WOODBURY COUNTY, Iowa [KCCI]— Officers acted with legal justification when they shot and killed a northwest Iowa man last October, according to a report from the Iowa attorney general’s office. Officers were called to a scene in Woodbury County on Oct. 29, 2023, after reports of a shooting. Responding law enforcement engaged in a standoff with a suspect that lasted over five hours, according to the attorney general’s report.

The suspect, Walter Sulsberger, 44, of Hornick, admitted during the standoff to fatally shooting his father in the head, the report says. Sulsberger allegedly set fires on the property and slaughtered cattle while positioning himself on a hill with an illegally modified semi-automatic weapon. Armored law enforcement vehicles approached Sulsberger shortly before 3 a.m. on Oct. 30, leading to “a heated gun battle,” the report says.

Sulsberger died from multiple gunshot wounds. The attorney general’s office determined the shooting was legally justified.

(Radio Iowa) – Community college overall enrollment in Iowa was down slightly in 2023. Amy Geiske works in the Bureau of Community Colleges in the Department of Education. “This year we saw credit enrollment level off down just point-three percent from last year since peak recessionary enrollment in 2012 there’s been an average annual decline in enrollment about at about two-point-three percent (2.3%) that’s in line with national trends,” she says. But that enrollment decline appears to be slowing. “As we saw in the fall 23 enrollment, there’s just a slight uptick, so we hope to see that in next year’s annual report,” Geiske says.”

Credit Hours are holding steady with a point-zero-five decrease in student credit hours, so almost even. Credit hours totals a little over one-point-five million, with an average credit hours at 13-point-one per student.” The number of high school students taking community college classes continues to increase. “This past year over 52-thousand high school students enrolled in joint enrollment This is up from over 50-thousand in the previous year,, so a five-point-six percent (5.6%) increase in headcount joint enrollment,” she says. The high schooler’s taking those college classes have a major impact.

“In total, joint enrollment students comprise 45 percent of all headcount enrollment at our state’s community colleges this past year. That’s a record high,” Geiske says. “At two colleges, N-I-C-C and DMACC, joint enrollment students accounted for over 50 percent of their headcount enrollment. And we have six colleges where they were over 30 percent of total credit hours.” She says the success rate of students who graduated or transferred from a community college to another school was up three percent to nearly 53 percent.

(Radio Iowa) – Advocates of the Alzheimer’s Association from across Iowa will meet at the state capitol on Monday to ask state legislators to support two priorities that will improve early detection, diagnosis and care. Lauren Livingston, spokeswoman for the organization’s Iowa chapter, says they’ll urge lawmakers to strengthen Iowa’s Dementia Services Network by placing a dementia service specialist at each of Iowa’s six Area Agencies on Aging. “What these positions can do is really help families to navigate care planning, help them find local resources to help support them through their journey with dementia,” Livingston says. “They can even perform memory screenings and ultimately, help families keep their loved ones at home longer and reduce those costs of care for families and the state.”

Another key priority for the Alzheimer’s Association and other agencies like the American Cancer Society is to ensure Iowans have access to what’s called biomarker testing, which determines if someone is at greater risk for a given disease. “One example of that could be a PET scan, which is something that is used to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, however, it’s very expensive and is not well covered by insurance,” Livingston says. “So what this bill would do is have insurance coverage of these biomarker tests to be able to diagnose people earlier, which would cut costs for the families and the state.” Iowans who are interested in dementia issues can be a part of the lobbying effort in Des Moines on Monday.

“You can visit alz.org/iowa and right at the top there is a link, you can click on to register,” Livingston says. “You can join us at the State Historical Building starting at 11 a.m. We’ll have lunch and training so you can get up to speed on what these bills are and how to talk with your legislators, and then we’ll walk up to the Capitol at 1 p.m. and meet with the legislators.”

Advocates will convene in the capitol rotunda and meet with their legislators from 1 to 4 p.m. on Monday. Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. In Iowa, more than 66,000 people have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia, and there are nearly 100,000 family and friends caring for their loved ones with the disease.

(Radio Iowa) – The wife of a Des Moines firefighter who died of cancer is urging legislators to change Iowa law. Emily Broderick’s 51-year-old husband Mike Broderick died of liver cancer in mid-January. “Unfortunately we learned through his diagnosis that only 14 cancers are covered right now for disability for the firefighters. You should say the word ‘cancer’ and it should be covered,” Broderick said. “They’re selfless servants. They run into the most dangerous of situations and how can we not give back to them?”

A memorial service for Mike Broderick was held late Thursday morning in West Des Moines. Afterwards, his wife and many of his fellow firefighters made their way to the Iowa Capitol to attend the House State Government Committee meeting. The panel unanimously passed a bill to make firefighters as well as police officers in Iowa’s municipal retirement system eligible for accidental disability and death benefits if they’re diagnosed with any form of cancer. Emily Broderick says the sooner this bill becomes law, the better.

