DES MOINES, Iowa – A federal grand jury in Des Moines returned a three-count indictment yesterday charging Shawnna Marie Cunningham, 47, with offenses related to her possession of a firearm as a drug user and her aiding and abetting the possession and disposal of a firearm to a person she knew was a felon.

According to public court documents, on September 16, 2024, Cunningham was a passenger in a vehicle that refused to stop when law enforcement attempted to initiate a traffic stop. The driver, Joshua Dean Green, a convicted felon, produced a nine-millimeter pistol and fired at Des Moines Police officers. One officer was struck in the head and another officer was struck in the arm. Officers returned fire and Green ultimately died from his injuries. Cunningham was searched immediately following the traffic stop. A methamphetamine pipe was located on Cunningham’s person. In addition, Cunningham admitted to using methamphetamine. It is a crime under federal law to possess a firearm as a drug user.

In May 2020, Cunningham purchased the nine-millimeter pistol Green used to shoot the police officers. In September 2021, Green was arrested with the same pistol and later convicted of unlawfully possessing it as a felon. In March 2022, the gun was returned to Cunningham at her request. After Green was released from prison in January 2024, Cunningham again knowingly allowed Green to access, possess, and use her firearm.

If convicted, Cunningham faces a sentence of up to fifteen years in prison on each count.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the case, with assistance from the Des Moines Police Department.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

(Radio Iowa) – Some Iowans are in the habit of gobbling a few multivitamins daily, but one health care professional says too much of a good thing -can- lead to complications.

Halley Molstad, a registered dietician at Gundersen Health System, says you don’t need a multivitamin if you’re eating a well balanced, healthy diet, though she knows older Iowans often face a series of potential barriers.

Halley Molstad (Gundersen photo)

“People might have conditions like arthritis or Parkinson’s that interfere with their ability to cook,” Molstad says. “They might have dental issues which might make it harder for them to chew certain foods, or they might have limited access to the grocery store due to transportation issues, so they’re more at risk of not getting in all of those nutrients.”

Studies show most Americans are -not- getting the recommended amounts of healthy foods they need, so Molstad says they might benefit from taking a multivitamin.

“I would prefer that people would really focus on trying to improve their diets, trying to get more fruits and vegetables, more whole grains, lean proteins, low fat dairy, that would be my first choice,” Molstad says, “but sometimes, people just aren’t able to do that consistently, so a multivitamin can be helpful to kind of fill in those gaps.”

She says people who have various health conditions should -not- be taking certain nutrients in a supplement form.

“Definitely, there can be some health risks to having very high doses of vitamins and minerals,” Molstad says. “If you are planning to start a supplement, I would encourage you to talk to your doctor, especially if you have a serious health condition. High doses of Vitamin A, high doses of Vitamin E, have some health risks.”

Gundersen Health System has clinics in Calmar, Decorah, Fayette, Lansing, Postville and Waukon, and a hospital in West Union.

(Radio Iowa) [updated]- The governor’s budget director says he’s been told by a top court official that the computer programming error that has improperly distributed over 53 million dollars in court fees and fines has NOT been fixed. Kraig Paulsen spoke with reporters late this (Thursday) morning. “My understanding is that the system is still not corrected and I have offered assistance to the chief justice and she is taking me up on that and we’re meeting here very soon, as in yet this week,” Paulsen said. “…We don’t have the code, we haven’t seen the code and by this I mean the programming code and so that all has to be analyzed, but it is my understanding that the errant distributions continue to this day.”

The Judicial Branch has not issued a statement on the situation. Paulsen says the state fund for road and bridge projects has been shorted by nearly 10 million dollars over the past few years, for example, and some of the money it should be getting is still being sent elsewhere. Paulsen says he’ll discuss all the misdirected funds with the chief justice.  “What has to be corrected from what’s already been done and how do we fix this prospectively,” Paulsen said. The state court system is an independent branch of state government. However, the legislature and governor approve the budget for the courts. Spending levels for several programs that were changed five years ago were not programmed correctly into the court’s computer system.

Paulsen says court officials have given his department spreadsheets explaining the under-funding and where the over-payments have gone. “Some counties got more than the distribution dictated or the law dictated and some got less, so on and so forth and we’re going through that right now,” Paulsen says. “It’s a lot of money and a lot of different distributions. It’s going to take a little bit to unwind.”

Paulsen says he believes the age of the computer system for Iowa courts is a factor in this, but he’ll find out more when he meets with the Iowa Supreme Court’s chief justice.