting in death after authorities found dead cattle on his property. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that 43-year-old Brian Greazel, of Mount Vernon, was arrested Wednesday. Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner says deputies called to a rural property near Libson for a complaint about neglected cattle discovered numerous head of cattle dead.

Authorities say a veterinarian determined the cattle died for lack of food, water and shelter. The sheriff’s office did not say how many animals were found dead, but said 18 head were rescued from the property.

(Radio Iowa) – A Republican senator is advancing a bill to give new liability protections to companies that make and sell guns and ammunition. Senator Jason Schultz, a Republican from Schleswig, says it’s an attempt to end what he calls back door gun control.

The HOUSE Public Safety has approved similar legislation. Senator Schultz and another Republican signed off on the bill early this (Thursday) morning to make it eligible for debate in a senate committee. Richard Rogers of the Iowa Firearms Coalition is urging Republicans in the state legislature to act quickly on the bill. Rogers says the federal law that provides liability protection for the gun industry is endangered.

Rogers says gun shops and manufacturers should not be held liable if someone commits an illegal act with a gun.

Charlotte Eby, a lobbyist for the Giffords Law Center which promotes gun safety legislation, says the bill would shield gun manufacturers and sellers from being sued in Iowa, even if they acted negligently or recklessly.

A lobbyist for the Iowa Association for Justice says lawsuits over negligence are complicated and expensive — and the “loser pays” section in the bill would discourage most gun owners legitimately injured by a defective gun or ammunition from suing.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Police have arrested an Iowa City landlord, accusing her of breaking into an apartment to try to forcibly remove a tenant and hitting the tenant with a baseball bat. The Gazette of Cedar Rapids reports that police arrested 67-year-old Suzanne Dashner on suspicion of burglary and assault for the Feb. 10 incident. Police files say Dashner and three men, all armed with baseball bats and a board, went to the apartment around 7 p.m. and broke in as the tenant hid in a bedroom and called 911.

Police say Dashner and the men kicked open the woman’s bedroom door and threatened her and that Dashner hit the woman in the leg with a bat.

The Iowa Department of Public Heath, Thursday, at 10-a.m., reported an additional 690 positive COVID-19 test results returned from the labs since Wednesday, for a pandemic total of 361,764. There were 23 additional deaths reported, for a total of 5,438. There was one additional death in Pottawattamie County, for a pandemic total of 141.

Health officials say Underlying Causes deaths amount to 4,881. The IDPH says 557 deaths listed COVID as a contributing factor, while Long-Term Care (LTC) facility deaths accounted for 2,155  of the total number of deaths. Long-Term Care facility COVID-Outbreaks are down to 18 from Wednesday’s count of 20. Positive cases at LTC’s account for 460 of the total number of positive results, while 301 patients/staff at those facilities have recovered from COVID.

Hospitalizations are down. The IDPH said on Wednesday, there were 233 persons hospitalized with COVID. Thursday’s report shows 227 hospitalizations. COVID patients in an ICU are down slightly, to 55. There were 44 COVID patients admitted to hospitals across the State (compared to 52, Wednesday), and there are 2 patients on a ventilator. Hospitals in Western & Southwest Iowa report: 11 people are hospitalized (3 less than reported on Wed.); six COVID patients are in an ICU, there were NO admissions for COVID, and for the second day, no one was on a ventilator.

Iowa’s 14-day positivity rate as of Wednesday is 4.2%, while the 7-day average is 4.1%. Both are up slightly from Wednesday’s report.

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, 1,323 cases; {+2}; 48 deaths
• Adair, 916; {+5}; 26
• Adams, 326 {+1}; 4
• Audubon, 483 {+1}; 9
• Guthrie, 1,160 {+0}; 28
• Harrison County, 1,787; {+0}; 69
• Madison County, 1,536; {+5}; 18
• Mills County, 1,623; {+4}; 20
• Montgomery, 1,038; {+2}; 36
• Pottawattamie County, 10,714; {+36}; 141
• Shelby County, 1,200; {+3}; 33
• Union County,  1,260; {+1}; 31

AMES, Iowa – February 25, 2021 – The Iowa Department of Transportation is requesting public input for the proposed replacement of the Iowa 92 bridge over Sevenmile Creek southwest of Lyman, in Cass County. The project includes replacing the existing 150’ x 26’ I-beam bridge with a three span, 204’ x 40’ bridge. New bridge approaches will be constructed along with paved shoulders and new guardrails. Construction of the project is anticipated to begin in Spring of 2023.

Through traffic on Iowa 92 would be detoured during construction using Iowa 48, Cass County Road M-56, Cass County Road G-43, and U.S. 71. It is anticipated that the detour would be in place for approximately 130 days. (For more information, see the website below.)

For general information regarding the proposed improvements please view the information online at www.iowadot.gov/pim or contact Scott Suhr, transportation planner, Iowa DOT District 4 Office, 2210 E. Seventh Street, Atlantic, Iowa 50022, phone 712-249-4015 or 800-289-4368, email: scott.suhr@iowadot.us. If you do not have access to the internet, or need assistance viewing the materials, please feel free to contact Scott regarding this project.