BONNIE JEAN BRUNER, 74, of Atlantic, died Friday, February 23, 2024, at Cass Health in Atlantic. Arrangements for BONNIE BRUNER are pending with Schmidt Family Funeral Home in Atlantic.
BONNIE JEAN BRUNER, 74, of Atlantic, died Friday, February 23, 2024, at Cass Health in Atlantic. Arrangements for BONNIE BRUNER are pending with Schmidt Family Funeral Home in Atlantic.
The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Penn State, 90-81, on Tuesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes advance to 17-12 on the season and 9-9 in Big Ten conference play.
Junior Payton Sandfort had an historic night, becoming the first Iowa men’s basketball player to record a triple-double. Sandfort finished with 26 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds. Sandfort tied his career high in points and set a new career high in assists. Sandfort also set new career bests for free throw attempts and makes, shooting 18-of-19 from the free throw line.
Sophomore Josh Dix started the game 7-of-7 from the field including 2-of-2 from three. Dix finished the game with 20 points, just one shy of his career high. Freshman Owen Freeman scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Freeman shot 5-of-9 (55.5%) from the field.
Senior Tony Perkins finished the game with 10 points despite having to sit the first half in foul trouble. Perkins pulled in five rebounds, dished out five assists, blocked a shot, and had two steals.
The Hawkeyes return to action Saturday, traveling to Evanston to face Northwestern at 4:30 p.m. (CT) at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
[Iowa Capital Dispatch] – The Iowa House passed legislation Tuesday that would shift hotel and motel inspection requirements from biennial inspections to inspecting hotels typically on the basis of complaints. In the past decade, the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing’ has repeatedly violated the law requiring routine inspections of hotels every two years. House File 2426 would codify the department’s method of pursuing inspections based on both complaints and risk-based assessments to determine which facilities should be prioritized, removing the previous biennial requirement.
The legislation, passed 64-33, was amended to remove language eliminating a DIAL requirement to conduct annual inspections of businesses permitted to remove or encapsulate asbestos. The original bill would have only required inspections in cases where a complaint or referral is filed, injuries or accidents occur or if a “media notification” alerts the department that a danger exists. Rep. Jeff Cooling, D-Cedar Rapids, said the amendment took a “really, really bad proposed bill” to just a “really bad” bill. He criticized Iowa DIAL for not following current law requiring inspections every two years, and the lack of oversight and inspections.
While Iowa has 580 licensed hotels subject to inspections by the the state department, DIAL has inspected an average of 105 annually in the last three years, he said. Cooling said this may largely be because of inadequate staffing — there are currently 22 inspectors at DIAL, who also inspect food establishments, food processing plants and home food processing establishments in addition to hotels and motels. That leaves each inspector with an average 542 establishments to inspect. He said there were many cases showing the need for government review of these businesses.
Cooling shared stories of hotel inspections that found serious issues at establishments — like a 2022 inspection of a Des Moines motel that found smoke alarms were not working in five of the 12 rooms inspected, or a complaint about bed bugs at a Clive hotel that had not been inspected at any time in the seven years prior. These issues — as well as many other reported violations — have come through investigations using DIAL’s “current practice” of complaint-based inspections, Cooling said, while being out of compliance with Iowa Code. The bill’s floor manager Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Independence, said he did not want to imply “there aren’t bad operators, or that maybe some of our operators aren’t taking care of business,” but that his own experience of hotels in Iowa have largely been positive.
During January subcommittee meetings on the bill, advocates with hotel and lodging groups spoke in support of the legislation, saying that the state’s hotel industry thinks the complaint-based inspection system works well. But others, like Peter Hird, a lobbyist for the Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, said there is still a need for routine inspections, as many Iowans staying at hotels do not think to file a complaint with the state when they encounter issues like mold or bed bugs at the place they’re staying. Johnson also spoke in support of DIAL inspectors, who he said are “doing the absolute best they can” in inspections with only 22 staff available.
The bill must first clear the Senate before going to the governor for final approval. The bill’s companion, Senate File 2203, passed through the committee process in early February.
WAPELLO COUNTY, Iowa [KCCI] – The Wapello County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a body was found in a submerged vehicle in the Des Moines River on Tuesday.
