More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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(Iowa News Service) DES MOINES, Iowa – On any given day in Iowa, about 6,000 children are in foster care, but the number placed with families instead of in group or institutional settings is on the rise. A new report looks at data from the child-welfare system over a 10-year period to see how placements for young people in foster care have changed. The report says nationwide, care systems placed 86% of foster children in families in 2017, compared with 81% in 2007.

Ann Discher, executive director for the Child and Family Policy Center, says the rate in Iowa was even better, with 88% placed in 2017, up 10 percentage points from 10 years earlier – but the picture isn’t as bright for older kids. “For teenagers, progress has actually been a lot slower, moving kids out of group settings and into family settings,” says Discher. “And that’s really a big deal, because actually, older children are far more likely to be placed in group or institutional settings than younger children.”

The report was released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation as part of its KIDS COUNT project. Rob Geen, director of policy and advocacy reform with the Casey Foundation, says persistent racial disparities also showed up in the data, and states need to address them. “While I’m talking about a 10-year trend to show a fairly significant increase in placing kids in families, we’re seeing much greater gains for white children than we are for African-American Children,” says Geen. “So, there’s more that we can do for African-American children that we need to work on.”

Discher says the research shows that any child removed from a home by the state does better when they’re placed in a family setting than in a group or institutional setting. “Kids who are with families, they tend to do better in school, they are much less likely to have an early pregnancy, they are much less likely to run away,” says Discher. “They’re far more likely to stay in school and graduate from high school or get a GED.” She’s also pleased about a new federal law, the Family First Prevention Services Act, signed into law last year. She says it shifts funding away from group placement and requires that the child-welfare system find families more quickly for teens and young people of color.

It’s Bernie versus Beto in Iowa on a busy campaign weekend in the early nominating states. The two 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are holding dueling events just days after Bernie Sanders won the campaign cash derby for the first quarter of the year. The Vermont senator raised more than $18 million in 41 days, while Beto O’Rourke, a former Texas congressman, reported $9.4 million in 18 days. The money is important in their efforts to meet a new Democratic National Committee threshold for 20 coveted spots in presidential debates that begin in June.

But their stops in Iowa, with an emphasis on young people, are key gauges of support in a state that hosts the nation’s first nominating caucuses. Sanders planned two town halls and a rally, part of a three-day swing. State Republicans criticized Sanders and other Democrats for politicking in Iowa while the state recovers from Missouri River flooding that has caused a crisis. O’Rourke scheduled six house parties around the Des Moines area. His five-day swing through the state has focused on student town halls, and he intended to cap his visit with one more on Sunday, at the University of Iowa.

Other declared or prospective candidates were set to tour the early voting states of New Hampshire and South Carolina on Saturday.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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A traffic stop in Adams County at around 12:50-a.m. today (Saturday), resulted in the arrest of 29-year old Ian Gepner, from Corning. Gepner was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Possession of Paraphernalia. He was transported to the Adams County Jail.

(FORT MADISON) – A staff member at the Iowa State Penitentiary at Ft. Madison became extremely ill Friday, after coming into contact with an unknown substance. The substance is believed to have come from a bottle of eye drops. Other staff at the institution quickly quarantined the substance, and the staff member was taken to the local hospital. The woman’s condition stabilized, and she was released to recover at home.

The substance that is suspected to have caused the staff member to become ill has been submitted to the State Crime Lab in Ankeny for testing by the Division of Criminal Investigations.

The incident remains under investigation.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Police in Iowa City are investigating what they are calling the suspicious death of a woman. Police say emergency responders were called to an Iowa City house Friday morning for a report of an unresponsive person. Arriving first responders found a woman dead inside. Police say the death is being treated as suspicious death and is under investigation by local police, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations and others. The name woman has not been released.

FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say an Iowa State Penitentiary worker is recovering after becoming extremely ill when she came in contact with an unknown substance at the prison. Prison officials say the incident happened Friday. The substance is believed to have come from a bottle of eye drops. Other prison employees quarantined the substance, which is being tested at the State Crime Lab in Ankeny.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Some supporters of Bernie Sanders are not ready to move past the slights they think their candidate suffered in 2016 against Hillary Clinton. That group is threatening not to vote for any nominee other than Sanders – a prospect that could undermine Democrats’ chances in 2020. The frustration is notable now that Sanders is a 2020 front-runner, raking in $18.2 million in the first quarter.

