Legislators on the committee that drafts the budget for the state court system are asking if there’s a way to collect more court fees — to make up for expected budget cuts ahead. State Court Administrator Todd Nuccio says most people involved in criminal cases can’t afford the current fees.”You also have an access to justice issue on the civil side” he said. “There’s a tipping point where you are not making the bar too high for the public to gain access to the court.”

Nuccio is the top administrator in the state court system. He’s warning lawmakers of court delays and possible closures if they cut more from the court system’s current budget than the one-point-six million that’s been propoed. “We would not be closing courthouses or closing clerks of courts offices, to be more specific, with the $1.6 (million cut),” Nuccio says. “You go beyond that $1.6 (million), we start to have to look more seriously.”

At one point this year, Senate Republicans voted for a nearly five million dollar cut to the courts. Nuccio says he’s holding 134 jobs open in the court system, in anticipation of the current round of cuts to the current year’s budget.

(Radio Iowa)

A whimsical survey about how much money the Tooth Fairy leaves under pillows actually has a good track record with mirroring the real-world stock market’s S-and-P 500 index. Dr. Jeff Chaffin, a dentist and the dental director of Delta Dental of Iowa, says the latest survey finds the Tooth Fairy has tightened her money bag after an all-time high payout in 2016. “In the Midwest we’re seeing a little over $4, or $4.37 left per tooth by the Tooth Fairy,” Chaffin says. “It’s dropped a little bit and we’re a little lower than other areas. The western section of the U.S. tends to be the highest.”

That four-37 figure is the average payout for the all-important first tooth while remaining teeth drop to an average of three-44 per tooth, or about 20 percent below the national average. Over time, the Tooth Fairy Index shows that the value of a lost tooth is closely related to the nation’s economy.  “Traditionally, the reimbursement, if we call it reimbursement by the Tooth Fairy, has fallen in line with the S&P,” Chaffin says. “During good economic times, it seems like the Tooth Fairy leaves more money. This year it didn’t exactly track with that, but that’s been the trend over time.”

For 12 of the past 14 years, the trend in average Tooth Fairy giving has tracked with the movement of the S&P 500. While the money’s nice when you’re a kid, Chaffin reminds what’s more important is the condition of the teeth. “We hope those teeth are nice, healthy teeth when they fall out and we hope the teeth actually fall out as opposed to having had dental disease and having to be extracted,” Chaffin says. “These teeth naturally falling out are part of the natural process and we like to reward those good, healthy behaviors.”

There’s a clear tie, he says, between oral health and overall health. Chaffin says teaching good daily dental habits early could save the child from many dental and health issues later in life.

(Radio Iowa)

EAGLE GROVE, Iowa (AP) — A 55-year-old woman has been identified as the person killed in a north-central Iowa house fire. The Messenger reports that Eagle Grove police have confirmed the body found by firefighters Monday night was that of Laurie McPherson. Two other occupants escaped the blaze but required medical help.

Fire Chief Tom Peterson says an electrical fire in the kitchen spread through the rear of the structure.

(Updated 10:45-a.m.) The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office report a man who intended to visit an inmate at the Pott. County Jail, Thursday, was himself arrested, on a Pottawattamie County warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense. 30-year old Terrell James Cheatams, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at around 1-p.m., and booked into the jail.

A Nebraska woman who was at the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office, Thursday, was arrested on a warrant for OWI/1st Offense. 46-year old Angela Jeanne Sheridan, of Omaha, was placed under arrest in connection with an earlier accident, whereby deputies detected the smell of alcohol in her vehicle. She claimed she had passed the PBT (Preliminary Breath Test), but the warrant remained valid.

A man from Montgomery County was arrested Thursday afternoon in rural Council Bluffs, following an investigation into a disturbance and harassment in progress. 27-year old Ian Anthony Clark, of Red Oak, was arrested for Harassment in the 3rd Degree following the incident, which also involved a 44-year old female. And, an Omaha man was arrested late Thursday night, following a property damage accident. 20-year old Myint Aye, a passenger in the vehicle, was taken into custody for Interference with Official Acts and Simple Assault.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports also, a woman wanted on a warrant for Probation Violation, turned herself-in to the Sheriff’s Office, Wednesday afternoon. 25-year old Natalie Pearl Edmondson, of Council Bluffs, was taken into custody and transported to the Pott. County Jail, where she was turned over to Corrections Staff.

And, a Pott. County Deputy on patrol Wednesday afternoon, came upon a pickup that broken down, in the vicinity of 340th and Dogwood Road. He made contact with the occupants of the vehicle, and  after a records check, arrested 20-year old Joshua Treylor Brown, of Council Bluffs. Brown was arrested for Carrying Weapons, and two counts of having a concealed weapon (knives).

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A former executive director of Habitat for Humanity in Council Bluffs has been given five years of probation in a federal identity theft case.
The Daily Nonpareil reports that Gina Malloy was sentenced Wednesday. FBI investigators say Malloy forged a signature and used the victim’s name, Social Security number and other information on loan and credit card applications. Investigators say the crimes occurred when Malloy was working for Habitat.

She left its employ and became executive director of Joslyn Castle in Omaha, Nebraska, in August 2015. She left that job in May 2016. Malloy’s also known as Gina Primmer.
Her plea agreement says Malloy agreed to pay at least $13,490 back to Habitat and $12,100 to U.S. Bank in restitution.

Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees, today (Friday), said in a statement, “Due to the forecast of increasingly high winds in the next few days, we are advising NO BURNING of any type in and around Atlantic, or for that matter, in Cass County. Fire danger conditions will worsen as winds dry out vegetation. Even though it may appear conditions are favorable due to recent precipitation, it will quickly become a greater hazard. Winds will make any type of wildland fire difficult to control and will spread quickly to many areas that are virtually inaccessible due to the wet soil conditions, hampering firefighters gaining access.”

McNees said also, “Burning of trash in burn barrels will also be a risk and is not advised. As always, anyone wishing to burn at anytime is asked to contact their local fire chief for consultation. Several departments are trained to conduct controlled prescribed burns should landowners need to do mid management burns, or simply wish to clear areas of their land.”

A man from Polk County was arrested Thursday afternoon in Creston, for Violating the terms of his Fort Des Moines Work Release Program, by escape. 30-year old Saul Alexi Cortez, of Des Moines, was arrested at around 4:52-p.m., at 800 W. Taylor Street, in Creston.  Cortez was being held in the Union County Jail awaiting transport to Polk County.

PRIMGHAR, Iowa (AP) — A man felled by toxic gas inside a northwest Iowa hog confinement barn has won nearly $1.2 million for his injuries. An O’Brien County jury hearing the lawsuit trial found property owner Patrick Probst negligent for the 2014 incident and Tuesday awarded Thomas Mook the money.

Probst had been pumping manure from a pit under the barn Mook was power washing Oct. 16, 2014. The pumping caused hydrogen sulfide to be released. Mook contended the barn had not been adequately ventilated before he arrived the next morning to continue the work.

Mook was overcome when he entered the barn office. He subsequently was hospitalized and underwent two years of physical therapy. His attorney says Mook suffered two strokes resulting in brain damage that left him with partial short-term memory loss.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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