WASHINGTON, DC – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced Thursday, that Navy Storekeeper 3rd Class, 21-year-old Harry E. Nichols, of Sioux City, Iowa, who died during an attack on Pearl Habor in World War II, was accounted for May 30, 2019. On Dec. 7, 1941, Nichols was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Nichols. From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu Cemeteries.

In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as non-recoverable, including Nichols.

USS Oklahoma Storekeeper 3rd Class, Harry E. Nichols.

Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis. To identify Nichols’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.

Nichols’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for. Nichols will be buried May 13, 2022, in his hometown, more than 80-years after his death.

(Chicago, IL) – A package being shipped to Iowa from the Netherlands, was found to have two human skills inside. The package was intercepted March 29th, after x-rays showed anomalies inside. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agriculture Specialists (CBPAS) at the International Mail Facility (IMF) at O’Hare International Airport inspected the parcel and found two skulls. Authorities say it was the first of three shipments coming from the same sender (six skulls total). It’s not clear what the skulls were intended for.

Each package had two skulls a piece for a total of six. The skulls were referred to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for further disposition. Officials say to-date, CBPAS have intercepted 1,667 agriculture shipments containing prohibited items to include live moss bathmats, live snails, and human skulls. The most common items CBPAS have seized are pork and beef sausages, plants, plant materials, seeds for planting, and live snails. These shipments may spike during the holidays and during certain seasons.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department report two arrests occurred Thursday. Authorities say 21-year-old Montell Mario Rivers, of Creston, was arrested at around 2:30-p.m., on two counts Violation of Probation. He was being held in the Union County Jail on a $4,000 cash-only bond. And, at around 7:30-p.m., Thursday, 43-year-old Dennis Gerald Tyler, of Creston, was arrested for Public Intoxication/1st offense, and Driving While Suspended. Bond was set at $600.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Grow Another Row is ramping up for 2022. Now entering its third year, Grow Another Row is a local produce sharing program that encourages people in Cass County to grow and share fresh produce. The program is now recruiting volunteers and local gardeners and farmers, and seeking to hire a seasonal program coordinator for 2022.

Grow Another Row began in 2020 as a Healthy Cass County initiative by a group of local growers, and has proved a valuable program for the county. Through a network of produce sharing sites managed by volunteers, Grow Another Row has provided free fresh local produce across county. Produce donated to the program is also shared through all four Cass County food pantries. Fresh produce is not only healthy and nutritious, but also in-demand. All four Cass County food pantries have shared with Grow Another Row that they want more fresh produce.

Can you help?

• Grow Another Row is looking for volunteers to grow, harvest, bag, and transport produce across the county. Individuals and groups—such as organizations, churches, or workplaces—are welcome to join the effort.
• Cass County ISU Extension is now also seeking to hire a seasonal Grow Another Row program coordinator, a position which provided to be very valuable last year.

The Grow Another Row Program Coordinator position is made possible through AmeriCorps funding. The coordinator position is a temporary position through fall 2022. The coordinator will manage produce donations and distributions throughout Cass County. Cass County ISU Extension is seeking to fill the position immediately. Interested individuals should visit www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/ for more information.

More information on Grow Another Row, the open coordinator position, and to sign up for the program’s email newsletter or volunteer to grow, deliver, or help harvest (pick or dig) food, visit
https://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/content/grow-another-row-cass-county or contact Cass County Extension Director Kate Olson or Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh at 712-243-1132.

Red Oak, Iowa – The Iowa Hospital Association has awarded the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital + Clinics (MCMH) Board of Trustees the prestigious three-star award for having 100% of trustees certified in their Hospital Board Certification Program. This is the highest honor given to a board certified in the program. The IHA Hospital Board Certification Program is designed to promote governance best practices and encourage the coordination of care and best use of resources. The program requires new and returning trustees to complete a certification form and 12 hours of continuing board education over a period of two years.

(L-R): Top row: Jill Bergstrom, James Norris and Ann Carder; Bottom Row: Jim Robinson, Kevin Cabbage, Lorin Petersen and Roger Ehmke (Photo Courtesy Michelle Zanders, MCMH Community Relations)

MCMH CEO Ron Kloewer says “This is excellent news. The certification program is a big time commitment and shows true dedication to their office.” Trustees who participate in the program demonstrate to community members that they understand and embrace the need for governance accountability, govern according to standards of excellence, are committed to coordination of resources in our community, embrace community accountability and transparency, and utilize quality and patient safety performance data to identify opportunities for improvement.

The MCMH Board of Trustees include: Kevin Cabbage, Chairman; Lorin Petersen, Vice Chairman; Jim Robinson, Treasurer; Roger Ehmke, Secretary; Jill Bergstrom, Trustee; Ann Carder, Trustee; and James Norris, Trustee. The Board will be honored at the IHA Governance Forum in Des Moines on April 22nd.

(Radio Iowa) – A majority of Iowa remains in dry or drought conditions — but things have improved quite a bit in the last month. The D-N-R’s Tim Hall tracks the water summary. “You compare the drought monitor map from early March to late March — we saw significant improvement. At the beginning of March, about 90 percent of the state was rated in some form of dryness and drought — now we are down to 60 percent,” according to Hall. He says turning things around is not a quick process.  “You have to remember that the drought that we came through last year that we are still kind of working out way of, was so deeply entrenched in that state that it’s just going to take awhile to slowly dig ourselves out of those precipitation deficits we’ve been at,” according to Hall. He says the driest areas start in central Iowa and move east and north.