SHELDON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified a man whose body was found on a shore of the Floyd River near a college campus in northwest Iowa. The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office said Friday in a news release that the Iowa State Medical Examiner has identified the victim as 27-year-old Cory Allen Wright, of Sheldon. Officials say a fingerprint and tattoos on the body were used to confirm Wright’s identity.

Two men accused of robbing a bank in Council Bluffs Friday afternoon, were taken into custody after a pursuit and controlled crash. Council Bluffs Police say 49-year old Patrick Lynn Spignotti, of Omaha, Nebraska, was charged with Robbery in the 3rd degree, Theft in the 1st, Reckless Driving, and Felony Eluding. He also had two outstanding warrants. 40-year old George Creston McGinness, of Colfax, Iowa, was charged with Robbery in the 3rd and Theft in the 1st degree.

McGinness, George Creston

Spagnotti, Patrick Lynn

Authorities say that at around 2:14-p.m., Friday, Officers were advised of a Bank Robbery, which had just occurred at the US Bank located at 350 34th Avenue in Council Bluffs. One suspect entered the bank while the other waited in the vehicle. The suspect gave a note to the teller demanding money, no weapon was ever displayed and no one was injured. The teller handed over an undetermined amount of cash and the suspect fled the business.

Witnesses were able to see what type of vehicle the suspect drove off in, it was described as a Green Honda Pilot with Nebraska license plates. Officers were advised that the vehicle got on to I-80 East. Officers located the suspect vehicle and a short pursuit occurred. The vehicle was eventually stopped by use of the P.I.T. Maneuver (Pursuit Intervention Technique) at Railroad Highway and Highway 6 in Council Bluffs.

The two subjects in the vehicle were apprehended without incident and transported to CID for interviews and later booked into Corrections. The F.B.I assisted the Council Bluffs Police Department with the investigation.

SHELDON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified a man whose body was found on a shore of the Floyd River near a college campus in northwest Iowa.

The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office said Friday in a news release that the Iowa State Medical Examiner has identified the victim as 27-year-old Cory Allen Wright, of Sheldon. Officials say a fingerprint and tattoos on the body were used to confirm Wright’s identity.

Wright’s body was found the morning of March 26 near the southeast portion of Northwest Iowa Community College property in Sheldon. Authorities said it appeared Wright’s body had been underwater.

Officials say the cause of death has not yet been determined.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa’s third district Congresswoman Cindy Axne has sent a letter to congressional leaders, urging “immediate action” on disaster relief. “There’s a lot of concern that towns might not come back from this,” Axne says. “…We’ve got a lot to manage here.” Axne’s letter went to Democratic and Republicans leaders in both the House and Senate.

She wrote that now is NOT the time for political games and congress should not turn its back on Americans recovering from the devastating damage of natural disasters. Earlier this week, Democrats in the U.S. Senate blocked a vote on a disaster aid package as they seek more money for hurricane victims in Puerto Rico.

Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines, says congress must respond to the requests from local and state officials who are directly dealing with this spring’s flooding. “Certainly, as the governor, indicated it is like an ocean out there,” Axne said. “There were white caps on some of the fields. That’s how deep the water is.” Axne will be in three western Iowa counties tomorrow (Saturday).

“We’ll be working with emergency management again, local election officials, stopping by shelters and visiting farms that have been under water,” Axne says. Axne has joined the effort trying to expand U-S-D-A crop insurance for crops damaged in the field to also cover grain that’s been harvested and sitting in storage bins. Much of that grain in Mills and Fremont Counties has been spoiled by the flooding.

“There’s some outlay for our farmers that they’re not going to be able to get back unless we can get some specific language that would fit in with one of the programs that USDA offers,” Axne said. “I’m working on that and then, of course, working with Senators Grassley and Ernst. They’re trying to get things through the Senate. I’m coordinating here at the House, so that we can move this forward.”

Axne says during her trip to the flood zone last week she spent time with a 17-year-old in a shelter who fled his home with nothing more than the clothes he was wearing.