GUTHRIE CENTER, Iowa (AP) — A central Iowa woman whose 11-month-old son drowned in a bathtub has been sent to prison. Guthrie County District Court records say 25-year-old Seaira Briceno was sentenced Monday to 15 years. She’d pleaded guilty to child endangerment and manslaughter. Those sentences are to be served after her sentences for drunken driving and two counts of child endangerment in Marshall County.

The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office says Briceno’s baby drowned Aug. 10 when she left him and his 2-year-old brother in the tub at their Bagley home. Briceno told investigators she left the boys for about five minutes, but deputies believe the children were left alone longer.

No injuries were reported after a semi tractor-trailer hauling a load of cardboard boxes caught fire on Interstate 80 during the mid-afternoon hours, Thursday. Officials closed both westbound lanes of I-80 between Neola and Underwood for a couple of hours while the fully engulfed semi was being extinguished and the mess cleaned-up. There’s been no word on how the blaze started. 

Photo from the KNOD Facebook page.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa State University researchers say the largest population of monarch butterflies in more than a decade could be headed to Iowa and the Midwest later this spring, prompting a good news-bad news scenario. Steve Bradbury, an I-S-U professor of natural resource ecology, says some 225-million adult monarchs may arrive in the next month or so and they’ll need more milkweeds on which to breed. “If these numbers coming up are as high as we think they might be, we could be overwhelming the amount of milkweed we have in the upper Midwest and Iowa,” Bradbury says. “What we want to do is build our habitat bank, if you will, in Iowa, up to the point that we can maintain those high numbers of monarchs.”

Iowans in rural and urban areas are encouraged to create milkweed habitats, as that’s the only place the important crop pollinators will lay their eggs. “It’s very helpful if folks in Des Moines and Sioux City in their gardens are getting habitat patches started and county parks and city parks, Iowa renewable fuel facilities, getting their patches in,” Bradbury says. “It all combines and is important.”

If the state wants to maintain higher numbers of monarchs, it will need to add a half-million to a million acres of habitat over the next ten to 20 years. Habitat loss and pesticide use have caused monarch populations to drop over the past decade. In recent years, Iowa’s cities, farmers and individual Iowans have joined to create or preserve habitat that’s vital to monarchs, including the cultivation of nectar plant gardens. “Getting new habitat in the ground is picking up the pace,” he says, “and people being really careful about the habitat that’s already on the landscape and protecting it.”

Bradbury says expanding monarch habitat in Iowa will play a major role in the recovery of the species.

(Thanks to Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) — A bill that has cleared the U.S. House would make it easier for generic drugs to be sold in America, a move meant to limit the rising cost of prescription drugs. Third district Congresswoman Cindy Axne of West Des Moines says prescription medications cost more in America than in any other country.

“A teacher in Farragut who’s had diabetes for 20 years is spending over $750 a month for insulin,” Axne says. “That’s a third of her take-home pay and she needs a second job just to cover her costs.” Axne accuses brand-name drug manufacturers of using delay tactics to prevent cheaper generics from being sold.

The House bill would forbid brand-name drug makers from paying a generic manufacturer NOT to sell the cheaper generic alternative. In addition, the bill would make it easier for generic drug manufacturers to get important data about brand name medications.

“I ran for congress to protect Iowans, not Big Pharma,” Axne said. “And this bill will help bring generics to market quicker, lower the cost for consumers and save billions in taxpayer dollars.”

Axne — a Democrat who’s in her first term in congress — made her comments during a brief speech on the House floor Thursday. She did not mention other components of the bill, some of which are designed to help Americans navigate the insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act. Republicans in the SENATE and President Trump oppose those parts of the package House Democrats put together.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Federal prosecutors say two Iowa men face charges in separate child pornography cases. Officials say 35-year-old Aaron Olson, of Nora Springs, is charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of a child. Officials say Olson used two minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct to produce child pornography. Prosecutors also say 31-year-old Derek Clemens, of Evansdale, has been charged with receipt and possession of child pornography. Officials say he accessed child pornography on his cellphone.

WEST UNION, Iowa (AP) — A northeastern Iowa man has been charged with first-degree murder in the 2018 death of a 4-week-old infant. The Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Division of Criminal Investigation says in a news release that 22-year-old Dean Hettinger, of Westgate, was arrested Thursday at the Black Hawk County Jail, where he was being held on unrelated charges. He’s accused of causing the death of Holton Smith.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — “Lucky Larry” may have a shot to win millions more _ this time from a jury. A judge has ordered a trial in a lawsuit filed by Iowa lottery winner Larry Dawson, who contends a $9 million jackpot that he won in 2011 should have been nearly three times as big. Dawson filed the lawsuit in 2016 after an investigation revealed that lottery contractor Eddie Tipton rigged the previous $16.5 million jackpot, bought the winning ticket himself and unsuccessfully worked with associates to claim it.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A flurry of lawsuits against maker of OxyContin intensifies as Idaho’s attorney general tells the company and the family that owns of it of plans to take legal action. Six other states have announced filings this month against Purdue Pharma and another said it’s looking for a law firm to help it sue. Idaho’s letter was disclosed Thursday. It suggests a lack of progress with settlement negotiations with the company behind a drug that helped change the way prescription painkillers were used.

