(Radio Iowa) — A Holiday musical born in Ireland, but produced in Iowa, will be making three stops in the state as the show crosses the country in the weeks before Christmas. Author Eoin Colfer, who achieved international acclaim for his “Artemis Fowl” series of children’s books, is the writer of NOËL – The Musical. Colfer says NOËL was inspired by his travels around the world and the growing number of homeless people he saw in major cities. “It occurred to me that even though Christmas is a very happy time, it’s probably not so happy if you’re living in a park,” Colfer said. “So, I wanted to write a story that featured these people in the park but also that was infused with the hope that things could get better, because that’s what Christmas is all about.”

NOËL is set in modern day London and tells the story of a girl (Noël) who befriends a group of homeless people while searching for her mother. Steve Peters, founder and president of Ames-based VenuWorks, is the musical’s co-executive producer. “We mounted the show two years ago at the National Opera House of Ireland as a concert work and we sold-out a week of performances there, so we knew we really had something,” Peters said. Colfer and Irish composer Liam Bates expanded the show for its first-ever North American tour. Michael Londra, an Ireland native who’s lived in Ames for the past 20 years, co-produced NOËL – The Musical. “We thought it was perfect to take the show from Ireland and begin its new life here in the Midwest,” Londra said. “There’s something special about that. It connects the two countries and particularly with this message of just giving a little bit back to the world and thinking about others during Christmas.”

NOËL – The Musical will make stops in Cedar Rapids (Paramount Theatre) on November 25, Ames (Stephen’s Auditorium) on November 29, and Davenport (Adler Theatre) on December 2. A documentary about the making of NOËL aired on Iowa Public Television in early October.

You can watch it here:
http://www.iptv.org/video/story/31669/making-noel-musical

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Two Iowa men who unwittingly sold elephant tranquilizers that looked like prescription painkillers have been imprisoned. Federal prosecutors say 20-year-old Cameron Lensmeyer and 20-year-old Evan Sage were sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. Both live in Waverly. Lensmeyer had pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute carfentanil and marijuana. He was sentenced to four years and four months. Sage pleaded guilty to possession for sale of carfentanil, cocaine and marijuana and to a weapons charge. He was sentenced to seven years and one month.

Prosecutors say the pair sold hundreds of pills they obtained from a darknet connection. The pills looked like those containing the painkiller oxycodone but were really made of the opioid carfentanil — an elephant tranquilizer.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, who won re-election this month over Democratic challenger Deidre DeJear, says he’ll be taking a closer look at Iowa’s nominating petition process for people who are seeking to have their name placed on the ballot. “In regards to being able to track who is processing those or being the promoter of these signatures, so we can take care of the questions that come up,” Pate said. “You know, who are these people? Are they real names? After we went through last cycle, I want to make sure we’ve done a little more work on that front.”

The issue gained attention in the spring when former Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett fell eight signatures short of what he needed on his nominating petitions to have his name on the Republican Primary ballot for governor. While NO requests for recounts were submitted in statewide races in the November 6 election, Pate suggests a review of Iowa’s recount process is needed. “Just because it comes up and it’s not clear,” Pate said. “We do not have an automatic recount process in Iowa. Frankly, it’s one of those things that we don’t want to have to do if you can help it. We want to avoid it if we can, but if we’re going to do it, we want to make sure we have procedures in place. So, I’m sure we’re be talking about it more.”

Aside from those matters, Pate doesn’t plan to pursue many other election-related changes. “We’ve got a pretty full plate with moving to the 17-year-olds being able to register to vote next year if they’re 18 by November and we have the merging of the city and school elections, so those are pretty big lists,” Pate said. “Then, of course, finishing the implementation of voter ID. So, I don’t really think I want to add much more.”

A bill signed into law by former Governor Terry Branstad requires Iowans to show an ID before they vote. Beginning in 2019, voters without the necessary ID will be offered a provisional ballot and can provide identification up until the Monday after election day for Primary and General Elections.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — The Scott County attorney says a deputy sheriff was justified in using deadly force while struggling with a man after a traffic stop. Authorities say 27-year-old Davenport resident Robert Mitchell died after the Oct. 23 incident on the north side of Davenport. Deputy Greg Hill had pulled over Mitchell’s vehicle because of a vehicle light problem.

Hill and Mitchell struggled when Mitchell suddenly got back in the car and backed up, with Hill’s upper torso inside and his legs outside. Hill then pulled his handgun and fired three times, striking Mitchell twice.
Scott County Attorney Mike Walton said Wednesday that Hill was justified in using deadly force to ensure his own life and safety, the safety of another deputy who’d stopped at the scene and that of other people.

(Radio Iowa) — One in five adults — or roughly 600-thousand Iowans — live with some form of mental illness, yet a study finds tens of thousands have had no treatment. Paul Gionfriddo, president of Mental Health America, says it’s important that mental health services and treatments be made readily available and more accessible, especially in rural states like Iowa. “On average, it typically takes almost a decade, about 10 years from the time of onset of symptoms to the time people get appropriate treatment for any mental illness,” Gionfriddo says. “A lot of adults report they just don’t have access to care. Often, that’s because there is no access in those states or there isn’t the right kind of coverage that people have.”

According to the report, 50% of teenagers often think about suicide or self-harm throughout the week, while 76% of youth with severe depression don’t get the treatment they need. It’s vital to think of mental illness in terms of the “Before Stage 4” philosophy, he says, that mental health conditions should be treated long before they reach the most critical points. “It’s a real problem when we wait so long because we lose opportunities to intervene effectively,” Gionfriddo says. “By applying a danger-to-self or other standard, we make mental illnesses the only chronic diseases in America that we wait until stage four to treat, and then, often inappropriately only through incarceration.”

Mental health screenings should be as common for adults as getting one’s blood pressure tested, or for kids, as often as they get eyesight or hearing tests. Screenings are particularly important for youth, he says. “Half of mental illnesses emerge by the age of 14, three-quarters by the age of 25,” Gionfriddo says. “The last symptoms that emerge are behavioral symptoms. Way before then, children are reporting feeling depressed, having trouble sleeping, having trouble eating, and all other kinds of conditions we need to be aware of, we need to think about and we need to intervene about.”

Overall, the State of Mental Health in America 2018 Report finds 43-million Americans have a mental health condition, yet 57% of American adults have not received treatment. Free mental health screenings are available at MentalHealthAmerica.net.