An audit ordered by the legislature last year has revealed 4,265 untested sexual assault evidence kits are stored in police departments and sheriff’s offices across Iowa. The yearlong survey of all of the state’s law enforcement agencies was conducted by the Iowa Attorney General’s office, according to Iowa A-G Tom Miller.

The initiative in Iowa, funded by a $3 million U-S Department of Justice grant, is part of a nationwide effort to address a backlog of untested kits. Miller says the “rape” kits have gone untested for several reasons – with the top responses being the victim did not wish to file charges or police doubted the truthfulness of the accusation.

(Radio Iowa)

GLENWOOD, Iowa (AP) – An investigation of verbal and physical abuse at the Glenwood State Resource Center finds employees were poorly trained and lacked supervision, leading some staffers to mistreat residents with severe intellectual disabilities and for other workers to not report the abuse.

The Joint Commission Resources consulting company wrote a 34-page report after the state hired the company to investigate the causes of abuse at the center, which houses more than 200 residents. Thirteen staff members quit or were fired over the allegations, and six face criminal charges.

The Iowa Department of Human Services released the report, labeled “confidential,” Monday in response to an open-records request by The Des Moines Register. A department spokeswoman says her agency spent up to $65,000 to commission the report because it wants to understand and fix problems at the facility.

The Audubon School Board, Monday evening, held a Public Hearing with regard to the proposed Fiscal Year 2017-18 School Calendar. Superintendent Brett Gibbs told KJAN News no one showed up for the hearing, and there were no written or oral comments about the proposal, which makes a change to the tradition of having a Spring Break.

Gibbs said there won’t be a Spring Break next year. 2018 Graduation will be on Sunday, May 20^th, and the last day of school will be during that same week, depending on the number of snow days the district has. Last month, Brett Gibbs said the teachers had overwhelmingly requested not to have a Spring Break next year, which is something they’ve been doing for the past few years.  “The novelty” he said, “Has kind of worn off a little bit.” It’s also a way to wrap up the school year, sooner.

In other business, the Audubon Education Association presented their initial bargaining proposal to the Board. The teachers proposed a total package increase of 4.5%. The next step is for the Board to present its initial proposal in a couple of weeks.

The Audubon School Board, Monday, approved the transfer of long-time Health and Physical Education teacher Sue Hawkins to an Instructional Coaches position due to the retirement of one of the Instructional Coaches. The Board will then be looking for a new Health and P.E. teacher replace Hawkins.

INDIANOLA, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say two people have died in a south-central Iowa vehicle collision. The collision occurred around 3 a.m. Tuesday, about a mile south of Indianola on U.S. Highway 65/69. Des Moines television station KCCI says the collision reportedly involved a semitrailer and a car.

The names of the people killed and other information about the collision haven’t been released.

Police in Glenwood report the arrest today (Tuesday), of 32-year old Nicholas Schirmer, of Malvern. Schirmer was taken into custody for OWI/2nd offense. His bond was set at $2,000.

An allegedly intoxicated woman was arrested Monday evening in Oakland for Child Endangerment without injury. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office says 32-year old Amber Lorraine Olsen, of Oakland, was arrested at around 6:20-p.m. following an incident earlier that afternoon.

Officials say a DHS worker went to Olsen’s home to pick up a child. Olsen was allegedly intoxicated and uncooperative. When a Deputy arrived, witnesses said the woman had deliberately given her one-year old child a drink of Vodka out of a green water bottle. She admitted to giving the child the bottle, but that the lid was closed first. Olsen’s Preliminary Breath Test showed an intoxication level of .348%, or more than four times the legal limit.

The child was taken to Mercy Hospital by their grandpa/guardian, to be checked out. Olsen complained of stomach pain and was transported to Jennie Edmundson Hospital by Oakland Rescue. She was then placed under arrest for Child Endangerment.

