(Radio Iowa) – Iowa politicians and the pork industry are taking another shot at California’s law banning the sale of pork from the offspring of pigs kept in spaces smaller than 24 square feet. Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says she’s reintroducing her bill which would ban state and local governments from imposing standards on the production or manufacture of ag products like pork that are sold across state lines.

The U-S Supreme Court recently upheld the California law. Hinson calls it a “bacon ban.” Iowa Pork Producers Association president Trish Cook says there are still many unknowns if the law stays in place.

California accounts for 15 percent of the U-S pork market and 87 percent of that comes from outside the state. The Iowa Pork Producer Association say the state’s regulations have an outsized impact on business in states like Iowa.

(reporting by Zachary Smith, Iowa Public Radio)

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Cass Health in Atlantic, have announce that Brenna Irlmeier, RN was honored with the DAISY Award during Nurses Week.  Irlmeier has had her sights set on becoming a nurse since she was in kindergarten. Brenna was inspired by her dad, who was a volunteer EMT and firefighter in the Elk Horn community. She became a nurse in January of 2019, and after working in Omaha at a large hospital, she returned to the area and began working in the Cass Health Surgery Department in August 2021.

“It is an honor to receive the DAISY award. The hard work you put in going to school, the hard work you put in each day, it’s just awesome to have someone remember what you did for them,” said Irlmeier. This case in particular was special. “I was shocked, because of the nature of our job most people don’t remember us. This was an on-call case, and knowing it was a pediatric case, it pulls at the heart strings more. As a mom, it’s hard to put your child in someone else’s care,” she said.  She says being in surgery is a great fit for her, and she loves the team she works with. “It takes all of us a whole to do what we do, and it’s something new every day. I love it,” she said.

Brenna Irlmeier

Irlmeier’s nominator wrote: “Rising above all the amazing caregivers we encountered that day, was Brenna Irlmeier. Brenna was the surgery nurse that took my daughter down for her appendectomy. She came to the room, gathered a quick report, did the time out, the whole nine yards. She made sure to explain to my daughter what was going to happen and addressed her directly making sure she didn’t have any questions. Although my daughter is stoic and brave, it was then that the tears began to well and reality hit her. I looked into her eyes and could tell that she was scared, nervous, and crying. As her mother, I had to say goodbye and release her into Brenna’s care trusting that she would be in good hands. In that moment, I could see Brenna making it her highest priority to make my little girl feel safe. Although I couldn’t be present with her in the OR, I am confident that Brenna gave her best to my little girl. The first thing my daughter said to me when she woke up after surgery was, “that nurse was so nice mommy, she held my hand the whole time.” That is when the tears started welling in my own eyes because I knew in my heart that my baby felt safe and was well cared for. I’ve been to larger organizations with my children before and I never felt that they were cared for with the same compassion and empathy as was shown to us here at Cass Health and especially shown to my daughter by Brenna.”

Nurses at Cass Health are honored twice annually with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.® The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate care nurses provide to patients and families every day. The DAISY Award committee at Cass Health thanks all nominators for their submissions. Each nurse who was nominated will be presented with a special pin and a copy of the nomination.

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.)  The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.

This is one initiative of The DAISY Foundation to express gratitude to the nursing profession.  Additionally, DAISY offers J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects, The DAISY Faculty Award to honor inspiring faculty members in schools and colleges of nursing, and The DAISY in Training Award for nursing students. More information is available at http://DAISYfoundation.org. An online nomination form is available at https://www.casshealth.org/daisy.

The weather experts say we’re fully out of the La Nina pattern now but haven’t yet transitioned into El Nino, which could gradually bring about significant changes in Iowa’s seasonal temperatures, rainfall and snowfall. State climatolgisist Justin Glisan says an El Nino Watch is now posted and sea surface temperatures are near-normal, but changes are coming.

An El Nino pattern typically means Iowa sees more moderate temperatures and better chances for precipitation. Glissan says the computer models show it will arrive soon, perhaps within weeks.

Glisan says forecasters are getting a better idea of the intensity of the incoming El Nino.

Past El Ninos have led to cooler and wetter summers, with milder and less snowy winters in the Northern Plains. Glisan moderated this month’s North Central Regional Climate update for the National Weather Service.

Sioux City police found several hundred fentanyl-laced pills on a man who was stopped following a chase. Sergeant Tom Gill says the chase started in Nebraska and ended in Iowa when they used “stop sticks” to disable the car.  “Upon searching the driver, officers located a plastic baggie that contained 434 pills — they were blue pills. The officers tested the pills and it came back positive for fentanyl,” he says. Gill says the number of pills seized is a concern.

