WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman is charged with murder after police say she bound and gagged her husband for hours, leading to his death. West Des Moines police say officers arrested 41-year-old Gowun Park on Wednesday. The charges stem from the death Saturday of her husband, 41-year-old Sung Nam.

Court records say Park used zip ties to bind Nam’s feet and hands to a chair, jammed clothing into his mouth and used duct tape to attach a towel over his head. Officers were called Saturday evening and found Nam on the floor. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. Park is being held at the Dallas County Jail.

Atlantic, IA — Officials with the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic, announced today (Wednesday), CCMH has been named a 2020 Top 100 Critical Access Hospital by The Chartis Center for Rural Health. The annual award honoring rural hospital performance is determined by the results of iVantage Health Analytics’ Hospital Strength INDEX®, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2020.

Brett Altman, CEO of Cass County Health System, says “Our vision is to be the best rural hospital in America for patients to receive care, employees to work, and physicians to practice. We don’t just say that because it sounds good – we say that because we truly mean it. It’s ingrained in all of us to dedicate ourselves to the care that we provide to every patient, every time. We’re honored to once again receive this award, which validates that we’re moving in the right direction for everyone that we’re blessed to serve.”

Based entirely on publicly available data, the INDEX is the industry’s most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural hospital performance. Utilizing 50 independent indicators, the INDEX assesses performance across eight pillars of performance that span market-, value- and finance-based categories. Hospitals recognized as a Top 100 facility had one of the 100 highest overall scores among all Critical Access Hospitals nationally.

Michael Topchik, National Leader, The Chartis Center for Rural Health, says “The Top 100 Critical Access Hospital award program reminds us that rural providers haven’t lost touch with their mission and are committed to delivering better quality, better outcomes and better patient satisfaction. It’s a pleasure to be able to not only recognize this year’s recipients, but our larger group of top 100 alumni as we celebrate 10 years of The Hospital Strength INDEX.”

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Forecasters say up to 6 inches of snow could make travel treacherous in much of Nebraska and northwest Iowa on Wednesday and overnight. The highest totals are expected along the U.S. Highway 20 corridor, with lesser amounts to the south. A National Weather Service advisory says the snowfall is expected to end overnight, and sunny skies with temperatures hovering around 30 are expected Thursday.

(12-p.m. News) — The Atlantic Police Dept. reports seven arrests took place from Feb. 9th through the 19th. Taken into custody today (Wednesday), was 27-year old Daniel Jones, of Atlantic, on charges that include Interference with Official Acts, Disorderly Conduct, and Harassment in the 3rd Degree. Yesterday (Tuesday), 18-year old Cheyenne Toepfer, of Audubon, was arrested in Atlantic on a Cass County warrant for Driving While Suspended.

On Sunday, 22-year old Kaylee Roach, of Atlantic, and 26-year old Robert Joens, of Exira, were arrested in Atlantic for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Joens was also charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance.

On Feb. 11th, 43-year old Joseph Grimes, of Wiota, was arrested for Operating While Under the Influence. And, on Feb. 9th, 20-year old Tyler Petty, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI, and, 33-year old Michael Medina, of Atlantic, was arrested for Violation of a No Contact Order. All subjects were booked into the Cass County Jail.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports numerous arrests took place over the past week and a half. Today (Wednesday), at around 3:20-a.m.,  37-year old Michael Thomas Lenz, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at Bunge Avenue & I-29, of OWI/1st offense. On Tuesday, 29-year old Amanda Elizabeth Fisher, of Omaha, was arrested at the Pottawattamie County Jail, on a Mills County warrant for Probation Violation, and, 26-year old Dana Maraleee Hornung, of Hubbard, IA, was arrested for Driving Under Suspension, and Operating a Non-Registered vehicle.

On Monday, 38-year old Donovan Edward Hankins, of Tabor, was arrested in Fremont County, on a Mills County warrant for Sex Offender-Verification Violation. His bond was set at $10,000. Last Saturday, 43-year old James Daniel Tupy, of Hastings, was arrested in Mills County for Driving While Barred. On Friday, 35-year old Megan Renee Daughtery, of Brighton, CO., was arrested for being a Fugitive from Justice. She was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

Last Thursday, Mills County Deputies arrested 33-year old Bret Wade Shepperd, of Emerson, on a warrant for Failure to Appear. He was being held without bond. And, 19-year old Austin Joseph Marsh, of Omaha, was arrested at the Mills County Jail, on a warrant for Attempted Burglary in the 3rd Degree, Criminal Mischief, and Theft in the 5th Degree. On Feb. 11th, 50-year old John Paul Hauger, of Glenwood, was arrested on a Pott. County warrant for Contempt of Court.

