(Radio Iowa) – A large crowd gathered today (Friday) in the Independence high school gym for the funeral of an Iowa State Trooper who was shot to death a week ago during a stand-off with an armed man in Grundy Center. For more than half an hour, officers from all over the country saluted as they filed by Sergeant Jim Smith’s flag-draped casket. Paul Heppner, interim pastor at Smith’s church in Jesup, spoke of the trooper’s faith to start the service. “He’s been a blessing to us and it’s difficult for us to let him go,” Heppner said.

ISP Sgt. Jim Smith

Hepner called Smith “the real deal.” “Jim had integrated God’s word into every part of his life and Jim’s internal compass pointed directly to honesty, integrity and love,” Heppner said. “See, Jim wasn’t putting on an act. It was his inner purity that made him unique.” John Noll, the worship leader at Smith’s church, delivered a closing prayer. “Friends, family, those he service with, those who he worshipped with — we all miss Jim and our hearts and our minds struggle to understand why this happened,” Noll said. “…We thank you for his life, his example of serving and we are forever grateful and forever better people for having known him.”

Colonel Nathan Fulk, chief of the Iowa State Patrol, called Smith a selfless leader. “Jim’s priorities were faith, family and his commitment to public service and his community,” Fulk said. It’s been 85 years since an Iowa State Trooper has been shot to death while on duty.  “During a time in history when we wonder with conflict and adversity and challenge, we can doubt the support we have in society,” Fulk said. “However the outpouring of support for the city of Independence has been truly amazing. You’ve reminded us why we love working, living and serving in the State of Iowa.”

As is customary, a final radio call for Smith was played to conclude the service.

Smith, who was 51, leaves behind a wife, a daughter and a son. Smith’s family has established a memorial fund to finance a scholarship in his name.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne is co-sponsor of a pay equity bill that cleared the U.S. House Thursday. Axne says it would provide women new tools to fight wage discrimination in their workplace. “More than five decades after we passed the Equal Pay Act, we’re still only making 82 cents for every dollar earned by a man,” Axne says. And she says that pay gap is even wider for Black and Latino women. Axne says data shows women, especially working moms, were pushed out of the workforce during the pandemic and the bill addresses some of the loopholes that preserve the gap between what women and men earn.

“The ability to retaliate against employees who discuss their wages — those are the types of things that would be closed with this,” Axne says. The bill would eliminate barriers to class action lawsuits over wage disparities and it would limit how much information businesses can seek about what a job prospect is earning at their current job. Half of women who work — even those who are married — say they are the primary breadwinner in their household.

“This is not just a women’s issue,” Axne says. “This is a family issue and this is an economic issue.” The bill passed the House with a bipartisan majority and awaits action in the U.S. Senate.

(Radio Iowa)  – Iowa’s unemployment rate for March was the same as it was in February — three-point-seven percent. The number of Iowans receiving unemployment benefits increased slightly in March, just as the total number of people working in Iowa grew by about 32-hundred.

According to Iowa Workforce Development, the state’s hospitality industry has hired four-thousand people since December, mostly for work in restaurants and hotels.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a Shenandoah man being held in the Pott. County Jail, was served Thursday, with a warrant for possession of drug paraphernalia and eluding a police officer. 39-year-old Alfred Vernon Mutchler, Jr., was then returned to the custody of Corrections staff. A man from Carson was arrested Thursday morning, for Violation of a No Contact/Protective Order. 21-year-old Riley Wayne French was taken into custody at around 10:15-a.m. at a residence in the 44,000 block of Highway 92.

Wednesday morning, Pott. County deputies arrested 30-year old Alyssa La Rae Brown, following a traffic stop on I-80 eastbound, in Council Bluffs. Brown was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense, and was later released.