“I do know the statistics. You’re 14 times more likely to get cancer as a firefighter,” she said. “They’re exposed to all these toxins. Their PPE has carcinogens in it.” Joe Van Haalen is president of Des Moines firefighters’ union. He says their gear contains PFAS — the so-called “forever chemicals” — to make it water repellent, plus they are being exposed to many other cancer-causing chemicals as they fight fires.  “Construction materials, the things that are inside of our houses,” Van Haalen says. “The things we encounter in house fires are just getting more and more dangerous.”

After the bill passed the House committee, firefighters lingered in Capitol hallways for handshakes and more conversions about Mike Broderick. Broderick met his wife Emily in high school in Cherokee, Iowa. He served 20 years in the U-S Army and joined the Des Moines Fire Department in 2007.

(Radio Iowa) – The Siouxland Freedom Park has opened a temporary exhibit to honor local military hero Bud Day. Brigadier General Day received the Congressional Medal of Honor after surviving years of torture in a prison camp during the Vietnam War. Freedom Park board member Marty Hogan says the exhibit honors the hero and his wife Doris as Day’s 99th birthday approaches February 24th.

“We have a lot of really good pictures, several with him and his family before he went to Vietnam and then there’s some after Vietnam. We have some little items that Doris started that remember our P-O-Ws, we have a bumper sticker from that era,” he says. Hogan hopes the display at the interpretive center of the park will spur donations of local memorabilia that will eventually become a permanent display.

“Hopefully this will kick start a few donations coming in for you know of items and then we can start on our permanent display,” Hogans says. “We would like a collage of pictures on the wall, so most of those pictures that you’ll see will be incorporated into that. But then I would like a showcase to have items inside there with little stories beside them.” Day endured more than five years of torture after being shot down. He escaped a P-O-W camp, but was recaptured and punished more for escaping. Hogan is a retired major who marvels at the fortitude of Day throughout the ordeal.

“To not hold endless hate in your heart, his faith, his faith in his country, everything that he did was geared towards getting back home to his family,” Hogan says. “And on the converse side of that, his wife was doing the same thing here. And that is a family value. I think that Americans have kind of let slip away.” Day earned 70 decorations in service to his country, second only to General Douglas MacArthur. Day was posthumously promoted to Brigadier General in 2017.

The Interpretive Center is currently open Saturdays from 10 a-m to 4 p-m in South Sioux City Nebraska.

(Creston, Iowa) – Two accidents occurred Thursday (today), in Creston, but no one was injured. According to Creston Police, the first accident happened at around 1-a.m., on Spruce Street. Authorities say a 2002 Ford F-150 pickup driven by 21-year-old Christopher Gage Selvy, of Creston, was stopped in a driveway. Selvy didn’t realize the vehicle was in reverse. When he reached down to grab something in the vehicle, he stepped on the accelerator.

The pickup crossed Spruce Street and struck a 1991 Dutchman camper which was parked in a yard. The camper was pushed into a 1990 Ford Econoline E-350 motor home/RV, which was also parked in a yard. The front of the camper also struck a 2006 Dodge RAM 2500 pickup, which was parked in front of the camper. No citations were issued.

Damage from the accident amounted to $10,500. Police were notified about the accident at around 9-a.m.

The second accident happened at around 1:30-p.m., Thursday, at S. Maple and E. Page Streets. Creston Police say a 2008 Dodge Avenger driven by 25-year-old Joshua Lee Rafter, of Creston, was traveling south on S. Maple Street, while a 2012 Chrysler van driven by 20-year-old William Brandon Berry, of Creston, was traveling east on E. Page Street.

As both vehicles entered the uncontrolled intersection, Rafter failed to yield the right-of-way. His car was struck on the passenger side rear door by the van. The damage amounted to $10,500 altogether. No citations were issued.

(Radio Iowa) – City councils would be able to strip Iowa public library boards of their authority and take over management of their city’s library under legislation that’s cleared an Iowa House subcommittee.

City councils would be able to hire or fire the library’s director and decide what books should be in the library. The bill is a response to a failed effort to get a graphic novel removed from the shelves in Pella’s library. Pella’s city council held a city-wide vote — which is allowed under current state law — that would have put the council in charge of the library, but the referendum narrowly failed last November.

“Please don’t overturn this by an end run around and legislate a way of stopping the vote,” Mary Timmer of Pella told legislators during a subcommittee hearing late this morning.

Several library directors and members of local library boards urged legislators to defeat the bill. Wade Dooley, a farmer from Albion, is chairman of the board of trustees for the public library in his town of fewer than 500 residents.

