(Radio Iowa) — A state commission has been examining barriers that pose problems for low and moderate-income Iowans in the civil justice system. Criminal cases are NOT heard in civil courts. Instead, lawsuits over things like property disputes and unpaid wages are handled in civil court.

The Iowa Access to Justice Commission has released its 2018 report. It notes as many as a million low and moderate income Iowans confronted with a legal matter cannot afford a lawyer and it lists ways to connect those Iowans with a lawyer who will volunteer their time or charge reduced rates.

The Commission hopes to find a way to establish a legal clinic in at least one Veterans Administration medical facility in Iowa. Iowa is one of only nine states that does not have a legal clinic at a VA hospital or clinic.

The Veterans Administration operations 23 hospitals, clinics and health care centers in Iowa. In the KJAN listening area, that includes the Shenandoah VA Clinic, and the Carroll Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC). For other sites, click on this link:

https://www.va.gov/directory/guide/fac_list_by_state.cfm?State=IA&dnum=All

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Officials say two former Omaha Tribal Council members have pleaded guilty to misusing federal funds. Nebraska federal prosecutors say 44-year-old Doran Morris Jr. and 70-year-old Mitchell Parker each pleaded guilty last week to one count of conversion and misapplication of funds of a health care benefit program. Prosecutors say Morris and Parker are the last of nine defendants in the case to enter guilty pleas.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Officials have closed the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge linking eastern Nebraska to western Iowa for a routine inspection. Omaha Parks and Recreation says the bridge closed Monday and will remain closed most of the week until a five-year maintenance inspection can be completed. Officials expect the bridge to reopen before the coming weekend, but note “there is no guarantee.”

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — Friends say a missing Iowa college student had been planning to travel to the Dominican Republic this week for a wedding. Blake Jack says his brother Dalton and Dalton’s longtime girlfriend, 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, were supposed to be there when he married his fiancee, Aimee Houghton. He says he joked with his brother that he should propose to Tibbetts during the trip. Tibbetts was last seen jogging on the evening of July 18 the small Iowa town where she had been living this summer.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The interim leader of Briar Cliff University in Sioux City has been named the new president. The university trustees announced their choice of Rachelle Karstens on Tuesday. She’s been leading the campus since last summer, following the resignation of President Hamid Shirvani. He quit after 14 months on the job.

The Adair County Board of Supervisors will meet 9-a.m. Wednesday in the Adair County Courthouse in Greenfield. The Board will discuss and possibly act on: A Township Trustee and Clerk appointment question resolution; Fireworks permit; A Hazard Mitigation Plan adoption resolution; and a Health Insurance Financial Committee appointment.

County Auditor Mindy Schaefer will discuss an Election Deputy/IT Support Staff new hire. VA Director Rick Schaecher will present the annual VA report. Mike Lamb and Joanie Finck will once again talk about wind farms/safety concerns, and the Supervisors will discuss wind farm matters, followed by a public forum.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Officials say two former Omaha Tribal Council members have pleaded guilty to misusing federal funds. Nebraska federal prosecutors say 44-year-old Doran Morris Jr. and 70-year-old Mitchell Parker each pleaded guilty last week to one count of conversion and misapplication of funds of a health care benefit program.

Prosecutors say Morris and Parker are the last of nine defendants in the case to enter guilty pleas. Prosecutors say those council members charged gave themselves bonuses of $388,972 in federal money intended to provide health care to tribal members.

Those defendants will be sentenced in separate hearing in the coming months, starting in September and stretching through October.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Officials have closed the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge linking eastern Nebraska to western Iowa for a routine inspection. Omaha Parks and Recreation says the bridge closed Monday and will remain closed most of the week until a five-year maintenance inspection can be completed.

The bridge spans the Missouri River, connecting Omaha, Nebraska, to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Officials expect the bridge to reopen before the coming weekend, but note “there is no guarantee.”

One person was injured during a single-vehicle accident Tuesday morning, north of Shenandoah. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office along with Shenandoah Rescue responded to the crash that occurred around 9:04-a.m., in 1400 block of Highway 59.

Photo courtesy Fremont County Sheriff’s Office

Authorities say a 1994 Ford F150, driven by 31-year old Timothy Martin Becker, of Farragut, was northbound on US Highway 59, when it entered the west ditch hit and hit a tree. After the tree the attached to the vehicle, the vehicle the struck a house, impaling the residence with the trunk of the tree.

Becker was transported to the Shenandoah Memorial Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. He told investigators that he was ill at the time of the crash. Authorities cited Becker for Failure to Maintain Control.

DES MOINES, Iowa, July 31, 2018 – Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett announced a historic commitment by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to upgrade and rebuild rural water infrastructure. Three of those projects will help improve water infrastructure in the rural Iowa communities of Adel, Brayton and Goodell.  

Eligible rural communities and water districts can apply online for funding to maintain, modernize or build water and wastewater systems. They can visit the interactive RD Apply tool, or they can apply through one of USDA Rural Development’s state or field offices.

USDA is providing the funding through the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant program. It can be used to finance drinking water, storm water drainage and waste disposal systems for rural communities with 10,000 or fewer residents.

The City of Adel will be using a $16,603,000 loan and a $2,302,000 grant to improve its drinking water system. Improvements include adding two raw water supply wells, a transmission main, water mains, a water treatment plant, additional capacity to the booster station, and a backup power supply. Approximately 3,682 residents will benefit from this project. 

The City of Brayton will be using a $451,000 loan and a $318,000 grant to replace the distribution system and replace individual service lines to connect users to the city’s system. These improvements will update the community’s aging water infrastructure and improve services to residents and businesses. The city, population 128, received a $16,000 USDA Rural Development grant in 2017 to complete an engineering study of its water system. This project is a direct result of that study and implements the recommendations outlined in the report.

USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community services such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas.

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — Investigators say they still don’t know what happened to a 20-year-old Iowa college student who vanished nearly two weeks ago. At a news conference Tuesday, a lead investigator said dozens of local, state and federal agents are working to determine what happened to Mollie Tibbetts.

Kevin Winker, director of investigative operations with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, says they are working every lead and tip that comes in. He says investigators have drawn no conclusions about what happened, but that her disappearing on her own is “not consistent with her past.”

Friends say Tibbetts had been planning to travel to the Dominican Republic this week for a wedding. Blake Jack says his brother Dalton and Dalton’s longtime girlfriend, Tibbetts, were supposed to be there when he married his fiancee, Aimee Houghton. He says he joked with his brother that he should propose to Tibbetts during the trip. Blake Jack says the cancelled wedding plans are nothing compared to what the town is going through.

Tibbetts was last seen jogging on the evening of July 18 in Brooklyn, a small Iowa town where the University of Iowa student had been living this summer with the brothers.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A sport utility vehicle with no one inside has been pulled from a lake near the Omaha airport. An Omaha officer reported seeing tire tracks leading into Carter Lake around 4:35 a.m. Tuesday. An Omaha Fire Department boat equipped with sonar found the SUV in nearly 10 feet of water. Divers later hooked the SUV up to tow straps and a cable so a tow truck could pull it out.
Investigators are looking into whether the SUV had been stolen and then dumped in the lake near Eppley Airfield.