There were several prisoner transfers from other jail facilities to the Pottawattamie County Jail, these past few days. Included among them was:

• 27-year-old Joseph Andrew Riesberg, of Council Bluffs, who was transported from the Montgomery County Jail to the Pottawattamie County Jail to address a warrant for Burglary 3^rd Degree, Criminal Mischief 4^th and Theft 4^th.
• 45-year-old Michelle Marie Vincent, was transported from the Douglas County Jail to the Pottawattamie County Jail to address a warrant for Child Endangerment, Abandonment.
• 36-year-old Brandon Earl Amos, of Omaha, NE, was transported from the Douglas County Jail to the Pottawattamie County Jail to address a warrant for Harassment 2^nd Degree and Operating While Intoxicated 1^st Offense.
• 46-year-old Raul Tamayer, of Lakota, was transported from the Kossuth County Jail to the Pottawattamie County Jail to address a warrant for Harassment 1^st Degree.
• and, 38-year-old Matthew Joseph Ramirez, of Omaha, Ne, was transported from the Douglas County Jail to the Pottawattamie County Jail to address a warrant for Violation of Probation.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Friday, said a man from El Centro, CA., was arrested April 9th, for Theft in the 2nd Degree (for property with a value of $1,500 to $10,000), and Possession of a Controlled Substance. 26-year-old Donovan Joseph Menvielle remained in the Cass County Jail as of Friday, on bond amounting to $6,000. And, authorities say 29-year-old Shialea Kay Cozad, of Anita, was arrested April 12th, for Driving while barred. Cozad was transported to the Cass County Jail and later released on her own recognizance

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says it’s time for the fencing around the U.S. Capitol to come down. “This is the people’s House and the people, the taxpayers, pay for these facilities,” Hinson says. “…Quite frankly, for a long time it was easier to get across the border illegally than it was to come to work at the Capitol and I think that sends absolutely the wrong message to Iowa taxpayers and Americans.” Security fencing was installed after the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6th. Hinson says the security fencing around the building where her D-C office is located has been removed. “I feel safe coming to work. I want to be very clear about that,” Hinson says. “There are a number of National Guard soldiers all around the Capitol Complex and an increased police presence.”

A Capitol Policeman was killed earlier this month as he stopped a lone attacker at the security perimeter that remains in place around the Capitol. An internal report obtained by the Associated Press raises concerns the Capitol Police are still unprepared to respond to the kind of mob attack that occurred three months ago. There is no agreement among lawmakers on how much to spend or what level of perimeter security should remain. Hinson suggests hearings that are underway will guide decision making. “They are continuing to ask questions of all the agencies involved — Capitol Police, the Secret Service, the Washington Metropolitan Police — everybody is still at the table having those conversations,” Hinson says. “and the House Administration Committee is moving forward with those hearings.”

Hinson made her comments this (Friday) morning during a conference call with Iowa reporters.

The Iowa Department of Public Health’s Coronavirus dashboard, Friday, indicated that after four days of no additional deaths to report due to COVID-19, there were 13 deaths reported from the previous 24-hours, bringing the pandemic death toll to 5,870. There was one additional death reported in Guthrie County (for a total of 29), and two more deaths in Pottawattamie County (for a total of 162). Long-Term Care facility deaths account for 2,298 of the total number of deaths across the state.

There were 519 additional positive test results for COVID-19 returned from the labs, for a total of 388,324. There remain three Long-Term Care facility outbreaks, with 30 positive cases among residents and staff within those facilities.

Health officials say COVID-related hospitalizations are on the rise, from 215 Thursday to 226 today (Friday), and there are 50 COVID patients in an ICU. The IDPH says 43 people with COVID symptoms were admitted to a hospital across the state, compared to 37 the previous day. And, 19 patients remain on a ventilator.

RMCC Region 4 hospitals (those in western/southwest Iowa) show: There are 23 hospitalized with COVID; 11 COVID patients are in an ICU; five people were admitted with symptoms of COVID, and there remain two COVID patients on a ventilator.

The 14-day and seven-day positivity rates continue to decline, with the 14-day rate at 4.6% and the seven-day rate at 4.3%.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} – if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:

Cass, 1,422 cases; {+1}; 54 deaths
Adair, 963; {+1}; 32
Adams, 340 {+2}; 4
Audubon, 510 {+0}; 9
Guthrie, 1,258 {+1}; 29
Harrison County, 1,885; {+4}; 73
Madison County, 1,676; {+7; 19
Mills County, 1,747; {+2}; 20
Montgomery, 1,079 {+0}; 37
Pottawattamie County, 11,772; {+16}; 162
Shelby County, 1,333 {+5}; 37
Union County, 1,320; {+0}; 32