KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) — A July trial has been scheduled for a man accused of killing his former girlfriend in the southeast Iowa city of Keokuk. Lee County District Court records say 25-year-old Adam McCain is charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors have said McCain stabbed 27-year-old Calove Sackman once on Feb. 5, got into his vehicle and ran her over, and then got back out and stabbed her several more times.
Officers found Sackman lying on a sidewalk. The court records say she identified her attacker as McCain, who lives in Fort Madison. On Monday he filed a written plea of not guilty. His trial is set to begin July 16.

The Iowa Department of Public Health’s (IDPH) 2018 Iowa Youth Survey (IYS) shows in general, underage drinking continues to decline. Alcohol use among Iowa 11th graders was down from 26.4 percent in 2012 to 20.4 percent in 2018. Binge drinking fell from 19.2 percent in 2012 to 12.0 percent in 2018. An exception to the overall decline came among eighth graders, who reported a significant increase in drinking from 2016 to 2018, from 5.4 percent in 2016 to 7.3 percent in 2018 – a level not seen since 2012.

In multiple questions on suicide, Iowa youth reported increasing rates from previous surveys. Overall, the percentage of students who reported having a plan to kill themselves increased by 53 percent from 2012 to 2018. One in 10 students reported having a plan and 1 in 20 reported a suicide attempt within the past year. Tobacco use appears similar to other substance use, remaining stable or declining from previous surveys. The exception to this is e-cigarettes. Almost one-quarter of 11th grade students (23 percent) reported use of e-cigarettes in the past month on the 2018 IYS, along with 8 percent of eighth graders and 2 percent of sixth graders.

IDPH IYS coordinator Pat McGovern says “The Iowa Youth Survey gives us a glimpse into the lives of our young people. While the answers represent a moment in time and do not give a complete view of the pre-teen and teenage mindset, they do give us a glimpse into their actions and beliefs. This enables us to tailor our programming and services in the most effective ways.” In 2018, 70,451 students representing 68 percent of Iowa’s 330 public school districts participated in the IYS.

The 2018 IYS is the 17th in a series of surveys that have been completed every two or three years since 1975. The survey is conducted with Iowa public and private students in grades 6, 8, and 11. The IYS includes questions about students’ behaviors, attitudes and beliefs, as well as their perceptions of peer, family, school, neighborhood and community environments. The Iowa Consortium for Substance Abuse Research and Evaluation generates the IYS reports. To view the 2018 report and other information about the IYS, visit www.iowayouthsurvey.iowa.gov/.

(Radio Iowa) — The death of an elderly woman at a north-central Iowa nursing home, allegedly from abuse and neglect, is subject of a U-S Senate panel hearing on Wednesday. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, who chairs the Finance Committee, says they will consider the case of 87-year-old Virginia Olthoff, who died in February of 2018 at the Timely Mission Nursing Home in Buffalo Center. “That’s a very hard thing for any family,” Grassley says. “The people responsible for any abuse or neglect should be held responsible.”

A state inspection report said Olthoff was in severe pain for days before she died, and she went several days without water, suffering from critical dehydration. Grassley has called the report “very disturbing” and “heartbreaking.” “What makes it even worse is that this nursing home had received the highest possible rating from the Centers for Medicaid Services,” Grassley says. “It even got a five-star rating, despite being fined for verbal and physical abuse.”

Grassley says his panel will hear testimony from Iowa Public Radio reporter Pat Blank, of Cedar Falls, who is Olthoff’s daughter. The committee will also hear from federal officials on how the nursing home ratings system is being upgraded. “Testimony will give our committee some first-hand insight into what needs to change for patients and family,” Grassley says, “and how we can improve accountability.”

The Winnebago County nursing home was fined more than $77,000 last August by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in part, over the treatment of Olthoff.

Officials with the Loess Hills Missouri River Region will share the organization’s accomplishments of 2018, with the public during a Year in Review Celebration at Uncle Buck’s Grill at Bass Pro Shops on Friday, March 8th  from 4-until 5-p.m.  It’s been a year since Governor Reynolds, the Iowa Parks Foundation, and the Loess Hills Missouri River Region (LHMRR) Board and stakeholders gathered at the Field House in Council Bluffs to announce MidAmerican Energy Foundation’s $500,000 commitment to the Loess Hills Missouri River Region Parks to People Plan, and the board has been busy with regional outdoor recreation projects ever since.

The Loess Hills Missouri River Region Parks to People Plan was created by a group of stakeholders from Harrison, Mills and Pottawattamie Counties and the Friends of Lake Manawa, who first assembled in 2014.  The Plan, in partnership with the Iowa Parks Foundation, supports collaborative, regional projects to enhance economic development and tourism; public health and social vitality; natural resources, parks and trails; and overall regional vibrancy. The initiative intends to attract and retain young people interested in an active lifestyle, which will stimulate Iowa’s economy and promote business growth.  A primary goal is to offer a fully connected 21st Century parks system, in time for the Iowa Parks Centennial in 2020.