And, on Feb. 9th, 22-year old Johannes Jean Louise Sales, of Glenwood, was arrested for OWI/1st Offense. 44-year old Reagan Dee Roeder, of Red Oak, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, and Open Container.

Five Atlantic churches will be observing the Lenten season together through a rotating dinner and worship service. Pastor Ray McCalla with the 1st Baptist Church in Atlantic, says each congregation will host a meal for everyone, followed by a worship service that reflects their own tradition. Everyone is welcome to join in. The meals start at 6:00 p.m., and the services start at 7:00 p.m.

Here is the schedule:

• March 4 at First United Presbyterian Church, 616 Chestnut St., Sharon Worthington presenting.
• March 11 at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church, 1011 E. 13th St., Dean McPherson presenting.
• March 18 at Ss Peter & Paul Catholic Church, 106 W. 6th St., Ray McCalla presenting.
• March 25 First United Methodist Church, 800 Poplar St., Father Trevor Chicoine presenting.
• April 1 First Baptist Church, 710 Walnut St., Rachelle McCalla presenting

ATLANTIC – Officials with the Cass County Health System (CCHS) say several scholarships are available to area students through CCHS and its affiliate organizations.  Cass County Health System offers a $1,000 scholarship to southwest Iowa students pursuing a four-year degree in a health-related career. The deadline to apply is April 1st, 2020.

Cass County Memorial Hospital Auxiliary provides grant-in-aid scholarships for students pursuing a health-related career. Deadline is April 1, 2020. The Cass County Health System Foundation is offering $10,000 in scholarships to students who are enrolled and have been accepted into a nursing or medical doctor educational program. The scholarships were established by a bequest from Louie and Elsie Hansen. Again, the deadline is April 1st.

Applications are available on the Cass County Health System website, www.casshealth.org, and can be turned in to the Public Relations Office by the respective deadlines listed above. For more information, contact Ann McCurdy, Public Relations Coordinator, 712-243-7405.

(Radio Iowa) — A key legislator has tabled a bill drafted in response to significant rent increases in mobile home parks in Iowa that were recently purchased by a Utah-based company. Republican Representative Steven Holt of Denison is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. “It initiates some price controls and some things that we, as free market folks, are not comfortable with,” Holt says. “…The bill before us is simply too expansive in nature.”

Holt says lawmakers will look for other ways to help residents of these mobile home parks facing stiff rent hikes and may attach those proposals to other bills that are eligible for House debate. “These mobile home parks provide a really important level of affordable housing and we have to be careful that decisions we make don’t render those things economically not feasible anymore,” Holt says.

Holt says the chief concern is if legislators impose rent controls on mobile homes, apartment dwellers will seek the same kind of protection. “There’s a lot of philosophical issues here that we have to work through here,” Holt says. “We want to provide some relief and we want to be able to protect folks from bad actors. I started out my career in the Marine Corps. I lived in a mobile home park because that’s what I could afford as a private in the Marine Corps. I understand the difficulty of moving a mobile home if rent goes up on a lot that so, so much.”

The bill that’s been tabled mostly would have limited the rent increases in mobile home parks to the rate of inflation, with some exceptions. Critics said that would prevent mobile home park owners from adequately maintaining the property. A group of mobile home residents will be at the statehouse later this (Wednesday) morning to ask legislators for help.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A Davenport business owner has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for tax crimes. Federal court records say Jonathan Folker also was ordered at his sentencing Thursday in Davenport to pay restitution of nearly $257,000. He’d pleaded guilty to two counts of tax evasion and one of filing a false tax return. A plea agreement says Folker didn’t file individual returns for 2001 through 2011 or 2013 through 2017. It says that when he filed a return for 2012, he reported less income than he earned. The agreement also says Folker didn’t file some returns for his company, Nerdwerx.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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