A Public Hearing will be held Wednesday morning at the Cass County Courthouse, in Atlantic, with regard to the Fiscal Year 2018 Cass County Budget. The hearing, which begins at 8:30-a.m., is part of the regular Cass County Board of Supervisors meeting.

The Board will then act on adopting the FY2018 County Budget and FY2018 Secondary Roads Budget. In other action, the Supervisors will review County Compensation Board recommendations for elected officers’ salaries and act on approving the recommendations. They’ll also review bids and award a contract for a Courthouse Lighting Project upgrade, and act on appointing a Noble Township Clerk to fill a vacancy term through 2020, as well as the appointment of a Zoning Commissioner to fill a vacancy term through 2020.

At 9-a.m., the Board is slated to hear from CCHS CEO Brett Altman.

The Creston Police Department reports a central Iowa man was arrested Monday afternoon in Creston, on three Union County warrants for Failure to Appear for a Forfeiture Hearing on an original charge of Sex Offender Registry Violation/1st and 2nd offenses, Failure to Appear for a Forfeiture Hearing on an original charge of  Burglary in the 3rd degree, and for Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense. 31-year old James Jack Clark, of Pleasant Hill, was also charged with Violation of the Sex Offender Registry, and Theft in the 5th Degree. His bond at the Union County Jail was set at $9,000.

An Adams County woman was arrested Monday night in Creston. Authorities say 19-year old Sydney Dimmler, of Corning, was arrested for OWI/1st Offense. She was later released on $1,000 bond.

And, 19-year old Elena Valenzuela, of Ames, was arrested Monday afternoon in Creston, for Theft in the 5th Degree and Possession of a Controlled Substance. She was later released on a $300 bond.

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

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The 2017 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report shows the number of Iowans impacted by the memory-robbing disease continues to grow. Carol Sipfle is the Executive Director for the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Iowa Chapter. “The number of Iowans with Alzheimer’s Disease has gone up. And the 2017 estimates are that 64-thousand Iowans have Alzheimer’s, and that’s compared to 63-thousand the last few years,” Sipfle says.

The projections in the report show Alzheimer’s cases increasing by around three percent by 2020, and then jumping by around 14 percent to 73-thousand in Iowa by 2025. Sipfle says the increase is due to people living longer as aging is the highest risk factor. “Secondly we expect the cases of the disease to increase because of better ways of diagnosing the disease and reporting it. So, we expect more people to have it,” Sipfle says.

Alzheimer’s disease most often strikes Iowans who are over the age of 65 and those age 85 and over account for nearly half the cases. “It is the sixth leading cause of death in Iowa, “Sipfle says, “and people don’t think of Alzheimer’s disease as a cause of death. But it is the sixth leading cause of death in Iowa, as it turns out.”

The impact of the disease goes well beyond those who have it — as the report says the cost of caring for Alzheimer’s and other patients with dementia is estimated at 259 BILLION dollars in 2017. “It’s staggering, I think in part because there is no known way to prevent, treat or cure Alzheimer’s,” Sipfle says. “So, all of those costs are really put into caregiving and just trying to help the person with the disease live a comfortable life during the duration of the disease.”

Sipfle says the positive news is there is a lot of research underway. She says some of the trends in research are to look for biomarkers in the blood to detect Alzheimer’s disease or changes in the brain long before the symptoms are identified. “And that is encouraging, because then if we can determine what that is then medications can be developed to slow the onset of Alzheimer’s disease,” Sipfle says.

Sipfle says there is a worldwide study on ways to prevent the disease. “These are all encouraging — they all however do take time and of course take money to speed up the process and find solutions to this problem,” Sipfle says. Sipfle encourages anyone who has any questions about Alzheimer’s disease to give them a call. “We have a toll-free number that is answered 24-7, which is 1-800-272-3900. And we also have a website that is just rich with information and resources, and that website is www.alz.org,” Sipfle says. You can find out more about the Alzheimer’s report at alz.org/facts.

(Radio Iowa)