“It’s becoming a problem and it’s becoming a concern because it’s very dangerous drug. We’ve had several fentanyl related overdoses just in the past year, people that we’ve had to Narcan to bring back to life,” Gill says. “I was on scene of a 17 year old girl that she didn’t know she was taking fentanyl. She thought she was taken another type of drug, illegal drug, and turned out it was fentanyl. She overdosed and it took four doses of Narcan to bring her back to life.”

Benito Curiel

The driver, 23-year-old Benito Curiel was already wanted on fentanyl charges. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance, failure to affix drug stamp, felony eluding, no drivers license or registration, interference with official acts and several traffic related counts. He is being held in the Woodbury County jail on 55-thousand dollar bond. A passenger in the car, 19-year-old Carson Klassen, is charged with interference with official acts and is free on bond.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department reports one arrest took place, Thursday. 44-year-old Joseph Jack, of Glenwood, was arrested on a Council Bluffs warrant. Joseph Jack was released to the custody of the Council Buffs P.D.

(Radio Iowa) – The annual truck and tractor show an Iowan started in honor of his daughter, who died of cancer, has reached a major fundraising milestone. The Midwest Pride In Your Ride has raised a million dollars for the American Cancer Society since 2011. Greg Preussner of Delhi is on the committee that stages the show every year on the first weekend of May, at the raceway in Earlville. “We ended up with 205 or 206 trucks from 11 states there, 45 or 50 farm tractors and vendors were here,” he says. “It turned out good. It really did.”

The group needed to raise a little less than 132-thousand dollars to cross the million dollar mark this year — and the total raised over the past 12 years now sits about 800 dollars above a million. Eldon Jaeger, a trucker from Worthington, Iowa, started the event to honor his daughter, Brenda, who died after a 14 year battle with cancer. The annual show features a truck pull, drag racing for semis and a survivor convoy on the opening night. “Eldon figures there’s about — a total over the weekend — over 140 people volunteering to help all three days,” Preussner says. “But it wouldn’t be a show if we didn’t have the community support and we’ve definitely got their support and it makes that one of the premiere truck shows in the United States.”

Midwest Pride and Ride trucks. (MWPR photo)

The daily admission price for the show is 10 dollars. The first event in 2011 raised a little over 20-thousand dollars and it’s been growing ever since

(Omaha, NE) – Officials with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in Omaha, report several established Omaha-based companies have recently become victims of scammers who are exploiting their addresses to carry out fraudulent operations related to animal adoption and transportation. Midwest Puppy, LLC, Greater Omaha Express, LLC, and Greater Omaha Leasing, LLC, all of which are licensed and registered with the Nebraska Secretary of State, have had their addresses falsely associated with these fraudulent activities that cost consumers more than $16,000.

Following an investigation conducted by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), it was determined that Prime Chihuahua Dogs, Pet Wave Transport, and NG Pomeranian Puppies are scam companies deliberately deceiving unsuspecting consumers by misrepresenting their locations. BBB has received numerous complaints and Scam Tracker reports throughout 2023 concerning these fraudulent entities. The Nebraska Secretary of State has verified that neither Prime Chihuahua Dogs, NG Pomeranian Puppies, nor Pet Wave Transport are registered companies.

BBB has confirmed the legitimacy of Midwest Puppy LLC as a licensed dog breeder duly registered with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture and the Nebraska Secretary of State. The owner of Midwest Puppy LLC has been in contact with BBB, sharing instances where confused consumers have arrived at his residence, seeking dog breeds he does not offer. Some individuals have even shown up to collect puppies they had already paid for. Recognizing that his address is being fraudulently exploited by multiple entities, the owner has promptly reported the matter to the Attorney General’s office and local law enforcement.

Prime Chihuahua Dogs, which previously associated itself with the address of Midwest Puppy LLC, recently took down its website. However, shortly thereafter, a new website called NG Pomeranian emerged, fraudulently using the same address. Another company involved in these fraudulent activities is Pet Wave Transport, which falsely claims to operate from the address of Greater Omaha Express, LLC and Greater Omaha Leasing, LLC. Upon receiving inquiries from BBB, the president of these companies contacted BBB and categorically denied any association with Pet Wave Transport. He clarified that his businesses primarily handle dry and refrigerated shipments, and strongly suspects that someone is exploiting his address for fraudulent purposes.

