(Atlantic, Iowa) – An SUV struck the Cambridge Law Building in Atlantic a little after 10-a.m. today. According to dispatch reports, the female driver suffered minor injuries when her vehicle struck the southeast side of the building at 8th and Poplar Streets. The structure houses the law firm and Cass County Communications Center, which caught the accident on a surveillance camera.

Atlantic Police, Atlantic Fire and Cass EMS responded to the scene. Additional information is currently not available. (Photos by KJAN’s Asa Lucas)

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak say a man who was involved in an accident this (Tuesday) morning, and was arrested at around 7:17-a.m. for suspected Operating While under the Influence became combative after he was transported to the Montgomery County Jail. Law enforcement responded to the accident scene at the intersection of Highways 34 and 48. Upon further investigation, the driver, 49-year-old David Eugene Anthony Fussell, of Red Oak, was transported to the Montgomery County Jail for further testing.

While at the jail, Fussell reportedly became non-cooperative and refused tests for OWI. He was charged with OWI/1st offense, Interference with Official Acts, Following too close, and having no insurance (Failure to provide proof of financial liability). He was being held on bond in the Montgomery County Jail. Officials say the vehicles involved in the accident sustained minor damage.

No injuries were reported.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Cass Health, in Atlantic, announced today (Tuesday), Della Woolsey is the inaugural recipient of the Recognition of Service Excellence (ROSE) Award. Woolsey has worked as a housekeeper as part of the Environmental Services team since July 2017. The award presentation was held on Wednesday, March 20 with staff and the Cass Health Board of Trustees gathered. Woolsey said she was stunned to hear her name announced.

Woolsey said “It was a shock! You don’t expect people to pay attention to what you’re doing, let alone appreciate it. It’s nice to be recognized for doing what you love.”

Her nominator wrote: “Any and every interaction that anyone has had with her is met with a greeting and a bright smile. She stands out not only among her peers but also among every employee here at Cass Health. She does not need to be asked to take on tasks; she is a go-getter. She remains positive every day while at work. Her work performance surpasses all expectations. You’d never know if she has had a bad day with the smile she presents with every single day. Even though she has daily tasks to complete and is on a time crunch, she always stops what she is doing to help you, to ensure your work is done efficiently and our patients are cared for. Little does she know that we hear her out in the hallways while she is interacting with patients. The compassion that she shows patients while they are here is unmatched.

Della Woolsey (Photo courtesy Cass Health)

“She goes in to clean a room, and continuing to work, she has conversations and engages with the patients. They feel valued and present when they spend time with her. She will get them whatever they need when she asks what she can do for them while in the room. I have overheard a patient tell our winner once, ‘You have made my day just talking to me.’ She could not be more deserving of this award.”

Woolsey said that working on the inpatient floor and talking to the patients is her favorite part of her job. “And it’s never a special effort for me to talk to our patients and visitors—that comes naturally to me. I love it!”

The ROSE Award was created to honor and celebrate non-nursing employees of Cass Health who exemplify dedication, compassion, and a commitment to service excellence in carrying out their duties and advancing the goals and mission of Cass Health. The criteria are being knowledgeable and efficient, being compassionate and respectful, working with the care team, and going above and beyond for others. Nominations can be made by anytime online at casshealth.org/rose.

RED OAK, Iowa – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee, today announced her Small Business of the Week: Brownells of Poweshiek County. Throughout this Congress, Ranking Member Ernst plans to recognize a small business in every one of Iowa’s 99 counties. 

“As a staunch defender of the Second Amendment, I am proud to recognize the Brownells for their dedication to crafting firearms, ammunition, and specialized gunsmithing tools for marksmen and outdoorsmen,” said Ranking Member Ernst. “Their enduring emphasis on selection, service, and satisfaction has set them apart for the past 85 years and helps their business thrive in Iowa and around the world.”

Founded in 1938 by Frank “Bob” Brownell II, Brownells is a third-generation, family-owned business that sells gunsmithing tools and gun supplies in Grinnell. Brownells maintains a supply of over 50,000 gun parts they sell throughout the United States and around the world. Their headquarters in Grinnell includes a warehouse, corporate offices, and a retail store. The Brownell family also actively advocates for Second Amendment rights. Pete Brownell served as President of the National Rifle Association (NRA) from 2017 to 2018, and Frank Brownell has received the NRA Golden Bullseye Pioneer Award. This year, Brownell will celebrate their 85th business anniversary.

(Cedar Rapids, Iowa) – An Iowa nurse who stole pain medication from at least 50 new mothers at a Waterloo hospital was sentenced on March 27, 2024, in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa reports 43-year-old Christina Eileen Olson, formerly known as Christina Eileen Hovey, of Waterloo, received the prison term after pleading guilty on October 12, 2023, to one count of acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, deception, and subterfuge, one count of adulteration and misbranding with intent to defraud and mislead, and one count of false statements relating to health care matters.