Audubon Community School District Superintendent Brett Gibbs has announced that the Audubon Community School District is participating in the Summer Food Service Program.  Meals will be provided to all children without charge and are the same for all children regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service.

Meals will be provided, at a first come, first serve basis, at the sites and times as follows:

• Audubon Elementary School: June 10 – August 9, 2019, 11:30am-12:30 pm

To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:

(1)      mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;

(2)      fax: (202) 690-7442; or

(3)      email: program.intake@usda.gov.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Iowa Non-Discrimination Statement:

“It is the policy of this CNP provider not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or religion in its programs, activities, or employment practices as required by the Iowa Code section 216.6, 216.7, and 216.9.  If you have questions or grievances related to compliance with this policy by this CNP Provider, please contact the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, Grimes State Office building, 400 E. 14th St. Des Moines, IA 50319-1004; phone number 515-281-4121, 800-457-4416; website: https://icrc.iowa.gov/.”

(Radio Iowa) — A western Iowa wildlife area reopened this week after being forced to close due to flooding two months ago. DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge usually sees visitors year-round, but it closed in mid-March as Missouri River levels rose. Park Ranger Peter Rea says a maintenance team from DeSoto and other nearby refuges repaired two sections of paved road that the floodwaters washed out.

“A lot of fill had to be hauled in to fill that and right now, instead of being repaved, they’ve just been covered with gravel,” Rea says. “They’re kind of gravel patches as a temporary Band-Aid before we can get it completely fixed.” Rea says the flooding has brought some animals to parts of the refuge where they normally wouldn’t venture.

“There’s a lot of birds feeding in those flooded areas because it’s shallow water and there’s a lot of fish that are trapped,” Rae says, “so it’s kind of easy picking as far as feeding goes.” They even had a couple of unusual sightings, including a blue heron, which is typically found in the Southeastern U-S. Though the refuge is open to the public, the boat ramps are closed and some hiking trails are still partly flooded.

(Thanks to Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — “Lucky Larry” may have a shot to win millions more — this time from a jury. A judge has ordered a trial in a lawsuit filed by Iowa lottery winner Larry Dawson, who contends a $9 million jackpot that he won in 2011 should have been nearly three times as big.

Dawson filed his lawsuit in 2016 after an investigation revealed that lottery contractor Eddie Tipton rigged the previous $16.5 million jackpot, bought the winning ticket himself and unsuccessfully worked with associates to claim it.
Dawson’s lawsuit against the Multi-State Lottery Association and the Iowa Lottery contends the $16.5 million should have carried over to the jackpot that he won under Hot Lotto’s rules.

Judge Carla Schemmel ruled earlier this month that the association and the lottery are not immune from liability under state law. She says that a “full hearing of this matter” is required to sort out the complex case. The case is set for trial Dec. 2.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A monthly survey of rural bankers in parts of 10 Plains and Western states shows they’re rapidly losing confidence in the region’s farm economy. The Rural Mainstreet survey for May, released Thursday, shows the survey’s overall index dropping from 50 in April to 48.5 this month. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy, while a score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, blames trade tensions and tariffs, saying they’re contributing to losses suffered by grain farmers — although livestock producers are faring better. Still, Goss says, bankers believe “the negatives far outweighed the positives.”

The survey’s confidence index, which gauges bankers’ expectations for the economy six months out, plummeted from 50 to 38.2 — its lowest level in almost two years.
Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

One person was transported to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital following a collision today (Thursday), between an SUV and a car, in Red Oak. Authorities say 79-year old Norma Jean Mullenix, of Stanton, was transported to the hospital by Red Oak Rescue, after she complained of pain and possible injury following the crash that happened at around 7:55-a.m.

According to Red Oak Police, a 1994 Buick Century driven by Mullenix, was traveling west on E. Summit Street, and was stopped or stopping, to turn onto N. Highland Avenue. A 2013 Ford Escape driven by 28-year old Tiffany Jean Mendenwaldt, of Red Oak, was also traveling westbound on E. Summit, and had a “small impact” on the rear of the Buick. Damage to the vehicles amounted to just $55 altogether.

No citations were issued.