(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s top public health official says the governor’s plan to consolidate Iowa’s 13 mental health regions and 19 substance use treatment systems is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Iowa Department of Health and Human Services director Kelly Garcia spoke to legislators yesterday (Tuesday). “I really do believe today…that we’re at a bit of a call to action moment. That’s true nationally,” Garcia says. “The need for behavioral health services is outpacing what every state really is able to give at this point in time.”

Iowa Department of Health and Human Services director Kelly Garcia (official photo)

Under the governor’s proposal, seven behavioral health districts would be created. Marissa Eyanson is director of behavioral health at the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.  “Ultimately what we hear from many of our stakeholders is they are out there trying to do the very best work that they possible can, but find themselves tripping over each other because there’s a lack of clarity about, essentially, who’s on first?” she told lawmakers. “We can address that by building a comprehensive system that takes all of these pieces into account.”

State health officials say the new behavioral health system would get rid of redundancies, provide a clear way for Iowans to access services, and put unused funding toward unmet needs. The proposal is part of the state’s effort to reach a negotiated settlement to a class-action lawsuit that calls the state’s mental health care system for children inadequate, inaccessible and dysfunctional.

(Radio Iowa) – Forecasters say Iowa may not see temperatures above 32-degrees again for at least another week, and prolonged exposure to extreme cold can cause all sorts of havoc for our bodies — and for our cell phones.

Casey Brooks, manager of the US cellular store at Merle Hay Mall in Des Moines, says you may not know it, but there’s liquid inside our phones.

“What we’re really worried about with that is the lithium ion battery that’s contained inside any of those smartphones and they do contain liquid,” Brooks says. “When those batteries are put into extreme cold temperatures, the molecules shrink and that can cause potential issues for the battery life. The display, the buttons and everything can lag significantly.”

If you’ve been outside with your phone and the device is cold, Brooks says don’t try to use it until it warms up, or it may not be cooperative. “Once the phone gets back above that 32 degree mark, it’s going to start operating as normal, but that battery does have to warm back up to room temperature,” Brooks says, “and make sure you do that before you charge it.”

When it’s freezing outside, keep your phone close to your body. (Radio Iowa photo)

Many of us carry our phones virtually everywhere, but especially now, in case of emergency during this harsh winter. If you’re going to be exposed to the elements, Brooks says try not to use the phone while you’re out in the wind and cold.

“For carrying it, I would say keep it in a pocket close to your body,” Brooks says. “Your body is going to put off some body heat to keep that phone warm to prevent it from having that issue in the extreme cold. You can also put a case on that phone. That’s going to help give it one more layer of protection against the cold.”

Law enforcement encourages us to put the phone in the console or glove box while we’re driving to avoid being distracted by it, and Brooks says that’s a good idea, even in the chill.

“As long as the car is running, that should be fine,” Brooks says. “Those compartments would be heated as well, but once you turn the car off, or you’re leaving the vehicle, you’d want to take that device with you, if possible.”

She also recommends you keep your phone fully charged during the winter to avoid completely draining the battery. Taking along a portable charger may also be a good idea if you won’t be near a power source.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill that’s cleared a subcommittee in the Iowa House would make mug shots confidential in most cases, until a person is actually convicted or pleads guilty. Under the proposal, a mug shot could be released if the person is considered an imminent threat or if a judge decides to make it public.

Lisa Davis-Cook is a lobbyist for the Iowa Association of Justice, which represents trial lawyers. She says keeping most mug shot photos private would protect the reputations of people who are never found guilty. “There’s websites, there’s social media accounts that are littered with booking shots of people ‘the day after,’” Davis-Cook says. “Some of those people, the charges never go beyond that yet those pictures are out there in the public domain that can really harm them.”

Iowa House of Representatives (RI file photo)

Catherine Lucas of the Iowa Department of Public Safety says photos are important to distinguish between people with the same name. “All mug shots in Iowa have the disclaimer that the person is innocent until proven guilty,” Lucas says, “and we think the system, as is currently, works well.”

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures,  nearly a dozen states have passed laws either restricting the release of booking photos or prohibiting for-profit ‘mug shot’ websites from charging people to have their photos removed.

(Radio Iowa) – We are starting to slowly move out of the subzero temperature pattern the state has been in the last several days. National Weather Service Meteorologist Brooke Hagenhoff says temperatures across much of Iowa are already on the positive side.

“We’ll be in the low single digits this afternoon, here for Tuesday. So that will be warmer than we’ve seen the past few days,” she says. “Of course, at this point, everything’s relative based on how cold it has been.” She says they’ve we’ve transitioned the wind chill warning to a wind chill advisory that will last through Wednesday morning. Then we’ll have a small heat wave hit the state.

“We’ve got highs in the low 20s across a good portion of Iowa. So there’s our warm up. Unfortunately, that Wednesday warm up will be a little short lived. We’re going to be back into the freezer for Friday and Saturday highs in the single digits,” Hagenhoff says. The single digits will only last a couple of days.
“Sunday we’ve got highs in the 20s and by Monday and Tuesday we’ve got mid 30s across most of Iowa, so that’s whenever the real warm up starts to take place,” Hagenhoff says.

