A missing 90-year-old man from southwest Iowa was found dead Sunday at around 12:20-a.m. just north of Yuma, Arizona. Authorities say James Lewis Larson, from Sharpsburg, was last seen in Lawrence, Kansas, on Nov. 13th. He had been on his way to Yuma last week and stopped in Lawrence to visit family, prior to his disappearance. A Silver Alert was issued by the Lawrence, KS., Police Department, when Larson failed to reach Yuma, and his family could not reach him.

His body was found by Yuma County Sheriff’s Deputies and Rescue Unit, along with Civil Air Patrol Units. He was located in a wash near a trail in the Kofa Wildlife Refuge, near the northern boundary of the Yuma Proving Grounds Kofa Firing Range. His vehicle was found high centered nearby, and stuck on a ledge.

Authorities in Arizona are currently looking into the circumstances surrounding the death.

(Radio Iowa) — A missing Monticello man was found dead this weekend. Monticello Police say the body of 67-year-old Jay Hanken was discovered in a stretch of Kitty Creek in a remote section of Monticello not far from his home, Sunday morning a little before 11. Family and friends had reported last seeing Hanken last Tuesday night. A cause of death has not been determined — but foul play is not suspected.

(Radio Iowa) — The man accused of stealing money from a Le Mars bank last December — and using a rented truck as the get-away vehicle — has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. Phillip White pleaded guilty in June to two federal charges involving robbing the bank. White was ordered to pay restitution cost of more than $16,000 to the Iowa State Bank, and more than $5,000 to the U-Haul company. Law enforcement officials were able to apprehend White and his accomplice, Karen Merrick, a short-time after the robbery. The pair used an U-Haul truck as their get-a-way vehicle. Merrick has also pleaded guilty to being an accomplice of the bank robbery. She will be sentenced at a later date.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have released the names of two people shot — one fatally — in Waterloo. The Waterloo Police Department identified the dead man Monday as 19-year-old Marquavion Brown, who lived in Waterloo. Police say he died at a hospital after the shooting Saturday evening. The wounded man is being treated. He’s been identified as 21-year-old Quintorey Kemp. Officers found the men with several gunshot wounds near a parked car with shattered windows. No arrests have been reported.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports two Omaha residents were sentenced Friday in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, for their roles in a methamphetamine operation. 29-year old Colby Dunn, of Omaha, was sentenced to 100 months in prison (8.3-years), and 36-year old Laura Rauch Anderson, also of Omaha, was sentenced to 60 months (5-years) in prison for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine in the Southern District of Iowa, and elsewhere.

Their sentences were the result of a lengthy investigation by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force. The investigation revealed methamphetamine was brought into the Omaha, Nebraska area from Mexico and then transported to various location in Nebraska and Western Iowa for distribution.

Among those who were previously sentenced to prison as part of the investigation: Bernave Navarrete and Chris Rouse were sentenced to 20-years; Joseph Brown, Jackie Thielen and Jessica Snavely were sentenced to ten years; Brandy Kumpula was sentenced to eight years in prison; Chase Richard received a 15-year sentence; and William LaBenz was sentenced to five years.

Among those who sentences are pending, is Omar Martinez, and Manda May Rowell. The matter was investigated by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force; Omaha Police Department; Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force; Council Bluffs Police Department; Harlan, Iowa Police Department; Shelby County Sheriff’s Department; and the Lincoln, Nebraska Police Department. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Three Veterans of the U-S Army from Atlantic, were taking part in a “Ruck March” today (Monday), as part of an awareness effort with regard to veteran suicides. Casey Swanson was one the trio marching, carrying a ruck sack of personal belongings, and carrying the American Flag and one other, special item. KJAN News caught up with him, Ryan Beach and Brad Fager about 4-miles east of Wiota on White Pole Road.

(He said they picked-up to game ball for the Iowa-Nebraska football game, in Menlo. It was being carried to Lincoln, NE. over the next couple of days to raise awareness of the number of veterans lost each day to suicide.)

Ruck March east of Wiota (11/25/19 – Ric Hanson photo)

All three Atlantic man served from about 2009-to 2013. University of Nebraska-Lincoln and University of Iowa Student Veterans are part of the “Ruck March” from Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City to Memorial Stadium for the Nov. 29^th Hawkeyes-Cornhusker game, in Lincoln. The 322-mile march began Nov. 20^th.

The leg of the trek he was on ended at the Atlantic public Library. The ball was set to be handed-off to others who will continue the journey westward.

The walkers are being divided into shifts of roughly 20-miles each. Each team member was asked to carry 20-pounds of personal belongings to signify the 20 veterans who is lost to suicide each day. Swanson described his personal items being brought with him on the trek.

