Davenport, IA – Gerald Brian Hoard, age 49 of Bettendorf, Iowa, was sentenced today (Monday) to time-served following his plea of guilty to Attempted Transfer of Obscene Material to a Minor. Hoard went into custody on March 15, 2022. Hoard will serve three years of supervised release including one year at a residential re-entry center.

According to court documents, Hoard used the social media application Grindr, an online dating app, to communicate with an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old. Hoard sent a picture of his genitals to the purported minor. Hoard agreed to meet the minor at a local store for the purpose of engaging in sexual activities.

U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Childhood” initiative, which was started in 2006 as a nationwide effort to combine law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, community action, and public awareness in order to reduce the incidence of sexual exploitation of children.

For more information about Internet safety education, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc and click on the resources tab.

(Radio Iowa) – With Thanksgiving behind us now, Iowa food pantries are bracing for the winter ahead and a dramatic boost in demand as the year-end holidays near. Matt Unger, C-E-O of the Des Moines Area Religious Council, says while pandemic-era assistance, like extra SNAP benefits and increased unemployment benefits, helped for a while, it didn’t address the underlying problems with food insecurity.

“We have this growth now, and the number of folks that are needing this kind of assistance, and we don’t have the same spotlight on the issue that we did during the pandemic,” Unger says, “so I think there’s the risk that we’ve got some complacency.” So far this month, Unger says DMARC has helped 14-thousand individuals. Zuli Garcia is the founding president of Knock and Drop Iowa, the first-ever Latino food pantry in Des Moines’s metro, which provides culturally-specific foods. Garcia says higher food prices are having an impact and lately, they’ve had to dip into reserves to make sure those in need have enough to take home.

“That’s what our fear is, that we’re going to get to the point where unfortunately, we’re going to have to start turning people away because things are getting expensive, not just out there for everyone, but even for the nonprofits,” Garcia says. “We can’t find the food that’s needed to be able to feed families.” Garcia says for just one day of the pantry being open, Knock and Drop spent 48-hundred dollars on food for 387 families. Officials with the Food Bank of Iowa say they are continuing to see historic need from communities around the state, serving about 150-thousand individuals each month since spring.

(reporting by Catherine Wheeler, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – A half dozen Iowans who’ve led their public libraries through disasters will be featured in an online discussion tomorrow morning. “The hope is that people watching or listening to the webinar can learn from our disasters instead of having to have their own before they learn those lessons,” says Cedar Rapids Public Library director Dara Schmidt, who’ll be one of the panelists.

Like the city it serves, the Cedar Rapids Public Library has had a recent run of emergencies, starting with flooding in 2016. “(That flood) was smaller than predicted and so we ended up not sustaining damage even though we were closed because we were in the inundation zone and then we had, just like everybody else, the pandemic and then the derecho,” Schmidt says, “and then a couple of months ago we had a fire.”

The fire started in late July in a large light fixture in the lobby of the library in downtown Cedar Rapids. The 200 people inside the library were safely evacuated and the fire was doused in a matter of minutes, but the library was closed for a month — to deal with smoke damage. Schmidt says given that history, she and her staff have developed plans that not only focus on responding the moment a disaster might strike, but how to restore services as quickly as possible.

“With everything that we’ve been through, what we understand is out community needs us and in times of great challenge our community needs us even more,” Schmidt says. “…Maybe our building does have to close, but how can we continue to provide service, even when those terrible things are happening to us?”

For example, Schmidt says this summer the library set up a computer lab in a vacant space across the street from the temporarily closed downtown library. Librarians from Bettendorf, Clinton, Marion, Sioux City and West Des Moines will join Schmidt in tomorrow’s panel discussion about disaster planning.

(Radio Iowa) – The Governor announced today (Monday), that a Mitchellville Elementary School teacher is the 2023 Iowa Teacher of the Year.

Krystal Colbert says she knew from a young age that she wanted to be a teacher. “I had a lot of amazing educators in my own life who helped kind of shape that for me. I remember from a very young age, I had teachers who made me feel valued, and loved and respected,” Colbert says. “And I could really tell that they cared about me as a person, and they cared about my success in the future.”