“This bill is a train wreck,” Dooley said. “It opens up all sorts of possibilities for very disastrous consequences if you get an activist city council that starts seesawing on what they believe for a library to be or not be. Our city council has barely any training to be a city council, now you also want them to run a library?” I’m sorry, but that’s not a good idea. This bill should be squashed.”

Amanda Brewer, director of the Harlan Community Library, says library boards receive extensive training in what’s involved in governing a library.

Harlan Community Library director Amanda Brewer testifies at a House subcommittee hearing in the Iowa Capitol on Feb. 8, 2024. (RI photo)

“Our city councils can’t step up and take on that role,” Brewer said. “They’re already maxxed out on their responsibilities and they also need the buffer of the library board to protect them as a city and make the decisions that need to happen in the library.”

Republican Representative Carter Nordman of Adel said he’s heard privately from members of city councils as well as city administrators who have complaints about their public libraries that go beyond debates over books and content.

“The city council funds the libraries. There’s personnel issues. There are taxpayer dollars being spent and these are the individuals who are elected to make those decisions, so if there is issues with the library board, I think the buck stops at the city council,” Nordman said. “That’s why I think I am OK with moving this forward and continuing to have the conversation on making this bill better.”

The other Republican on the subcommittee said she had “reservations” about the bill, but voted to send it on to the House Local Government Committee to “continue the conversation.” The Democrat who served on the subcommittee said the bill “is a bad idea” and “there’s no reason for it.”

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Cass Health said Thursday (today), “We have been made aware of a series of scam phone calls and texts involving Cass Health.

“The callers claim to be from Cass Health and are asking to confirm or update your information including address, phone number, date of birth, as well as billing information. These are not legitimate phone calls and residents should not give out any personal information. Please hang up and disregard these calls.

“We’ve also been made aware of scam text messages claiming patients need to pay their bill by clicking on a link. We do not send text messages about payments due. Do not click on these links; you can disregard or block the number.

Keep in mind that our Registration team may call some patients to pre-register you for a a limited number of upcoming appointments (such as telehealth or clinical dietitian appointments). If you’re ever unsure about a call from us being legitimate, you can always hang up, call us at 712-243-3250 and ask for the department that contacted you.”

(Atlantic, Iowa) — Cass Health, in Atlantic, was recently named one of the four finalists for the 2023 Rural Hospital Leadership Team Award from the American Hospital Association. Hospital officials say the award recognizes small or rural hospital leadership teams who guide their hospital and community through change and innovation. The awardees display outstanding leadership, responsiveness to their community’s health needs, and a collaborative process that has led to measurable outcomes.

Cass Health CEO Brett Altman says “Cass Health’s staff is dedicated to our vision to be the best rural hospital in the country. Meeting that goal means we do a lot of behind-the-scenes work to really delve into our community’s needs, research solutions, recruit quality providers to allow greater access to specialty care and invest for the future. We’re very proud of our entire team to be one of the finalists for the American Hospital Association award, and I hope the many southwest Iowa communities we serve feel the same.”

The American Hospital Association shared that Cass Health was selected due to their work in three main areas. First, for labor and delivery services and growth in maternal health services. Second, their student experience program that provided around 120 clinical opportunities in nursing, medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, radiology, and other healthcare careers last year. Lastly, Cass Health was selected due to their Healthy Equity Committee, which focuses on health disparities, social determinants of health, and social needs.

The winning recipient of the Rural Hospital Leadership Team Award was Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital, in Waimea. Other finalists included the teams at Providence Alaska in Seward, Valdez and Kodiak, Alaska; and Hannibal Regional Healthcare System in Hannibal, Missouri.

(Radio Iowa) – The wife of a Woodbury County supervisor who was convicted of voter fraud will be sentenced on April 1st. Kim Phong Taylor was found guilty on multiple charges in a scheme to illegally gather votes from the Vietnamese Community for her husband Jeremy. Woodbury County Auditor Pat Gill was one of the witnesses for federal prosecutors. Gill says workers in his office raised a concern about absentee ballots in the 2020 primary election. “There were 135 write ins for Jeremy Taylor as auditor and 150 in that supervisor seat. And what was noticeable, why they called me down is the handwriting was all the same,” Gill says. He says there wasn’t enough to take action on at that point.

“And I just kept saying you know it’s a get out the vote effort unless one of those voters tells me differently, there’s nothing we can do about it,” he says. Things changed when a brother and sister came forward and said they were not allowed to legally vote because someone had forged ballots cast in their names.

Kim was found guilty of 26 counts of providing false information, 23 counts of fraudulent voting, and three counts of fraudulent registration. She faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count. Jeremy Taylor, was named an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the case but hasn’t been charged with a crime. Taylor was urged to resign by fellow board of supervisor members, but has refused.