According to a release from the office, a boater fishing near Rock Bluff Park reported finding a submerged vehicle in the middle of the river on Monday. On Tuesday, the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office worked with the Ottumwa Fire Department and Deran’s Towing and Recovery to come up with a plan to pull the vehicle out of the river.When the vehicle was retrieved from the water, the body of a deceased male was located inside.
The body has been sent to the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner and identification has not been released.
(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak have arrested a man wanted on a warrant for Violation of a No Contact Order. 30-year-old Dallas Eugene Davis, of Shenandoah, was arrested at around 11:53-p.m., Tuesday. Davis was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 cash bond.
(Radio Iowa) – Triple-A Iowa spokesman Brian Ortner says national research is once again showing drivers shouldn’t count on technology to do everything for them. Ortner says research found that technology designed to keep drivers from hitting things when they back has some issues. “You know the testing that was done by by the Foundation for Traffic Safety resulted in collisions with mock vehicles and pedestrians, so it shows that we have to remain alert to not become overly reliant on technology,” Ortner says. He says the system called reverse automatic emergency braking system does provide some help to drivers.
“It’s a great tool. It’s proven to reduce rear-end collisions, but what we found is not foolproof,” he says. “So you know being responsive and being responsible and checking your surroundings when you drive is still the key. It’s one of those things it assists in making your drive safer but it’s not foolproof,” he says. Ortner says technology should be used as another tool for a driver, not a replacement for being engaged.
“When you’re driving the vehicle, you’re using all your senses, your mental, your physical, your visual, and your audible senses. So making sure you keep all of that intact is very important, but use the tool for sure if it helps reduce the chances for a crash or a pedestrian injury,” Ortner says. Ortner says that advice holds true for any technology you use in your car or truck.
(Radio Iowa) – A Delaware County sheriff’s deputy is being awarded the county’s first Medal of Valor for acts of bravery last fall. Deputy Matt Menard intercepted a shooting suspect in Hopkinton on November 7th, tried to take him into custody peacefully, but ended up shooting the man — then rendered him first aid. Deputy Menard was nominated for the medal by his co-worker, Deputy Travis Hemesath, who says Menard is a role model for the department.
Deputy Matt Menard (in blue shirt & tie) receives the medal (Photo by Janelle Tucker, KMCH)
The county’s emergency management coordinator says Menard’s actions prevented further loss of life and that’s why he’s being recognized as the first recipient of the new award.
Today: Sunny & breezy. High near 33. NW winds @ 10-25 mph. Wind chill values as low as -5.
Tonight: Clear, with a low around 21. S winds @ 10-25 mph.
Tomorrow: Sunny & windy. High near 57. S/SW winds 15-35 mph.
Friday: Sunny & windy, with a high near 62.
Saturday: Sunny & breezy, with a high near 70.
Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 54. The Low was 6. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 42 and the Low was 23. The Record High for Feb. 28th was 71 in 1972. The Record Low was -23 in 1962. Sunrise: 6:58. Sunset: 6:08.
(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has voted to join more than a dozen states in establishing felony charges for organized retail theft of at least a thousand dollars in stolen property. Representative Taylor Collins, a Republican from Mediapolis, cites the case of three people arrested about two years ago after being accused of shoplifting at a Walgreens.
“The police recovered about $50,000 of product in their vehicle. The individuals also had a list of Walgreens stores and addresses in their car, leading the police to later confirm that they were at 18 separate Walgreens locations over the course of two different days,” Collins says, “so this is clearly an issue and I hope this bill addresses it.” House Republicans have had this bill on their list of 2024 priorities.
House Speaker Pat Grassley says it’s needed to deter so-called “smash and grab” episodes being reported in other states. The House has passed another bill to ban traffic stop quotas. Republican Representative Joshua Meggers is a state trooper from Grundy Center. “Current law already prohibits quotas on citations issued by law enforcement officers,” Meggers says. “This also would prohibit a quota on the number of traffic stops an officer must make, whether a traffic citation is issued or not.”
During a subcommittee hearing on the bill, a lobbyist for the Iowa Peace Officers Association said the organization favors anti-quota policies because police aren’t interested in stopping motorists just to meet a quota and want to focus on catching people who are actually breaking the law.
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