She says every child learns in a different way, and it’s her job to help them understand that. “I believe that student empowerment is when children are able to be in control of their actions and their learning environment. I think it’s really important to help students set goals and to help them know what steps come in reaching those goals. And I always think that children need to be involved in what they’re learning and how they’re learning it,” Colbert says.

Teacher of the Year, Krystal Colbert. (Dept. of Ed photo)

She says it’s important to have a one-on-one connection with every student, and that helps build a trusting community. “I really take the time to invest in the relationships that I have with my students, as well as their families. I like to keep them connected to what we’re doing in our classroom through weekly emails and newsletters,” she says. “And I think it’s also very vital to stay connected and build those relationships with my colleagues as well.”

Colbert has been teaching for 16 years and says she’s still excited to get up and go to work every day. She’s also happy to take on the challenge of being the teacher of the year. “I am so excited and honored to be the 2023 Iowa Teacher of the Year. And I look forward to being able to travel the state of Iowa, as well as do a little traveling throughout the United States and just be able to meet amazing educators,” she says.

Colbert lives in Altoona and made her comments in a Department of Education video.

(Pottawattamie County, Iowa) – Leaders in Pottawattamie County and the City of Underwood have come together to create a plan to greatly assist travelers in the west-central part of the county. The proposed project calls for reconstruction of Magnolia Road (G30) from Railroad Highway to the intersection of L52. The project will also include a two-way left turn lane (TWLTL) from the railroad tracks to the interstate ramps. This will require reconstruction of the Mosquito Creek Bridge to provide the additional lane and maintain two-way traffic during reconstruction.

“This project has community and regional significance as a popular commuter route, an emergency interstate detour, and provides vital interstate access for services and commerce,” said John Rasmussen, Pottawattamie County Secondary Roads Engineer. “Traffic has increased dramatically during the service life of the existing infrastructure and exceeds the capacity of the current design. It’s time for reconstruction to improve deteriorating conditions, traffic capacity, and safety.”

Rasmussen credits Tina Treantos, Operations Manager for Pottawattamie County Secondary Roads, and Cindy Sorlien, Underwood’s City Administrator for fostering the partnership. “It’s a great example of community teamwork,” said Rasmussen. “Our staff worked closely with the City of Underwood to address a real need and its leaders have been open-minded and exceptionally supportive.”

Treantos completed the process for a Competitive City Bridge Grant application, with the City of Underwood as the applicant. The City was awarded up to $1.5 million, and on Tuesday, November 22nd, Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors signed an agreement to utilize that grant on a joint City/ County project.

“We’re grateful for the incredible collaboration that’s gone into this project,” said Underwood Mayor Dennis Bardsley. “As a city, we’re blessed to work with Pottawattamie County. We understand its leaders have our residents’ best interests in mind.” The $5.5 million project is programmed for FY24 but may be delayed until additional funding is secured. The design is in the preliminary stages and will be shared at public meetings once plans are more adequately developed.

Pottawattamie County Secondary Roads Department encourages residents to subscribe to the Road Notification System. The Road Notification System provides advanced warning of projects as well as project completion updates for County residents. Subscribe at: https://www.iceasb.org/road-notifications/subscribe/

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Two central Iowa men were sentenced last week on separate sex-related offenses. According to U-S Attorney’s Office reports 30-year-old Kyle Taylor Tremblay, of Ankeny, was sentenced Nov. 22nd to 30 years in prison for Production of Child Pornography. And, 58-year-old Dennis Eugene Kimball, of Des Moines, was sentenced that same day to 20-years in prison for attempting to entice a minor to engage in illicit sexual activities. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, Kyle Tremblay, interacted with children on an online video-chat forum on multiple dates in early 2021. Tremblay directed the children to perform sexual acts to themselves, including children that Tremblay knew were 10 years old and 11 years old, and make explicit poses for the webcam. Tremblay video-recorded his online interactions with the children. Police located these recordings on Tremblay’s cell phone that was seized during a search warrant at Tremblay’s Ankeny residence in April 2021. Police also located videos and images of other child sexual abuse material stored on Tremblay’s cell phone. Tremblay sent numerous images of child sexual abuse material to multiple other persons via an online messenger application. Following completion of his prison term, Tremblay will be on supervised release for five years.