In 2018, the LHMRR Board officially designated its first round of priority projects for funding from the MidAmerican Energy Foundation’s $500,000 challenge grant to the Parks to People Plan. $338,000 has been dedicated towards the following priority projects: Harrison County Conservation Board’s Willow Lake Nature Center and Overland Hiking Trail; Lake Manawa’s Dream Playground; Mills County Trails Board’s Glenwood Trail Project; Mills County Conservation Board’s Pony Creek Expansion; Lewis & Clark Today Route signage and the Green Hill Ranch conservation area. The projects represent over $10.6 million in planned recreational improvements to the tri-county region. To date, over $5 million of this has been secured or pledged towards implementation.

The public is invited to attend the Year in Review Celebration from 4-until 5-p.m. Friday, at Uncle Buck’s Grill (2901 Bass Pro Drive).  At the celebration, organizers will present a history of the initiative, outline the process for setting priority projects, overview progress on current priority projects and unveil the concept design for the new logo, branding and website.  Project leaders will be available to answer questions and provide information about priority projects.

The LHMRR is coordinated by Golden Hills RC&D, a nonprofit organization with a mission “to develop and promote sustainable cultural and conservation projects that enhance the quality of life and preserve the assets of rural western Iowa.”  More information about the Loess Hills Missouri River Region Parks to People Plan, Annual Meeting and Year in Review Celebration, visit goldenhillsrcd.org/lhmrr or at facebook.com/loesshillsmissouririverregion.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Dubuque Community Schools leaders are proposing that staffers be equipped with a panic button app on their smartphones that could alert co-workers and 911 dispatchers to an emergency. Mike Cyze is the district director of school and community relations, and he told school board members at a committee meeting Monday that time is of the essence in an emergency.
The Telegraph Herald reports that a $30,000-a-year contract for use of the app is expected to be considered at Monday’s school board meeting.

The app lets users press a button for the type of emergency such as an active intruder, a fire, a medical issue or an incident requiring police response. The app would call 911 and send an automatic alert to all relevant staff members.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department reports 31-year old Rebecca Lynn Brodner, of Ramona, CA., was arrested Monday night on drug charges. A Deputy dispatched to the Loves Travel Center for a “check location” call, arrested Brodner for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of Marijuana/1st offense, and Possession of Methamphetamine/1st offense.

Authorities said also, 19-year-old Kaitlyn Ann Richards, of Omaha, Nebraska, was transported from the Adams County Jail in Corning to the Pottawattamie County Jail to address an outstanding warrant for Forgery. She was held on $5,000 bond.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.6MB)

Subscribe: RSS

The Creston Police Department reports three arrests took place, Monday. 19-year old Patrick Nychylas Farlow, of Clarinda, was arrested in Creston on an Adams County warrant, for Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Interference with Official Acts. Farlow was being held in the Union County Jail on a $1,600 cash or surety bond. 25-year old Zachariah Thomas Benn, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on a Union County warrant for Failure to Appear on a Driving While Barred charge. He was later released on a $2,000 cash-only bond.

And, 18-year old Tristen McKinzie Wade Hastings, of Davis City, was arrested at the Union County LEC on a Union County warrant for Failure to Appear on an original Theft in the 5th Degree charge. Hastings bonded out of the jail on a $300 cash-only bond.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.4MB)

Subscribe: RSS

(Radio Iowa) — Advocates for Iowans with type-one diabetes are in Washington D-C this week, along with their counterparts from all 50 states, urging members of Congress to support continued research funding. Mary Horn, with J-D-R-F of Central Iowa, says they’re hoping to secure more dollars that will be dedicated to helping find a cure, as well as better ways to treat and prevent the auto-immune disease. “The Special Diabetes Program currently expires at the end of this fiscal year,” Horn says. “It is a mechanism to provide funding for research through (the National Institutes of Health), specific to type 1 diabetes. That’s our top priority. We’ll also be talking about insulin affordability issues while we’re here.”

Since 1970, the non-profit has invested more than two-billion dollars into research, which Horn says has brought a host of innovations. Horn, who lives in West Des Moines, says her daughter was diagnosed with type-one diabetes when she was six years old. She’s now 20 and is benefiting from the many years of research.”For instance, she has a hybrid closed loop system, which is a continuous glucose monitor that checks her blood sugar on a regular basis,” Horn says. “It’s attached to her insulin pump. The two devices speak to each other and help to regulate her blood sugar so she can live a better quality of life.”

Access to insulin is a matter of life and death for diabetics, yet insulin costs have soared several hundred percent in recent years. Horn says even with her family’s good insurance, they’ve seen insulin prices bound. “Our out-of-pocket has doubled over the past few years, however, I know people who pay well over $1,000 a month to get their insulin just to stay alive,” Horn says. “As you can imagine, for some people, that is not only exorbitant, but impossible.”

About seven-percent of Iowa’s population has type-one diabetes, or about one-point-two million Americans. Horn says people with type-one diabetes face almost three times the level of medical expenses compared to people without diabetes. Known as J-D-R-F, the former Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is the leading global organization funding research for type-one diabetes, which strikes an equal number of children and adults.