She says the warmer temperatures will help melt some of the snow that was part of the reason for the extremely cold temperatures. “It does a really good job of keeping us cold. Part of that is because it’s really reflective and so you get the sunshine on it and reflects that heat right back out. And so we don’t get as warm,” Hagenhoff says. “So we’ll have to overcome that a little bit here. Which is a reason that we tend to stay so cold once you get a snow pack like that. But the good news is it does still look like by early next week we should start to eat away at that snow pack.” She says we tend to get a these Arctic outbreaks a couple times each winter.

(Creston, Iowa) – No one was injured during a collision this (Tuesday) afternoon, in Creston. According to Creston Police, a 2015 Ford F-150 pickup driven by 58-year-old Jimmy Lee Flanigan, of Creston, was traveling north on Park Street at around 1:27-p.m., when the pickup was struck by a 2009 Chevy Silverado pickup. The driver of the Chevy was identified as 71-year-old Robert Kevin Cottrell, of Creston.

Police say Cottrell failed to yield the right-of-way at the intersection of Park Street and Lake Avenue as he was eastbound on Lake. After the Chevy pickup struck the Ford pickup on the left rear side, the Ford struck a telephone pole head-on.

No citations were issued. Damage from the collision amounted to $10,000 altogether.

DES MOINES, Iowa – On January 11, 2024, a Marshalltown man was sentenced to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to crimes of insurance fraud.

In 2018, following the EF-3 tornado that hit Marshalltown, Iowa, Timothy D. Sletten, 32, engaged in two separate schemes to defraud State Farm, the insurer of Sletten’s numerous residential rental properties, including presenting false work invoices for claim benefits. Again in 2020, following the derecho disaster in Marshalltown, Sletten presented false work invoices from contractors alleging he had paid the contractors for repairs to disaster-related damage to his rental homes when in fact he had not done so. As a result of these fraudulent schemes, State Farm paid Sletten loss claim benefits totaling just over $180,000. Following the 2020 derecho, State Farm opened an internal investigation that caused the company to deny payment of disaster-related claims made by Sletten.

Additionally, Sletten was fined $50,000 and ordered to pay full restitution. Following his prison term, Sletten will be required to serve three years of federal supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Iowa Insurance Fraud Bureau and the Marshalltown Police Department investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Laura M. Roan prosecuted the case.

ATLANTIC, IA (January 16, 2024) – Produce in the Park is seeking to hire a farmers market manager with skills in marketing and event promotion and a passion for community. The farmers
market manager is a part-time position responsible for managing Produce in the Park’s weekly summer farmers market on Thursday evenings in the Atlantic City Park and four holiday farmers markets just prior to Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter.

Produce in the Park farmers markets don’t just focus on local food and craft vendors, the events create community by offering activities and entertainment for people of all ages. While knowledge of local food and business management skills are preferred, the market manager will be primarily responsible for marketing and promotion of the farmers markets through social
media, radio, and print media, as well as vendor and sponsor recruitment and scheduling market activities and entertainment.

In this part-time position, the market manager will be required to be on-site in Atlantic at all farmers markets from set up through clean up, while market preparation work can be done
off-site on a flexible schedule. The position requires approximately 20 hours a week from mid-May through mid-October, and approximately 5-10 hours a week in the off-season. The position is expected to pay $15-20 dollars per hour depending on experience.

Produce in the Park is a non-profit organization, and the market manager will report to a board of directors who set market policies and deadlines. For additional details on the position and to apply, visit https://www.produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com/now-hiring.html.

For the latest information on all Produce in the Park markets, follow Produce in the Park on
Facebook (www.facebook.com/ProduceInThePark) or Instagram
(https://www.instagram.com/produceintheparkatlanticia/).

(Radio Iowa) – The acts are being announced for the popular Hinterland Music Festival that’s held in the southern Iowa town of Saint Charles. A total of 24 acts are being released now, with more to come later. Some of the headliners include: Hozier, Vampire Weekend, Noah Kahan, Lizzy McAlpine, Orville Peck, Hippo Campus and Charley Crockett.

Founded in 2015, the three-day concert series is billed as a music and camping festival, curated for people who love both music and the outdoors. The venue is the Avenue of the Saints Amphitheater in Saint Charles, about 30 miles south of Des Moines.

The dates are August 2nd through the 4th and tickets go on sale this Friday.

(Radio Iowa) – The body of Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger will be returned to Perry today (Tuesday). The 56-year-old Marburger was wounded in the shooting at the school January 4th and died Sunday morning at a Des Moines hospital. Community members are invited to line the procession route and dress in blue to honor Marburger.

The procession is expected to arrive in Perry around 1:30 this afternoon off Highway 141 on its way to the Caldwell Parrish Funeral Home.

Eleven-year-old student Ahmir Joliff died in the shooting — and investigators says the student shooter — 17-year-old Dylan Butler took his own life.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is postponing the trout stockings scheduled for this Friday, Jan. 19 at Big Lake, Council Bluffs, and Moorland Pond, Fort Dodge, due to unsafe ice conditions and extreme cold weather.

The stockings will be completed after the ice thickens. A news release will announce when the stockings have been completed.

The family fishing event also scheduled for this Saturday at Big Lake has been canceled and will not be rescheduled.

Upcoming trout stockings are still on schedule with significantly colder weather in the forecast. Winter storms last week may slow ice formation by insulating the ice with snow. Check the DNR Trout Fishing website at www.iowadnr.gov/trout for the most up to date information.