Court documents show Dennis Eugene Kimball communicated over the internet with an undercover officer posing as a 15-year-old female. During the messages, Kimball arranged to meet the person he believed to be a minor female at a hotel to engage in sex acts. Kimball was arrested by law enforcement in October 2021 when he arrived at the hotel expecting to meet the minor female for sex acts. Following his prison term, Kimball will be on supervised release for five years.

Any persons having knowledge of a child being sexually abused are encouraged to call the Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline at 1-800-284-7821.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department reports two arrests. Authorities say 35-year-old Clayton Geick, of Glenwood, was arrested Thanksgiving Day, for Violation of a No Contact Order. His cash-only bond was set at $5,000. And, on Friday, Glenwood Police arrested 42-year-old Simon Fletcher, of Glenwood, for OWI/1st offense, and two counts of Child Endangerment. He has since posted a $5,000 bond.

Authorities say Simon was taken into custody following a report of a 2015 GMC Sierra pickup striking a large brick mailbox in the area behind 104 Golfview Estates, in Glenwood. After the vehicle hit the mailbox and a tree, it reversed and struck a light pole. The pickup then went through the yard at 105 Golfview Estates and continued north. It ran over landscaping, bushes and struck the residence at 108 Golfview Estates, causing an estimated $3,000 damage to the front of the home, including trim and gutters.

The vehicle curved around the structures and came to a stop behind 104 Golfview Estates. Two juveniles and the driver were in the vehicle during the incident. No one was hurt. The total amount of damage was estimated at $17,000.

(Radio Iowa) – Authorities have released the name of the eastern Iowa girl who died in an A-T-V crash the day before Thanksgiving. The Iowa State Patrol’s accident report indicates 13-year-old Charlee Engelken, of Manchester, was a passenger on an A-T-V on Wednesday afternoon when the 14-year-old boy driving the four-wheeler lost control.

The patrol’s report says the vehicle was on a road south of Manchester. The vehicle rolled into a ditch and all passengers on the A-T-V, including the girl, were ejected, then she was hit and killed by the A-T-V.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Auditor Kathy Somers reports the Cass County Compensation Board will meet on Wednesday, December, 7, 2022 at 7:00 PM in the basement meeting room of the courthouse. The Board meets annually to recommend a compensation schedule for elected officials for the fiscal year immediately following, in accordance with the Code of Iowa (Chapters 331.905 and 331.907). The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on the Compensation Board’s recommendation, in early 2023, followed by action on the recommendation.

In March, 2022, the Supervisors voted to adopt the resolution to the previous Compensation Board’s proposal. They also acted at that time, on a Resolution to reduce by half, the percentage of Elected Officials compensation that had been recommended by the Cass County Compensation Board, effective July 1, 2022. During that meeting, Supervisor John Hartkopf reminded the public that neither the Supervisors nor the Compensation Board have a say over the final outcome, because the State regulates some areas.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Air National Guard’s K-C 135 aircraft from the 185th air refueling wing have returned to their home base in Sioux City. The giant flying fuel stations operated at bases in Topeka, Kansas and Sioux Falls, South Dakota after runway construction got underway at the airport in April. Lieutenant Colonel Ben Young is a K-C 135 pilot who is happy to be back home in Iowa: “It’s just great to have airplanes back this is our home this is where we want to be flying out of fill a lot of pride when we see the airplanes overhead and when we’re flying out of Sioux City here,” he says.

The construction project closed the longer of two available runways used by the K-C 135 aircraft so parts of them could be refurbished. “The runway was supposed to open up at the beginning of October but weather and delays happen and we flexed with that the Sioux City Airport Authority has been great to work with flexing the plan we were able to get a few jets back early in November so we could do some exercises with them,” Young says.

They did the flyover for Friday’s Iowa/Nebraska football game and now get back to a regular schedule. “We’ll come right back from Thanksgiving and we got an aircraft generation exercise that will be a week long,” he says. Young says have the jets back at their home allows everyone involved to enjoy more time with their families.