BRITT, Iowa (AP) — A northern Iowa teacher has again been accused of driving while intoxicated. Hancock County court records say 27-year-old Raylea Hepker is charged with operating while intoxicated, third offense.  Britt police say Hepker was taken into custody after an officer stopped her on Jan. 28. Police had received a complaint about a vehicle with its license plate covered was being driven on the wrong side of a road.

Police say a breath test later showed a blood alcohol level of more than three times the legal limit. The West Hancock Community School District website lists her as an English language teacher.

(Radio Iowa) — Thousands of Iowa F-F-A members will be celebrating National F-F-A Week, starting Saturday and all next week. Scott Johnson, executive director of the Iowa F-F-A Association, says these young people are tomorrow’s leaders of America’s number-one industry, agriculture. Drive Your Tractor to School Day remains one of the organization’s most popular events in Iowa — and one of the most visible. “I remember from my experiences teaching, it was always weather-pending,” Johnson says. “If FFA Week happened to be colder, Drive Your Tractor to School Day would almost always occur but sometimes it didn’t occur during FFA Week. You had to wait for it to be warmer for those old diesel engines to be able to fire up and survive a day in the open parking lot.”

F-F-A membership in Iowa hit an all-time high last year with more than 15-thousand-400 students wearing the familiar blue jackets. Johnson says membership has continued to grow over the past several years. “We’ve experienced about a 20% growth in membership,” Johnson says. “When I started in this position in 2012, we were right around 12,000 to 12,300. Now, we’re at 15,000.” The number of chapters statewide last year hit 242, which was also a record, one Johnson hopes to again surpass this year. The Iowa F-F-A Association provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education, what he says is a growing field. “We see a few schools that are adding a second ag instructor,” Johnson says. “We continue to see schools adding new programs. We look forward to the opportunity to bring on-board a number of chapters for the 2019-2020 school year.”

The week gives members an opportunity to educate the public about agriculture through events including: service activities, appreciation breakfasts, dress-up days and Agricultural Olympics.

(on the web at IowaFFA.com)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A man accused of killing his former girlfriend in a Sioux City hotel room and setting it aflame has pleaded not guilty. Woodbury County court records say 29-year-old Jordan Henry entered the pleas Wednesday to charges of first-degree murder and arson. His trial is scheduled to begin July 9. Police say an autopsy showed 40-year-old Elizabeth Bockholt, of Hinton, was strangled. Firefighters found her unresponsive Jan. 24 in a Wingate Hotel room, and she was pronounced dead later at a hospital.

A criminal complaint says Henry is a transient living in Sioux City. The complaint says he was identified on surveillance video and by witnesses who saw him leaving the area just after the room fire was discovered.

One person died following an accident at around 6-p.m. Thursday, in Council Bluffs. Authorities say a 21-year old female was driving southbound on East Manawa Drive, when she lost control of her vehicle as it was traversing a curve. The vehicle slid sideways and into on-coming traffic, where it was hit by a northbound SUV. The woman – whose name was being withheld pending notification of family – was critically injured. Council Bluffs Police provided first-aid and used a defibrillator. She was transported to a local hospital where efforts to revive her were unsuccessful.

The driver of the SUV suffered minor injuries in the crash. Both vehicles were a total loss.

Deputies with the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, late Wednesday night, responded to a reported assault in progress, in Hamburg. Authorities said Thursday, that upon their arrival, the victim advised that 25-year old Christian Hoefling, of Nebraska City, Nebraska, who had been staying at the residence, assaulted him, threatened him with a knife, and then left the scene prior to law enforcement arrival. Hoefling was located walking in Hamburg and taken into custody without incident.

Christian Hoefling (Photo courtesy Fremont County S/O

He was charged with Assault While Displaying a Dangerous Weapon, and Theft 5th. Hoefling was being held at the Fremont County Jail on $2,000 cash bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:55 a.m. CST

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State University says a former state government official who was fired for sexual harassment will no longer work for a security contractor at its athletic events. Iowa State University spokesman John McCarroll says the school has been informed by the Contemporary Services Corporation that Dave Jamison will no longer be assigned to Cyclones games. Jamison had been working at those games despite the state’s recent decision to pay $4.15 million to two women who were sexually harassed by him.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Two Democratic senators have proposed a bill that would return thousands of Iowans living with severe and permanent disabilities back to a state-managed Medicaid program and make other changes to the program privatized three years ago. Republicans have shown no interest in reversing course on privatization of the health program for disabled and poor Iowans so Democrats say they’ll propose ideas to fix some of the most common problems.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The director of the Iowa Finance Authority says $4.1 million the organization is spending to settle a sexual harassment dispute will not reduce funds for rural Iowa housing programs. The agency last week agreed to spend the money to settle complaints filed by former IFA employees, who claimed former director Dave Jamison sexually harassed them. In response to a question, Director Debi Durham guaranteed the payout won’t reduce money for housing projects.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Two men convicted in the death of a Davenport man in 2017 have each been sentenced to life in prison. The Quad-City Times reports that 22-year-old Tristin Alderman and 21-year-old D’marithe Culbreath were sentenced Thursday in Scott County District Court. A jury found the pair guilty in December of first-degree murder and other felony counts in the death of 20-year-old Brady Tumlinson.

