Des Moines, IA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa and U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal joins the Department of Justice, the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), advocates, survivors, victim service providers, justice professionals, police and first responders, and communities across the United States in observing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

For too many victims, domestic violence impacts their life every day. The devastating consequences of domestic violence are widespread and affects the victims as well as the victims’ family and friends, and can cross generations and last a lifetime. Approximately one in four women and one in seven men will experience severe domestic violence in their lifetimes. These rates are disproportionately higher for American Indian and Alaska Native populations, women of Color, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and two-spirit people, and people with disabilities. Domestic Violence Awareness Month provides an opportunity to spread awareness about domestic violence and encourage everyone to play a role in ending gender-based violence. 

“Domestic Violence Awareness Month reminds us of the human impact of domestic violence and our role along with the dedicated victim advocates, service providers, police and first responders in ensuring that victims and survivors have a path to safety, access to services, and a voice in justice,” said U.S. Attorney Richard Westphal. “Domestic violence happens in our homes, our neighborhoods, our workplaces, and our communities and a top priority of our office will continue to be assisting victims, prosecuting offenders, and supporting our community’s awareness of available resources.”

Targeting gun violence is a key part of combatting domestic violence and reducing violent crime. Domestic violence abusers with access to a gun are five times more likely to kill their partners, and in addition to their lethality, firearms are used by abusers to inflict fear, intimidation, and coercive control. Under federal law, people convicted of a felony or misdemeanor crime of domestic violence or are subject to a protective order are prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms. This crime is punishable by up to fifteen years in prison.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE), or the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence at 1-800-770-1650. Additional resources for victims and survivors of domestic violence can be found on the Resources page of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence website at https://ncadv.org/resources.

(Radio Iowa) – Officials in Sioux City are still assessing the wind damage to the city/county law enforcement center that’s under construction. Ron Wieck, chairman of the authority overseeing the project, says last week’s gusts of up to 50-miles-an-hour toppled several 40-foot-high walls. “Some of the precast panel walls that were in place and standing upright fell over,” Wieck says, “so at this point, there’s an investigation going on on what occurred.” The accident happened last Friday afternoon. No workers were in the vicinity and no one was hurt. Wieck doesn’t have a damage estimate yet because the investigation is still underway.

“There will be insurance to cover wind damage, certainly it would be a covered peril under the builder’s risk policy,” Wieck says. “So if we find out that there was a problem on whatever, it’s conceivable a contractor’s liability policy could be involved in it.”  Unfortunately, Wieck says, there’s no saving the walls that fell over.  “They are not salvageable,” he says. “They were broken and will have to be replaced.” While that part of the project is now delayed, Wieck says construction work continues elsewhere. “Depending on how quickly they can replace those panels, that could affect our timeline,” Wieck says. “The reality of it is, the building is large enough that work can go on in other areas.”

Wieck says the investigation will determine the extent of repairs necessary and if the timeline for the new building is significantly affected.

The Glenwood Police Department reports one person was arrested Wednesday: 69-year-old Duane Robertson, of Glenwood, was arrested for Driving While Revoked. He subsequently posted a $1,000 cash or surety bond, and was released.

(Radio Iowa) – Recent events like Hurricane Ian hitting the southeastern U-S and the derechos in the Midwest have prompted some to ask if it’s better to bury power and communication lines underground versus hanging them above ground on utility poles. Rod Pritchard, a spokesman for I-T-C Midwest, says it really comes down to dollars. “The cost of that is a main determining factor,” Pritchard says. “Compared with overhead line construction, the cost of underground transmission is five to ten times more, and so we view it as being cost prohibitive.”

Pritchard says environmental factors are also a consideration, as putting cables underground disturbs a lot of soil. “Although the underground line is much better protected in terms of storm events, when you do have an outage with underground line, it can take a lot of work to find that as well as to fix that problem,” he says, “whereas overhead lines are much easier to repair if there is an outage.”

Cedar Rapids post-derecho in August of 2020 (Trees Forever photo)

I-T-C owns and operates high-voltage transmission infrastructure in Iowa and six other states, with its ITC Midwest subsidiary based out of Cedar Rapids. Across its system, I-T-C has 16-thousand circuit miles of transmission line.

Des Moines, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau report 47-year-old Sara Weisbeck, of LeClair was found guilty on October 7, 2022, in Scott County District Court of one count of Insurance Fraud (Class D Felony) and one count of Identity Theft (Class D Felony) following an investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau.

The investigation began in December 2019 after the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau received information indicating Weisbeck had provided false information to her insurer when filing an insurance claim. She had alleged a lightning strike caused a power surge within her residence and destroyed over $7,000 of her personal belongings.