Multiple consumers have come forward with disturbing experiences involving Prime Chihuahua Dogs and Pet Wave Transport. One consumer reported paying for two puppies from Prime Chihuahua Dogs, only to be subsequently contacted by Pet Wave Transport, requesting additional funds for a larger shipping crate. Despite complying with the requests, the consumer never received the promised puppies. Similar accounts have been shared by other consumers who made payments to both the dog breeder and Pet Wave Transport, yet received no puppies in return. Victims reported to BBB that they communicated with the scam companies via text message and email. When one consumer asked to contact the company by phone, the company stopped communicating with the person.

Investigations into these scam operations have revealed several significant red flags. Both websites, primechihuahua.dog and petwavetransport.com, were privately registered within the past two years, with the registrant contact information indicating a location in the Capital Region of Iceland. Notably, the websites exhibited numerous grammatical and punctuation errors and featured images of puppies for sale. Pet Wave Transport made false claims of being a member of the International Pet and Animal Transportation Association (IPATA) and emphasized their commitment to revolutionizing pet transportation globally.

In the years since BBB issued an in-depth study, “Puppy Scams: How Fake Online Pet Sellers Steal from Unsuspecting Pet Buyers,” the fraudulent animal adoption industry has intensified. BBB urges caution to potential animal adopters and warns of the deceptive practices employed by these fraudulent entities.

BBB tips for researching puppy sellers:

·         See pets in person before paying any money.

·         Try to set up a video call to view the animal.

·         Conduct a reverse image search on photos attached to ads.

·         Research the breed to figure out the average market price.

·         Check out a local animal shelter for pets to meet in person before adopting.

(Radio Iowa) – An eastern Iowa psychiatrist is touring Iowa to show off her collection of rare, antique dolls, some of which are nearly 200 years old. Dr. Barbara Brown, of North English, says she’s been accumulating dolls for decades and doesn’t subscribe to the theory that they’re haunted, frightening or even creepy. “Personally, I don’t think most dolls, antique dolls — or new dolls even — are creepy, but I know that some people do.”

While the live-action “Barbie” movie is due out this summer, most motion pictures that feature dolls would fall into the horror category, like the “Chucky” series, or the sci-fi thriller “M3GAN” that came out last year. Brown says dolls have gotten a bad rap. “Because I’m a psychiatrist, it is interesting to me to try to understand why some people think dolls are creepy,” she says, “and I talk a little bit about that, and just give a general overview of antique dolls.”

Brown’s collection of dolls ranges from 1830 to 1930. Some are made of paper mache, wood, bisque and fabric. Brown will present a free program on her dolls tomorrow (Saturday) at the Mulberry Center Church in Webster City.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s largest manufacturing employer is reporting a very good second quarter. Deere and Company is declaring net income for the quarter at more than two-point-eight billion dollars, up from just over two-billion-even a year ago. The Quad Cities-based farm and construction equipment maker is also reporting worldwide net sales and revenues rose by 30-percent for the quarter, and 31-percent in the past six months.

Chairman and C-E-O John May says in a news release that Deere is continuing to benefit from “favorable market conditions and an improving operating environment,” adding, the company’s on the way “to another year of exceptional achievement.”

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a couple from Council Bluffs, who sued Council Bluffs Water Works for damages to their home and property, resulting from multiple water main breaks. Court documents indicate Jim and Angela Sutton’s house in Council Bluffs sits near an intersection where an underground water main broke in November 2020, sending water flowing to the surface. The Suttons alerted Council Bluffs Water Works to the problem and, over the next eight weeks, crews inspected and repaired breaks to the pipe on five different occasions. The escaping water soon became standing water.

The Suttons allege that all the water caused their house to settle, resulting in damage to its foundation, interior walls, garage floors, and doors. They sued Water Works under two legal theories: count 1, strict liability; and count 2, negligence. Water Works moved to dismiss the strict liability claim, arguing that the Iowa Municipal Tort Claims Act doesn’t permit a strict liability claim against it. The district court denied the motion.

Water Works’ officials appealed the decision to deny the claim. In making its decision, the Justices had to consider “Whether the Iowa Municipal Tort Claims Act allows a claim for strict liability—liability that doesn’t depend on negligence or intent to do harm—against a municipality for damage caused by an underground water main break.” They concluded Water Works attorneys failed to show that the Iowa Municipal Tort Claims Act bars the Suttons’ claim for damages based on strict liability. They therefore affirmed the district court’s denial of the motion to dismiss this claim.

Their decision was filed today (Friday).