(Sac City, Iowa) – A man from Sac County was sentenced July 20th to 10-years in prison, for the sexual exploitation of a teen. KCAU-TV reports the sentence for 42-year-old Nick Pierce, of Odebolt, was part of an Alford plea to the charge of sexual exploitation of a minor, a class C felony. An Alford plea is one in which is a plea entered for defendants not admitting guilt but pleading guilty as part of a plea bargain.

According to court documents, Pierce sent sexual photos to a 16-year-old boy on April 8. He also asked the teen to send pictures back to Pierce, offering to send money for them. In addition to his prison sentence, Piers must pay a fine of $1,370, and is required to be listed on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry for the rest of his life.

(Sioux City, Iowa) – A man from northwest Iowa’s Woodbury County was sentenced to federal prison, Friday, for Possession of Child Pornography. 46-year-old Joshua Pedersen, from Moville, Iowa, was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was also fined a total of $5,000.  Pedersen must also serve a 5-year term of supervised released following the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa said evidence in the case established that between November 2018, and December 2019, Pedersen used Internet-based, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks “Kik” and “Skout” to knowingly receive and distribute child pornography.  Pedersen also admitted he distributed child pornography to a minor to persuade the minor to create and send him child pornography.  Pedersen has a prior conviction for Dissemination and Exhibition of Obscene Materials to Minors, and multiple convictions for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.

Th case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. And, for more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.” The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Older Iowans in four communities will soon lose their assisted living apartments. KCCI says according to Care Initiatives, assisted living facilities in Lamoni, Odebolt, Panora and Dunlap are converting to independent living apartments, meaning residents who cannot live on their own will need to find a new place to live.

Care Initiatives says it’s working to find new accommodations for those people. The changes will take effect in 90 days.

Care will still run assisted living facilities in Avoca and Correctionville.

DES MOINES– Gov. Kim Reynolds, Friday, announced her appointment of Ashley Beisch as a district associate judge in Judicial Election District 2B. Beisch, of Boone, Iowa, currently serves as assistant county attorney at the Webster County Attorney’s Office. She received both her undergraduate degree and law degree from Drake University Law School.

Beisch fills a vacancy created by the retirement of District Associate Judge James Malloy.

Judicial Election District 2B includes Boone, Calhoun, Carroll, Greene, Hamilton, Hardin, Humboldt, Marshall, Pocahontas, Sac, Story, Webster, and Wright counties

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A man from Page County was sentenced to prison Thursday, for Possession with the Intent to Distribute a controlled substance. The U-S Attorney’s Office says 49-year-old Michael Leo Pickens, of Shambaugh, was sentenced to 60 months (5-years) in prison, following his plea of guilty to the charge. Pickens must serve a four-year term of supervised release following the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to public court documents, from June 2022 to July 2022, the Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement (DNE) completed several controlled buys of methamphetamine with Michael Leo Pickens. In August 2022, a search warrant was executed by DNE on Pickens’ residence in Shambaugh. Agents recovered approximately 26 grams of methamphetamine and a scale from the residence.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement investigated the case.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says it is just a matter of time before the U-S-S Sioux City and the other littoral combat ships in its class are decommissioned. Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee and says the Navy will mothball the ships.

“The Navy knew this was going to happen. The Navy did not want the littoral combat ship they did not want to build them yet they went ahead they didn’t have a need for them,” Ernst says. The littoral combat ships were supposed to be smaller and faster and serve as anti-submarine and mine ships. But they proved to have several issues and were expensive to maintain. Senator Ernst is not happy the Navy allowed the people of Sioux City to spend thousands of dollars to help fund the commissioning of their namesake ship.

“They put the community of cities through this. Gosh, the citizens there the donors, everybody put all of this money up and the pride and heritage that goes with the city of Sioux City,” she says. “And we dedicated all of that towards the ship and then Navy knew full well that they would not be able to use the ship in the future.” The U-S-S Sioux City was commissioned at Annapolis, Maryland on November 17th of 2018. Ernst says a lot of money has been wasted on these ships.

USS Sioux City (US Navy photo)

“Because how many billions of dollars taxpayer spent on the actual ships, the millions and millions of dollars that were raised to commission the respective cities?,” Ernst says. “It seemed like a big fraud scheme to me. I am so upset about it and the good people that were just taken in by this.”

There was some discussion the Department of Homeland Security might want the ships for drug interdiction missions, but Ernst says nobody wants them. “The best we can hope, and believe me you know we have been wrangling all these different lines of effort who could use these ships?,” she says. “In all honesty we’re not seeing any takers out there because of the problems with the ships.”

Ernst says the ships cost 50 million dollars a year to maintain, and some of the 13 ships in the class have develop cracks in their hulls. The Senator says the Navy has not set an official date to decommission the Sioux City yet. She says it could be a couple of weeks all the way to a couple of years before that happens.

(Radio Iowa) – How early is too early? The 4th of July was just a few weeks ago, yet some Iowa grocery stores are already offering spooky Halloween decorations and big bags of trick-or-treat candy. Professor Peggy Stover, who directs the University of Iowa’s Marketing Institute and spent 25 years in the grocery industry, says stores are looking for any angle they can find to scare up profits.

“In the old days, when there was a major holiday coming, a month, maybe a month and a half in advance was pretty typical,” Stover says. “Now, we’re seeing — Halloween is a good example. We’re still in July and we are seeing Halloween merchandise in the stores, so it seems like every year it gets earlier and earlier.” Back-to-school sales started at some Iowa retailers in June, and Stover says she wouldn’t be too surprised if we saw Christmas ornaments appear on the shelves in August.

