The opioid epidemic is making headlines across the country, but in Iowa, officials say they’re not losing sight of abuse of other drugs. Steve Lukan (LOO-kin), director of the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy, says methamphetamine trafficking in the state may be at an all-time high. “The purity in the last number of years has gone up while, at the same time, the price has become a lot less than what it used to be,” Lukan said. “So, it’s just a really powerful drug that’s out there today.”

Lukan’s agency has released an annual report that outlines the state’s drug threats. It shows in the last fiscal year over 46-thousand (46,000) people sought treatment for substance abuse in Iowa and those citing meth as their primary substance reached a record high level of nearly one-in-five (19.8%). Alcohol remains the most cited substance by those in treatment (45.2%) followed by marijuana (25.3%). Lukan is disturbed by a survey that found one-fourth of 11th graders in Iowa “perceive no risk” in smoking marijuana. “We have a lot of concern about that because we know that can really get young people off on the wrong path. A very large percentage, 76-percent, of the young people who end up in drug treatment in Iowa are there because of marijuana,” Lukan said.

The report, called the 2018 Iowa Drug Control Strategy, highlights the many challenges the state faces with alcohol and drug abuse – in addition to some accomplishments. “We do feel like there’s been some good progress made. We’ve seen our state maintain one of the lowest levels of drug use in the country. We do see fewer young people engaging with alcohol and tobacco products. That’s been a really steady and remarkable decline,” Lukan said.

Iowa’s overall rate of illegal drug use, at 6.27-percent, is second only to South Dakota’s 5.82-percent. One major concern is fatal traffic crashes in Iowa involving drugs OR drugs and alcohol combined rose to an all-time high of 84 last year. That topped the previous high of 72 alcohol and drug-related fatalities in 2005. “It’s the drunken driving like we’ve known about for many years, but at the same time, there’s more incidents of people using prescription drugs or other drugs and getting behind the wheel,” Lukan said.

There were 107 fatal crashes involving ALCOHOL ONLY in Iowa last year. That marked the highest total since 111 in 2007. Iowa hasn’t been untouched by the opioid epidemic, far from it, according to the report. Opioid-related overdose deaths in Iowa rose to an all-time high of 180 in 2016. For more info., go to: https://odcp.iowa.gov
(Radio Iowa)

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is introducing a bill designed to help families locate missing loved ones who have Alzheimer’s disease, autism and related conditions. Grassley says the legislation is called Kevin and Avonte’s Law. “We named this law to honor two boys with autism who perished because their disease caused them to wander,” Grassley says. “One of those boys was Kevin Curtis Wills of Jefferson, Iowa, drowned after slipping into the Raccoon River, 2008.”  Wills was nine years old. The other boy drowned in New York in 2014. Grassley says the feeling of dread and helplessness families must feel when a loved one with Alzheimer’s or autism goes missing is unimaginable. “Sadly, Kevin’s is not an isolated case,” Grassley says, “but tragedy is not inevitable every time a vulnerable person goes missing.”

Grassley, a Republican, says the bill is being co-sponsored by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar (KLO-bah-shar), a Democrat. The bill is actually being re-introduced in the Senate. It passed the chamber last year but didn’t win passage in the House. Grassley says families and caregivers should have the support they need to keep their loved ones with Alzheimer’s, autism, and other developmental disabilities safe. “This bill empowers communities to lend a hand and hopefully to turn more of these situations into happy endings,” Grassley says. “It will make more resources available for technology that advances the search for missing children and for specialized training for caregivers to help prevent wandering by vulnerable individuals.”

Grassley says the bill would reauthorize the expired Missing Alzheimer’s Disease Patient Alert Program and broaden it to support people with autism and other developmental disabilities. He says the bill would allow federal grants to be used for state and local training programs to help prevent wandering, as well as for locative tracking technology programs.

(Radio Iowa)

Two people were arrested on separate charges Tuesday, in Creston. Authorities say 24-year old Troy Claussen, of Creston, was arrested Tuesday morning at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on a Union County warrant for Failure to Appear in Court, on an original charge of Public Intoxication. He was later released on $300 bond. And, 21-year old Tyrell Stucker, of Lorimor, was arrested in Creston Tuesday afternoon, for Theft in the 5th Degree. He was later released on a Promise to Appear in Court.

Here are some other election results from Tuesday where there were candidate races and Public Measure to decide in the KJAN listening area:

In the Adams County City of Corning, Public Measure A asked if a 7% hotel/motel tax should be imposed, effective Jan. 1st, 2018. The answer was 98 votes in favor, 63 against. Public Measure B: Shall the Corning Municipal Utilities Board of Trustees consist of 5 members instead of the current 3 members, effect Jan. 1st, 2018 , was approved by a vote of 117 to 39.

In Adair County: Mick Askren, Bryan Belden and Theresa Wright-Glass were elected to three seats on the City Council in Stuart. There were five candidates vying for those seats. The were no names written for two seats on the Parks and Rec Board in Greenfield.

In Audubon County: Brad Hemmingsen, Nick Weihs and Jason Hocker all won seats on the City Council in Audubon. A write-in, Doug Jensen well fell short of the others, with his 133 votes. Public Measure A, in Audubon, failed by a vote of 185 to 80. The measure would have allowed the LOST Funds to be shifted from 100% Streets use to 100% “Any lawful purpose” as determined by the City Council. It did not allow for property tax relief. There was a close vote for Mayor in the City of Gray, where Write-in Bryan Olson defeated William Cramer 7 votes to 4. And, Jared Olson along with Roy John Bolick, were elected to the City Council in Gray. Samuel Wendl was unopposed in his bid to fill a Vacancy term on the Council that expires in Dec., 2019. Voters in Kimballton elected Chelsee Jacobsen, Tony Petersen and Write-in Mike Shores to the City Council. Brayton voters elected Cally Christensen as Mayor over Neil C. Poldberg, by a vote of 22-to 13. Public Measure A, in Brayton, which called for an annual levy not to exceed $1.50/per $1,000 taxable valuation to be used for providing additional funds for police protection, failed by a vote of 27-to 8. Voters in Exira selected Melissa Paulsen to fill a Vacancy term on the City Council, to expire in Dec. 2019.