“Up toward Cedar Rapids and Waterloo, up toward northeast Iowa, sort of that east-central part of the state they’ve had some pretty good rainfall over the last month. Northeast Iowa has been pretty wet, in fact we saw some reductions in the Drought Monitor just in that east-central, northeast Iowa location just in the last week or two,” he says. “So, they’re getting what they need in that part of the state.” There are still some areas to the west that could use more rain as they have D-2 or severe drought. “In Monona and Pottawattamie County in western Iowa, just about two percent of the state. That’s a little bit troubling to see that creep in, because that’s a part of the state where we’ve had some drought challenges in the past,” he says. Hall says the increased rainfall hasn’t caused any problems. 

“We have not seen any substantial flooding this spring, which is a great thing for us not to have. And it kind of indicates that the rain we’ve gotten in addition to getting the right total inches of rain, it’s also come over very slow, long periods of time, and it’s had a chance to soak into the ground. So that part of the precipitation in March has also been really, really helpful,” Hall says. He says everything worked well with the snowmelt as well. “The snowpack was not significant, the snowmelt came very gradually — so really, the timing of the rain and snowfall has been almost ideal,” Hall says.

You can see Iowa’s water resource trends at: www.iowadnr.gov/watersummaryupdate

(Radio Iowa) – Advocates for victims of domestic violence and other crimes are urging lawmakers to dedicate more money to assist victims. In 2021, 20 fatalities in Iowa were attributed to domestic violence — the highest level in a decade. Marti (MAR-tee) Anderson of Des Moines was director of Iowa’s Crime Victim Assistance program for 22 years before being elected to the Iowa House in 2012.

“Victim service advocates need special skills, insight and the capacity to help victims recover from physical, emotional, financial and often spiritual trauma,” Anderson says. Anderson says the work is not for volunteers, as it requires special training — and that costs money, but Anderson says state funding for the Crime Victim Services division has been stuck at five MILLION dollars a year since 2016.

“Those $5 million support nearly 100 programs in the state,” Anderson says. “Justice is not served until the victims of crime are served.” Anderson, a Democrat who is not seeking reelection this year, says the state spend 99 percent more on the offenders than it does on victims.

“There is a lot of work to be done to assist crime victims in this state,” Anderson says, “and people who do the work should be paid for it.” Republican lawmakers writing the state budget say they’re reluctant use state money to replace the reduction in federal grant money that has supported the state’s Crime Victim Services program in the past. They say the federal funding glitch will be fixed in a year or two.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill that would strengthen penalties for crimes against Iowans who are 60 or older has cleared its final legislative hurdle this week. The bill creates new criminal penalties for emotional abuse and neglect of elderly Iowans. Senator Julian Garrett of Indianola says the bill also deals with alleged cases of fraud.

“The bill establishes a crime of financial exploitation of an older individual,” Garrett says, “and this occurs when a person who is in a position of trust abuses that trust to misuse the assets of the older individual.” Representative Dustin Hite of New Sharon says in 13 years as a lawyer, he’s seen cases of hucksters and even family members taking advantage of elderly Iowans.

“What this bill does is it says to those people who are looking for vulnerable victims: ‘Not here,'” Hite says. “…When somebody when somebody picks on the most vulnerable of Iowans, they deserve a harsher punishment.”

The bill has been a top priority for A-A-R-P for several years. It won unanimous approval in the House and Senate and is headed to the governor for her approval.

Atlantic, Iowa – Cass Health officials have announced the addition of Emily James, MSN (Master of Science/Nursing), ARNP (Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner), FNP-BC (Family Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified), to the team of providers in the Emergency Department and AMC Rapid Care. As a board-certified family nurse practitioner, James will provide care to patients of all ages. A familiar face to many, she has worked in the Cass Health Emergency Department as a nurse since 2017.

Emily James, MSN, ARNP and, FNP-BC

James says , “I always knew I wanted to continue my education. One of the advantages of the healthcare field is the constant learning and continual change. I’ve already had the experience of caring for patients as a nurse, but now as a nurse practitioner, I can provide care to patients on a different level.”

Emily James earned her Master of Science in Nursing from Purdue University Global and is board-certified by The American Nurses Credentialing Center. She received her Associates of Applied Science in Nursing from Southwestern Community College in 2015, and her bachelor’s in 2018 from Purdue University Global. Emily is also a DAISY award nominee; she received nominations in 2016, 2018, and 2019.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s rulings indicate she’s a judicial activist and that’s why he voted “no” today (Thursday) on her nominating to the U.S. Supreme Court. “Her record clearly shows she does not believe in or act within the limited and proper role of a judge,” Grassley said. Grassley was among the handful of senators who gave speeches explaining their votes on Jackson’s nomination right before 53 senators voted to confirm her as the next U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

Grassley says the judicial philosophy of a Supreme Court nominee should be the primary consideration for senators. “Judge Jackson explained to us that she does not ‘hold a position’ on whether individuals possess natural rights. Now that ought to be very shocking,” Grassley says. “Natural rights are basic to our constitutional system and principles of limited government.” Grassley also criticized Jackson for a sentence she handed down in a drug-related case.

“Judges should weigh against the charge, the danger to society, and the risk of recidivism,” Grassley said. “At her hearing, Judge Jackson said that she based her extraordinary and compelling finding on the non-retroactive change in the law. This radical misinterpretation is terrible and dangerous.”

Iowa’s other U.S. Senator, Republican Joni Ernst, also opposed to Jackson’s nomination. Three Republicans, an independent and all the Democrats serving in the U.S. Senator voted to confirm Jackson. She’ll be the first black women on the Supreme Court. Iowa Democratic Party Chair Ross Wilburn says it’s a historic day for our nation. Wilburn, the first black man to lead a major Iowa political party, says Jackson was masterful in demonstrating her qualifications during her confirmation hearing and will be an exceptional justice.