The Medicare Open Enrollment period is winding down and an expert says you should be sure to look and see if there might some changes needed in your plan. Julie Brookhart of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says open enrollment ends on December 7th. “This is the one time of year when all people with Medicare can make changes to their current coverage if they want to,” Brookhart says. “So, Medicare health and prescription drug plans, they can make changes each year to things like the cost of the premiums and the cost of the benefits.”

Brookhart says it is a good time to compare plans to see if a change could cost you less. “For example a person’s prescription drug needs may change over a year. They might find a more cost effective plan for the actulay drugs they take,” She explains. “So you need to pay attention to the annual notices of change you get for the current plan.” Brookhart says there is a lot of help available to walk you through the various plans. “You can either go to our website Medicare-dot-gov if you are computer savy, or have someone help you. You can also call 1-800-Medicare, which is 1-800-633-4227.And those customer service reps can also help you,” according to Brookhart.

She says there are some simple steps to take during the enrollment period to ensure that your plan is personalized to best address your health care needs. “Review your current plan and any mailings you get i the mail from your current plan to see if there is anything changing,” Brookhart says. “Think about what matters most to you. Do you need to switch because you have added new drugs or dropped some drugs from your current plan. Is there a specialist in your plan for a surgery coming up? You may need to switch for that reason alone.”  Brookhart says you can also check to see if you qualify for payment help based on your income. “There’s an extra help program that pays for some of your out-of-pocket drug costs. And these are for low-income single persons or couples,” Brookhart explains. “And you can apply for this extra help program through Social Security as they determine eligibility.”

More than 600-thousand Iowans are enrolled in Medicare.

(Radio Iowa)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Sioux City officials have found they were mistaken about a wastewater service charge to three neighboring cities. The officials thought they’d discovered the neglected charge during an audit and notified officials in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa; North Sioux City, South Dakota; and South Sioux City, Nebraska, that Sioux City would begin imposing the 7 percent charge.

Sioux City officials have since learned they were wrong. Utilities director Mark Simms told the Sioux City Journal Wednesday that additional research uncovered a nearly four-decade-old document that showed the service charge was folded into the existing rates. Simms says Sioux City has notified the other cities that it had made a mistake and would not be levying the charge.

The head of the state’s prison system says in the past decade, Iowa is one of just two states in the country where there’s been an increase in homicides, robberies, rapes AND aggravated assaults. Iowa Department of Corrections director Jerry Bartruff says at the same time, the number of paroled prisoners who commit another violent crime is “creeping up.” “So if you see an increase of crime in the community and an increase in crime of people that have been returned to the community, that tells me that we’ve got something that we need to do differently,” Bartruff says.

Bartruff says Iowa remains ‘fairly safe” and this data is “somewhat skewed” as PERCENTAGE increases “look huge” because Iowa’s population AND crime rate is small. However, the prison director says while there was a 10 percent DECLINE in violent crime in Iowa cities with more than 50-thousand residents last year — there was a 50 percent INCREASE in violent crime in Iowa cities with fewer than 10-thousand residents. “We think that we can be part of the solution, but this data us to say: ‘We’ve got to do something,'” Bartruff says.

Eighteen years ago, the Iowa Department of Corrections began collecting data on prisoners behind bars AND those who’d been released. Bartruff says in 2015, the data analysis was ramped up, to come up with a more precise reading on which prisoners are the best candidates for parole. The “ultimate goal” — Bartruff says — “is an Iowa with no more victims.” “We think with the things that we’re doing now…in 2027 we believe we can see a a reduced prison population, we can see recidivism reduced, we can criminal justice costs lowered and we can see a safer Iowa,” Bartruff says. “That’s where we want to go.”

There are nearly 83-hundred inmates inside Iowa prisons today. About 20-thousand people are on probation, with nearly four-thousand others being regularly monitored by a parole officer. Bartruff’s agency is also monitoring about 17-hundred other people who are awaiting a criminal trial.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Board of Supervisors are set to meet in Atlantic this morning, beginning at 8:30-a.m. During their session in their Boardroom at the Courthouse, the Supervisors will act on “Filling [the] Vacancy of [an] Elected County Officer”, by means of appointment or to call for a Special Election, with regard to the position of County Attorney, which becomes vacant Jan. 1st, 2018.

Cass County Attorney David Wiederstein announced his resignation in mid-August, not long after the Supervisors voted to change the position from part-time to full-time. Doing so ties the hands of an elected County Attorney with regard to their ability to also work in private practice. Earlier this year, the Board announced that it was their intention to appoint a County Attorney.

In other business, the Board today will act on approving a cooperative agreement between the County and Iowa DOT, with regard to Buck Creek under Interstate 80. They’ll also work on drafting an ordinance which would authorize the operation of All-Terrain Vehicles (ATV’s) and off-road Utility Terrain Vehicles (UTV’s) on County roadways and trails, and possibly set dates for hearings to consider the ordinance.

Among the final orders of business, other than regular County Department Head reports, is action on a Resolution to withdraw from a 28-E agreement for the Iowa Precinct Atlas Consortium, and the appointment of a member to the SIRHA Commission (Southern Iowa Housing Authority Commission).