In Montgomery County, voters in Stanton selected Eric Paulson, Sheryl Porter and Jessica Sundberg to fill three seats on the City Council. And, voters in Villisca passed Public Measure A which deals with the composition of the Library Board of Trustees and how they are appointed, passed by a vote of 70 to 11.

In Shelby County, the City of Harlan: Sharon Kroger was elected to fill an At Large seat on the City Council, over her challenger Phillip B. Perkins. And, Jeanna Rudolph won the Ward 3 seat over challenger Larry Trickle. Public Measure A, in Harlan, which deals with the member composition of the Library Board of Trustees, was approved by a vote of 319 to 25. Also in Shelby County, Alan Wilwerding was elected Mayor of Defiance, while Tom Beytien, Vernon Cole, and Douglas Schmitz were elected to the City Council. In Earling, Jackie Frum, Troy Xavier Langenfeld and Daniel Tremel were elected to the City Council. In Elk Horn, Public Measure A: The establishment of a Capital Improvement Reserve fund and levy a tax not to exceed 67 ½ cents per thousand dollars of taxable value for the purpose of maintenance and repair of swimming pool and maintenance and construction of municipal buildings over a 10 year period, was passed by a vote of 30-to 6. In Irwin, Greg Gaer, WM D McMahon, and Lana Schieso were elected to the City Council. In Kirkman, Matthew K. Nielsen was elected Mayor, and Terry Fiscus was elected to fill one of two seats on the City Council. The second seat was a tie between Ron Heese and Sonny Goan, both of whom received 5 votes. The Shelby County Board of Supervisors will determine the winner. In Panama, Larry Keane was elected Mayor. George Leuschen and Jeremy Kruse were elected to fill two of three seats on the City Council. The third has be determined by tie-breaker, as Steven Wegner and Matt Schmitz both had 9 votes. In Portsmouth, William J. Sondag was elected Mayor. Tim Blum, Donald Kenkel and Craig Rau were elected to fill three seats on the City Council. In Shelby, Ron Kroll won a five-way race for Mayor. And, Pat Honeywell along with Jim Boeck beat six other challengers for two seats on the City Council. In Tennant, Dennis Oellerich along with Todd Hively, were elected to the City Council. And finally, in Westphalia, Brian Arkfeld, Ed Geotzinger and Julie Goetzinger were elected to fill three seats on the City Council.

There are still some races to be decided following Tuesday’s City Elections in the KJAN listening area, that’s because in some cases where there were Write-In candidates, there were ties in the vote that must be determined by the Board of Supervisors. In Atlantic, there were no surprises in the candidates who won, but a Public Measure designed to pump more money into the Parks and Rec Department, failed. A proposed 3-percent increase in the Hotel-Motel Tax in Atlantic was defeated by more than 53% of the vote, 420 No to 359 Yes votes. Voter turnout in Atlantic was slightly more than 16-percent. Elsewhere around Cass County, there were three seats available on the City Council in Cumberland. One of the seats ended-up in a tie and will have to be decided by the Supervisors. Mike Hill received 29 votes and incumbent Michael Martin received 26 votes to ensure their seat on the Cumberland City Council, but incumbent Gary Cooper and challenger Darrin Hardisty both had 23 votes. In Griswold, Julianne M. Adams and Carol Preston were elected to fill two seats on the City Council. Write-in Thomas Moore garnered 21 votes, far shy of making a challenge to the candidates who had filed for election.

In Lewis, Ryan Lockwood defeated Natalie Olson-Everett for a Vacancy seat on the City Council that will end in 2019. Lockwood had 86 votes to Olson-Everett’s 16 votes. Also in Lewis, incumbent Ryan Archibald and Don Cohrs were elected to 4-year terms on the City Council, during an election that saw six candidates vying for two seats. Archibald garnered 81 votes. Cohrs had 38. Public Measure B in Lewis, dealing with a levy to provide money for Library services, failed by a vote of 51-to 42.

In Marne, there were five seats open on the City Council, and six candidates. The winners were incumbents Lori Holste and Angela Redler, along with Mark Opbroek, Wayne Preister and Jericho Schmitt. Public Measure E, which said the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) funds could be used for “Any lawful purpose,” passed in Marne by a vote of 22-to 12. Public Measure D, which changed the term of the Mayor and Council to 4-years, also passed. The vote was 19 Yes, 16 No. In Massena, a Write-in, Phil Przychodzin, won the title of Mayor, with 54 votes. There were 13 other write-in’s.  No one had filed for the seat. Public Measure F in Massena, again changing the use of LOST funds to be used for “Any lawful purpose,” was narrowly defeated by a vote of 45-to 42.

And, in the City of Wiota, where there were three seats open on the City Council, incumbent Jeff Lillard received 15 votes toward his re-election. Charles Bechtold, a Write-in, receive 7 votes, which was good enough to place him on the Council. The third seat is up for grabs though, and will be determined by the Board of Supervisors because it was a tie vote. Write-In’s Deanna Spry and Lamar Spies both had just two votes, meaning neither one had enough to secure the final seat on the Council