At the plea hearing, and in a plea agreement, Olson admitted that the State of Iowa granted her a nursing license in 2004. In 2017, a Waterloo hospital hired Olson to work as a nurse in its labor and delivery unit. Olson was responsible for caring for late-term pregnant women, women in active labor, and post-partum women, including women recovering from recent Caesarean section (“c-section”) surgery. Obstetricians prescribed these women Schedule II narcotics, including hydromorphone, oxycodone, and fentanyl, in order to control physical pain associated with the birthing process.

From no later than January 2022, to at least March 25, 2022, Olson used her nursing license to gain access to controlled substances in the hospital’s labor and delivery unit. Instead of administering the controlled substances to the women in pain, Olson diverted the controlled substances to herself for her own illicit drug use. Olson admitted she stole narcotics from no less than 50 victims. In order to cover up her crimes, Olson used a variety of fraudulent means, including falsely documenting that she had administered pain medication to new mothers when she had not done so. Olson also admitted to tampering with pain medication—replacing fentanyl inside a vial with saline and diverting the narcotic for her own use.

For example, on March 25, 2022, Olson was supposed to care for three new mothers and their babies during her shift from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. One of Olson’s victims, known in court documents as “Mother-1,” had given birth via c-section on March 23, 2022, in a high-risk pregnancy. In addition to caring for Mother-1, it was Olson’s responsibility to come into Mother-1’s room and document how much the baby was eating every hour, as this is important to ensure the health of a newborn. Instead of caring for Mother-1 and her baby, however, Olson never came into the room or checked on Mother-1 or her baby or administered pain medication to Mother-1 on March 25, 2023, even though Olson documented in the hospital’s records that she was administering pain medication to Mother-1. Rather, Olson diverted the pain medication to her own use.

As a result of Olson’s crimes, Mother-1 suffered “horrible and excruciating pain” on March 25, 2023. Further, because Olson had created false health care records documenting that she had administered the pain medication to Mother-1, the next nurse on shift declined to give pain medication to Mother-1 for at least 30 additional minutes in order to ensure Mother-1 was not feigning her need for narcotics. And despite repeated requests by Mother-1’s husband for formula, Mother-1’s newborn did not receive any formula until the end of Olson’s shift.

Another c-section patient, Mother-2, did not speak fluent English. Olson stole needed pain medications from Mother-2, as well. Mother-2’s husband made multiple complaints to the hospital about Mother-2’s pain to no avail.

The next day, March 26, 2023, Olson was again working first shift at the hospital. During this shift, the hospital drug tested Olson. The drug test was positive for opiates (oxycodone and hydromorphone) and marijuana. Another nurse then found an open fentanyl vial, an open ephedrine vial, and an epidural bag in another new mother’s room. The hospital’s records revealed that Olson had removed these three items under the new mother’s name despite the fact there were no such orders for her. The fentanyl vial had puncture marks on the top and bottom stopper surfaces, and laboratory results later revealed that nearly all the fentanyl in the vial had been replaced with saline.

Olson admitted that she routinely drank alcohol and used marijuana while working at the Waterloo hospital. In order to pass a drug test at the hospital, Olson injected another person’s urine into her bladder. In September 2021, after receiving reports that Olson was disappearing from her shift for extended periods of time, the hospital’s director referred Olson to an employee assistance program. On September 9, 2021, however, Olson took a leave of absence from the hospital for about three months after she was arrested for drunk driving. Olson’s blood alcohol level at the time of her arrest was no less than .274.

In July 2022, Olson entered into a settlement agreement with the Iowa Board of Nursing under which she agreed to voluntarily surrender her nursing license for one year. As a part of her plea agreement, Olson has now forfeited her nursing license to the United States.

“Ms. Hovey callously stole pain medications from over 50 new mothers, subjecting them to additional suffering during their procedures,” said United States Attorney Timothy T. Duax. “Our office is committed to protecting new mothers, and all medical patients, from such violations of trust by prosecuting health care employees who prey on their patients.”

“Patients rely on the knowledge that they will receive FDA-approved medications to manage their pain,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles Grinstead, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Kansas City Field Office. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice healthcare professionals who jeopardize patients’ health by interfering with their pain medications.”

Olson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Olson was sentenced to one year and one day of imprisonment. She must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Inspector General, and the Iowa Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — A Fort Dodge man admitted in federal court that he purchased two firearms for another person, an act known as a “straw purchase.” According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa, 22-year-old Hunter Collier, of Fort Dodge, pleaded guilty on Monday to making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.

Collier admitted that in 2022, he purchased a .380 ACP pistol from the Iowa Outdoor Store in Fort Dodge, claiming he was purchasing the firearm for himself. However, he was actually purchasing the gun for someone else. He also admitted to buying another gun for the same individual from the JT Guns & Supply in Des Moines.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled. Collier faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release.