The investigation determined that specific items Weisbeck reported to her insurer as destroyed were not within the residence when the lightning strike occurred. It also determined that Weisbeck facilitated the removal of windows from within her residence and falsely reported that the power surge blew the windows from the house. The investigation also determined that emails submitted to Weisbeck’s insurer, which were authored in the name of her landlord and supported her insurance claim, were fictitious and had been fabricated.

Sara Weisbeck (Photo courtesy of the Scott County Sheriff’s Office)

Following her guilty conviction, Weisbeck was placed on supervised probation for two years and ordered to pay a civil penalty of $2,357.50. Weisbeck must also pay victim restitution in the amount of $1,240 for the damaged windows.

Iowans with information about insurance fraud are encouraged to contact the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau at 515-654-6556.

(Lee County, Iowa) – A man riding a bicycle was struck and killed Wednesday evening, in southeast Iowa. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 1998 Chevy pickup driven by 70-year-old Sharon L. Robey, of Niota, Illinois, was westbound on S. 7th Street in Keokuk, when the vehicle ran into the rear of a Huffy Sante Fe bicycle, which was traveling west on S. 7th Street. Following the collision, the bicycle, operated by 57-year-old Clark Evan Pfeiferling, of Keokuk, came to rest under the right front corner of the pickup. The accident happened at around 5:54-p.m.

Pfeiferling was transported by Lee County EMS to the Southeast Iowa Medical Center, where he died from his injuries. The accident was under investigation.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by Keokuk Police and Lee County EMS.

(Southeastern Wright County, Iowa — A man faces multiple charges in Wright County after using a stolen vehicle to ram a trooper’s car into the ditch, Wednesday morning. No injuries were reported. The Iowa State Patrol reports Troopers clocked 22-year-old Ahmed Khalif at 105 mph, on Interstate 35. Khalif did not stop for the trooper and a chase ensued at around 7-a.m., Wednesday.

Authorities say Khalif took the exit to Woolstock and ended up driving the wrong way before turning around again. That’s when Khalif rammed a trooper’s car into the ditch. Next, Khalif left the vehicle and a foot pursuit began. A short time later, the trooper tracked him down on foot and made the arrest. Khalif had warrants out of Minnesota and Maryland. The vehicle was stolen out of Massachusetts.

Iowa State Patrol Facebook page photo

Khaliff is charged with felony eluding, interference with official acts, assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapon, possession of a stolen vehicle, operating while intoxicated, possession of controlled substance, felon in possession of a firearm, speeding, no driver’s license and other traffic charges.

(Norwalk, Iowa) – Officials in central Iowa report a man from Marshalltown faces a charge of a murder in the first degree, in connection to the September stabbing of a Norwalk woman. 38-year-old Antonio Lavell Lewis also faces unrelated charges stemming from warrants out of Marshall County.

Norwalk Police say on September 15th, they responded to reports of a stabbing at an apartment at 608 Knoll Drive. Officers found 31-year-old Karisa Shendelman. She had died from multiple stab wounds. Antonio Lavell Lewis was also inside the apartment. He was arrested for unrelated warrants at the time.

(Creston, Iowa) – A woman who said she was distracted by her cell phone, failed to stop at an intersection in Creston, Wednesday night, causing her vehicle to rear-end a pickup truck. No injuries were reported. Creston Police report 67-year-old Ricky Ramaeker, of Creston, was driving a 1999 Dodge pickup truck on southbound Sumner Street, and stopped at the red light with Adams Street, when his vehicle was struck from behind by a southbound 2004 Pontiac. The accident happened at around 10:15-p.m. Authorities identified the driver of the car as 19-year-old Katilina Bozwell, of Creston.

Damage from the collision amounted to $4,000, with damage to the Pontiac amounted to $3,000. Bozwell was cited for having no insurance.

(Radio Iowa) – A study finds the average rate of family premiums for health insurance offered by private employers in Iowa has risen significantly. The report from the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota found the average premium rate for Iowa families jumped about nine percent from 2020 to 2021, while the national average is only three percent. Robert Hest, a research fellow at the center, says Iowa’s relatively small population may be a factor.

Hest says, “It’s also kind of a statistical thing where, because there’s a smaller sample size in Iowa, that those estimates just tend to be less stable over time than you would see in a state with a larger population and a larger sample size.” Iowa has nearly three-point-two million residents, ranking it the 31st most populous state in the U-S. 

“Because there’s a smaller population, it doesn’t take as many employers, large employers to make changes to the types of plans they’re offering, or to the cost of those plans to really swing these statistics,” he says. The report found about 87-percent, or one-point-two million Iowans, who work in the private sector were offered employer-sponsored insurance last year.

(by Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)