“We’re seeing a faster acceleration being driven mainly by manufacturers and retailers,” Stover says. “In the grocery business, the margins are so thin that anything that they can do to increase the profitability of their operations, I can’t blame them, they’re going to take advantage of it.” Some people might buy Christmas gifts early and hide them until December, but Stover says nobody’s buying Halloween candy in July who’s intent on saving it until October.

“A lot of manufacturers are probably offering incentives to entice that impulse purchase,” Stover says, “you know, the I see it, I’m going to throw it in the buggy, I wasn’t really looking for candy, but there it is, front and center, toss it in the cart.” Consumers may be mystified when they run across holiday items so far out of context, but she doubts few would actually file a complaint with the manager, not that it would likely have much impact — or would it?

“It’s going to take consumers to tell retailers and manufacturers, ‘enough is enough’,” Stover says. “Let’s go back to being more reasonable in when we’re going to be merchandising holiday items. I remember last year, I think it was January, right after the holidays, I was already seeing Saint Patrick’s.” She says the best way for Iowans to send a message about Halloween in July sales is to resist buying the products.

(Lamoni, Iowa) – An eight-year old minor child was injured during a rollover accident in Decatur County, early this (Friday) morning. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2018 GMC Sierra pickup driven by 34-year-old Edward Robert Daily, of Benton (IA), was traveling north on Highway 69 at around 12:33-a.m., when the vehicle left the road.

The pickup entered the east ditch and struck a culvert, before rolling over and coming to rest on its top. The child passenger – who was wearing a seat belt – was flown by Mercy Air EMS to Mercy Hospital. Edward Daily was charged with OWI/1st offense.

Lamoni Police and the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office assisted the State Patrol at the scene.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Mills County report a dozen arrests occurred between July 14th and the 28th.

Two arrests happened July 28th (today): 41-year-old Chad Michael Gerren (No known address) was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance, Poss. of drug paraphernalia, driving while barred, and eluding. He was taken into custody at around 8:24-a.m. at Mahaffey and Master Roads. Bond was set at $17,300; and, at around 3:40-a.m., 42-year-old Jessie Justin Hendricksen, of Glenwood, was arrested at 350th St. & Hwy 34, for being a Felon in control of a firearm, eluding, obstruction of prosecution, and reckless driving. Bond was set at $11,000.

There were two arrests also, on July 25th (Tuesday): 38-year-old Danielle Marie Casey, of Silver City, was arrested in Silver City, on a Fremont County Sheriff’s Office warrant. She was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.; 25-year-old Larry Alexander Strange, II, of Bellevue, NE., was arrested on the Bellevue Bridge, on a warrant for Violation of Probation. Bond was set at $1,000.

Two people were arrested on separate charges July 24th (Monday): 44-year-old James Joseph Springhower, of Glenwood, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault and Child Endangerment. He was being held without bond; And, 32-year-old Stacy Marie Jones, of Glenwood, was arrested for Assault with bodily injury. She was also being held without bond.

On July 22nd, Mills County Deputies arrested 18-year-old Brok Uriah Bruke, of Glenwood at the Pottawattamie County Jail, on a warrant for Violation of Probation. Bond: $10,000; 21-year-old Daniel Alirae Castellanos, of Omaha, was arrested for OWI/1st on the 22nd. His bond was set at $1,000.

On July 21st, 61-year-old Donavon Lee Hurd, of Omaha, was arrested at the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office, on a Probation Violation warrant ($2,000 bond);, and 46-year-old Justine Elaine Gregory, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at the Douglas County, NE, Sheriff’s Office, on a warrant for two counts of Violation of Probation (Bond $6,000).

On July 15th, 28-year-old Corey James Wentz, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at the Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office, on a warrant for Failure To Appear (Bond $5,000).

And finally, on July 14th, 25-year-old Willie Ray Johnson, of Gulfport, MS., was arrested at the Mills County Jail, on an Assault charge (Bond $300).

(Des Moines, Iowa) — Officials with the Food Bank of Iowa say they ended fiscal year 2023 breaking every record in its 41-year history. Across the 55 counties it serves, Food Bank of Iowa distributed 21 million pounds of food, or the equivalent of 17.5 million meals. The number of pounds is an increase of 4 million pounds from FY2022 and more than 800,000 pounds over the previous record year, FY 2021, during the height of the pandemic. Collectively, Food Bank of Iowa’s 700 partners served 661,506 households in FY 2023, an increase of 171,285 households from the previous year.

They reported nearly 1.8 million points of service, including:

• 759,043 children (age 18 and under)
• 734,043 adults (age 19-59)
• 287,308 older Iowans (age 60+)

A record 9,739 volunteer shifts were filled at Food Bank of Iowa in FY2023, representing 33,334 hours of service or the work of 16 full-time employees. The value of those volunteer hours exceeds $1 million.

Food Bank of Iowa CEO Michelle Book, left, assists with food distribution at First Lutheran Church in Clarion on May 25, 2023.

Food Bank of Iowa CEO Michelle Book said “Food Bank of Iowa is laser focused on providing food for Iowans struggling to make ends meet. At this time of rising need, escalating costs and declining resources, we are grateful for the collaborative support of steadfast donors, energetic volunteers, and most especially for our committed partners who serve at the front line. It takes all of us working together to feed Iowans facing hunger.”

Established in 1982, Food Bank of Iowa provides nutritious food for Iowa children, families, seniors and veterans to lead full and active lives, strengthening their communities. Serving 55 of Iowa’s 99 counties, Food Bank of Iowa delivers 21 million pounds of food (more than 17.5 million meals) to its 700 partners annually. Learn more at foodbankiowa.org.