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Presidents of Iowa’s three state universities are asking for funding increases to pay for more financial aid for undergraduate students. But stagnant tax revenue could make additional spending unlikely. The Des Moines Register reports the university presidents requested $12 million on Tuesday from the governor. The requests come as the governor warns that Iowa may face another tight budget next year. But she says she’s committed to working with the universities.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a Des Moines tax preparer has been sentence to nearly four years in prison for wire and tax fraud and identity theft. The U.S. Attorney for Iowa’s southern district says 48-year-old Lony Tap Gatwas, of Ames, was sentenced Wednesday to 21 months in prison for wire fraud and tax fraud, and 24 months for aggravated identity theft, to be served one after the other.

HARLAN, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a body has been found in the burned-out wreckage of a vehicle in western Iowa. The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil reports that that Shelby County sheriff’s deputies and firefighters responded to a report late Tuesday night of an explosion and fire in Harlan, about 50 miles northeast of Omaha, Nebraska. First responders found a vehicle next to a shed in a backyard, and both were engulfed in flames. The body was found inside the vehicle once the flames were extinguished.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — The Pentagon has approved a Silver Star medal of heroism for a Navy chaplain from Iowa who’s been credited with helping sailors escape a battleship during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Station KDTH reports that Pentagon staffers will travel to Dubuque next week and present the nation’s third-highest medal to the family of Aloysius Schmitt.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — It won’t be adding “international” to its name, but Omaha’s main commercial airport will offer its first international flight — to Toronto — starting this spring.

The Omaha World-Herald reports that the daily nonstop flight from Omaha’s Eppley Airfield to Toronto will be operated by Air Canada starting May 1. Air Canada is the first foreign airline to offer regular service to and from Eppley.

The flight will leave Toronto at 2:30 p.m. and land in Omaha at 4 p.m. The return flight will leave Omaha at 4:30 p.m. and land in Toronto at 7:50 p.m. Air Canada will fly the route with a 50-seat, single-class CRJ-200 jet.

Officials with the Cass County Health System report that at the Monday business meeting for the Cass County Board of Health, Pat Markham was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation for more than 30 years of service on the Cass County Board of Health. Markham is resigning from the board as she will be relocating outside of the county after the New Year and will be ineligible to fill the position.

Photo (left to right): Dawn Mouw, Regional Community Health Consultant with Iowa Department of Public Health; Pat Markham, Cass County Board of Health Secretary; and Gerald Wessels, DVM, Cass County Board of Health Chairman. (Photo provided)

Beth Olsen, Director of Public Health for Cass County, said “Pat has played a crucial role in promoting and protecting the health of the public. It has been an honor to work with her in advancing public health initiatives throughout the county. She has a tremendous wealth of knowledge and experience that will be greatly missed by the entire board.”

The Cass County Board of Health works to support the mission of public health by developing public health policy, assuring compliance with legal responsibilities, and supporting quality practices. Promoting and protecting the health of the public depends upon capable and dedicated community leadership by the local Board of Health.

Deter Motor Company and The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce have announced the nominations are currently being accepted for the 17th annual ATHENA Award, in Atlantic. The award will be presented on Saturday, Jan. 13th, 2018 at the Cass County Community Center. It will be presented to an exceptional individual who has achieved excellence in her/his business profession, has served the community in a meaningful way and has assisted women in their attainment of professional goals and leadership skills.

Athena Award

The ATHENA Award was first presented in 1982 in Lansing, Michigan and has grown to include presentations to more than 6,000 individuals in hundreds of cities across the globe. Locally, past winners include Lavon Eblen, Kathie Hockenberry, Lanette Plambeck, Pat Markman, Dolly Bergmann, Wendy Richter, Ann Pross, Janell Hansen, Jan Kinison, Carole Schuler, Glenda Farrier, Margaret Slepsky, Denise O’Brien, Leanne Pellett, Judy Marnin, and 2017 winner Tressa Wilcox.

Deter Motor Company believes in the values underlying ATHENA’s philosophy of incorporating talent and expertise of women into the leadership of our businesses, our communities and our government. The spirit of the ATHENA Award Program is captured in a quotation from Plato, “What is honored in a country will be cultivated there.” By honoring exceptional leaders, others will be encouraged to excel.

Those interested in nominating an individual can pick up a nomination packet at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, 102 Chestnut Street, or by visiting www.AtlanticIowa.com. Nominations are due by December 12th, 2017 at noon at the Chamber Office.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — The Pentagon has approved a Silver Star medal of heroism for a Navy chaplain from Iowa who’s been credited with helping sailors escape a battleship during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Station KDTH reports that Pentagon staffers will travel to Dubuque next week and present the nation’s third-highest medal to the family of Aloysius Schmitt. He was born in St. Lucas and attended what is now Loras College in Dubuque.

His remains were returned to the area in October 2016. Steve Sloan, Schmitt’s great-nephew, helped organize the efforts to upgrade Schmitt’s honors. Schmitt is credited with saving a dozen sailors from the USS Oklahoma after it was attacked. Witnesses say he turned down several chances to escape in order to help men through a porthole.

A Nebraska man was arrested Tuesday afternoon for allegedly stealing a cell phone from a worker at Oakland Foods. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports 48-year old Joseph Anthony Ford, of Omaha, was arrested at around 1-p.m. after the staffing company he works for in Council Bluffs was notified about the theft of a Galaxy 6 cell phone, valued at $450. The phone belonged to a female worker at Oakland Foods.

And, the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office reports 44-year old James Dale Aherns, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Tuesday evening on a warrant for a Parole Violation associated with a Prohibited Acts charge connected to the Unlawful Possession of an Explosive.