(Two Purple Hearts on the back of his bag for injuries he suffered overseas, some water, and a couple of combat books.)

He said most motorists passing them have been positive, honking and waving. Others were speeding by. Fortunately, two vehicles, one ahead and one behind the trio, were serving as an escort. More information is available at www.ruckfilm.com, or on the Facebook page The Things They Carry Ruck March.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports 26-year old Mariah Swanson, of Corning, was arrested this (Monday) morning, on an Adams County warrant stemming from an incident that took place Oct. 31st. Swanson was charged with Theft in the 5th Degree. She posted a $300 cash bond, and was released.

Friday afternoon, 23-year old Paul Exman, of Des Moines, was arrested in Adams County on a Guthrie County warrant.

NEW YORK (AP) — Go ahead and rinse your cranberries, potatoes and green beans. But food experts say don’t — repeat don’t — wash the turkey before popping it in the oven on Thanksgiving Day. They say that could spread the germs lurking on your turkey in the kitchen sink or nearby food. But it’s been a challenge trying to convince cooks to stop rinsing off raw poultry. “If your mother did it and your grandmother did it, and suddenly the (government) says not to wash your turkey, you may take some time to adjust,” said Drusilla Banks, who teaches food sanitation for the University of Illinois Extension.

Germs that can make people sick are common in the guts of healthy poultry and are legally allowed to be on raw turkey and chicken. The assumption is that nobody eats their poultry rare, and that thorough cooking will kill the bacteria. So it’s possible that two common causes of food poisoning — salmonella and campylobacter — are on the turkey, said Mindy Brashears, a food safety official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The do-not-wash raw poultry advice from the USDA is relatively new and perhaps hasn’t caught on because it goes against the ingrained belief that washing makes things clean, said Banks.
Participants in a food safety study offered their own rationale: “If it’s still slimy — I’m not sure what that is. It just feels good to wash it,” said one. Another said: “My grandmother taught me that. She just said to wash all your food because there’s no telling where it’s been before it got in the pack.”

Benjamin Chapman, a study author and food safety expert at North Carolina State University, said the instinct to wash raw poultry goes back at least decades when people relied more on visual cues to spot problems with poultry. TV chef Julia Child was among those who said washing chicken was “just the safer thing to do” before experts began advising against it.
But food prep is a juggling act, and germs from poultry can be spread even if it’s not washed, especially when birds are removed from packaging. It’s why washing and sanitizing hands, utensils and surfaces are even more important. The USDA-funded study underscores that point.

Researchers sprayed raw chicken with a harmless strain of E. coli and watched volunteer cooks at test kitchens. Among those who washed their raw chicken, about a quarter ended up spreading the bacteria to their lettuce. But even some of those who did not rinse the chicken got germs on the lettuce. There are other opportunities for germs to survive and thrive on turkeys: thawing and cooking. For thawing, experts say frozen birds shouldn’t be left out on counters since germs can start multiplying on the outer parts that defrost first. They instead recommend thawing in fridges, cold water or in microwaves. You can also cook a frozen turkey, but it will take a lot longer.

And to ensure a bird is thoroughly cooked, they say to use a thermometer to check that the deepest and thickest parts of it have reached 165 degrees. Even after the meal is cooked, you aren’t out of the danger zone. To keep turkey and other leftovers safe, experts say they should be refrigerated after two hours.

(Radio Iowa) — The funeral for former Iowa Lieutenant Governor Jo Ann Zimmerman is set for late tomorrow (Tuesday) morning in Des Moines. Zimmerman was the last independently elected lieutenant governor and the first woman to hold the office. She ran for governor in 1990, but ended her campaign and became Democratic gubernatorial nominee Don Avenson’s running mate. That was the first election nominees for governor and lieutenant governor ran together as a team, as the president and vice president do. Zimmerman, the first nurse elected to the Iowa legislature, was also the co-founder of a group called DAWN to help Democratic women get elected to public office.

Zimmerman’s funeral will be held at the First Christian Church in Des Moines. A visitation with her family will start at the church tonight (Monday) at 4 p.m.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A national lottery group rocked by an insider’s conspiracy to rig jackpots has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by a winner who contends his $9 million prize should have been larger. The Multi-State Lottery Association and Larry Dawson reached the settlement this month, cancelling a trial that had been set for Dec. 2 in Des Moines, Iowa. Dawson’s lawyer, Nicholas Mauro, says terms of the deal are confidential but his client is relieved to have the long-running litigation over.

Dawson, a financial adviser from Webster City, Iowa, won a $9 million Hot Lotto jackpot in 2011. His lawsuit claimed the game’s previous $16.5 million jackpot, which was rigged by association employee Eddie Tipton, should have carried over. Tipton is serving prison time in Iowa.