Atlantic, IA – The February session of Healthy U will be held Thursday, February 21, 2019, at Cass County Health System. The program, Dizziness: An Inner Ear Perspective, will be presented by Ryan Legg, DPT, CLT.

Ryan Legg, DPT, CLT

Ryan is a doctor of physical therapy and certified lymphedema therapist who joined CCHS in 2008. In his role as the Director of Rehabilitation Services, he specializes in dizziness and spine dysfunctions.

Healthy U will be offered at noon on Thursday, February 21, 2019. Healthy U is a free educational series at Cass County Health System held monthly in Conference Room 2. The public is invited and welcome to attend, but reservations are required as a meal is provided for all attendees.

Call 712-243-7479 to reserve your seat.

The Iowa Board of Medicine reports 53-year old Alan J. Schenne, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.), who formerly practiced family medicine in Mapleton, entered into a combined Statement of Charges and Settlement Agreement with the Board on February 8, 2019. The Board alleged that Dr. Schenne engaged in sexual misconduct when he sent sexually suggestive text messages to, and engaged in sexual relations with, a female co-worker for whom he also provided medical care, in Mapleton.

The Board also alleged that Dr. Schenne engaged in sexual harassment in Mapleton, when he sent sexually suggestive text messages to two female co-workers and the text messages made the female co-workers uncomfortable. Under the terms of the February 8, 2019, combined Statement of Charges and Settlement Agreement, the Board issued Dr. Schenne a Citation and Warning and ordered him to pay a $5,000 civil penalty and Dr. Schenne voluntarily surrendered his Iowa medical license.

A chain-reaction collision in front of the Creston High School this (Thursday) morning, resulted in injuries to a female juvenile. Creston Police report a 2009 Ford pickup driven by 75-year old David Wayne Mullin, of Afton, was traveling west on W. Townline Street at around 7:42-a.m., and was following to close to a 2017 Chrysler van driven by 31-year old Sarah Lynn Stephens, of Creston . The pickup struck the van at a high rate of speed. The impact caused the van to strike a 2009 KIA, driven by 36-year old Christopher WAyne Wiltermood, of Creston.

The KIA then ran into a 2002 Chevy S-10 pickup, driven by 16-year old Keagan Lee Trembly, of Creston. His pickup then ran into a 2008 Chevy Equinox driven by 20-year old Hannah Paige Thompson, of Prescott. An airbag in the van deployed, but a juvenile in the vehicle – who was not wearing a seat belt – hit her head on the front window. She also suffered from a cut to her lip. Stephens, the driver of the van, complained of leg pain. No other injuries were reported.

Creston Police cited Mullin for Following too close. Damage from the collisions amounted to $27,500.

(Radio Iowa) — Two key Democrats in the Iowa Senate are proposing adjustments to how private companies manage Iowa’s Medicaid program. Senator Amanda Ragan of Mason City says firing the private companies is not an option since Republicans remain in control of the legislature and the governor’s office. “Governor Reynolds and the Republican legislature is probably not going to change from having privatized Medicaid,” Ragan says, “but we still believe there are fundamentally different things we can do to make this system better.”

Democrats in the legislature and the Democratic candidate for governor campaigned last year on returning Medicaid to direct state oversight. Ragan, who manages a soup kitchen in Mason City, is co-sponsoring a bill calling for an independent third-party to handle appeals when the private companies deny care or services to Medicaid patients. “We certainly are not going to discontinue advocating for the things we believe in,” Ragan says. “We’re going to stand up for the importance of giving care to the individuals needing the services. We also are concerned about the providers.”

Senator Liz Mathis of Hiawatha is co-sponsoring the bill with Ragan. In addition to changes in how Medicaid is delivered through the private companies, it calls on the firms to find ways to expand the number of health care workers in Iowa. “It doesn’t mean by taking someone else’s employees, that’s helping the workforce,” Mathis says. “It means training people. It means recruiting people into health care occupations and specifically the more difficult occupations that help Medicaid patients.”

Mathis works for a Cedar Rapids-based non-profit that provides counseling and other services to children and families.