KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
BRUSSELS (AP) — A vast, globalized industry of low-cost social media manipulation service providers continues to flourish, distorting both commerce and politics — including the verified social media accounts of two U.S. senators. That’s according to a new investigation by researchers from the NATO Strategic Communications Center of Excellence.
FILE – In this Monday, Oct. 12, 2020 file photo, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, uses his smartphone during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Researchers from NATO StratCom, a NATO-accredited research group based in Riga, Latvia, paid three Russian companies 300 euros ($368) to buy 337,768 fake likes, views and shares of posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok, including content from verified accounts of Senators Grassley and Chris Murphy. Both senators consented to participate. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
They paid just 300 euros for 337,768 fake likes, views and shares of posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok, including content from the verified accounts of Senators Chuck Grassley and Chris Murphy. Both senators consented to participate in the experiment.
The researchers said that while Twitter and Facebook have made some improvements, TikTok appeared defenseless.
Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CST
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa reported another 138 deaths related to the coronavirus Sunday. The high death toll follows two days when no deaths were reported. The state said 3,589 deaths have been linked to COVID-19 in the state. Officials have said there is a lag between when a person dies and when it is reported. Over the past week, Iowa has been reporting an average of 45.86 deaths per day. Iowa also reported 1,158 new virus cases to give the state a total of 267,144 cases since the pandemic began. The state said 639 people were hospitalized with the virus on Saturday, down from 679 the day before.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An outside audit found that a Des Moines library employee who died in April improperly charged more than $28,000 to a library credit card. The auditors the city hired found that Bekki Kirkland made 159 fraudulent transactions between 2016 and 2020. Roughly one-third of the improper purchases the former office manager made were to purchase prepaid VISA gift cards. Library staff discovered several suspicious purchases on a credit card Kirkland was authorized to use shortly after her death. Library Director Sue Woody said in a statement that additional procedures have been put in place to protect library funds in the future.
FAIRFAX, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified the man who died in an eastern Iowa apartment fire. The Linn County Sheriff’s office said Sunday that Ronald Weston, 43, died Friday in the fire in Fairfax. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The fire was reported shortly after 10 p.m. Friday. Flames and smoke were coming out of the six-unit apartment building when firefighters arrived. Weston was found in an upstairs unit.
The Audubon and Griswold School Boards will hold their separate, monthly meetings, Monday evening. The Griswold School Board meeting begins at 5:30-p.m in the Conference Room. Their session is expected to cover the following action [A] or Informational [I] items:
The Audubon School Board meets 7-p.m. Monday in the High School Board Room. Action/possible action items on their agenda include, but are not limited to:
Afterward, Superintendent Eric Trager will present his monthly report to the Board, followed by the Transportation Report and Principal’s Reports.
FAIRFAX, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified the man who died in an eastern Iowa apartment fire. The Linn County Sheriff’s office said Sunday that Ronald Weston, 43, died Friday in the fire in Fairfax. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The fire was reported shortly after 10 p.m. Friday. Flames and smoke were coming out of the six-unit apartment building when firefighters arrived. Weston was found in an upstairs unit.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An outside audit found that a Des Moines library employee who died in April improperly charged more than $28,000 to a library credit card. The auditors the city hired found that Bekki Kirkland made 159 fraudulent transactions between 2016 and 2020. Roughly one-third of the improper purchases the former office manager made were to purchase prepaid VISA gift cards.
Library staff discovered several suspicious purchases on a credit card Kirkland was authorized to use shortly after her death. Library Director Sue Woody said in a statement that additional procedures have been put in place to protect library funds in the future.
The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department’s Board of Directors will hold their regular monthly meeting via Zoom, Monday evening, beginning at 5:15. On their agenda under Action Item/New Business, is the following:
In the Director’s Report, Parks and Rec Director Bryant Rasmussen is expected to discuss:
Red Oak Police, Saturday, arrested 24-year old Brandon Joseph Floyd Light, of Red Oak. Light was taken into custody at around 5:20-p.m. in the 700 block of E. Washington Avenue, for Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense, a Serious Misdemeanor. He was being held without bond, in the Montgomery County Jail.
The latest information from State of Iowa’s coronavirus dashboard, Sunday, indicated that after two days without any reported deaths, 138 Iowans had died from COVID-19. The IDPH said 3,295 deaths were attributed to Underlying Conditions (disease or injury that initiated events resulting in death), and 294 were due to Contributing factors (a disease or condition that contributes to death). The death toll since the beginning of the pandemic is 3,589. The data show there was one more death reported in each of Adair, Harrison and Mills Counties, and two more deaths in Union County and four more in Pottawattamie County. Long-Term Care (LTC) facility deaths are unchanged from Friday’s report, when the toll was 1,135.
Long-Term Care facility outbreaks stand at 142. There are 5,774 positive cases and 3,179 recoveries reported in Iowa’s care facilities. State data shows 1,315,996 Iowans have been tested for coronavirus. The number of new positive COVID-19 cases statewide is 1,158, for a total of 267,144. Negative test results to-date, number 2,574,305. The IDPH says a total of 213,643 Iowans have recovered from the virus. Iowa’s 14-day positivity rate is 13.1%, while the 7-day rate is 10.2%.
Hospitalization data: show 639 Iowans with COVID-19 are in hospitals across the state (down from 7691 yesterday); 149 COVID patients are in an ICU (an increase of nine since Saturday); 93 were admitted (compared to 95 yesterday); and 79 are on a ventilator (2 more than Saturday). Hospitals in western/southwest Iowa (RMCC Region 4) report: 39 are hospitalized; 19 are in an ICU; four people were admitted, and seven patients remain on a ventilator.
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:
FAIRFAX, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a man has died in an Iowa apartment fire. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that the fire was reported just after 10 p.m. Friday in Fairfax. Smoke and flames were pouring from the apartment building when deputies and fire crews arrived. The release said the victim was found in an upstairs unit and pronounced dead. His name was not immediately released. The cause of the fire has not been determined. The State Fire Marshal’s Office is assisting in the investigation. The sheriff’s office says the Red Cross is helping displaced residents.
Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater, Saturday, reported three arrests took place this past week. On Wednesday (Dec. 16th), 42-year old Shane Robert Seagler, of Massena, was arrested by Police in Adair, on charges that include Possession of a Controlled Substance (2 counts: Marijuana & Methamphetamine); Possession of Drug Paraphernalia; and Theft in the 5th Degree. He was taken into custody after the Kum & Go in Adair reported a theft at around 6:50-a.m.
The clerk identified Seagler – whom she knew – and reported he allegedly stole a bottle of Black Velvet. Video surveillance backed-up her claim. Seagler initially left the store, but returned at around 2:20-p.m. A van he was a passenger in was pulled over at 5th Street and I-80. The officer saw inside the vehicle, in plain view, the bottle of whiskey and an open can of beer. Other items, including a pipe, a glass pipe, butane torch used for smoking meth, a scale and a gum container contained meth and marijuana were found inside the van. The driver – Mathew Mitchel – was cited for open container, and released. Seagler admitted the drugs were his. He was cited and released from the scene.
Sheriff Vandewater says 20-year old Amber Mileena Parmenter, of Creston, was arrested Dec. 16th, for Driving While Barred. She was cited at the scene and released. And, as we have previously reported, 43-year old Dixie Lou Hernandez, of Stuart, was arrested Dec. 16th by Stuart Police, on a Union County warrant for Violation of Probation. She was transferred to the custody of Union County Deputies.