(Radio Iowa) – The Internal Revenue Service is holding a National Tax Security Awareness Week. I-R-S spokesman, Christopher Miller says holiday scams ramp up in December, especially ones involving taxes. “And these frequently involve unexpected good news, like you have a tax refund waiting. But they may also involve variants which tell people they’ve got a tax bill or maybe tax documents available to download. It’s all a scam,” he says. Miller says that’s not the way the organization operates. “The I-R-S does not contact people via email or text, and we don’t ask people for their personally identifiable information. That’s a big red flag,” he says. Miller says scams involving holiday packages also ramp up in an effort to get your personal information. You can prevent big problems by being aware.

“Remember, don’t click on anything unknown, even if you just ordered gifts and you’re expecting packages, double check before you click,” Miller says. Miller says catching the scammers is not easy. “A lot of times these crooks are operating from places that are abroad or they’re simply not easily tracked down. And once they have your personal information, whether it’s your credit card or a password, they have the time to do bad things quickly, and there’s not time to stop them, even if authorities could,” he says.

This is the ninth annual Tax Security Awareness Week, and Miller says they keep on reminding you about the dangers of scammers because the scammers are not letting up.

(West Des Moines, Iowa via WHO-TV) — A woman was arrested Wednesday in connection to the drowning death of her child on October 31st in West Des Moines. Police and emergency crews responded a reported drowning at around 7-p.m. that day and found a 20-month-old who appeared to have drowned in a bathtub. The child was transported to a hospital, but despite life-saving efforts the child died, the police department said.

According to court records, the child’s mother, 21-year-old Kayla Bevar, told officers at the scene that she put her child in the tub at around 6:30 p.m. that night. Bevar told officers she typically sat in the bathroom while her child was taking a bath, but this time she had fallen asleep about 20 minutes after putting her child in the tub, a search warrant states. The search warrant goes on to say that Bevar also told officers that she fell asleep because she didn’t get any sleep the night before.

West Des Moines police said an investigation into the infant’s death began that same day and on Wednesday resulted in the arrest of Bevar. She has been charged with child endangerment resulting in death and neglect of a dependent person. Bevar is currently being held in the Polk County Jail.

(Des Moines, Iowa via KCCI) – A New Jersey semi tractor-trailer driver who led authorities on a 75-mile chase from Avoca to Van Meter early Tuesday morning on Interstate 80, is charged with eluding.  According to the criminal complaint, Jose Ariel Rosa Rivera was driving a 2021 Volvo semi-truck registered out of Illinois. When the Iowa State Patrol trooper pulled alongside the vehicle after Rosa Rivera refused to stop, the driver made eye contact with the trooper before looking ahead at the road.

Court records show a search warrant was issued for law enforcement to obtain a blood sample from Rosa Rivera to test for alcohol and other drugs. In the search warrant application, law enforcement said Rosa Rivera had bloodshot, watery eyes, “visible body tremors,” an elevated pulse while laying in a hospital bed, constricted pupils and “sporadic abdominal convulsing and heavy breathing.”

The search warrant application also says Rosa Rivera repeatedly stated “Jesus Christ is coming” to law enforcement and medical personnel. Court documents show the search warrant was executed and blood was collected from the suspect and taken to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Crime Lab for toxicological analysis.

During the incident, various law enforcement agencies deployed stop sticks as the semi approached the Des Moines metro in eastbound lanes of I-80, successfully deflating multiple tires, the Iowa State Patrol says. The vehicle continued driving on its rims until about 8:10 a.m., when pursuing officers forced him to pull off at the weigh station between exits for Van Meter and Waukee.

Authorities used tear gas to the driver out of the cab, and he was taken to a Des Moines hospital for evaluation.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks says it’s time to crack down on the business practices of Pharmacy Benefit Managers or P-B-M’s. “Currently, 97% of all prescription drugs in the United States flow through just six major PBMs. These entities are destroying independent pharmacies,” Miller-Meeks says. “…This year alone, 25 independent pharmacies have closed in Iowa and this has to stop.” P-B-Ms negotiate the prices of medications on behalf of insurers.

Miller-Meeks and other critics say P-B-M’s drive down the prices paid to the pharmacies that fill prescriptions in order to pocket a bigger cut of the insurance payout.  “Every American who utilizes prescription medications experiences the impact that PBMs and vertical integration have on our health care system. Patients everywhere and our independent pharmacists especially deserve a more transparent health care system where patients always come first,” Miller-Meeks said.

Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks speaks at D.C. news conference with John Nicholson, owner of Mahaska Drug in Oskaloosa, to her left. (Photo provided by Miller-Meeks congressional staff)

Miller-Meeks is among a large, bipartisan group of lawmakers from the U-S House and Senate who are calling for passage of a bill before congress adjourns for the year.  “The time for PBM reform is now,” Miller-Meeks said.

Miller-Meeks backs legislation that would prohibit P-B-Ms from forcing patients to use a certain pharmacy rather than the one that’s closest to them. It would also ban P-B-Ms from paying lower rates to independent pharmacies than it pays affiliated pharmacies for the same services.

(Radio Iowa) – A Japanese company has agreed to pay a nearly 460-thousand dollar federal fine after two hazardous chemical releases from its grain processing facility in southeast Iowa. Ajinomoto operates two plants in Eddyville. One makes food and seasonings, the other makes animal feed. The U-S Environmental Protection Agency inspected the facilities after a 2021 incident when hydrochloric gas was released and again after a 2022 chlorine leak.

Both incidents led to evacuations and shelter-in-place orders to residents in the Eddyville area. According to the E-P-A, some Ajinomoto employees were injured by the chlorine leak two years ago. The E-P-A accused Ajinomoto of failing to coordinate with local emergency responders about the risks associated with chemicals being used at the facility. As part of the settlement, Ajinomoto has agreed to install an anhydrous ammonia containment system on its Eddyville campus.

A spokesperson for Ajinomoto was not immediately available for comment.