County law enforcement officials are asking Iowa lawmakers to create half a dozen regional “triage” centers for people who are having a mental health or addiction crisis. Susan Cameron Daemen is the lobbyist for the Iowa State Sheriffs’ and Deputies’ Association. “ISSDA proposes establishment of six crisis stabilization centers, kind of like triage centers, in Iowa where individuals who are committed voluntarily or involuntarily or who need immediate mental health or substance abuse services can go to be assessed for the right type of treatment in the correct setting,” she says.

Addressing the “crisis” in Iowa’s mental health care system is the association’s “highest priority” for the 2018 legislative session. “Currently, individuals who are committed are being placed in the highest-cost level of care: hospitals, jails or prisons,” Cameron Daemen says. “Iowa may have enough acute mental health care beds, but we don’t have the right types of treatment programs in all parts of the state.”

The State Sheriffs’ and Deputies’ Association is calling for more community-based treatment programs as well as more options for Iowans who need in-patient treatment for a mental illness. According to state officials, at least a third of Iowa prison inmates are suffering from a severe mental illness. Cameron Daemen says improving the state’s mental health care system and getting the mentally ill appropriate care before they commit a crime is “less costly to the taxpayers.”

(Radio Iowa)

VINTON, Iowa (AP) — The Benton County sheriff killed in the line of duty nearly 80 years ago is being memorialized. A bust of Benton County Sheriff Leland Fry was unveiled Tuesday at the courthouse in Vinton. Cedar Rapids station KCRG reports that the bust will be displayed inside the building until May and then be moved to a pedestal on the lawn outside.

Fry lost his life in 1938 trying to arrest someone who escaped from custody. Organizers say the county didn’t have the money for a memorial project during the Depression years and World War II. His slaying was largely forgotten until little more than a year ago, when a committee formed and raised more than $12,000 in donations.

The Creston Police Department reports the arrest Tuesday night, of 18-year old Keaton Wambold, of Creston. Wambold was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center on a Union County warrant for Failure to Appear on an original, Possession of a Controlled Substance, charge. His bond was set at $1,000. And, early Monday morning, a Creston man residing in the 400 block of N. Maple Street, reported that someone threw a coffee cup through the front window of his residence. The incident, which happened sometime around 2-a.m., Monday, caused about $200 damage.

(7-a.m. News)

NEW HAMPTON, Iowa (AP) — A trial has been delayed for a northeast Iowa man whose dead 4-month-old son was found in an infant swing, his body infested with maggots. The delay in the trial of 28-year-old Zachary Koehn came at the request of his lawyer, who wanted more time to prepare the defense case. The trial had been scheduled to begin Wednesday. The judge set a new trial starting date of March 28 in New Hampton.

Koen and the baby’s mother, Cheyanne Renae Harris, have pleaded not guilty to charges of child endangerment and first-degree murder in the death of their son, Sterling Koehn. Harris’ trial is set to begin Jan. 31. Authorities say deputies and medics called to the couple’s Alta Vista apartment on Aug. 30 found Sterling dead in the swing.

The first meeting of the Atlantic City Council in 2018 will be held this evening, at City Hall. The meeting begins at 5:30, and includes primarily administrative matters. The Council will act on orders to: Approve 1st Whitney Bank & Trust as the City’s Official Bank for the checking account; Approve the Atlantic News Telegraph as the City’s Official Newspaper for legal publications;; and, the third and final reading of an Ordinance with regard to No Parking Zones.

In his report to the Council, City Administrator John Lund will discuss various, recent committee meetings and a County-wide Landfill meeting.