(Radio Iowa) – An annual report from the American Lung Association shows Iowa ranks below the national average for survival rates, early diagnosis and surgical treatment of lung cancer. Alyssa DePhillips is with the American Lung Association. She says the data also shows that among racial groups, black Iowans are the last likely to receive surgical treatment. “They may decide to opt out of treatment because their disease has progressed far,” she says, “but we don’t want people to be forgoing treatment because of lack of access to care, their provider not knowing about cutting edge treatments or stigma associated with lung cancer and the cost.”

DePhillips says the one category Iowa ranked above the national average for is lung cancer screenings. “Iowa is doing a lot in this state to try to increase the rates of people that are screened for lung cancer because the sooner people get screened, the sooner they can receive treatment,” she says, “and the more likely that surgery would be a treatment option.”

The report found 11 percent of Iowans who are at higher risk of developing lung cancer were screened in the past year. That’s almost double the national average. Only one out of five Iowans who are diagnosed with lung cancer are alive five years after learning they have the disease.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Natalie Krebs)

(Radio Iowa) – Heart disease is the top killer of Iowa women and a cardiologist and researcher says the continued stress of the pandemic is making the ailment even more lethal. Dr. Noel Bairey Merz says the Women’s Heart Alliance is launching a radio P-S-A campaign this week to educate Iowa women about the risks, the warning signs and the importance of getting “heart checked.”

“Their physicians don’t talk about it very much, but this is going to get worse because of two years of COVID mitigation,” Merz says. “A lot of deferred care, some lax blood pressure control, perhaps more smoking, things that contribute to heart disease in women.” While men may fall to the “Hollywood heart attack” clutching their chest, Merz says the signs of a heart attack in women are different and they’re often more subtle. Merz says, “Women do sometimes have chest pains but they can also have jaw pain, nausea, indigestion, overwhelming or unusual fatigue, dizziness, hot sweats and shortness of breath.”

Many women know the importance of mammograms — early screening for breast cancer — yet heart disease kills 12-times more women and it’s not something for which they’re traditionally being tested. “Cardiovascular disease kills more women than breast cancer at all ages,” Merz says. “It’s critically important to get heart checked. This is simple. It’s calculating a score based on your blood pressure and your blood cholesterol, whether or not you smoke, your age, your ethnicity.” Iowa ranks 19th in the U-S for heart disease deaths, and Merz says that’s not the place to be.

“Iowa statistics for cardiovascular disease death is a little above average and this is an area where you probably don’t want to be average,” Merz says. “The average woman and the average man in the United States dies of cardiovascular disease. That is the leading cause of death in both women and men.”

The Red Oak Police Department reports 22-year-old Harley Renea Strutton (whose address was not given), was arrested Tuesday night in the 200 block of N. Broadway Street. Strutton was taken into custody at around 8:40-p.m. for Public Intoxication. Upon entering the Montgomery County Jail, she was additionally charged with Possession of Contraband in a Correctional Institution (A Class-D Felony), and Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense. Her bond was set at $5,000.

(Radio Iowa) – A jury in Keokuk County has found a Grinnell man guilty of first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse. Thirty-one-year-old Steven Vogel was charged in the killing of 44-year-old Michael Williams of Grinnell. William’s aunt, Paula Terrell, talked with reporters after Tuesday’s verdict and says she considers his killing a lynching.  “It’s putting that rope around his neck and holding it for over six minutes, causing his death, is the definition of a hanging. A lynching. A white man lynched a black man over a white woman.” Terrell said.

Investigators have said they do not believe the killing was racially motivated. Terrell says she’s thankful for the guilty verdict. But she still believes this was a hate crime.  “The hate crime law here is very weak. And so we will continue to fight for that even after this verdict,” Terrell said. “Because there was a lot of hatred involved. The medical examiner talked about how he was hung.”

Vogel is scheduled to be sentenced on December 13th.

Des Moines, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office reports 46-year old Marlin Santana Thomas, of Des Moines, was sentenced Monday to life in prison for sex trafficking six victims by force, fraud, and coercion.  Thomas was ordered to pay $600 to the Crime Victims’ Fund and a restitution hearing was set for February 7, 2022.

Thomas pleaded guilty to sex trafficking six adult victims and admitted to trafficking a 14- year-old victim on May 12, 2021. He admitted in his plea agreement to trafficking victims beginning in 2009, and as recently as February 28, 2018, when he was arrested as part of a separate federal drug investigation, for which he is currently serving a term of federal imprisonment.

At sentencing, Des Moines Police Department Sergeant Brady Carney testified that he had interviewed an additional 11 women who Thomas had raped, attempted to sex traffic, and/or physical assaulted. In the plea agreement, Thomas admitted using physical violence against all six adult victims to coerce them to engage in commercial sex acts, including punching one victim in the face and assaulting another in her home after she told Thomas she was done working for him.

Thomas admitted to knowing one victim was a heroin addict and using her addiction to coerce her into engaging in commercial sex acts. Thomas also admitted to arranging for a 14-year-old to engage in commercial sex acts, knowing that she was not yet 18 years old.

He admitted to posting online escort advertisements of victims transporting them to hotels and motels in Iowa as well as Illinois, Missouri, and North Dakota, and keeping the proceeds from the commercial sex acts. Thomas targeted vulnerable women, including approaching women living at residential treatment centers, providing drugs to women struggling with addiction, and feigning romantic interest. He assaulted, raped, and stalked victims who did not comply.

Hotel receipts, police reports, phone records, online escort ads, medical records, photographs, and witnesses verified the victim’s accounts. The United States presented victim impact statements on behalf of six women, recounting the harm inflicted by Thomas and its lasting effects.

Anyone who suspects human trafficking is occurring, be it a minor engaging in paid sex acts, or anyone being coerced into prostitution or labor, is urged to call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.